Modified Vaginal Mesh Procedure with DynaMesh®-PR4 for the Treatment of Anterior/Apical Vaginal Prolapse.

(1) Background: Treating female pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is challenging. Surgical meshes have been used in transvaginal surgeries since the 1990s, but complications such as mesh exposure and infection have been reported. Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) mesh, known for its stability and non-reactive properties, has shown promise in urogynecological surgeries. (2) Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 27 patients who underwent a modified PVDF vaginal mesh repair procedure using DynaMesh®-PR4 and combined trans-obturator and sacrospinous fixation techniques. Additional surgeries were performed as needed. (3) Results: The mean operation time was 56.7 min, and the mean blood loss was 66.7 mL. The average hospitalization period was 4.2 days with Foley catheter removal after 2 days. Patients experienced lower pain scores from the day of the operation to the following day. Postoperative follow-up revealed that 85.2% of patients achieved anatomic success, with 14.8% experiencing recurrent stage II cystocele. No recurrence of apical prolapse was observed. Complications were rare, with one case (3.7%) of asymptomatic mesh protrusion. (4) Conclusions: The modified vaginal mesh procedure using DynaMesh®-PR4 showed favorable outcomes with a short operation time, low recurrence rate, rare complications, and improved functional outcomes. This surgical option could be considered for anterior and apical pelvic organ prolapse in women.

Changes in Cystoscopic Findings after Intravesical Hyaluronic Acid Instillation Therapy in Patients with Interstitial Cystitis.

(1) Background: Limited data showed changes in glomerulation in the bladder mucosa of patients with interstitial cystitis (IC) after intravesical hyaluronic acid (HA) bladder infusion. We aimed to investigate the above changes. (2) Methods: Medical records of IC patients were reviewed retrospectively, from January 2010 to October 2019. Patients who had received repeated cystoscopy after intravesical HA treatment were enrolled. The associations of multiple parameters, including the ages, symptoms, initial glomerulation stage, HA doses, and the interval period of repeated cystoscopy between the glomerulation change in the repeated cystoscopy were analyzed. (3) Results: Among the 35 patients, 9 cases (25.7%) showed better glomerulation grades in the repeated cystoscope (Group 1), 20 cases (57.1%) showed the same grades (Group 2), and 6 cases showed worse grades (Group 3). No difference was seen in the initial grades or treatment course among the three groups. The interval periods from the initial to the repeated cystoscopy of Group 1 were longer than Group 2 and Group 3 (p = 0.031). Group 3 presents an elder age trend than the other two groups. (4) Conclusion: Intravesical HA repaired bladder glomerulation in a small group of patients with IC. Prolonged treatment has potential benefits, while older age is possibly a negative factor. However, no strong correlation was found between the initial glomerulation grades or changes in glomerulation grades with clinical symptoms.

Comparison of the surgical outcomes of free flap reconstruction for primary and recurrent head and neck cancers: a case-controlled propensity score-matched study of 1,791 free flap reconstructions.

This study was designed to compare the outcome and analyze the operation-related risk factors in free flap reconstruction for patients with primary and recurrent head and neck cancers. A 1:1 propensity score-matched analysis of the microsurgery registry database of the hospital. The primary outcome of the free flap reconstruction had a higher failure rate in the recurrent group than the primary group (5.1% vs. 3.1%, p = 0.037). Among the 345 pairs in the matched study population, there were no significant differences between the primary and recurrent groups regarding the rate of total flap loss (3.5% vs. 5.5%, p = 0.27) and secondary outcomes. This study revealed that free flap reconstruction had a higher failure rate in the recurrent group than the primary group, but such a difference may be attributed by the different patient characteristics.

Comparison of the outcomes between free anteromedial thigh flap and anterolateral thigh flap in head and neck cancer reconstruction: Analysis of propensity-score-matched patient cohorts.

BACKGROUND: The anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap is a workhorse flap in head and neck cancer reconstruction. The anteromedial thigh (AMT) flap was developed as a rescue or alternative flap whenever the ALT flap is not available; however, the harvest of AMT flap seems to be more challenging in the sense that perforators have multiple variations. This study was designed to compare the outcome of the AMT and ALT flaps in head and neck cancer reconstruction. METHODS: A total of 1,547 ALT and 57 AMT flaps were used for head and neck cancer reconstruction between March 1, 2008 and February 28, 2017. Differences in patient and operative characteristics were compared between the patients undergoing AMT and ALT flap reconstruction. The primary outcome of the free flap was its survival or failure, while the second outcome was the associated complications. RESULTS: Compared to those who had ALT flap reconstruction, the patients who underwent AMT flap reconstruction had a higher rate of conditions that required reconstruction after previous cancer ablation and recurrence but a lower rate of primary cancer and deeply located cancer. Analysis of the 40 well-balanced pairs of propensity-score-matched patient cohorts revealed that the AMT flaps were associated with a significantly higher failure rate than the ALT flaps (15.0 vs. 0.0%, respectively; p = .026). CONCLUSION: This study revealed that AMT flaps were associated with a significantly higher failure rate than ALT flaps in head and neck cancer reconstruction in the cohort of total patients and the propensity-score-matched cohorts.

Association between operation- and operator-related factors and surgical complications among patients undergoing free-flap reconstruction for head and neck cancers: A propensity score-matched study of 1,865 free-flap reconstructions.

OBJECTIVE: Efforts have been devoted to clarify the possible factors related to postoperative complications in free-flap reconstruction. While patient-related factors have been widely discussed, studies regarding the operation/operator-related factors are rather limited in the literature. This study was designed to investigate the relationship between operation/operator-related factors and the surgical complications in free-flap reconstruction following head and neck cancer resection. METHODS: Data of 1,841 patients with a total of 1,865 free-flap reconstructions (24 double free-flap reconstructions) between March 2008 and February 2017 were retrieved from the registered microsurgery database of the hospital. The association of operation/operator-related factors (including flap length and length-width ratio, flap types, use of vein graft, opposite side microanastomosis, number of microanastomoses, operators, operator experience, and operation time) with surgical complications was assessed by 1:1 propensity score-matched study groups. RESULTS: After propensity score matching of the patient-related factors, the rate of vein grafting was significantly higher (0.6% vs. 2.2%, p = .038) and the operation time was longer (7.0 [5.8-8.5] vs. 7.4 [6.1-8.8] hr, p = .006) in the complication group. In addition, flap length and length-width ratio, flap types, opposite side microanastomosis, number of microanastomoses, operators, and operator experience were not associated with surgical complications. CONCLUSIONS: In a hospital that consisted of surgeons with high-volume or very-high-volume experience, the operators or operation experience were not significantly associated with the surgical complications. Only a longer operation time was associated with surgical complications in the patients who underwent free-flap reconstruction for head and neck cancer.

Risk factors and complications contributing to mortality in elderly patients with fall-induced femoral fracture: A cross-sectional analysis based on trauma registry data of 2,407 patients.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to identify the risk factors and complications associated with mortality in elderly patients with femoral fracture after a fall from the ground level. METHODS: This retrospective study reviewed data pertaining to elderly patients aged ≥65 years who were admitted into a Level I trauma center, between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2017. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent effects of univariate predictive variables on the occurrence of mortality. RESULTS: Of 2407 enrolled elderly patients, there were 42 mortal and 2365 survival patients. A greater percentage of fatal patients than survival patients had a head injury with abbreviated injury scale (AIS) score ≥ 2 in the head/neck region (4.8% vs. 0.7%, respectively; p = 0.042). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the age (odds ration [OR] 1.1, 95% confident interval [CI] 1.0-1.1, p < 0.001), pre-existence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) (OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.2-8.7, p = 0.023), and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) (OR 12.1, 95% CI 1.3-113.9, p = 0.029) were significant independent risk factors for mortality in elderly patients with a femoral fracture resulting from a ground level fall. The patients in mortality group had a significantly higher rates of pneumonia (OR 28.6, 95% CI 14.6-55.9, p < 0.001), respiratory failure (OR 68.7, 95% CI 32.2-146.4, p < 0.001), sepsis (OR 26.3, 95% CI 10.9-63.4, p < 0.001), and pulmonary embolism (OR 14.4, 95% CI 1.6-131.6, p = 0.002) than those in the survival groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified age, pre-existence of ESRD, and SAH as significant independent risk factors for mortality in elderly patients with femoral fracture in a fall. However, ESRD and SAH only contribute to the mortality in a small group of patients. In contrast, respiratory complications contributed greatly to mortality. Thus aggressive chest-protective measures are encouraged to decrease the respiratory complications associated with femoral fracture in elderly patients.

Systolic blood pressure lower than the heart rate indicates a poor outcome in patients with severe isolated traumatic brain injury: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: A systolic blood pressure (SBP) lower than the heart rate (HR) could indicate a poor condition in trauma patients. In such scenarios, the reversed shock index (RSI) is < 1, as calculated by the SBP divided by the HR. This study aimed to clarify whether RSI could be used to identify high-risk adult patients with isolated traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: This retrospective study reviewed 1216 hospitalized adult patients with isolated TBI at a Level I trauma center between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2015. The patients were grouped and analyzed according to RSI (<1 or ≥ 1). Subgroups of patients with severe TBI (Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] ≤ 8) or non-severe TBI (GCS > 8) were also compared. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. The odds ratios (ORs) of categorical variables were calculated by chi-square tests with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Mann-Whitney U-tests were used to analyze non-normally distributed continuous data. RESULTS: Among patients with isolated TBI, those with an RSI <1 had higher mortality (44.7% vs. 7.1%, OR: 10.5, 95% CI: 5.36-20.75; P < 0.001) than those with an RSI ≥1. An RSI <1 indicated a higher risk of mortality (OR: 5.1, 95% CI: 2.08-12.49; P < 0.001) in patients with severe isolated TBI but not in patients with non-severe isolated TBI (OR: 3.6, 95% CI: 0.45-28.71; P = 0.267). CONCLUSION: Patients with isolated TBI may be at risk for shock. In trauma patients with severe isolated TBI, an SBP lower than the HR indicates a poor outcome.

Artificial neural network approach to predict surgical site infection after free-flap reconstruction in patients receiving surgery for head and neck cancer.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to develop an effective surgical site infection (SSI) prediction model in patients receiving free-flap reconstruction after surgery for head and neck cancer using artificial neural network (ANN), and to compare its predictive power with that of conventional logistic regression (LR). MATERIALS AND METHODS: There were 1,836 patients with 1,854 free-flap reconstructions and 438 postoperative SSIs in the dataset for analysis. They were randomly assigned tin ratio of 7:3 into a training set and a test set. Based on comprehensive characteristics of patients and diseases in the absence or presence of operative data, prediction of SSI was performed at two time points (pre-operatively and post-operatively) with a feed-forward ANN and the LR models. In addition to the calculated accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity, the predictive performance of ANN and LR were assessed based on area under the curve (AUC) measures of receiver operator characteristic curves and Brier score. RESULTS: ANN had a significantly higher AUC (0.892) of post-operative prediction and AUC (0.808) of pre-operative prediction than LR (both P<0.0001). In addition, there was significant higher AUC of post-operative prediction than pre-operative prediction by ANN (p<0.0001). With the highest AUC and the lowest Brier score (0.090), the post-operative prediction by ANN had the highest overall predictive performance. CONCLUSION: The post-operative prediction by ANN had the highest overall performance in predicting SSI after free-flap reconstruction in patients receiving surgery for head and neck cancer.

Factors that affect outcomes of prolapse repair using single-incision vaginal mesh procedures.

AIMS: Single-incision vaginal mesh (SIVM) procedures for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) differed in mesh fabrication and implantation that may affect treatment outcomes. We aim to evaluate and compare the safety and effectiveness of two SIVM procedures, and explore factors that may have associations with surgical effectiveness. METHODS: Our data of using two SIVM procedures for a total (anterior and posterior) vaginal mesh repair were studied. Patients who had ≧stage 2 POP and underwent either Elevate (n = 85) using anchored, lightweight meshes or Prosima procedures (n = 95) using non-anchored, original meshes were assessed. A detailed comparison of 1 year outcomes was made. RESULTS: Of the 180 patients, 172 (95.6%) attended the 1-year follow-up. Demographic data were similar between groups except a higher average age (64.5 vs 60.4, P = 0.001) was noted in the Elevate (n = 84) group compared to the Prosima (n = 88) group. Surgical results were also similar except a significantly higher objective cure (POP stage ≦1) rate (89.3% vs 78.4%, P = 0.042) was noted in the Elevate group. The safety profile favored Elevate with a lower, but not statistically significant, rate (4.7% vs 12.5%, P = 0.106) of vaginal mesh exposure. After a statistical analysis, we found anatomic recurrence (POP stage ≧2) after the SIVM procedures had strong (P < 0.05) associations with "early surgical cases," "Prosima procedure," "advanced cystocele (Ba > +3 cm)," and "prior prolapse repair," respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Beyond a learning curve, Elevate performed better than Prosima in POP repair regarding surgical effectiveness. Meanwhile, several predisposing factors that may affect recurrence after SIVM procedures were found.

Association of Osteoporosis Self-Assessment Tool for Asians (OSTA) Score with Clinical Presentation and Expenditure in Hospitalized Trauma Patients with Femoral Fractures.

Background: A cross-sectional study to investigate the association of Osteoporosis Self-Assessment Tool for Asians (OSTA) score with clinical presentation and expenditure of hospitalized adult trauma patients with femoral fractures. Methods: According to the data retrieved from the Trauma Registry System between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2015, a total of 2086 patients aged ≥40 years and hospitalized for treatment of traumatic femoral bone fracture were categorized as high-risk patients (OSTA < -4, n = 814), medium-risk patients (-1 ≥ OSTA ≥ -4, n = 634), and low-risk patients (OSTA > -1, n = 638). Two-sided Pearson's, chi-squared, or Fisher's exact tests were used to compare categorical data. Unpaired Student's t-test and Mann-Whitney U-test were used to analyze normally and non-normally distributed continuous data, respectively. Propensity-score matching in a 1:1 ratio was performed using Number Crunching Statistical Software (NCSS) software (NCSS 10; NCSS Statistical Software, Kaysville, UT, USA), with adjusted covariates including mechanism and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS); injuries were assessed based on the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS), and Injury Severity Score (ISS) was used to evaluate the effect of OSTA-related grouping on a patient's outcome. Results: High-risk and medium-risk patients were predominantly female, presented with significantly older age and higher incidences of co-morbidity, and were injured in a fall accident more frequently than low-risk patients. High-risk patients and medium-risk patients had a different pattern of femoral fracture and a significantly lower ISS. Although high-risk and medium-risk patients had significantly shorter lengths hospital of stay (LOS) and less total expenditure than low-risk patients did, similar results were not found in the selected propensity score-matched patients, implying that the difference may be attributed to the associated injury severity of the patients with femoral fracture. However, the charge of surgery is significantly lower in high-risk and medium-risk patients than in low-risk patients, regardless of the total population or the selected propensity score-matched patients. This lower charge of surgery may be attributed to a less aggressive surgery applied for older patients with high or medium risk of osteoporosis. Conclusions: This study of hospitalized trauma patients with femoral fracture according to OSTA risk classification revealed that high-risk and medium-risk patients had significantly higher odds of sustaining injury in a fall accident than low-risk patients; they also present a different pattern of femoral bone fracture as well as a significantly lower ISS, shorter hospital LOS, and less total expenditure. In addition, the significantly lower charge of surgery in high-risk and medium-risk patients than in low-risk patients may be because of the preference of orthopedists for less aggressive surgery in dealing with older patients with osteoporotic femoral bone fracture.

Obese patients who fall have less injury severity but a longer hospital stay than normal-weight patients.

BACKGROUND: The effects of obesity on injury severity and outcome have been studied in trauma patients but not in those who have experienced a fall. The aim of this study was to compare injury patterns, injury severities, mortality rates, and in-hospital or intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS) between obese and normal-weight patients following a fall. METHODS: Detailed data were retrieved for 273 fall-related hospitalized obese adult patients with a body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m(2) and 2357 normal-weight patients with a BMI <25 kg/m(2) but ≥18.5 kg/m(2) from the Trauma Registry System of a Level I trauma center between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2013. We used the Pearson's chi-squared test, Fisher's exact test, the Mann Whitney U test, and independent Student's t-test to analyze differences between the two groups. RESULTS: Analysis of AIS scores and AIS severity scaling from 1 to 5 revealed no significant differences in trauma regions between obese and normal-weight patients. When stratified by injury severity (Injury Severity Score [ISS] of <16, 16-24, or ≥25), more obese patients had an ISS of <16 compared to normal-weight patients (90.5 % vs. 86.0 %, respectively; p = 0.041), while more normal-weight patients had an ISS between 16 and 24 (11.0 % vs. 6.6 %, respectively; p = 0.025). Obese patients who had experienced a fall had a significantly lower ISS (median (range): 9 (1-45) vs. 9 (1-50), respectively; p = 0.015) but longer in-hospital LOS than did normal-weight patients (10.1 days vs. 8.9 days, respectively; p = 0.049). Even after taking account of possible differences in comorbidity and ISS, the obese patients have an average 1.54 day longer LOS than that of normal-weight patients. However, no significant differences were found between obese and normal-weight patients in terms of the New Injury Severity Score (NISS), Trauma-Injury Severity Score (TRISS), mortality, percentage of patients admitted to the ICU, or LOS in the ICU. CONCLUSION: Obese patients who had experienced a fall did not have different injured body regions than did normal-weight patients. However, they had a lower ISS but a longer in-hospital LOS than did normal-weight patients.