The use of Fibrin Sealants in Reducing Drain Output in Abdominoplasty: Is it Useful?

Background: Abdominoplasty is a common surgical procedure in which excess abdominal skin and fat are reduced to improve body contouring. Fibrin sealant has been proposed to reduce postsurgical bleeding and exudation. In this study, we evaluated whether there was a significant statistical difference in surgical output between the use of fibrin glue and its nonuse in abdominoplasty surgery, specifically in reducing bleeding and exudation. Material and methods: A retrospective chart review of 68 postbariatric abdominoplasty patients (58 females, 10 males) was performed. We divided the patients into Group A (30 cases, 44%), in which we used fibrin sealant, and Group B (38 cases, 56%), in which we did not use fibrin glue. We calculated the total amount of liquid in suction drainages until the day of their removal. Statistical analysis included the independent t-test with a significance level of 0.05. Results: The average drainage output in Group A was 620.0 ± 375.0 mL, whereas in Group B, it was 500.0 ± 290.0 mL. Results indicate an insignificant correlation between the use of fibrin glue and the amount of liquid in the surgical drains (t = 1.52, p = 0.13). The result is not significant at p <.05 according to the independent t-test. Conclusion: The use of fibrin sealant surely has a high value in all surgical branches to reduce postoperative complications, but in our study, we did not find any advantages in its use for reducing surgical drain output in abdominoplasty patients.

Seasonal effects on hematological and innate immune parameters in sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax.

The temperate aquatic environment is affected by two primary components of season, temperature and photoperiod, during the annual cycle. Many organisms respond to seasonal change physiologically, behaviorally or both. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of seasonality on cortisol, hematological and innate immune parameters in European sea bass reared under traditional semi-intensive aquaculture. Sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) were reared in an outdoor pond and serum cortisol, hematocrit, leucocrit, serum lysozyme activity and total glutathione were bimonthly monitored over a 14-months period. The effect of seasonality was observed for all parameters carried out, with generally higher values in summer and lower in winter. These results could improve the understanding of the influence of seasonal cues on the immune system and hematological parameters in fish in order to optimize the husbandry practices.

Health technology assessment through the six sigma approach in abdominoplasty: Scalpel vs electrosurgery.

Abdominoplasty is a surgical procedure conducted to reduce excess abdominal skin and fat and improve body contouring. Despite being commonly performed, it is associated with a risk of complications such as infection, seroma, haematoma and wound dehiscence. To reduce the incidence of complications, different methods are used to create the abdominal flap, i.e., incision with a scalpel or electrosurgery. In this study, health technology assessment (HTA) using the Six Sigma methodology was conducted to compare these incision techniques in patients undergoing abdominoplasty. Two consecutively enroled groups of patients (33 in the scalpel group and 35 in the electrosurgery group) who underwent surgery at a single institution, the University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", were analysed using the drain output as the main outcome for comparison of the incision techniques. While no difference was found regarding haematoma or seroma formation (no cases in either group), the main results also indicate a greater drain output (p-value<0.001) and a greater incidence of dehiscence (p-value=0.056) in patients whose incisions were made through electrosurgery. The combination of HTA and the Six Sigma methodology was useful to prove the possible advantages of creating skin incisions with a scalpel in full abdominoplasty, particularly a significant reduction in the total drain output and a reduction in wound healing problems, namely, wound dehiscence, when compared with electrosurgery, despite considering two limited and heterogeneous groups.

Fast ternary and quaternary breakup of the 197Au + 197Au system in collisions at 15 MeV/nucleon.

A new reaction mechanism of violent reseparation of a heavy nucleus-nucleus system, 197Au + 197Au, into three or four massive fragments in collisions at 15 MeV/nucleon has been observed. After reseparation, the fragments are almost exactly aligned, thus showing a very short time scale of the reseparation process, of about 70-80 fm/c.

Possibility to deduce the emission time sequence of neutrons and protons from the neutron-proton correlation function.

Experimental information has been derived from the neutron-proton correlation function in order to deduce the time sequence of neutrons and protons emitted at 45 degrees in the E/A = 45 MeV 58Ni + 27Al reaction.