Managing Vascular Pedicle Exposure in Free Tissue Transfer Using a Reprocessed Micronized Dermal Substitute in Lower Extremity Reconstructions.

Lower extremity reconstruction is challenging because of its intricate anatomy and dynamic biomechanics. Although microsurgical free tissue transfer offers pivotal solutions to limited local tissue availability, vascular pedicle exposure after free tissue transfer is common. We evaluated a novel method of managing pedicle exposure after free tissue transfer using a reprocessed micronized dermal substitute. Ten patients who underwent lower-extremity reconstruction using free tissue transfer and micronized dermal substitute between January and December 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. When native tissue could not be closed over the pedicle, reprocessed micronized artificial dermal matrix (rmADM) was cut and stacked to protect and stabilize it. Epithelialization was achieved by secondary skin grafting or healing by secondary intention. Flap dimensions, recipient artery and vein, ADM size, time required for granulation tissue maturation and complete epithelialization, and flap outcomes were analyzed. The mean age was 55.80 ± 20.70 years, and six patients (60%) were diabetic. The mean rmADM coverage area was 8.70 ± 8.41 cm2, and the average time required for complete epithelialization was 50.89 ± 14.21 days. Except for one total necrosis due to bypass graft failure, nine limbs were successfully salvaged. Application of rmADM offers numerous advantages, including vascular collapse prevention, moisture maintenance, granulation tissue growth promotion, and pedicle stabilization.

Volume changes in the reconstructed breast over two years after free abdominal tissue transfer: Comparison of unipedicled versus bipedicled flaps.

BACKGROUND: Volume changes in reconstructed flaps, particularly regarding symmetry, are an important consideration to improve long-term esthetic results in patients who undergo breast reconstruction. Asian patients with thin abdominal tissues tend to require bipedicled flaps, which provide a greater volume of abdominal tissue. We investigated volume changes in free abdominal flaps and the factors that may affect flap volume, particularly the number of pedicles. METHODS: The study included all consecutive patients who underwent immediate unilateral breast reconstruction using free abdominal flaps between January 2016 and December 2018. The initial flap volume was calculated intraoperatively, and the postoperative flap volume was calculated using computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging based on the Cavalieri principle. RESULTS: The study included 131 of 249 patients. Compared with the initial inset volume, the mean flap volumes at 1 and 2 years postoperatively decreased to 80.11% and 73.80%, respectively. The multivariable analysis of factors that affect flap volume showed a significant association with the flap inset ratio, radiation (P = .019,.040, respectively). Stratification based on the number of pedicles showed that the flap inset ratio was significantly negatively correlated with the postoperative flap volume change in unipedicled (P < .05) but not in bipedicled flaps. CONCLUSIONS: The flap volume decreased over time, and its change had a negative correlation with the flap inset ratio in the unipedicled group. Therefore, prediction of postoperative volume changes in various clinical situations is important before breast reconstruction.

Long-Term Evaluation of the Lip and Nose in Bilateral Complete Cleft Lip Patients following Lip Adhesion and Secondary Nose Correction.

Background Surgical correction of bilateral cleft lip deformities remains one of the most challenging areas in facial plastic surgery. Many surgical techniques and conservative devices have been offered for the early management of bilateral cleft lip in infants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of lip adhesion on the lip and nose of patients with bilateral cleft lip. Methods A retrospective review of 13 patients with bilateral cleft lip was performed and compared with age-matched noncleft children. Patients underwent lip adhesion at a mean age of 2.8 months, and cheiloplasty at 6.6 months of age using a modification the Mulliken method. Secondary rhinoplasty was performed at the age of 6 in 13 patients. The surgical results were analyzed using photographic records obtained at the age of 1 and 7 years. Twelve length measurements and one angle measurement were obtained. Results All measurements were not statistically different from those of the noncleft age-matched control group at the age of 1. At 7 years of age, upper lip height and vermilion mucosal height were shorter ( p < 0.05) than in the control group. Nasal tip protrusion and the nasolabial angle were greater ( p < 0.05) than in the control group. Conclusion Lip adhesion followed by secondary rhinoplasty resulted in an acceptable lip and nasal appearance. Although nasoalveolar molding is now widely used, lip adhesion can be an appropriate alternative if an orthodontist is not available due to geographical or economic constraints.

Incidence of fistula after primary cleft palate repair: a 25-year assessment of one surgeon's experience.

BACKGROUND: Cleft lip and cleft palate are the most frequent congenital craniofacial deformities, with an incidence of approximately 1 per 700 people. Postoperative palatal fistula is one of the most significant long-term complications. This study investigated the incidence of postoperative palatal fistula and its predictive factors based on 25 years of experience at our hospital. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 636 consecutive palatal repairs performed between January 1996 and October 2020 by a single surgeon. Data from patients' medical records regarding cleft palate repair were analyzed. The preoperative extent of the cleft was evaluated using the Veau classification system, and the cleft palate repair technique was chosen according to the extent of the cleft. SPSS version 25.0 was used for all statistical analyses, and exploratory univariate associations were investigated using the t-test. RESULTS: Fistulas occurred in 20 of the 636 patients; thus, the incidence of palatal fistula was 3.1%. The most common fistula location was the hard palate (9/20, 45%), followed by the junction of the hard and soft palate (6/20, 30%) and the soft palate (5/20, 25%). The cleft palate repair technique significantly predicted the incidence of palatal fistula following cleft palate repair (P=0.042). Fistula incidence was significantly higher in patients who underwent surgery using the Furlow double-opposing Z-plasty technique (12.1%) than in cases where the Busan modification (3.0%) or two-flap technique (2.0%) was used. CONCLUSIONS: The overall incidence of palatal fistulas was 3.1% in this study. Moreover, the technique of cleft palate repair predicted fistula incidence.

Correlation of ICG lymphography and lymphoscintigraphy severity stage in secondary upper limb lymphedema.

PURPOSE: To examine the correlation between lymphedema severity stages on lymphoscintigraphy and on indocyanine green (ICG) lymphography in patients with secondary lymphedema after breast cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted on patients who underwent both lymphoscintigraphy and ICG lymphography for the evaluation of secondary lymphedema after breast cancer. The images were classified into type I - V according to the Arm Dermal Backflow (ADB) stage and modified MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) stage on ICG lymphography and lymphoscintigraphy images on the basis of how lymphatic flow was preserved and how dermal back flow was extended. The correlation between scales was analysed. RESULTS: A total of 47 patients were referred to our hospital for the evaluation of secondary lymphedema after breast cancer. There was no significant difference between lymphoscintigraphy severity scale and ADB stage (anterior and posterior). The lymphoscintigraphy severity scale and modified MDACC stage were significantly different. In the correlation analysis, lymphoscintigraphy and ADB (anterior) stage (r = 0.83), lymphoscintigraphy and ADB (posterior) stage (r = 0.86) and lymphoscintigraphy and modified MDACC stage (r = 0.85) exhibited very strong positive correlations. Intra-rater agreement between lymphoscintigraphy and ADB (anterior) stage and lymphoscintigraphy and ADB (posterior) was substantial (κ=0.62 and κ=0.69, respectively) and fair (κ = 0.36) between lymphoscintigraphy and modified MDACC stage. CONCLUSION: Lymphoscintigraphy severity stage and ADB stage on ICG lymphography showed very strong positive correlation and substantial agreement. These two modalities can work synergistically to evaluate lymphedema severity.

Improvement of Osteoporosis Medication after Multimodal Intervention in Patients with Hip Fracture: Prospective Multicenter Study.

BACKGROUND: The authors had earlier conducted a retrospective cohort study from 2008 to 2011 in Jeju Island, among 945 hip fracture patients above 50 years of age. Of these 945 patients, 344 patients (36.4%) underwent a bone mineral density test and 218 patients (23.1%) received treatment for osteoporosis. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a patient education program could improve osteoporosis management after hip fracture. The data of the previous study was used for comparison. METHODS: From November 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015, 190 patients above 50 years of age who were admitted for hip fractures at six different hospitals, were enrolled in the present study. During the hospitalization period, patients underwent education sessions and were provided brochures. Patients were evaluated for diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis at six months after discharge and were followed-up for at least a year. RESULTS: Of the 222 patients with hip fractures, 190 patients (37 men, 153 women) were enrolled at six hospitals in 2015. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry was performed on 115 patients (60.5%) and 92 patients (48.4%) were prescribed medication for osteoporosis at the time of discharge. A total of 43.7% and 40.2% of the patients were found to be compliant with osteoporosis medication at 6 months and 12 months follow-up respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This interventional multicenter study demonstrated that a patient education program in patients with hip fractures can improve compliance to osteoporosis medication up to 12 months of follow-up.

Treatment Strategy for Irreparable Rotator Cuff Tears.

Recently, patients with shoulder pain have increased rapidly. Of all shoulder disorders, rotator cuff tears (RCTs) are most prevalent in the middle-aged and older adults, which is the primary reason for shoulder surgery in the population. Some authors have reported that up to 30% of total RCTs can be classified as irreparable due to the massive tear size and severe muscle atrophy. In this review article, we provide an overview of treatment methods for irreparable massive RCTs and discuss proper surgical strategies for RCTs that require operative management.

Role of Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug in Treatment of Extra-abdominal Desmoid Tumors.

BACKGROUND: We retrospectively reviewed the outcomes of patients who had been treated with meloxicam for the extra-abdominal desmoid tumors and evaluated the correlation between clinical outcome and clinic pathological variables. METHODS: Twenty patients treated with meloxicam were followed up every 3 to 6 months. Meloxicam administration was planned at 15 mg/day orally for 6 months. RESULTS: Of the 20 patients evaluated, according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors criteria, there were five patients with partial response (25.0%), eight with stable disease (40.0%), and seven with tumor progression (35.0%). The cumulative probability of dropping out from our nonsurgical strategy using meloxicam was 35.0% at 1 year and 35.0% at 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that conservative treatment would be a primary treatment option for this perplexing disease even though we were not able to determine that the use of a cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor would have an additional influence on the natural course of a desmoid tumor.

Can Augmented Reality Be Helpful in Pelvic Bone Cancer Surgery? An In Vitro Study.

BACKGROUND: Application of surgical navigation for pelvic bone cancer surgery may prove useful, but in addition to the fact that research supporting its adoption remains relatively preliminary, the actual navigation devices are physically large, occupying considerable space in already crowded operating rooms. To address this issue, we developed and tested a navigation system for pelvic bone cancer surgery assimilating augmented reality (AR) technology to simplify the system by embedding the navigation software into a tablet personal computer (PC). QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: Using simulated tumors and resections in a pig pelvic model, we asked: Can AR-assisted resection reduce errors in terms of planned bone cuts and improve ability to achieve the planned margin around a tumor in pelvic bone cancer surgery? METHODS: We developed an AR-based navigation system for pelvic bone tumor surgery, which could be operated on a tablet PC. We created 36 bone tumor models for simulation of tumor resection in pig pelves and assigned 18 each to the AR-assisted resection group and conventional resection group. To simulate a bone tumor, bone cement was inserted into the acetabular dome of the pig pelvis. Tumor resection was simulated in two scenarios. The first was AR-assisted resection by an orthopaedic resident and the second was resection using conventional methods by an orthopaedic oncologist. For both groups, resection was planned with a 1-cm safety margin around the bone cement. Resection margins were evaluated by an independent orthopaedic surgeon who was blinded as to the type of resection. All specimens were sectioned twice: first through a plane parallel to the medial wall of the acetabulum and second through a plane perpendicular to the first. The distance from the resection margin to the bone cement was measured at four different locations for each plane. The largest of the four errors on a plane was adopted for evaluation. Therefore, each specimen had two values of error, which were collected from two perpendicular planes. The resection errors were classified into four grades: ≤ 3 mm; 3 to 6 mm; 6 to 9 mm; and > 9 mm or any tumor violation. Student's t-test was used for statistical comparison of the mean resection errors of the two groups. RESULTS: The mean of 36 resection errors of 18 pelves in the AR-assisted resection group was 1.59 mm (SD, 4.13 mm; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.24-2.94 mm) and the mean error of the conventional resection group was 4.55 mm (SD, 9.7 mm; 95% CI, 1.38-7.72 mm; p < 0.001). All specimens in the AR-assisted resection group had errors < 6 mm, whereas 78% (28 of 36) of errors in the conventional group were < 6 mm. CONCLUSIONS: In this in vitro simulated tumor model, we demonstrated that AR assistance could help to achieve the planned margin. Our model was designed as a proof of concept; although our findings do not justify a clinical trial in humans, they do support continued investigation of this system in a live animal model, which will be our next experiment. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The AR-based navigation system provides additional information of the tumor extent and may help surgeons during pelvic bone cancer surgery without the need for more complex and cumbersome conventional navigation systems.

Age-Related Incidence of Cervical Spondylosis in Residents of Jeju Island.

STUDY DESIGN: Cervical spine radiograms of 460 Jeju islanders. PURPOSE: To investigate the age-matched incidences and severity of the cervical disc degeneration and associated pathologic findings. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Several related studies on the incidences of disc and Luschka's and facet joint degeneration have provided some basic data for clinicians. METHODS: Cervical radiographs of 460 (220 males and 240 females) patients in their fourth to ninth decade were analyzed. Ninety patients in their third decade were excluded because of absence of spondylotic findings. RESULTS: Overall incidence of cervical spondylosis was 47.8% (220 of 460 patients). The percentile incidences of spondylosis in the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth decade was 13.2% (10 of 76 patients), 34.6% (37 of 107 patients), 58.9% (66 of 112 patients), 58.8% (50 of 85 patients), 70.3% (45 of 64 patients) and 75.0% (12 of 16 patients), respectively. The percentile incidences of one, two, three, four and five level spondylosis among 220 spondylosis patients was 45.5% (n=100), 34.1% (n=75), 15.0% (n=33), 4.5% (n=10), and 0.9% (n=2). Severity of disc degeneration ranged from ± to ++++, and was ± in 6.0% (24 segments), + in 49.6% (198 segments), ++ in 35.3% (141 segments), +++ in 9.0% (36 segments) and ++++ in 0.25% (one segment). Spurs and anterior ligament ossicle formed at the spondylotic segments, mostly at C4~6. The rate of posterior corporal spurs formation was very low. Olisthesis and ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament were rarely combined with spondylosis. Cervical lordotic curve decreased gradually according to the progress of severity of spondylosis. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of cervical spondylosis and number of spondylotic segments increase, and degeneration gradually becomes more severe with age.

High normal urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio predicts development of hypertension in Korean men.

BACKGROUND: Microalbuminuria is known as a risk factor for hypertension. Recently it was suggested that urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), even within the normal range, can be associated with hypertension, but the temporal relationship between normal range UACR and hypertension was not confirmed. Therefore the aim of this study was to verify an association between normal range UACR and the development of hypertension in Korean men. METHODS AND RESULTS: This prospective cohort study was performed on 1,284 initially non-hypertensive Korean men. The total follow-up period was 4,109.5 person-years and the mean follow-up period was 3.2±1.51 years. Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the hazard ratios (HR) for the risk of hypertension development. After adjusting for multiple covariates, the HR (95% confidence interval [CI]) for incident hypertension, comparing the second to the fourth quartiles of UACR level to the first quartile, were 1.35 (95% CI: 0.93-1.97), 1.55 (95% CI: 1.07-2.25) and 1.89 (95% CI: 1.31-2.71), respectively (P for trend=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: High UACR within the normal range was significantly associated with hypertension development. Furthermore, this association remained significant after adjusting for multiple baseline covariates.