Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919): Approach to limb salvage therapy.

Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919) was the first female surgeon in the United States. Her upbringing and unique medical training led her to practice medicine in a way that was revolutionary for the time. During the Civil War, her approach to wound care rivaled the current standard of care. During an era that predated antiseptic surgical technique, she prioritized cleanliness and hygiene. She opposed amputation for its surgical risks and decreased postoperative quality of life. She believed that many wounds, when appropriately attended to, would heal without amputation. She advocated for patients who she believed did not require amputations and counseled them on their rights to refuse surgical care.

Two-Team Surgical Approach to Improve Retroperitoneal Nerve Identification in the Treatment of Groin Pain.

BACKGROUND: An estimated 700,000 groin hernia repairs are performed in the United States each year. Studies have shown that up to 50% of patients who undergo groin hernia repair are affected by persistent pain beyond the first few days after surgery. At 2 to 5 years after either open or laparoscopic, mesh or without mesh, 10% to 12% of these patients will have persistent and disabling pain. If the ilioinguinal, iliohypogastric, or genitofemoral nerves are injured below the transversalis muscle layer, the traditional external, open approach to nerve resection will not help these patients. The traditional internal, laparoscopic, approach to the retroperitoneum can be used for nerve resection, but identification of the correct nerve is difficult. Therefore, we have developed a 2-team, dual approach, combining open and endoscopic approaches to solve this problem. METHODS: A retrospective review of the electronic medical records was performed to identify all patients who underwent a dual approach for groin denervation after persistent postherniorraphy pain. This dual approach included an external incision paired with a laparoscopic, retroperitoneal approach to identify and/or transect the ilioinguinal, iliohypogastic, lateral femoral cutaneous, and genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve. Inclusion criteria are persistent groin pain with alleviation after preoperative nerve block and either a failed attempt at an external approach groin denervation or pain after a primary laparotomy/laparoscopy procedure. RESULTS: Thirteen patients met the inclusion criteria. All patients underwent a dual approach, and nerves were identified and confirmed in both the external groin and laparoscopic approaches. When placed on a scale from excellent/good to fair/poor relief of pain, 10 patients (77%) described excellent/good relief and 3 (23%) continued to have persistent pain. CONCLUSIONS: A combined open surgical procedure, to identify the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, and a laparoscopic procedure in the retroperitoneum have demonstrated the feasibility of this approach to identify correctly the nerve to be resected to relieve disabling groin pain.

Anatomic variability of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve: Value of 3T MRI in identifying anomaly for surgical intervention.

The anatomic variability of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFC) creates diagnostic as well as therapeutic problems. A case is reported in which a woman with complaints of pain in the anterior and lateral thigh was referred for evaluation. Symptoms arose after an abdominal hysterectomy. Her symptoms were the territory of the LFC and not of the L2/L3 dermatome. She had a Tinel sign that was positive for the LFC skin territory, but this was located over the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS), instead of medial to it. For this reason, a 3-Tesla MR neurography imaging was obtained. This showed the LFC as crossing over the ASIS, instead of being located either within or beneath the inguinal ligament. MRI imaging facilitated successful surgical treatment. This is the first report of the MR neurography and intraoperative appearance of this least common anatomic course for the LFC.

Pain after breast surgery: Etiology, diagnosis, and definitive management.

BACKGROUND: Breast procedures are among the most common surgeries performed by Plastic Surgeons. The prevalence of persistent pain remains unknown. Our experience has been that persistent breast pain is often related to intercostal nerve trauma. The purpose of this article was to increase awareness of this problem while describing the diagnostic and management strategies for patients with post-operative breast pain. METHODS: A retrospective review of 10 patients with breast pain was stratified according to the index surgical procedures: implant-based reconstruction (7), breast reduction (1), breast augmentation (1), and mastopexy (1). Outcomes were assessed with a numerical analog score. Physical examination demonstrated painful trigger points along the pathway of one or more intercostal nerves. Prior to surgery, each patient improved ≥5 points after a diagnostic Xylocaine/Marcaine local anesthesia block of the suspected intercostal nerves. At surgery, one or more intercostal nerves were resected and implanted into adjacent muscles. RESULTS: At a mean of 16.5 months, there were six excellent, one good, and three poor self-reported results. Intercostal nerves resected included the intercostal-brachial (5 patients), 3rd (7 patients), 4th (8 patients), 5th (9 patients), 6th (7 patients), and 7th (1 patient). Multiple intercostal nerves were resected as follows: 3 nerves (4 patients), 4 nerves (1 patient), 5 nerves (3 patients), 6 nerves (1 patient), and 8 nerves (1 patient). CONCLUSIONS: Intercostal neuromas can be the source of breast pain following breast surgery. The same clinical and diagnostic approach used for upper and lower extremity neuroma pain can be used in patients with breast pain. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microsurgery 36:535-538, 2016.