[The Body Dysmorphic Disorder in Plastic Surgery - A Systematic Review of Screening Methods]. / Die körperdysmorphe Störung in der Plastischen Chirurgie ­ Eine systematische Übersicht der Screening-Methoden.

BACKGROUND: The body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is considered to be a sub-form of somatoform disorders. BDD can express itself in a delirious experience, an excessive evaluation and employment of the external appearance, in particular the face. Preliminary results suggest that individuals with BDD do not benefit from plastic surgery, so that aesthetic surgery often results in aggravation of their symptoms. Thus, the identification of signs for a BDD is crucial, whether a patient should be operated plastically-aesthetically. This overview explains the often difficult diagnostics of the BDD by summarizing the current literature on its screening. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic overview METHODS: An electronic search was conducted in the German and English-language literature in order to identify all screening instruments for the BDD. The specific development RESULTS: Six different screening instruments were identified for the BDD. Only two of these were evaluated in a cosmetic setting: the "Body Dysmorphic Disorder Questionnaire Dermatology Version" (BDDQ-DV) and the "Dysmorphic Concern Questionnaire" (DCQ). The influence on the subjective results after a plastic-aesthetic procedure was measured only for the DCQ. CONCLUSION: The limited availability of validated screening instruments for BDD in plastic surgery is markedly in contrast to the supposedly high prevalence of the disease of 2.4 %. Among the currently used screening tools, the BDDQ-DV and the DCQ appear to be most suitable. Further research efforts are needed to establish better screening methods for the BDD in the plastic surgical patient population and to examine the effects of BDD on treatment results.

[Regulation of bone metabolism by the Wnt signaling pathway]. / Regulation des Knochenstoffwechsels durch den Wnt-Signalweg.

The development and homeostasis of multicellular organisms depends on a complex cellular interaction between proliferation, migration, differentiation, adhesion, and cell death. Wnt signaling pathways coordinate these different cellular responses. Wnt signaling plays a role as a regulatory pathway in the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. The Wnt signaling pathway is an attractive therapeutic target with the potential to directly modulate stem cells responsible for the regeneration of skeletal tissue. Recent studies indicate that Wnt ligands are capable of promoting bone growth, suggesting that Wnt factors could be used to stimulate bone healing in osteogenic disorders.

[The Body Dysmorphic Disorder in Plastic Surgery - A Systematic Review of Screening Methods]. / Die körperdysmorphe Störung in der Plastischen Chirurgie ­ Eine systematische Übersicht der Screening Methoden.

BACKGROUND: The body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is considered to be a sub-form of somatoform disorders. BDD can express itself in a delirious experience, an excessive evaluation and employment of the external appearance, in particular the face. Preliminary results suggest that individuals with BDD do not benefit from plastic surgery, so that aesthetic surgery often results in aggravation of their symptoms. Thus, the identification of signs for a BDD is crucial, whether a patient should be operated plastically-aesthetically. This overview explains the often difficult diagnostics of the BDD by summarizing the current literature on its screening. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic overview METHODS: An electronic search was conducted in the German and English-language literature in order to identify all screening instruments for the BDD. The specific development and validation processes are assessed whether the screening instruments have a positive predictive value for the BDD. RESULTS: Six different screening instruments were identified for the BDD. Only two of these were evaluated in a cosmetic setting: the "Body Dysmorphic Disorder Questionnaire Dermatology Version" (BDDQ-DV) and the "Dysmorphic Concern Questionnaire" (DCQ). The influence on the subjective results after a plastic-aesthetic procedure was measured only for the DCQ. CONCLUSION: The limited availability of validated screening instruments for BDD in plastic surgery is markedly in contrast to the supposedly high prevalence of the disease of 2.4 %. Among the currently used screening tools, the BDDQ-DV and the DCQ appear to be most suitable. Further research efforts are needed to establish better screening methods for the BDD in the plastic surgical patient population and to examine the effects of BDD on treatment results.

The Role of Current Techniques and Concepts in Peripheral Nerve Repair.

Patients with peripheral nerve injuries, especially severe injury, often face poor nerve regeneration and incomplete functional recovery, even after surgical nerve repair. This review summarizes treatment options of peripheral nerve injuries with current techniques and concepts and reviews developments in research and clinical application of these therapies.

Systematic review of predictors of surgical performance.

BACKGROUND: Selection criteria for surgical training are not scientifically proven. There is a need to define which attributes predict future surgical performance. The aim of this study was to examine the predictive value of specific attributes that impact on surgical performance. METHODS: All studies assessing the predictive power of specified attributes with regard to outcome measures of surgical performance in MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Educational Resources Information Centre databases, and bibliographies of selected articles from 1950 to November 2010 were considered for inclusion by two independent reviewers. Information on study identifiers, participant characteristics, predictors assessed, evaluation methods for predictors, outcome measures, results and statistical analysis was collected. Quality assessment was carried out using the Hayden criteria. RESULTS: Visual-spatial perception correlated with both subjective and objective assessments of surgical performance, including rate of skill acquisition. Visual-spatial perception did not correlate with operative ability in experts, although it did with operative ability at the end of a training programme. Psychomotor aptitude, assessed collectively, correlated with rate of skill acquisition. Academic achievement predicted completion of a training programme and passing end-of-training examinations, but did not predict clinical performance during the training programme. CONCLUSION: Intermediate- and high-level visual-spatial perception, as well as psychomotor aptitude, can be used as criteria for assessing candidates for surgical training. Academic achievement is an effective predictor of successful completion of training programmes and should continue to form part of the assessment of surgical candidates.

Spontaneous subcutaneous emphysema associated with mephedrone usage.

Subcutaneous emphysema in the head and neck is a rare condition, normally caused by major underlying injury to the airway or gastrointestinal tract. We report a non-traumatic occurrence of spontaneous cervical subcutaneous emphysema in a 30-year-old man who had been snorting mephedrone. The patient made an uneventful recovery, being managed conservatively, and did not require airway support. The occurrence of spontaneous cervical emphysema associated with snorting mephedrone has not been previously described in the literature.

Treating bladder-outflow obstruction with thermo-expandable prostate metal stents.

Bladder-outflow obstruction is a common age-related clinical entity due to a variety of benign and malignant diseases of the prostate. Surgical treatment is not suitable for high-risk elderly patients who seek minimally invasive management. We present a prostatic thermo-expandable metal stent for treating bladder-outflow obstruction. In this review, we include the design characteristics of this novel device, the performance assessment in comparison with alternative devices, the limitations, our personal clinical experience, as well as a long-term perspective. According to our experience among 127 patients (who underwent insertion of 192 stents) after 1, 2 and 3 years, 82, 61 and 47% of the original stents were functional without apparent complications, respectively. The mean single stent indwelling time was 1 year, with a maximum of 4 years. In 41% of patients, the stent needed to be removed and/or exchanged owing to stent encrustation (15%), migration (10%), penile pain (6%), bladder-outflow obstruction symptoms (5%), urinary incontinence (<3%), tissue granulation (<3%), recurrent urinary tract infections (<3%) or urethral stricture (<3%). The thermo-expandable prostatic stent seems to be an effective minimally invasive treatment of bladder-outflow obstruction, especially in high-risk patients.

Development of an outpatient finger-prick glomerular filtration rate procedure suitable for epidemiological studies.

Development of an outpatient finger-prick glomerular filtration rate (GFR) procedure suitable for epidemiological studies. In clinical practice, reference GFR procedures are rarely used; in large-scale research studies, a great deal of effort and experience is required to obtain them, which is a considerable disincentive to using GFR as an end point. The major problem for both clinical staff and the subject is the length of time that the procedure takes, requiring continuous attendance in the outpatient clinic or its vicinity. Using iohexol as a marker, we therefore propose an alternative approach, which addresses this fundamental deterrent to a more widespread use of GFR measurement. Eighty-two GFR measurements were performed in a mixture of healthy subjects and patients with differing degrees of renal impairment with a wide range of GFRs. Serum was obtained from blood samples to enable a reference GFR to be calculated. Blood spots were collected on filter paper at the same intervals (120, 180, and 240 min), allowed to dry, and then sent through the post. Serum and blood spots were analyzed simultaneously for each individual by automated reverse-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography. Standard linear regression analyses confirmed a good agreement (r2 = 0.953) between the iohexol serum GFR and iohexol blood spots GFR. Bland-Altman analysis confirmed that there was no concentration bias. Paired comparisons (Wilcoxon's paired signed rank test) showed no significant difference between the two measurements. Capillary sampling is simple, effective, and significantly reduces the time and costs of performing plasma clearance GFR measurements. This approach will make the GFR measurement more accessible for clinical practice and large-scale epidemiological studies may become feasible.

Morbidity of transrectal ultrasonography-guided prostate biopsies in patients after the continued use of low-dose aspirin.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether low-dose aspirin increases morbidity after transrectal ultrasonography-guided sextant prostate biopsy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a single-centre prospective cohort study of 200 patients who underwent sextant prostate biopsies, those routinely taking low-dose aspirin were encouraged to continue to do so before and after biopsy. The morbidity in each case was assessed using a standardized questionnaire that patients completed in the 7 days after biopsy. The presence of haematuria, rectal bleeding and haematospermia were recorded. The questionnaire also directed the patient to record fevers, use of analgesia and any further treatment received. RESULTS: In all, 36 patients took aspirin whilst the other 141 did not. There were no major complications in either group. Of the patients on aspirin, 20 (56%) had haematuria, compared with 83 (59%) of those not taking aspirin (difference 3%, 95% confidence interval, CI, -15 to 21). Overall bleeding (haematuria, rectal bleeding and haematospermia) occurred in 22 patients (61%) of the aspirin group and 105 (74%) of the other group (difference 13%, 95% CI -4 to 31). Comparisons of other morbidities between the groups are also discussed. CONCLUSIONS: There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of haematuria or overall bleeding after biopsy between the groups. There is no evidence that aspirin needs to be discontinued before sextant prostate biopsy.