Iatrogenic Full-Thickness Frostbite Injury Caused by the Use of a Conductive Cooling Device.

Reports of iatrogenic cold thermal injuries are rare in the literature. Conductive cooling devices, typically employed for their neuroprotective effects, use conductive hydrogel pads to achieve rapid and precise temperature control approaching the level of water immersion. Despite a number of built-in safeguards, prolonged or improper use of these devices can lead to significant thermal injury. To the best of their knowledge, the authors describe the first report of a significant iatrogenic full-thickness injury caused by the use of a surface cooling system in a patient who had recently suffered a cerebrovascular accident. The patient required transfer to the authors' tertiary burn care facility for excisional debridement and coverage with extensive split-thickness skin grafting to the chest, flank, and thighs. The grafts achieved nearly complete take and the patient was ultimately discharged to a rehabilitation facility with improving neurological condition.

Relationships Between 3 Classification Systems in Brachial Plexus Birth Palsy.

BACKGROUND: The Mallet scale, Active Movement Scale (AMS), and Toronto Test are validated for use in children with brachial plexus birth palsy (BPBP). However, the inability to compare these evaluation systems has led to difficulty gauging treatment efficacy and interpreting available literature in which multiple scoring systems are reported. Given the critical importance of physical examination, we compared 3 scoring systems to clarify statistical relationships between current validated evaluation methods. METHODS: The medical records of children with BPBP treated at a single institution over a 14-year period were retrospectively reviewed. Modified Mallet, AMS, and Toronto scores were recorded throughout the entire period. Data were included if at least 2 complete scoring systems were documented during the same examination session. Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated for all composite and subscore combinations. A concordance table was constructed for select variables found to be highly correlated. RESULTS: Total single-session score combinations were as follows: 157 Mallet and AMS, 325 AMS and Toronto, and 143 Mallet and Toronto. Composite AMS and Toronto scores were found to have a strong correlation (r=0.928, P<0.001). A concordance table comparing these variables revealed that a Toronto score of 3.5 is concordant to an AMS score of 45. Modified Mallet scores had only a moderate correlation with composite AMS (r=0.512, P<0.001) and Toronto (r=0.458, P<0.001) scores. Specifically regarding the modified Mallet score, maneuvers requiring external rotation had stronger correlations with the composite modified Mallet score than maneuvers highlighting internal rotation. CONCLUSIONS: Modified Mallet scores do not correlate well with AMS or Toronto scores and should be utilized separately when managing children with BPBP. Similarly, AMS and Toronto scores are inadequate to guide clinical decisions for which the literature cites Mallet scores as outcome measures, and vice versa. Lastly, Mallet scores should incorporate an isolated internal rotation component to adequately assess midline function. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Diagnostic level III.

Economic Analysis of Cleft Palate Repair in International Adoptees.

DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Major international tertiary care referral center for cleft palate repair. PATIENTS: One hundred thirty-eight patients at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia who had palate repair performed between 2010 and 2013, excluding syndromic patients, patients undergoing palate revision, and patients with incomplete payment information. INTERVENTIONS: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Fees and charges for procedures. RESULTS: Surgeon payment was significantly higher for international adoptees (Δ = $2047.51 [$128.35 to $3966.66], P = .038). Medicaid-adjusted surgeon payments averaged $1006 more for adoptees ([-$394.19 to $2406.98], P = .158). CONCLUSIONS: Hospital and anesthesiology costs for adoptee palate repair were highly variable but did not differ significantly from those for nonadoptees. Partly due to payer mix, surgeon reimbursement was somewhat higher for international adoptees. No difference in total payment was found.

Plastic surgery residency websites: a critical analysis of accessibility and content.

BACKGROUND: Medical students applying for plastic surgery residency utilize the Internet to manage their residency applications. Applicants often apply to many programs and rely on advice from colleagues, mentors, and information gathered from plastic surgery residency websites (PSRWs). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate integrated and combined PSRWs with respect to accessibility, resident recruitment, and education. METHODS: Websites from all 63 integrated and combined plastic surgery residencies available to graduating medical students during the 2013 academic year were available for study inclusion. Databases from national bodies for plastic surgery education were analyzed for accessibility of information. PSRWs were evaluated for comprehensiveness in the domains of resident education and recruitment. Residency programs were compared according to program characteristics using the Student t test and ANOVA with Tukey method. RESULTS: Of the 63 residencies available to graduating medical students, only 57 had combined or integrated program information on their PSRWs (90.5%). In the domain of resident recruitment, evaluators found an average of 5.5 of 15 content items (36.7%). As a whole, 26.3% of PSRWs had academic conference schedules, 17.5% had call schedules, and only 8.8% had operative case listings. For resident education, PSRWs provided an average of 4.6 of 15 content items (30.7%). Only 31.6% of PSRWs had interview schedules, 24.6% had graduate fellowship information, and 5.3% had information on board exam performance. Upon comparison, programs in the Midwest had more online recruitment content than programs in the West (47.1% vs. 24.2%, P < 0.01). Additionally, programs with a larger class of incoming residents (2 vs. 1) had greater online recruitment content (40.0% vs. 26.7%, P < 0.05). Larger programs with 3 integrated spots had more online education content than smaller programs with only 1 integrated spot (40.0% vs. 19.4%, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: PSRWs are often not readily accessible and do not provide basic information that allow residency applicants to use this recruitment tool effectively. The paucity of online content suggests PSRWs are underutilized as an educational and recruitment tool. These findings have implications for applicants and plastic surgery residency programs, and there may be future opportunity to utilize this tool more effectively.