A practical guide to reducing preoperative and intraoperative patient anxiety in dermatologic surgery.

BACKGROUND: Dermatologists perform a variety of procedures including excisions, biopsies, and other minor surgical procedures. Patients can experience anxiety in anticipation of their surgeries or may develop anxiety during the procedure. Since most dermatologic procedures occur with the patient awake and alert, the physician can offer comforting methods to alleviate some of that anxiety. AIMS: We wanted to provide a review of available methods that dermatologists can use to reduce patient anxiety. MATERIALS & METHODS: In this paper, we review the current literature on methods that can be used in dermatology offices to reduce overall patient anxiety levels. RESULTS: In the preoperative stage, providers can offer educational content to explain the procedure to their patients. Whether it be through telephone calls, educational videos, or utilization of visual models, educating the patient regarding their procedure may reduce their anxiety. Intraoperatively, there are multiple methods that can be used such as music, guided imagery, coloring books, medications, hypnosis, and distraction techniques. DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION: There is a variety of approaches that can be easily implemented in the office and can help in reducing the anxiety of the patients to allow for a pleasant patient experience and an overall satisfactory procedure outcome.

Utilizing perioperative patient positioning to correct intraocular lens implant subluxation.

Purpose: to describe how preoperative and intraoperative positioning techniques can be used to manage subluxed intraocular lenses (IOL) whilst saving patients from pars plana vitrectomy. Observations: An 88-year-old man with a complex past medical history including mild cognitive decline from early Alzheimer's dementia and pertinent ocular history of pseudoexfoliation syndrome and previous cataract surgery with IOL presented with decreased vision secondary to an inferiorly subluxed IOL/bag complex. The IOL was not visible in the operating room when he was supine but was visible in clinic the next day after he had slept in the prone position the night before. The patient was returned to the operating room the next day and a fixation suture was used to capture the IOL while he was upright. The IOL was then fixated to the sclera in standard position. Conclusions and Importance: Both pre and intraoperative positioning techniques can help anterior segment surgeons fixate subluxed IOLs that otherwise seem inaccessible from an anterior approach and thus avoiding the inherent risks associated with vitrectomy.

Prurigo Pigmentosa Following a Keto Diet and Bariatric Surgery.

Prurigo pigmentosa (PP) is a rare pruritic condition with idiopathic etiology that affects mostly females. It most commonly presents as a rash on the neck and trunk. We report the occurrence of PP in a young woman on two separate occasions; her first episode was following a ketogenic diet and second after undergoing a laparoscopic gastric sleeve surgery. This presents as a unique case because, to our knowledge, PP has only been reported in a small number of cases in the Western world. This presentation could be suggestive of a stronger relationship between PP and the metabolic state of the body. It also outlines the effectiveness of treatment options currently in use for treating PP.

Merkel Cell Carcinoma in the Setting of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, rapidly growing, and highly malignant cutaneous tumor that typically presents in elderly males as an erythematous or violaceous plaque or nodule in sun-exposed areas. Risk factors include long-term ultraviolet (UV) exposure, Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV) infection, immunosuppression, and lymphoproliferative disorders such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL). Given the aggressive nature of this tumor, patients may present with nodal and distal metastasis. Locoregional disease can be managed with definitive radiotherapy or surgery with or without adjuvant radiotherapy, depending on the case. Disseminated disease, on the other hand, often requires a multidisciplinary tumor board consultation to individually tailor the treatment. Possible treatments include systemic therapy with chemotherapy or immunotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. Here we report a case of a patient with a medical history significant for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma who presented with a rapidly growing lesion that contained neighboring MCC and CLL/SLL on biopsy. Management included immunotherapy with pembrolizumab and radiotherapy to limit the tumor's growth and spread. To the best of our knowledge, the coexistence of all three malignancies in a person is rare and has not been reported previously.