Efficacy of breast augmentation using an external breast tissue expander for a shorter period while applying higher pressure: a preliminary study

Background@#Various types of external breast tissue expanders have been found to be effective for aesthetic breast augmentation. However, their use has been limited when compared with implant-based breast augmentation due to the burdensome nature of their application. This article reports the possibility that external breast tissue expanders may be applied safely and effectively with higher pressure and shorter application time. @*Methods@#The participants comprised patients who desired breast augmentation using the EVERA-RAPHA device between January 2020 and March 2020. A double-blinded prospective study was conducted on two groups of eight patients each, with either 60 mmHg or 100 mmHg of pressure applied. Standardized photographs were taken and blinded measurements of volume and circumference were made. The Mann-Whitney and paired t-tests were conducted. @*Results@#Sixteen patients were evaluated after 1 month of treatment. The women in groups 1 and 2 (60 mmHg and 100 mmHg, respectively) used EVERA-RAPHA for 15.400± 0.704 and 15.300±0.477 minutes per day, respectively. The mean volume increases in groups 1 and 2 were 39.000±42.526 cc and 27.700±20.260 cc, respectively. No patients dropped out of the study. All patients reported that the device was tolerable. Mild bruising was found in 62.5% of the patients in group 2. @*Conclusions@#Breast augmentation using external tissue expanders can be a safe, effective, and practical option. Pressures of 60 mmHg or 100 mmHg can be safely applied for a shorter duration. Larger studies are needed to further confirm our findings.

Diagnosis and management of toxic shock syndrome after breast reconstructive procedures with silicone implants

Breast implant insertion is one of the most commonly used methods for breast reconstruction after total mastectomy. However, infection is a common postoperative complication of implant insertion. In most cases, these infections can be managed with antibiotics and supportive therapy. However, severe septic conditions, such as toxic shock syndrome (TSS), can sometimes occur. TSS is an extremely rare but life-threatening complication, for which early diagnosis and proper management play a crucial role in determining patients’ outcome. Although only 16 cases of TSS after breast implant insertion have been reported in the literature, most of those cases involved a serious clinical course. The reason for the seriousness of the clinical course of TSS in these cases is that the initial impression and presentation of these patients are nonspecific, and patients can easily be misdiagnosed as having a simple upper respiratory infection, causing the underlying condition to be neglected. Herein, we present two patients who were diagnosed with TSS after receiving breast reconstruction surgery via a silicone implant after total mastectomy. Both patients were misdiagnosed at the initial examination since they showed no local infectious signs on the postoperative wound.

An adaptive DC-balanced and multi-mode stimulator IC with 1GΩ output impedance for compact electro-acupuncture system.

A compact and low-power electro-acupuncture (EA) IC and its Premeasurement System as off-chip board for verification are proposed for medical treatment and experiment. The multi-mode stimulator EA IC can perform adaptive charge balancing with various load condition as well as programmable supply voltage for 5 different stimulation modes. The proposed EA IC occupies 2.2 mm × 1.5 mm including pads manufactured through 0.11 µm 1P6M CMOS technology and dissipates 1.8 mW at 1.2 V supply supporting 256 different current level with >1G output impedance. The Premeasurement System with corresponding specification to the proposed fabricated EA IC is fully implemented and tested on the human body and animal.