Bilateral facial nerve paralysis with craniofacial trauma.

Bilateral facial paralysis (BFP) is a very rare condition, unlike its unilateral counterpart. Causes of BNP include a wide variety of diseases and its differential diagnosis can be challenging. We report a case of BFP secondary to craniofacial trauma, with unilateral orbitozygomatic and bilateral temporal bone fractures.

The use of "excess" soft tissue in the repair of median facial clefts: a report of two cases.

The authors present an unusual case of median facial cleft in an infant with prolabiumlike soft-tissue excess between the cleft elements. This tissue was used to augment the nasal tip and lip tubercle. In another patient with median cleft, the authors were conservative in excising the midline structures during the repair, with beneficial effects.

Coronal suture response to distraction osteogenesis in rabbits with delayed-onset craniosynostosis.

Recent studies have identified a subpopulation of persons with craniosynostosis who exhibit progressive or delayed-onset synostosis and mild cranial vault deformities. These persons may be good candidates for nonextirpation distraction osteogenesis. The present studies were designed to determine force-displacement parameters and assess the effects of distraction osteogenesis on coronal suture growth and morphologic characteristics in a rabbit model with congenital, delayed-onset craniosynostosis. Data were collected from a total of 178 rabbits: 71 normal controls; 16 normal controls with distraction; 72 with delayed-onset coronal suture synostosis; and 19 with delayed-onset coronal suture synostosis and distraction. At 10 days of age, all rabbits had amalgam markers placed on both sides of the coronal suture. In the force-displacement study, force-displacement distractors were placed across the coronal suture and distracted acutely for 1.0 mm at 42 days of age. Force-displacement curves for the coronal suture were best described by a third-order polynomial regression equation for both normal and synostosed groups. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were found in the mean force necessary to distract a normal suture 1 mm in distance (13.72 kg) compared with a suture with delayed-onset synostosis (48.39 kg). A significant (P < 0.05) relationship was also found between the extent of synostosis and the distractive force in rabbits with delayed-onset synostosis. In the distraction study, internal distractors were fixed across the coronal suture at 25 days of age and percutaneously and intermittently activated at an average of 0.11 mm/day for 42 days (4.54 mm total). Serial radiographs were taken at 10, 25, 42, and 84 days of age. Results revealed that rabbits with delayed-onset synostosis and distraction had significantly (P < 0.01) more coronal suture growth rates compared with rabbits with delayed-onset synostosis and no distraction. Coronal sutures were harvested at 84 days of age for qualitative histologic examination. Normal, distracted coronal sutures showed widened sutural ligaments and thin, active osteogenic fronts. In contrast, distracted coronal sutures from rabbits with delayed-onset synostosis showed narrowed sutural ligaments, thickened and blunt osteogenic fronts, and increased collagen and bony matrix deposition compared with controls. Results suggest that distraction osteogenesis without corticotomy may be a treatment alternative in persons with progressive, delayed-onset synostosis. However, these preliminary data also suggest that distractive forces may accelerate or stimulate osteogenesis differentially in persons with craniosynostosis, possibly through an underlying genetic disorder of bone and cytokine regulation. These differential osteogenic responses to distraction, if validated clinically, will need to be taken into account when planning distraction rate and rhythm protocols for patients with craniosynostosis.

The use of iliac bone flap as a penile stiffener in a diabetic patient with erectile dysfunction.

A diabetic man with erectile dysfunction in whom two previous attempts at penile prosthesis implantation had failed was treated by using an iliac bone flap as a penile stiffener. The patient had satisfactory sexual function with his penis; it retained its size and stiffness during the 1-year follow-up period. We recommend this method for use in patients in whom multiple earlier attempts at penile prosthesis implantation were unsuccessful.

Modified bilateral advancement flap: the slide-in flap.

The bilateral V-Y advancement flaps are used commonly in the closure of circular skin defects. We modified the standard bilateral V-Y advancement flap technique to reduce the tension along the closure, and used it in 10 patients between 1995 and 1997. In the presence of a circular defect, bilateral V-Y advancement flaps were marked on the skin, with the height of the V flaps measuring 1.5 to 2 times the diameter of the defect. The limbs of the V were not drawn as straight lines, but were curved outward slightly, making the flap and its two extensions broader than the standard V-Y flap. The broad extensions of the V flaps encircled the defect from above and below. Skin incisions were made vertically down to the muscle fascia. Additional undermining was carried out to elevate the upper and lower extensions of the V flaps for a distance that equaled the radius of the defect. The upper and lower extensions of the V flap on one side were transposed into the defect and sutured to the concave base of the opposing flap V flap at its midpoint. These extensions were then sutured to each other. The extensions of the opposing V flap were then transposed into the defect; the upper being superior and the lower being inferior to the extensions of the first flap. The rest of the operation was completed by advancement of the V flaps and closure in a Y configuration. The efficient redistribution of available tissue by the combined use of transposition and advancement principles resulted in the repair of relatively large skin defects with reduced tension along the closure. Satisfactory results were obtained in all patients in this series without any surgical complication.

Internal calvarial bone distraction in rabbits with delayed-onset coronal suture synostosis.

Recent studies have identified a subpopulation of craniosynostotic individuals who exhibit progressive or delayed-onset synostosis and mild craniofacial growth abnormalities. These individuals may be good candidates for nonextirpation, distraction osteogenesis therapy. The present study was designed to test this hypothesis by using internal calvarial bone distraction in a rabbit model with familial delayed-onset craniosynostosis. Data were collected from 159 rabbits: 71 normal controls, 72 with delayed-onset coronal suture synostosis, 8 with delayed-onset coronal suture synostosis and coronal suturectomy, and 8 with delayed-onset coronal suture synostosis and distraction. At 10 days of age, all rabbits had amalgam markers placed on both sides of the frontonasal, coronal, and anterior lambdoidal sutures. At 25 days of age, correction was accomplished through either a 5-mm-wide suturectomy or distraction osteogenesis. An internal distraction appliance was fixed to the frontal and parietal bones and percutaneously and intermittently activated at an average of 0.10 mm/day for 42 days (4.11 mm total). Serial radiographs were taken at 10, 25, 42, and 84 days of age. Results revealed that rabbits with delayed-onset synostosis had significantly (p < 0.01) reduced coronal suture growth rates (0.04 mm/day) compared with the other three groups (0.07 mm/day). Rabbits with suturectomy and rabbits with distraction showed similar coronal suture responses. However, from 42 to 84 days of age, rabbits with distraction showed reduced growth at the vault sutures and abnormal growth patterns in cranial vault width, cranial vault shape, and cranial base angulation compared with the other three groups. Results demonstrated that, although the normal coronal suture growth rate was maintained in rabbits with delayed-onset synostosis using intermittent distraction osteogenesis, normal adult craniofacial structure was not achieved. Such anomalous growth was probably a result of altered growth vectors and compressive forces at adjacent sutures during distraction. These findings suggest that distraction osteogenesis without corticotomy may be a treatment alternative in individuals with progressive, delayed-onset synostosis, but that internal appliances that generate low-level, continuous distractive forces should be investigated and developed.

Penile reconstruction in children using a double vascular pedicle composite groin flap.

The purpose of this report is to describe the use of a double vascular pedicle composite groin flap for penile reconstruction in children. The flap was composed of skin, soft tissue and iliac crest bone. Both deep and superficial circumflex iliac vessels were included in the pedicle to ensure a well-vascularized extended skin and bone in the flap. The procedure was carried out in two stages to allow for the prefabrication of a neourethra which was reconstructed in the flap using a full-thickness skin graft, prior to the transfer of the flap. The large skin island and bone with a dual blood supply enabled reconstruction of the penis of appropriate size and stiffness without vascular compromise. Two boys, aged 8 and 10 years, were treated successfully with this method and followed clinically for 4-12 months.

A rabbit model of human familial, nonsyndromic unicoronal suture synostosis. I. Synostotic onset, pathology, and sutural growth patterns.

Poswillo has stated, "The more severe anomalies of the calvaria, such as plagiocephaly, Crouzon [syndrome], and Apert syndrome still defy explanation, in the absence of an appropriate animal system to study" (p. 207). This two-part study reviews data from a recently developed colony of New Zealand white rabbits with familial, nonsyndromic unilateral coronal suture synostosis. Part 1 presents pathological findings and compensatory sutural growth data from 109 normal rabbits and 82 craniosynostotic rabbits from this colony. Synostotic foci, onset, and progression were described in the calvariae from 102 staged (fetal days 21, 25, 27, 33; term = 30 days) fetuses (39 normal, 63 synostosed). Calvarial suture growth patterns from 10 to 126 days of age were assessed from serial radiographs obtained from 89 rabbits (70 normal rabbits and 19 rabbits with unicoronal suture synostosis) with amalgam bone marker implants. Perinatal results revealed that by fetal day 25 the synostotic focal point in synostotic rabbits consistently originated from the endocortical surface of the calvaria in the middle of the coronal suture at a presumed high-tension, interdigitating zone. Histological analysis revealed hyperostotic osteogenic fronts on the affected side compared with the unaffected side. Postnatal sutural growth data revealed a predictable pattern of plagiocephaly (contralateral coronal sutures growing more than ipsilateral sutures and ipsilateral frontonasal and anterior lambdoidal sutures growing more than contralateral sutures), which resulted in early cranial vault deformities and a double "S" shape torquing towards the affected side. The advantages and disadvantages of these rabbits as a model for human familial, nonsyndromic unicoronal suture synostosis are discussed, especially in light of recent cytokine and genetic findings from human craniosynostotic studies.

A rabbit model of human familial, nonsyndromic unicoronal suture synostosis. II. Intracranial contents, intracranial volume, and intracranial pressure.

This two-part study reviews data from a recently developed colony of New Zealand white rabbits with familial, nonsyndromic unilateral coronal suture synostosis, and this second part presents neuropathological findings and age-related changes in intracranial volume (ICV) and intracranial pressure (ICP) in 106 normal rabbits and 56 craniosynostotic rabbits from this colony. Brain morphology and anteroposterior length were described in 44 rabbit fetuses and perinates (27 normal; 17 synostosed). Middle meningeal artery patterns were qualitatively assessed from 2-D PCC MRI VENC scans and endocranial tracings from 15, 126-day-old rabbits (8 normal, 7 rabbits with unicoronal synostosis). Brain metabolism was evaluated by assessing 18F-FDG uptake with high-resolution PET scanning in 7, 25-day-old rabbits (3 normal, 4 with unicoronal or bicoronal synostosis). Intracranial contents and ICV were assessed using 3-D CT scanning of the skulls of 30 rabbits (20 normal,10 with unicoronal synostosis) at 42 and 126 days of age. Serial ICP data were collected from 66 rabbits (49 normal; 17 with unicoronal synostosis) at 25 and 42 days of age. ICP was assessed in the epidural space using a Codman NeuroMonitor microsensor transducer. Results revealed that cerebral cortex morphology was similar between normal and synostosed fetuses around the time of synostosis. Significantly (P<0.05) decreased A-P cerebral hemisphere growth rates and asymmetrical cortical remodeling were noted with increasing age in synostotic rabbits. In addition, rabbits with unicoronal suture synostosis exhibited asymmetrical middle meningeal artery patterns, decreased and asymmetrical brain metabolism, a "beaten-copper" intracranial appearance, significantly (P<0.05) decreased ICV, and significantly (P<0.01) elevated ICP compared with normal control rabbits. The advantages and disadvantages of these rabbits as a model for human familial, nonsyndromic unicoronal suture synostosis are discussed, especially in light of recent clinical neuropathological, ICV, and ICP findings recorded in human craniosynostotic studies.