Foreign body suture granuloma in canthal surgery: association with suture type.

PURPOSE: Foreign body suture reaction ("suture granuloma") is a complication faced by all surgeons. The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence and risk factors of suture granulomas in canthal surgery. METHODS: An IRB-approved retrospective review of medical records identified patients who had canthal surgery. Statistical analysis was performed on multiple data points to determine associations with granuloma formation. Summary statistics were reported as a mean and standard deviation for continuous variables, and as frequencies or proportions for categorical variables. Effect estimates were reported as odds ratios. A p-value of less than .05 was deemed statistically significant. RESULTS: A total of 758 procedures were included. Seven commonly used suture materials were encountered including uncoated polyester, polyester coated with polytetramethylene adipate (PTMA), nylon, polydioxanone, polyester coated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polypropylene, and polyglactin 910. Eighteen total granulomas were observed (2.4%). Fifteen granulomas were associated with uncoated polyester, two with polyester coated with PTFE, and one with polypropylene. The odds of developing a suture granuloma with uncoated polyester were 25.4 times as likely as polyglactin 910 (p = .04). The odds of developing a suture granuloma with a non-absorbable, braided suture were 23.2 times as likely as absorbable, braided suture (p = .04). There was no significant association identified between the other collected variables. CONCLUSIONS: Foreign body suture granulomas occur at a low rate following canthal surgery and can be largely avoided through careful selection of resorbable or monofilament sutures.

The PTIP-Associated Histone Methyltransferase Complex Prevents Stress-Induced Maladaptive Cardiac Remodeling.

Pressure overload induces stress-induced signaling pathways and a coordinated transcriptional response that begets concentric cardiac hypertrophy. Although concentric hypertrophy initially attenuates wall stress and maintains cardiac function, continued stress can result in maladaptive cardiac remodeling. Cardiac remodeling is orchestrated by transcription factors that act within the context of an epigenetic landscape. Since the epigenetic landscape serves as a molecular link between environmental factors (stress) and cellular phenotype (disease), defining the role of the epigenome in the development and progression of cardiac remodeling could lead to new therapeutic approaches. In this study, we hypothesized that the epigenetic landscape is important in the development of cardiac hypertrophy and the progression to maladaptive remodeling. To demonstrate the importance of the epigenome in HF, we targeted the PTIP-associated histone methyltransferase complex in adult cardiac myocytes. This complex imparts histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) methylation marks at actively expressed genes. We subjected PTIP null (PTIP-) mice to 2 weeks of transverse aortic constriction, a stress that induces concentric hypertrophy in control mice (PTIP+). PTIP- mice have a maladaptive response to 2wk of transverse aortic constriction (TAC)-induced pressure overload characterized by cardiac dilatation, decreased LV function, cardiac fibrosis, and increased cell death. PTIP deletion resulted in altered stress-induced gene expression profiles including blunted expression of ADRA1A, ADRA1B, JUN, ATP2A2, ATP1A2, SCN4B, and CACNA1G. These results suggest that H3K4 methylation patterns and the complexes that regulate them, specifically the PTIP-associated HMT, are necessary for the adaptive response to TAC.