Management of complications of injectable silicone.

Soft tissue augmentation is a common procedure, and a wide variety of injectable fillers are used. Liquid injectable silicone (LIS) was the first highly popularized injectable filler. LIS is a permanent filler and can be used in the correction of facial furrows and wrinkles. Some complications are inherent to the procedure and can resolve spontaneously, such as redness, swelling, and immediate hypersensitivity reactions. Unintended reactions, such as granulomas, infections, vascular occlusion, can also follow the treatment with LIS and may appear several years after the injections. These can be difficult to manage, show little or no tendency to spontaneous resolutions, and rarely resolve completely. Injecting physicians must be aware of these potential complications caused by LIS because early medical care and treatment, including psychological support for these patients, can minimize the consequences for patients and physicians, and may also help obtaining better outcomes when treating complications.

Aortic isthmus blood flow in fetuses of diabetic mothers.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that the aortic isthmus flow index (IFI) is lower in fetuses of diabetic mothers than in fetuses of nondiabetic mothers. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a cross-sectional observational study to assess the IFI in fetuses, with (n = 13) and without (n = 37) myocardial hypertrophy, of mothers with diabetes mellitus and in fetuses of nondiabetic mothers (n = 23). Analysis of variance and Tukey test were used to assess differences among the groups. RESULTS: There were no differences in maternal or gestational age among the groups. In fetuses of diabetic mothers, the mean IFI in fetuses with myocardial hypertrophy was 1.19 ± 0.06, and in fetuses without it was 1.18 ± 0.09. The mean IFI in fetuses of nondiabetic mothers was 1.32 ± 0.07 (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The IFI in fetuses of diabetic mothers is lower than in fetuses of nondiabetic mothers, possibly as a result of a decreased left ventricular compliance.

Behavior of pulmonary venous flow during fetal respiratory movements.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that fetal pulmonary venous flow pulsatility index is lower during fetal respiratory movements than in apnea. DESIGN: Case control. SETTINGS/PATIENTS: Twenty-two normal fetuses of mothers without systemic disease were examined in apnea (controls) and in the presence of fetal respiratory movements (cases). Fetuses were examined by prenatal Doppler echocardiography with color flow mapping. The pulsatility index of the pulmonary vein was obtained by placing the pulsed Doppler sample volume over the right upper or left lower pulmonary vein, and calculating the ratio (maximum velocity [systolic or diastolic]-presystolic velocity/mean velocity). RESULTS: Mean gestational age was 28.9 +/- 2.9 weeks. During fetal apnea, mean systolic, diastolic, and presystolic velocities were, respectively, 0.35 +/- 0.08 m/s, 0.26 +/- 0.07 m/s, and 0.09 +/- 0.03 m/s. In the presence of fetal respiratory movements, mean systolic, diastolic, and presystolic velocities were, respectively, 0.33 +/- 0.1 m/s, 0.28 +/- 0.08 m/s, and 0.11 +/- 0.04 m/s. Pulsatility index pulmonary vein in apnea was 1.25 +/- 0.23 (1.69 to 0.82), and during fetal respiratory movements it was 0.97 +/- 0.2 (1.53 to 0.61). CONCLUSION: We showed a significant reduction in impedance of pulmonary venous flow, represented by pulmonary vein pulsatility index, during fetal respiratory movements, reflecting modifications of the left atrial dynamics and enhancement of left ventricular compliance.