Single-stage full-depth scalp reconstruction with Matriderm®: a clinical case report and a brief literature review.

Reconstructing scalp defects after basal cell carcinoma removal in elderly patients is challenging. This case report emphasizes Matriderm® as a successful alternative, addressing limitations of traditional methods. The application of Matriderm® in resource-limited scenarios adds insights to surgical literature, and its' usage addresses challenges in patients, contributing to surgical knowledge.

Development and internal validation of a clinical prediction model for serious complications after emergency laparotomy.

PURPOSE: Emergency laparotomy (EL) is a common operation with high risk for postoperative complications, thereby requiring accurate risk stratification to manage vulnerable patients optimally. We developed and internally validated a predictive model of serious complications after EL. METHODS: Data for eleven carefully selected candidate predictors of 30-day postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo grade > = 3) were extracted from the HELAS cohort of EL patients in 11 centres in Greece and Cyprus. Logistic regression with Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) was applied for model development. Discrimination and calibration measures were estimated and clinical utility was explored with decision curve analysis (DCA). Reproducibility and heterogeneity were examined with Bootstrap-based internal validation and Internal-External Cross-Validation. The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program's (ACS-NSQIP) model was applied to the same cohort to establish a benchmark for the new model. RESULTS: From data on 633 eligible patients (175 complication events), the SErious complications After Laparotomy (SEAL) model was developed with 6 predictors (preoperative albumin, blood urea nitrogen, American Society of Anaesthesiology score, sepsis or septic shock, dependent functional status, and ascites). SEAL had good discriminative ability (optimism-corrected c-statistic: 0.80, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.79-0.81), calibration (optimism-corrected calibration slope: 1.01, 95% CI 0.99-1.03) and overall fit (scaled Brier score: 25.1%, 95% CI 24.1-26.1%). SEAL compared favourably with ACS-NSQIP in all metrics, including DCA across multiple risk thresholds. CONCLUSION: SEAL is a simple and promising model for individualized risk predictions of serious complications after EL. Future external validations should appraise SEAL's transportability across diverse settings.

Gangrenous Cystitis: A Rare Case Report.

Gangrenous cystitis is a rare condition of the urinary bladder with bladder wall ischemia as the main etiopathogenic factor and constitutes a surgical emergency. The risk factors for this condition include diabetes mellitus, prolonged labor, and topical chemotherapy, and the condition must be immediately treated because of its high mortality rate. This report describes a rare case of a patient with gangrenous cystitis who underwent radical surgical treatment; the incidence, etiology, diagnosis, management, and outcomes are also discussed.

Prospective multicenter external validation of postoperative mortality prediction tools in patients undergoing emergency laparotomy.

BACKGROUND: Accurate preoperative risk assessment in emergency laparotomy (EL) is valuable for informed decision making and rational use of resources. Available risk prediction tools have not been validated adequately across diverse health care settings. Herein, we report a comparative external validation of four widely cited prognostic models. METHODS: A multicenter cohort was prospectively composed of consecutive patients undergoing EL in 11 Greek hospitals from January 2020 to May 2021 using the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA) inclusion criteria. Thirty-day mortality risk predictions were calculated using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP), NELA, Portsmouth Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the Enumeration of Mortality and Morbidity (P-POSSUM), and Predictive Optimal Trees in Emergency Surgery Risk tools. Surgeons' assessment of postoperative mortality using predefined cutoffs was recorded, and a surgeon-adjusted ACS-NSQIP prediction was calculated when the original model's prediction was relatively low. Predictive performances were compared using scaled Brier scores, discrimination and calibration measures and plots, and decision curve analysis. Heterogeneity across hospitals was assessed by random-effects meta-analysis. RESULTS: A total of 631 patients were included, and 30-day mortality was 16.3%. The ACS-NSQIP and its surgeon-adjusted version had the highest scaled Brier scores. All models presented high discriminative ability, with concordance statistics ranging from 0.79 for P-POSSUM to 0.85 for NELA. However, except the surgeon-adjusted ACS-NSQIP (Hosmer-Lemeshow test, p = 0.742), all other models were poorly calibrated ( p < 0.001). Decision curve analysis revealed superior clinical utility of the ACS-NSQIP. Following recalibrations, predictive accuracy improved for all models, but ACS-NSQIP retained the lead. Between-hospital heterogeneity was minimum for the ACS-NSQIP model and maximum for P-POSSUM. CONCLUSION: The ACS-NSQIP tool was most accurate for mortality predictions after EL in a broad external validation cohort, demonstrating utility for facilitating preoperative risk management in the Greek health care system. Subjective surgeon assessments of patient prognosis may optimize ACS-NSQIP predictions. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Diagnostic Test/Criteria; Level II.

Anatomical Variations of the Axillary Arch and Implications in Breast Surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Langer's axillary arch (AA), the most common anatomical variant in the axillary area of definite clinical significance. This is an updated review of the reported variations in the structure, highlighting its morphological diversity and its potential in complicating axillary lymph node biopsy, lymphadenectomy, or breast reconstruction. METHODS: A review of the literature concerning the AA published between 1812 and 2020 was performed using the PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Cochrane medical databases. The frequency, laterality, morphology, origin, lateral attachment points, vascularization, and neurosis of the AA were the parameters retrieved from the collected data. RESULTS: The prevalence of AA ranged from 0.8% to 37.5%. It is more often unilateral, muscular in nature, and extending from the latissimus dorsi to the pectoralis major. It is vascularized by the lateral thoracic vessels or the subscapular artery and innervated by the thoracodorsal nerve. CONCLUSIONS: Langer's AA, when present, may complicate surgical procedures in the area; therefore, every surgeon performing breast or axillary surgery should be aware of this entity and its variations to ensure maximal effectiveness and safety in the management of patients.

The Hellenic Emergency Laparotomy Study (HELAS): A Prospective Multicentre Study on the Outcomes of Emergency Laparotomy in Greece.

BACKGROUND: Emergency laparotomy (EL) is accompanied by high post-operative morbidity and mortality which varies significantly between countries and populations. The aim of this study is to report outcomes of emergency laparotomy in Greece and to compare them with the results of the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA). METHODS: This is a multicentre prospective cohort study undertaken between 01.2019 and 05.2020 including consecutive patients subjected to EL in 11 Greek hospitals. EL was defined according to NELA criteria. Demographics, clinical variables, and post-operative outcomes were prospectively registered in an online database. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors of post-operative mortality. RESULTS: There were 633 patients, 53.9% males, ASA class III/IV 43.6%, older than 65 years 58.6%. The most common operations were small bowel resection (20.5%), peptic ulcer repair (12.0%), adhesiolysis (11.8%) and Hartmann's procedure (11.5%). 30-day post-operative mortality reached 16.3% and serious complications occurred in 10.9%. Factors associated with post-operative mortality were increasing age and ASA class, dependent functional status, ascites, severe sepsis, septic shock, and diabetes. HELAS cohort showed similarities with NELA patients in terms of demographics and preoperative risk. Post-operative utilisation of ICU was significantly lower in the Greek cohort (25.8% vs 56.8%) whereas 30-day post-operative mortality was significantly higher (16.3% vs 8.7%). CONCLUSION: In this study, Greek patients experienced markedly worse mortality after emergency laparotomy compared with their British counterparts. This can be at least partly explained by underutilisation of critical care by surgical patients who are at high risk for death.

Double appendixes: A rare case report.

Anomalies of the appendix are rare, and one of the rarest is the double appendixes. Most anomalies of the appendix are observed in adults and are discovered incidentally during surgery that does not primarily involve the appendix. It is usually missed, often with life-threatening consequences.

Α modified temporalis transfer technique for facial paralysis in elderly patients.

INTRODUCTION: In patients with chronic facial palsy where the treatment by conservative means or only nerve grafting is no longer an option, reconstruction by dynamic procedures such as pedicled and/or free muscle transfer is required. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Five patients with chronic facial palsy were treaded by temporalis muscle transfer to the eye and mouth simultaneously. In four of them, the combined Gillies-McLaughlin technique was used, but for the fifth one, a modified technique was applied. RESULTS: In all patients, immediate and late postoperative clinical outcomes were satisfactory and improved their everyday quality of life. DISCUSSION: Depending on the duration of the disease, there are different techniques that can be used. For the chronic facial palsy in elderly patients, the muscle transfer has better results, and a self-developed algorithm give us the opportunity to choose the best possible treatment for each one of our patients. The modified technique was found to be better with less surgical time, and recovery period for the patients. CONCLUSION: All the patients were satisfied with the results. For the fifth patient that the modified technique applied, the healing process was faster, and the aesthetic and functional reanimation achieved easiest, with no donor-site morbidity, comparatively with the rest patients where the standard Gillies-McLaughlin technique was used.

Acute appendicitis as the first presentation of appendiceal metastasis of gastric cancer-report of a rare case.

Metastatic tumors of the appendix is a rare entity, whereas only limited data involving metastasis arising from gastric cancer has been reported. Herein, the case of gastric adenocarcinoma metastasis presenting as acute appendicitis is reported. A 53-year-old male, with a history of subtotal gastrectomy due to gastric adenocarcinoma 3 years before, was referred to the Emergency Department with symptoms of acute appendicitis. While this condition was confirmed intraoperatively, histology examination and comparison with the previously excised gastric specimen indicated that metastasis of gastric adenocarcinoma to the appendix was present. Metastatic appendiceal carcinoma arising from the stomach is an extremely rare condition, associated with poor prognosis. Aggressive treatment of the solitary lesion may present favorable results.

Biliary tract injuries after lap cholecystectomy-types, surgical intervention and timing.

Bile duct lesions, including leaks and strictures, are immanent complications of open or laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). Endoscopic procedures have gained increasing potential as the treatment of choice in the management of postoperative bile duct injuries. Bile duct injury (BDI) is a severe and potentially life-threatening complication of LC. Several series have described a 0.5% to 0.6% incidence of BDI during LC. Early recognition and an adequate multidisciplinary approach are the cornerstones for the optimal final outcome. Suboptimal management of injuries often leads to more extensive damage to the biliary tree and its vasculature. Early referral to a tertiary care center with experienced hepatobiliary surgeons and skilled interventional radiologists would appear to be necessary to assure optimal results.

A neural network-based novelty detector for image sequence analysis.

This paper proposes a new model of "novelty detection" for image sequence analysis using neural networks. This model uses the concept of artificially generated negative data to form closed decision boundaries using a multilayer perceptron. The neural network output is novelty filtered by thresholding the output of multiple networks (one per known class) to which the sample is input and clustered for determining which clusters represent novel classes. After labeling these novel clusters, new networks are trained on this data. We perform experiments with video-based image sequence data containing a number of novel classes. The performance of the novelty filter is evaluated using two performance metrics and we compare our proposed model on the basis of these with five baseline novelty detectors. We also discuss the results of retraining each model after novelty detection. On the basis of Chi-square performance metric, we prove at 5 percent significance level that our optimized novelty detector performs at the same level as an ideal novelty detector that does not make any mistakes.