Hide-and-seek: Neurotropes Plattenepithelkarzinom der periorbitalen Region - eine Fallserie und Übersichtsarbeit aktueller Literatur.

Das Plattenepithelkarzinom ist nach dem Basalzellkarzinom das zweithäufigste Malignom der Haut und wird vorwiegend an sonnenexponierten Stellen wie der Gesichtshaut diagnostiziert. Diese meist lokal destruktiv wachsende Malignität kann durchaus auch invasives Wachstumsverhalten, wie perineurale Ausbreitungsmechanismen, aufweisen. Das Plattenepithelkarzinom der periorbitalen Region ist in bis zu 14 % der Fälle mit perineuraler Invasion assoziiert. Vor allem in diesem Bereich birgt die anatomische Nähe zu den Hirnnerven das Risiko einer Progression Richtung zentrales Nervensystem, was mit einer schlechteren Prognose assoziiert ist. Der klinisch unauffällige Charakter dieser Entität resultiert oft in einer Verzögerung der definitiven Diagnosestellung, wodurch die vollständige Resektion und anschließende Rekonstruktion erschwert werden. Eine aufmerksame klinische Evaluierung kann bereits vor Erlangen histologischer Befunde Hinweise für ein perineurales Wachstum liefern. Neben fünf herausfordernden Fällen analysiert diese Arbeit Risikofaktoren, klinische als auch histologische Merkmale und Behandlungsoptionen des periorbitalen Plattenepithelkarzinoms mit perineuraler Invasion.

Hide-and-seek: Neurotropic squamous cell carcinoma of the periorbital region - a series of five cases and review of the literature.

Squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common malignancy of the skin after basal cell carcinoma and mainly found in sun-exposed areas such as the face. This mostly locally destructive malignancy may show invasive growth and insidious mechanisms of dissemination such as perineural invasion. Periorbital squamous cell carcinoma is associated with perineural invasion in up to 14 % of cases. Specifically in this region, the proximity to cranial nerves and therefore the associated risk of progression to the central nervous system are associated with poor prognosis. The clinically concealed character of this entity often leads to a delay in diagnosis and consequently makes complete resection and reconstruction demanding. Careful clinical evaluation often hints at perineural invasion before obtaining histology. Aside from presenting five challenging cases, this work analyzes risk factors, clinical as well as histological features, and treatment options for periorbital squamous cell carcinoma with perineural invasion.

Inferior pole length and long-term aesthetic outcome after superior and inferior pedicled reduction mammaplasty.

BACKGROUND: Long-term aesthetic results after reduction mammaplasty remain an important issue for evaluating the success of different techniques. Superior pedicled techniques are reported to maintain a better breast projection with less bottoming-out of the inferior mammary pole than inferior pedicled techniques. METHODS: The outcomes of 18 patients who had undergone the superior pedicled technique described by Pitanguy and 16 patients operated on using the inferior pedicled technique by Robbins were compared. RESULTS: The mean follow-up period was 49 months in the Pitanguy group and 35 months in the Robbins group. The distance between the inframammary crease and the inferior margin of the nipple-areola complex (NAC) showed a mean elongation of 3.3 cm (80.5 %) after the superior pedicled Pitanguy technique and 3.9 cm (92.9 %) after the inferior pedicled Robbins technique (p = 0.077). Using postoperative photographs, the overall aesthetic result after Pitanguy's technique was judged significantly better than the result after Robbins' technique (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Distinct postoperative elongation of the inferior mammary pole length must be considered in the preoperative marking for inferior and superior pedicled reduction mammaplasty. Guide values for the elongation can be used for planning unilateral adjustment reduction mammaplasty. To avoid bottoming-out of the inferior mammary pole, the NAC should be located at the level of the inframammary crease and the distance between the inframammary crease and the inferior border of the NAC should not exceed 4-4.5 cm. The definite position of the NAC should be decided after final shaping of the reduced breast toward the end of the operation. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE III: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article.

Long-term quality-of-life improvement in gastric banding patients from body-contouring surgery.

Following my prior study of long-term results after laparoscopic gastric banding concerning operative outcome and complications involving the gastric band itself, I now focus on long-term quality-of-life improvement in the same study group after body-contouring surgery. As determined from our electronic patient data system, 72 patients from the former study group subsequently sought body-contouring surgery at our hospital after successful weight loss. Patients were enrolled in a telephone interview and asked about their expectations and body image before and after postbariatric aesthetic surgery and how it altered their well-being in addition to the weight loss achieved with the gastric band. All patients undergoing postbariatric aesthetic surgery felt extremely uneasy with the hanging skin resulting from weight reduction. Patients cannot imagine the degree of dissatisfaction they will experience from the sagging skin that comes with weight loss. Hardly any patient expected fewer scars than he ultimately had after body-contouring surgery and reported an extreme improvement in body image. Gastric banding should not be performed without informing patients about the need for postbariatric body-contouring surgery, because most patients not forewarned suffer greatly from their body image after weight loss.

Breast and chest wall reconstruction with the transverse musculocutaneous gracilis flap in Poland syndrome.

Poland syndrome is a complex chest wall deformity with unilateral hypoplasia of the breast and pectoralis muscle, with a missing anterior axillary fold in its most common form. The authors report their combined experience and technique with the transverse myocutaneous gracilis flap to reconstruct the chest wall and breast either alone or simultaneously. Between June of 2004 and July of 2010, 11 patients (two male patients) were operated on and 14 flaps were transplanted. The authors found that the transverse myocutaneous gracilis flap proved to be a very valuable microsurgical alternative for reconstructing the chest wall and female breast in Poland syndrome with autologous tissue. The flap provides the surgeon maximal freedom of flap insetting for optimal symmetry together with a very inconspicuous donor site regardless of unilateral or bilateral harvesting.