Primary cutaneous angiosarcoma of the breast after breast trauma.

Primary angiosarcoma of the breast is a rare malignant tumor. We report a case of breast primary cutaneous angiosarcoma in a patient with a strong family history of malignancy. For definitive diagnosis, a tissue biopsy is needed, with immunostaining for the presence of blood vessel endothelial markers CD31 and CD34. Total mastectomy is the preferred method of surgical treatment. Chemotherapy has not been shown to increase overall survival, but in some instances it may improve local control and disease-free survival. Surgery combined with radiation may increase local control, but patients at high risk of recurrence may benefit from adjuvant treatment as well. We discuss the potential benefits from various treatments for primary cutaneous breast angiosarcoma.

The importance of advanced cardiac life support certification in office-based surgery.

BACKGROUND: Safety in office-based surgery remains of paramount importance. Accordingly, many consider Advanced Cardiac Life Support training a critical component of safety preparation for office-based surgery. A survey was recently designed and distributed to assess the experience and attitudes of board-certified plastic surgeons toward Advanced Cardiac Life Support training. METHODS: A two-page, 14-question survey was mailed to the 4581 members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. The anonymous survey consisted of multiple choice questions eliciting status of Advanced Cardiac Life Support certification, use of office-based surgery, experience with adverse cardiac and respiratory events, and opinions on mandating Advanced Cardiac Life Support training. RESULTS: The total number of surveys returned was 1461 (32 percent). Current Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Life Support certification was 65.6 percent and 44.9 percent, respectively. Over the past 10 years, 29 percent of plastic surgeons participated in a cardiac or respiratory arrest, and 43.9 percent of these surgeons acted as the code leader; 60.2 percent of plastic surgeons felt Advanced Cardiac Life Support certification should be required, but only 26 percent of these felt it should be mandated to maintain board certification. CONCLUSIONS: Historically, Advanced Cardiac Life Support and facility accreditation were strongly recommended but often not required for office-based surgery. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery have taken steps to increase patient safety, mandating that outpatient plastic surgery only be performed at accredited facilities. Many credentialing organizations are now escalating the requirements for Advanced Cardiac Life Support/Basic Life Support certification.

The accuracy of stereolithography in planning craniofacial bone replacement.

Stereolithography can be used to produce physical models of the craniofacial skeleton from three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) data. The purpose of this study was to assess its accuracy for modeling osseous defects of the midface. Maxillary resections simulating unilateral maxillectomy (N = 3), bilateral maxillectomy (N = 3), and unilateral orbitomaxillectomy (N = 3) were performed as for sinus tumor resection on nine fresh cadaver skulls. Stereolithographic models (SLMs) were made from the specimen's CT data. The accuracy of SLMs was determined by comparing distances between key landmarks on the skulls and SLMs. Each SLM was grossly accurate with some loss of thin delicate structures. The mean differences in overall dimensions between the SLMs and skull specimens were 1.5 mm (range: 0-5.5 mm) for craniofacial measures, 1.2 mm (range: 0-4.8 mm) for skull base measures, 1.6 (range: 0-5.8 mm) for midface measures, 1.9 mm (range: 0-7.9 mm) for maxilla measures, and 1.5 mm (range: 0-5.7 mm) for orbital measures. The mean differences in defect dimensions were 1.9 mm (range: 0.1-5.7 mm) for unilateral maxillectomy, 0.8 mm (range: 0.2-1.5 mm) for bilateral maxillectomy, and 2.5 mm (range: 0.2-7.0 mm) for orbitomaxillectomy defects. Midface SLMs may be more prone to error than those of other craniofacial regions because of the presence of thin walls and small projections. Thus, one should consider designing midface bone replacements that are larger in critical dimensions than those predicted by preoperative modeling. These findings have important implications for the planning of current surgical methods as well as future applications of tissue-engineered bone replacement.