Auricular pseudocysts: a systematic review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Auricular pseudocysts are benign fluid accumulations of the ear of uncertain etiology. Little is known about the optimal modality to successfully treat these lesions. No systematic review addressing auricular pseudocysts have been published to date. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to summarize all the published data regarding diagnostic and therapeutic challenges of auricular pseudocysts. METHODS: On May 28, 2020, a systematic search of Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases was conducted. All the studies describing treatment of auricular pseudocysts, procedure description, outcome, and follow-up period were included in this review. RESULTS: After full-text article review, 74 articles were included, representing a total of 1,011 lesions. The commonly used treatments for auricular pseudocysts were deroofing (493 lesions), aspiration (284 lesions), incision and drainage (171 lesions), intralesional steroids (53 lesions), and observation (10 lesions). The highest cure rate was found with the deroofing procedure (97.2%) followed by incision and drainage (95.9%). The mean follow-up period was 6.7 months. CONCLUSION: Surgical procedures (anterior deroofing or incision and drainage) showed the highest cure rates and should be considered as first-line treatment for auricular pseudocysts. Future adequately designed randomized controlled trials are warranted to compare the efficacy of the techniques described.

An unusual tell sign of botulinum toxin injection in patients with facial flushing: incorporating a new questionnaire in the evaluation of botulinum toxin patients.

Lately it has been established that intra-dermal botulinum toxin is also effective in treating many dermatological conditions including refractory erythematous-telangiectatic rosacea, post - menopausal facial flushing and other similar conditions.However, the desired effect of treating the reddening in patients suffering from facial flushing can become an undesirable and embarrassing side effect when these same patients present to the clinic for esthetic concerns such as upper face rhytids. In this case, intramuscular botulinum toxin injections used for wrinkles treatment will also secondarily treat the facial reddening in their localized skin diffusion zones and result in embarrassing white patches all over the face. The patchy appearance following botulinum toxin injections for esthetic purposes could be bothersome for some patients and could be a tell-tale sign of botulinum toxin injections.

Acquired ungual fibrokeratoma: a systematic review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Acquired ungual fibrokeratomas (AUFKs) are benign recurrent fibrokeratotic tumors of the nail unit of uncertain etiology. Little is known about the optimal modality to successfully treat these lesions. No systematic review addressing ungual fibrokeratomas has been published to date. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to summarize all the published data regarding diagnostic and therapeutic challenges of AUFKs. METHODS: On August 9, 2019, a systematic search of Medline and Cochrane databases was conducted. All the studies describing the treatment of ungual fibrokeratomas, procedure description, pathological findings, outcome, and follow-up period were included in this review. RESULTS: After full-text article review, 103 articles were included, representing a total of 78 lesions. The commonly used treatments for fibrokeratomas were complete tumor resection (90.5%), shave excision (8.3%), and cryotherapy (1.2%). Complete surgical excision yielded the highest cure rate among all treatment modalities (90.8%) compared to partial surgical excision (28.6%) and cryotherapy (0%). The mean follow-up period was 12.1 months (1-144). CONCLUSION: Complete surgical removal preserving the matrix showed the highest cure rates and should be considered as first-line treatment for AUFKs. Future adequately designed randomized control trials are warranted to compare different treatment modalities.

Quilting Sutures in Rhytidectomy: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

BACKGROUND: Different technical variations exist for the utilization of quilting sutures (QS) in rhytidectomy. No systematic review or meta-analysis of the studies describing the use of QS in facelifts has been published to date to the authors' knowledge. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to summarize all the published data regarding the utilization of QS in rhytidectomy, compare QS techniques, and evaluate their effect on postoperative complications. METHODS: On April 1, 2019, a systematic search of the Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases was conducted. All the studies describing the usage of QS in facelifts were included in this review. Studies reporting hematoma rate in a QS group and a control group were included in the meta-analysis part of this study. RESULTS: The initial search of the databases yielded 93 results. Four trials were included in the systematic review and 2 were included in the meta-analysis. The total number of included patients with QS was 527. Two studies employed internal QS and the remaining studies utilized external QS. The meta-analysis found a lower rate of hematoma in the QS group (relative risk, 0.02; 95% confidence interval = 0.00-0.13; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: QS can be applied either internally or externally and are very effective in reducing hematomas after facelifts. QS could be a great asset in facelifts but should be utilized with caution because additional work is needed to confirm their safety and efficacy.