Mesh abdominoplasty for rectus diastasis in women and men.

PURPOSE: Meshes clearly have improved outcomes for tissue approximation over suture repairs for incisional hernias. A knowledge gap exists as to the surgical complication rate and post-operative outcomes of a mesh rectus diastasis repair with a narrow well-fixed mesh that simultaneously narrows the rectus muscles and closes the widened linea alba. METHODS: Inclusion criteria for mesh abdominoplasty were patients who (1) underwent a retrorectus planar mesh for repair of rectus diastasis (2) did not have a concurrent incisional hernia and (3) underwent skin tailoring as part of a cosmetic aspect of their care. The primary endpoint was surgical site occurrence (SSO) at any time after surgery as determined with review of their office and hospital medical records. Secondary endpoints included the length and complexity of the return to the operating room for any reason, non-surgical complications, readmission, post-operative recovery, surgical site infection, recurrence/persistence of abdominal wall laxity, and soft tissue revision rates. RESULTS: SSO rate was 0% for the 56 patients who underwent this procedure. There were 40 women and 16 men. Superficial infections requiring oral antibiotics were required in three patients. One was a drain site erythema, one was for a superficial stitch abscess, and the third was for a mesh strip knot infection 6 months after the procedure. One patient underwent further tightening of the abdominal wall. Rates of soft tissue revision in the office for improved cosmesis were 23% in women and 6% in men. CONCLUSION: Repair of rectus diastasis with a narrow well-fixed mesh and concurrent skin abdominoplasty is a well-tolerated and reliable procedure with low recurrence and low SSO in the manner described. It is a procedure that works for both female and male pattern rectus diastasis, and has become our procedure of choice for moderate and severe rectus diastasis.

Experimental study of the characteristics of a novel mesh suture.

BACKGROUND: The failure of sutures to maintain tissue in apposition is well characterized in hernia repairs. A mesh suture designed to facilitate tissue integration into and around the filaments may improve tissue hold and decrease suture pull-through. METHODS: In vitro, the sutures were compared for resistance to pull-through in ballistics gel. In vivo, closure of midline laparotomy incisions was done with both sutures in 11 female pigs. Tissue segments were subsequently subjected to mechanical and histological testing. RESULTS: The mesh suture had tensile characteristics nearly identical to those of 0-polypropylene suture. Mesh suture demonstrated greater resistance to pull-through than standard suture (mean(s.d.) 4.27(0.42) versus 2.23(0.48) N; P < 0.001) in vitro. In pigs, the ultimate tensile strength for repaired linea alba at 8 days was higher with mesh suture (320(57) versus 160(56) N; P < 0.001), as was the work to failure (24.6(14.2) versus 7.3(3.7) J; P < 0.001) and elasticity (128(9) versus 72(7) N/cm; P < 0.001) in comparison with 0-polypropylene suture. Histological examination at 8 and 90 days showed complete tissue integration of the mesh suture. CONCLUSION: The novel mesh suture structure increased the strength of early wound healing in an experimental model. Surgical relevance Traditional sutures have the significant drawback of cutting and pulling through tissues in high-tension closures. A new mesh suture design with a flexible macroporous outer wall and a hollow core allows the tissues to grow into the suture, improving early wound strength and decreasing suture pull-through. This technology may dramatically increase the reliability of high-tension closures, thereby preventing incisional hernia after laparotomy. As suture pull-through is a problem relevant to all surgical disciplines, numerous additional indications are envisioned with mesh suture formulations of different physical properties and materials.

Safety issues in combined gynecologic and plastic surgical procedures.

OBJECTIVES: The combination of gynecologic and plastic surgery procedures in a single surgical setting is becoming increasingly common because it reduces the number of general anesthetics and shortens overall recovery time. The primary concern should be patient safety. METHODS: A MEDLINE search from 1980 to 2007 was conducted. Articles addressing combined gynecologic surgery with one of the various plastic surgical procedures of the abdomen (abdominoplasty, panniculectomy, and abdominal liposuction) were reviewed. The authors' comprehensive approach to the management of these patients was evaluated. RESULTS: A unique set of safety issues exists depending on the specific combination of procedures. A review of the literature is discussed, as well as recommendations for maximizing the aesthetic outcomes while optimizing patient safety. Preoperative planning, intraoperative concerns, and postoperative care are all addressed in detail. CONCLUSIONS: Using a team approach and employing the outlined strategies to minimize complications, combined plastic and gynecologic procedures can be performed safely in appropriate patients.

Surgical treatment of major vascular malformations localized to the flexor digitorum superficialis muscle: report of 3 cases.

Three cases of congenital arteriovenous malformations localized to the flexor digitorum superficialis presented to a single surgeon. In all three cases, the tumours were resectable with negligible morbidity to the upper extremity.

The use of targeted muscle reinnervation for improved myoelectric prosthesis control in a bilateral shoulder disarticulation amputee.

A novel method for the control of a myoelectric upper limb prosthesis was achieved in a patient with bilateral amputations at the shoulder disarticulation level. Four independently controlled nerve-muscle units were created by surgically anastomosing residual brachial plexus nerves to dissected and divided aspects of the pectoralis major and minor muscles. The musculocutaneous nerve was anastomosed to the upper pectoralis major; the median nerve was transferred to the middle pectoralis major region; the radial nerve was anastomosed to the lower pectoralis major region; and the ulnar nerve was transferred to the pectoralis minor muscle which was moved out to the lateral chest wall. After five months, three nerve-muscle units were successful (the musculocutaneous, median and radial nerves) in that a contraction could be seen, felt and a surface electromyogram (EMG) could be recorded. Sensory reinnervation also occurred on the chest in an area where the subcutaneous fat was removed. The patient was fitted with a new myoelectric prosthesis using the targeted muscle reinnervation. The patient could simultaneously control two degrees-of-freedom with the experimental prosthesis, the elbow and either the terminal device or wrist. Objective testing showed a doubling of blocks moved with a box and blocks test and a 26% increase in speed with a clothes pin moving test. Subjectively the patient clearly preferred the new prosthesis. He reported that it was easier and faster to use, and felt more natural.

Challenging abdominal wall defects.

BACKGROUND: We propose a simple algorithm for management of patients with challenging abdominal fascial defects. METHODS: The medical records of 64 patients with complicated abdominal wall defects representing a consecutive series by a single surgeon over a 4-year period were reviewed. Group I patients presented with massive fascial defects and closed wounds. They were reconstructed with autogenous tissue using either the separation of parts (SOP) procedure or free tensor fascia lata (TFL) grafts. Group 2 patients had fascial defects with open wounds. Wound closure was first accomplished with either STSG or primary skin closure over viscera. These patients, now "converted" into patients with closed wounds, were reconstructed months later as in group 1. RESULTS: Average defect size was 320 cm2. Wound closure was achieved in one procedure in all patients with open wounds. Time to discharge after this procedure averaged 9 days. The only morbidity of wound closure was skin graft donor site pain. Average time from temporary staged closure with skin grafts to definitive closure with autogenous tissue was 5 months. Repair of closed fascial defects with autogenous tissue was performed in 51 patients. Average time to discharge after autogenous tissue repair was 6.6 days. Recurrence of hernia was noted in 2 (3.9%) patients with an average follow-up of 24 months. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of challenging abdominal wall defects can be accomplished simply and safely utilizing the above surgical algorithm. Open wounds are converted into closed wounds and fascial defects are repaired with autogenous tissue. This treatment plan has proved to be effective in a wide variety of situations.

Microvascular surgery in a bloodless field.

Although tourniquets play an integral role in extremity surgery, no clear guidelines exist for the use of tourniquets in microsurgery. We undertook a study in 12 healthy volunteers to better understand the coagulation properties of blood distal to an inflated tourniquet. At a 15-min inflation time, blood distal to an inflated tourniquet clots faster than blood taken from the opposite arm after addition of exogenous thrombin (12.5 s vs 17.5 s, P < 0.0001). Neither fibrinopeptide A (FPA) levels nor tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) levels were different from those of controls. Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), an endogenous local anticoagulant, was slightly but significantly elevated in tourniquet blood. Although much remains to be understood, we believe that microvascular surgery in a bloodless field is safe and efficacious. Nine patients are presented who successfully underwent microvascular surgery in a bloodless field, using various types of extremity tourniquets.

Treatment of hostile midline back wounds: an extreme approach.

The basic principles of successful wound closure remain the same: careful preoperative evaluation, removal of underlying nonviable tissue, and well-vascularized soft-tissue coverage. Many complex or "hostile" back wound closures also require stabilization of the spine and a two-layered wound closure. The use of long arteriovenous fistulas with free tissue transfer provides an additional weapon for the treatment of these complex wounds.

Extent of surgical intervention in primary soft-tissue aspergillosis.

Primary invasive Aspergillus Infection of the soft tissue is rare and typically affects immunocompromised patients in several distinct patterns of clinical presentation. In general, the role of surgery in the treatment of this disease is the removal of infected or necrotic tissue to prevent dissemination and mortality. However, the specific surgical recommendations have varied widely among reports due to the varied clinical circumstances in each series. The authors present the case of a patient with a primary invasive Aspergillus infection. They review the reported surgical experience with this disease, and discuss outcomes and surgical approaches in the context of several variations in clinical presentation. In all situations, antifungal therapy and prompt surgical intervention are critical in treating these initially localized but potentially lethal infections. The extent of intervention can range from minor debridement to amputation, and is based on the presence of persistent immunocompromise, the presence and extent of tissue necrosis, and the rate of progression during antifungal therapy.

Combined arterial reconstruction and free tissue transfer for limb salvage.

PURPOSE: Lower-extremity arterial anatomy that is insufficient for successful vein bypass grafting and major proximal foot wounds often lead to leg amputation in patients with severe ischemia. Free tissue transfer, which can provide limb salvage in these patients after arterial reconstruction, was studied. METHODS: During a 45-month period, 21 patients who otherwise would have undergone leg amputation were treated with arterial bypass by means of vein grafting and free tissue transfer. Ages of the patients ranged from 40 to 73 years (average, 59 years); 18 of the 21 patients had diabetes mellitus; and all patients except one were men. Arterial reconstruction was performed from the femoral (nine of 21 patients) or popliteal artery (12 of 21 patients) to the posterior tibial (eight patients), dorsalis pedis (five patients), peroneal (three patients), popliteal (one patient), or anterior tibial artery (one patient), or directly to the free flap (three patients). The tissue transferred included latissimus dorsi (five patients), rectus abdominus (five patients), omentum (five patients), gracilis (two patients), radial forearm flaps (three patients), and a scapular flap (one patient). Foot defects were debrided, including the appropriate toe or transmetatarsal amputation, covered with the transferred flap, and then split-thickness skin grafted. Arterial flow for all flaps was through the vein grafts, with direct arterial anastomosis and with venous outflow through adjacent tibial veins. RESULTS: All 21 procedures were successful initially, without operative mortality, but three failed within 4 weeks because of uncontrolled infection (two) or embolization from a remote site (one) and required below-knee amputation. Grafts remained patent in 18 procedures, and follow-up of this cohort ranged from 1 to 45 months (mean, 13.3 months). Two patients died, one after 4 months and one after 6 months, of unrelated illness; at the time of death, they had functioning grafts. The remaining 19 patients are alive. Of these, 15 have patent arterial grafts, all viable free flaps. Thus, limb salvage was accomplished in 18 of 21 (86%) patients who otherwise would have required below-knee amputation. CONCLUSION: Patients destined for leg amputation despite aggressive traditional arterial bypass grafting methods can achieve limb salvage with the additional technique of free tissue transfer.

The effects of free fat grafts on the stiffness of the rat sciatic nerve and perineural scar.

We developed a new quantitative rat sciatic nerve model to test whether free fat grafts can reduce postoperative perineural scar formation. Epineurectomies of sciatic nerves were performed to create scar. The force required to distract the nerve a unit distance was measured after surgery to determine the time of maximal scar formation. Nerve stiffness normalized for rat weight was statistically greater at 2 months after the initial dissection (0.097+/-0.009 g/mm/g rat weight; n = 10 limbs) than rat limbs that had not undergone a previous dissection (0.075+/-0.012 g/mm/g rat weight). Perineural scar thickness was thicker at 2 months than the perineural tissue in preoperative controls. Free fat grafts decreased nerve stiffness at 2 months (0.078+/-0.012 g/mm/g rat weight) in comparison to the contralateral surgical control limb without a fat graft (0.094+/-0.014 g/mm/g rat weight). Free fat grafts reduced the strength of postoperative perineural scar in this surgical model; however, they were associated with an unexpected finding of substantial postoperative neuropathy.

Analysis of digital pulse-volume recordings with radial and ulnar artery compression.

The vascular noninvasive studies of 289 consecutive cardiac surgery patients were reviewed to better understand hand blood-flow physiology in an older population with vascular disease. The radial artery was found to be more important to pulsatile digital blood flow than the ulnar artery. In more than 20 percent of hands, the thumb and the index and fifth fingers lost pulsatile blood flow with radial artery compression at the wrist compared with only 5 percent with ulnar artery compression. The maintenance of pulsatile digital blood flow did not follow anatomic patterns of blood vessels previously presumed to be of paramount importance. The hand acts more like a single vascular bed than it does like two separate systems with a connecting arch.

Radial artery use in bypass grafting does not change digital blood flow or hand function.

BACKGROUND: Patient selection criteria have not been clearly established for use of the radial artery as a bypass conduit. To help establish such criteria, we measured changes in digital blood flow and hand function after radial artery removal. METHODS: Ninety-eight patients of the first 122 consecutive patients considered for radial artery harvest met predetermined criteria by vascular noninvasive studies to undergo removal of the radial artery. In 42 of these 98 patients, the radial artery was actually used as a bypass conduit; 28 of these 42 patients returned for noninvasive vascular studies, a critical review of hand function, and a hand symptom questionnaire. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the operated and nonoperated hands for digital-brachial indices, cold response, grip or pinch strength, digital two-point discrimination, or nine-hole peg tests. The patients had an increased incidence of a small amount of forearm numbness and tingling, but no increase of pain or cold intolerance. CONCLUSIONS: For properly selected patients, there are minimal changes in hand function after radial artery removal.

Risk factors in necrotizing fasciitis: a case involving Cryptococcus neoformans.

Necrotizing fasciitis is a destructive soft tissue infection that is most typically caused by group A streptococci or a combination of facultative and anaerobic bacteria. Patients at risk for the development of necrotizing fasciitis often have compromised immune function or poor tissue perfusion. This report describes a case of necrotizing fasciitis caused by Cryptococcus neoformans, a pathogen not previously associated with this primary destructive soft tissue infection. The process occurred in a patient at risk for the development of opportunistic infection. We briefly review the risk factors for the development of necrotizing fasciitis and the typical bacteriologic findings. Cryptococcal infections and their treatment are described. Despite the uncommon pathogen, the treatment of this patient followed established principles-prompt surgical intervention and systemic antimicrobial therapy tailored to the offending organisms.

Application of thrombin based fibrin glue and non-thrombin based batroxobin glue on intact human blood vessels: evidence for transmural thrombin activity.

An alternative method of uniting small diameter vessels to obtain tissue union while limiting the thrombogenic effect of suture placement at a vessel anastomosis involves the use of a thrombin based fibrin glue as a surgical sealant. This investigation addresses whether the in vitro application of a thrombin based glue (TG), or batroxobin glue (BG), a non-thrombin based glue made with the snake venom enzyme batroxobin, alters intravascular platelet deposition (PD) or cleaves blood fibrinogen, as measured by fibrinopeptide A (FPA) production, when the respective glue is applied to the external surface of an intact human placental artery or an artery with an anastomosis. When TG was applied to the adventitial surface of an intact vessel or an anastomosis (n = 7) of control and experimental vessels, there was a significant increase in intraluminal platelet deposition, an effect not realized with BG (n = 12, intact vessel TG p = 0.01, BG p = 0.66, anastomosis TG p <0.01, BG p <0.01). Both TG and BG significantly increased FPA levels when human whole blood was perfused through both intact vessels or vessels containing an anastomosis when compared to control vessels (intact vessel TG and BG p <0.01, anastomosis TG and BG p <0.01). Labelled thrombin studies document the rapid passage of thrombin through an intact vessel wall or vessels with an anastomosis when TG was applied to the adventitial surface of the vessel. The data suggest that TG and BG are drug delivery systems for their respective enzymes that either pass through or transfer a message across not only a surgically created anastomosis, but also an intact vessel wall.

The Charles procedure: misquoted and misunderstood since 1950.

The Charles procedure, named for Sir Richard Henry Havelock Charles, is an eponym for a surgical treatment of leg lymphedema. Sir Havelock led a fascinating life, with his travels taking him to India, the Afghan territories, and the Court of King George V of England. At the turn of this century, Sir Havelock published material describing a series of 140 consecutive patients treated successfully for scrotal lymphedema. In a book chapter published a decade later, entitled "Elephantiasis Scroti," Sir Havelock briefly described the treatment of leg lymphedema but did not document a single successful case report. The name of Sir Havelock Charles was absent from the literature until 1950, when Sir Archibald McIndoe attributed the treatment of leg lymphedema with radical excision and skin grafting to Sir Havelock. References to Charles for the treatment of leg lymphedema have proliferated since that time.