Evaluation of Esthetic Results after Mass Removal with Elliptical Skin Excision Using Ultrasonography to Measure Skin Thickness.

Background: The growth of benign cutaneous masses causes the overlaying skin to expand and become thinner, especially at the central, most projected point. In this retrospective study, a surgical technique comprising an elliptical skin excision was employed to account for these skin changes. Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 980 patients with benign masses. Preoperatively, all patients underwent ultrasonography to evaluate the mass depth and thickness of the attached skin, and mass excision was performed using the elliptical skin-excision method. The operative time was recorded, and complications and esthetic outcomes were assessed using the Cutometer® and the modified Vancouver Scar Scale (mVSS) during 1- and 3-month follow-up visits. Results: The mean operative time (17.48 ± 3.46 min) was significantly shorter than that of conventional methods (p < 0.05). Cutometer parameters showed no significant differences from those of intact skin. The average mVSS scores were 5.21 ± 1.42 and 3.50 ± 1.79 at 1- and 3-month follow-ups, respectively. Conclusions: Mass excision with an elliptical skin attachment resulted in improved esthetic results and easy removal. The attached skin enabled convenient handling without damaging the capsule or other adjacent structures, leaving a thick dermis on both wound edges. Thus, this technique resulted in minimal scarring.

A Comparison of the Prognostic Effects of Fine Needle Aspiration and Core Needle Biopsy in Patients with Breast Cancer: A Nationwide Multicenter Prospective Registry.

(1) Background: Breast core needle biopsy (CNB) is preferred over fine needle aspiration (FNA) as it has higher sensitivity and specificity and enables immunohistochemical evaluation. However, breast FNA remains widely used because of its low cost, minimally invasive nature, and quick results. Studies analyzing the effects of each test on the prognoses of patients with breast cancer are scarce and controversial, and the criteria for test selection remain unknown. (2) Methods: This study included adult female patients who underwent breast cancer surgery at 102 general hospitals. The trend of breast biopsies over time was analyzed, and the prognoses of patients with breast cancer who underwent CNB and FNA were compared. (3) Results: This study included 73,644 patients who underwent FNA (n = 8027) and CNB (n = 65,617). A multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that patients diagnosed using FNA had significantly worse overall survival (OS) and breast-cancer-specific survival (BCSS) than those diagnosed using CNB. In the subgroup analysis, patients with breast imaging reporting and data system (BI-RADS) 5 lesions, palpable tumors, or centrally located tumors had significantly worse OS and BCSS with FNA than with CNB. (4) Conclusions: CNB should be performed preferentially instead of FNA in patients with BI-RADS 5 lesions and nonpalpable or centrally located tumors.

Evaluation of the Pinhole Method Using Carbon Dioxide Laser on Facial Telangiectasia.

Facial telangiectasias are small, dilated blood vessels frequently located on the face. They are cosmetically disfiguring and require an effective solution. We aimed to investigate the effect of the pinhole method using a carbon dioxide (CO2) laser to treat facial telangiectasias. This study included 155 facial telangiectasia lesions in 72 patients who visited the Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University. Treatment efficacy and improvement were evaluated by quantitative measurements performed by two trained evaluators who assessed the percentage of residual lesion length using the same tape measure. Lesions were evaluated before laser therapy and 1, 3, and 6 months after the first treatment. Based on the initial lesion length (100%), the average percentages of the residual length at 1, 3, and 6 months were 48.26% (p < 0.01), 4.25% (p < 0.01), and 1.41% (p < 0.01), respectively. Complications were evaluated using the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS). The average POSAS scores improved from 46.09 at the first visit to 23.42 (p < 0.01), and 15.24 (p < 0.01) at the 3- and 6-month follow-up. No recurrence was noted at the 6-month follow-up. CO2 laser treatment using the pinhole method to treat facial telangiectasias is a safe, inexpensive, and effective treatment that provides patients with excellent aesthetic satisfaction.

Analysis and management of pathogens isolated from patients with complicated facial lacerations and abrasions.

Plastic surgeons commonly encounter patients with facial lacerations and/or abrasions in the emergency room. If they are properly treated, facial wounds generally heal well without complications. However, infection can sometimes cause delayed wound healing. We performed wound culture for the early detection of infection and to promote the healing of infected facial wounds. We included 5033 patients with facial wounds who visited the emergency room of Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital between January 2018 and February 2021. Among them, 104 patients underwent wound culture. We analysed the pathogens isolated and the patients' age, sex, wound site, mechanism of injury, wound healing time, time from injury to culture, time to culture results, and dressing methods used. Pathogens were isolated in slightly less than half of the patients (38.46%); among them, Staphylococcus epidermidis was the most common (47.5%). Methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci were isolated in six (15%) patients. Patients with complicated wounds had a longer mean wound healing time (10.83 ± 5.91 days) than those with non-complicated wounds (6.06 ± 1.68 days). Wound culture of complicated facial wounds resulted in the isolation of various types of pathogens, including antibiotic-resistant bacteria and fungi. We recommend the use of wound culture for early detection of infection to prevent delayed wound healing.

Survival of women with pregnancy-associated breast cancer according to clinical characteristics: A propensity score matching study.

In recent years, postponing childbearing has increased the prevalence of pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PABC). PABC has a poorer prognosis than breast cancer not associated with pregnancy (non-PABC) due to delayed diagnosis and aggressive subtype. Additionally, pregnancy itself predicts a poor prognosis; but, this is a subject of debate. Thus, we analyzed the effects of known prognostic factors and pregnancy on the prognosis of PABC. We retrospectively analyzed women aged 20 to 49 years who were diagnosed with breast cancer (BC) between 1989 and 2014. Patients were distributed into PABC and non-PABC groups, and 1:4 propensity score matching was performed to adjust for baseline characteristics. Primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and BC-specific survival (BCSS). Secondary endpoint was the difference in prognosis according to BC subtype. Of the 34,970 recruited patients with BC, 410 (1.2%) had PABC. Patients with PABC were younger and tended to have triple-negative BC (TNBC) subtype than non-PABC patients. The 1640 matched non-PABC patients showed a significantly worse mean survival rate than the unmatched non-PABC patients. Patients with PABC had a significantly worse OS and BCSS than those with non-PABC. In multivariate analyses, patients with PABC of luminal B (Ki-67 ≥14.0%) and TNBC subtypes had worse OS and BCSS than patients with non-PABC. Patients with PABC had poorer prognosis than non-PABC patients after adjusting for several prognostic factors. This difference was particularly significant in patients with the luminal B and TNBC subtypes.

The degradation of performance of a state-of-the-art skin image classifier when applied to patient-driven internet search.

Model Dermatology ( https://modelderm.com ; Build2021) is a publicly testable neural network that can classify 184 skin disorders. We aimed to investigate whether our algorithm can classify clinical images of an Internet community along with tertiary care center datasets. Consecutive images from an Internet skin cancer community ('RD' dataset, 1,282 images posted between 25 January 2020 to 30 July 2021; https://reddit.com/r/melanoma ) were analyzed retrospectively, along with hospital datasets (Edinburgh dataset, 1,300 images; SNU dataset, 2,101 images; TeleDerm dataset, 340 consecutive images). The algorithm's performance was equivalent to that of dermatologists in the curated clinical datasets (Edinburgh and SNU datasets). However, its performance deteriorated in the RD and TeleDerm datasets because of insufficient image quality and the presence of out-of-distribution disorders, respectively. For the RD dataset, the algorithm's Top-1/3 accuracy (39.2%/67.2%) and AUC (0.800) were equivalent to that of general physicians (36.8%/52.9%). It was more accurate than that of the laypersons using random Internet searches (19.2%/24.4%). The Top-1/3 accuracy was affected by inadequate image quality (adequate = 43.2%/71.3% versus inadequate = 32.9%/60.8%), whereas participant performance did not deteriorate (adequate = 35.8%/52.7% vs. inadequate = 38.4%/53.3%). In this report, the algorithm performance was significantly affected by the change of the intended settings, which implies that AI algorithms at dermatologist-level, in-distribution setting, may not be able to show the same level of performance in with out-of-distribution settings.

Effect of sedation using Ketamine for primary closure of pediatric facial laceration.

Pediatric lacerations are frequently encountered by plastic surgeons in the emergency room. Since pediatric patients cannot cooperate due to the anxiety and pain occurring during the suture procedure, sedation is induced. Since commonly used drugs inducing shallow sedation such as chloral hydrates are insufficient to perform procedures, the need or deep sedation has been increased. In our experience, inducing sedation with ketamine is safe and allows for accurate procedures. A total of 106 pediatric patients aged between 3 months to 5 years who visited the emergency room between August 2020 and January 2021 were included in this study. Of the 106 patients, 54 were sedated using ketamine, and the remaining 52 patients who did not cooperate were operated under local anesthesia, and these were set as the control group. The patients were intravenously injected with ketamine 1.5-2.0 mg/kg ketamine while monitoring the blood oxygen saturation, end-tidal CO2, and other vital signs. The patients were discharged as a complete awakening was confirmed by physicians. The number of patients who received sedation induced by ketamine was 54 and the number of patients who underwent the procedure without sedation was 52. The mean induction time of a single injection was 35.3 ± 11.3 minutes, and that of additional injection was 253.5 ±â€…54.1 minute. The total procedure time of the ketamine group was 20.3 ±â€…11.85 minutes, and that of the nonketamine group was 19.31 ±â€…10.50 minutes (P = .454). No statistically significant differences were found between the 2 groups. The need for sedation during the suture procedure in an emergenc9y room has been arising not only for reducing pain and anxiety, but also for safe and accurate procedures and scar minimization. Based on the parental satisfaction and the safety of the procedure, using ketamine is more effective than other drugs and should be used more actively.

Upper eyelid reconstruction using a combination of a nasal septal chondromucosal graft and a Fricke flap: a case report.

Sebaceous carcinoma is a malignant neoplasm that usually arises in the sebaceous glands of the eyelids. Its pathogenesis is unknown; however, irradiation history, immunosuppression, and use of diuretics are known risk factors. The mainstay of treatment for sebaceous carcinoma of the eyelid is wide surgical resection with a safety margin of 5 to 6 mm, which often results in full-thickness defects. The reconstruction of a full-thickness defect of the eyelid should be approached using a three-lamella method: a mucosal component replacing the conjunctiva, a cartilage component for the tarsal plate, and a flap or skin graft for the skin of the eyelid. In this case, a fullthickness defect of the upper eyelid was reconstructed after tumor removal using a combination of a nasal septum chondromucosal composite graft and a forehead transposition flap, also known as a "Fricke flap." The flap was designed to include a line of the eyebrow on the lower margin of the flap to replace the eyelash removed during tumor excision. The wound healed completely, without any early or late complications, and the outcome was satisfactory.