RESUMO
The anatomical variations of arterial axes of the upper limb are not uncommon and must be known to allow for safe surgical procedures and in order to limit the morbidity of these procedures. The superficial ulnar artery represents, after the variations in origin of the radial artery, the second most frequent variation in this area. When present, reconstructive procedures may be modified, especially when harvesting forearm free flaps, in order to choose this vessel as nourishing pedicle. The authors present the case of a superficial ulnar artery revealed intraoperatively while harvesting a radial forearm free flap, and a review of their cases in order to assess the frequency of this variation, and correlate it to literature.
Assuntos
Antebraço/irrigação sanguínea , Artéria Ulnar/anormalidades , Antebraço/patologia , Antebraço/cirurgia , Retalhos de Tecido Biológico , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Procedimentos de Cirurgia Plástica , Coleta de Tecidos e Órgãos , Artéria Ulnar/patologia , Artéria Ulnar/cirurgia , Artéria Ulnar/transplanteRESUMO
INTRODUCTION: A retrospective preliminary study assessed the feasibility of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in the management of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) of the head and neck. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twelve patients with stage I or II head and neck MCC underwent SLNB over a 4-year period. RESULTS: Only 1 of the 12 patients had a positive SLNB. The sentinel node was not identified in 3 patients. Two of the 8 patients with negative SLNB showed regional lymph node recurrence within 2years. One patient died during follow-up. CONCLUSION: Merkel cell carcinoma is an uncommon but highly aggressive pathology; management protocols have been based on small series. The role of SLNB in the management of MCC remains to be defined.