The Ethics and Responsibilities of Social Media Usage by Plastic Surgeons: A Literature Review.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Social media has revolutionised how plastic surgeons advertise their work and promote their services, but concerns have been raised regarding the ethics of these practices. This review aims to identify said concerns and develop measures to address them. METHODS: PubMed, Cochrane and Medline were searched for studies assessing the ethics of social media use by plastic surgeons. Five search terms were used and 23 studies identified. Results were catalogued according to which principle of medical ethics was infringed. RESULTS: Autonomy: Patients must not be coerced into allowing their operative media to be shared and content anonymised by removing identifiable features and scrubbing metadata. Beneficence: It is difficult to balance the benefit to patients of posting photographs for educational purposes with the risk of identifiable features being present, particularly within craniofacial surgery. Non-maleficence: Taking operative media could be a distraction from the patient and lengthen the procedure which could lead to harm. Any content posted on social media should be adapted to avoid trivialisation or sexualisation. Justice: Surgeons should not entertain their audience to increase their following at the expense of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Greater oversight of social media use by plastic surgeons is required to avoid patient harm and tarnishing of the specialty's professional standing. Professional bodies should be tasked with devising a course dedicated to the responsible use of these platforms. This should ensure the public's trust in the specialty does not become eroded and patients are not harmed by unethical social media use. This review highlights the relevant shortfalls of SoMe use by plastic surgery Several proposals are made to reduce the incidence of these shortfalls and to ensure SoMe is used in a professional and responsible manner It also lists areas of the specialty where SoMe is underused and could be of help, such as academia LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors http://www.springer.com/00266 .

Buried island transposition flap for joint Plastic-Neurosurgical management of spinal wound dehiscence - a technical note and single Centre experience.

INTRODUCTION: Spinal surgical wound infection can lead to tissue voids between the spine and skin that can be difficult to reconstruct. Previously described techniques include myocutaneous flaps or perforator based fasciocutaneous flaps. However, these procedures can be time-consuming and surgically challenging. AIMS: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a novel technique employing a buried island transposition (BIT) flap, for the repair of non-irradiated dehisced spinal wounds. METHODS: Fifteen patients with failed conservative management of infected midline posterior spinal wounds, underwent wound repair using a local buried islanded de-epithelialized double-breasted fasciocutaneous transposition flap, performed by joint input from the neurosurgical and plastic surgical teams. RESULTS: Mean age was 58 years (range, 31-76 years) with male-to-female ratio of 8:7. The BIT flap was used to repair four wounds in the cervical spine with underlying fixation; four wounds in the thoracic spine with underlying fixation; and seven wounds in the lumbar-sacral spine, of which three had underlying fixation. Pre-operatively, each of the wounds were either dehiscent with exposed hardware, or had large defects unsuitable for primary closure following debridement. There was no procedure-related mortality. All patients demonstrated good wound healing with no subsequent repeat surgery or removal of spinal fixation at mean 24-month follow-up. CONCLUSION: We successfully used a novel buried island transposition flap that has not previously been described in repair of spinal wounds. This technique, which led in all cases to good wound healing and prevented removal of metalwork, has comparable efficacy but increased ease of use compared to traditional techniques. It requires redundant skin at the wound site.

A Comparison Between Piezosurgery and Conventional Osteotomies in Rhinoplasty on Post-Operative Oedema and Ecchymosis: A Systematic Review.

Piezosurgery use has become increasingly prevalent in osteotomies. Piezoelectric ultrasound waves can cut bone effectively, and some studies have shown reduced post-operative morbidities compared to conventional osteotomies. Oedema and ecchymosis are common complications of rhinoplasty and can impact patient satisfaction, wound healing, and recovery. We aim to provide an up-to-date comparison of post-operative oedema and ecchymosis in piezosurgery and conventional osteotomies. A literature search was conducted using the following online libraries; Pubmed, Cochrane, Science Direct, and ISRCTN (International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number). English publications between 2015 and 2020 were included. A systematic review was completed, and a comparison of oedema and ecchymosis in piezosurgery and conventional osteotomies was examined alongside other outcomes such as pain, mucosal injury, and surgery time. Eight randomised controlled trials (RCTs) met our criteria with a combined total of 440 patients: 191 male and 249 female. Piezosurgery had statistically significant (p < 0.05) reduction in short-term oedema compared to conventional osteotomies in 75% of the papers included, and in 50% this persisted across the whole follow-up period. Similarly, ecchymosis scoring was initially statistically lower (p < 0.05) in piezosurgery in 87.5% of the RCTs, and in 75% this persisted across the whole follow-up period. A reduction in pain (p < 0.05) and mucosal injury (p < 0.05) was also seen in piezoelectric osteotomies. The length of surgery time varied. Piezoelectric osteotomies reduce oedema and ecchymosis compared to conventional osteotomies, in addition to improving pain and mucosal injury. However, disadvantages such as length of surgery time and cost have been reported. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE III: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors   www.springer.com/00266 .

Refinement of the Superomedial Pedicle Technique: A New Approach to Breast Reshaping Following Reduction.

INTRODUCTION: We present an alteration of the superomedial pedicle technique in breast reduction to control lateral fullness and create a more natural and contoured breast during reshaping. This approach has been adopted by the senior author (NC) in 79 patients over the past 4 years. METHODS: A wise pattern skin incision is used, and the nipple-areola complex (NAC) is maintained on a de-epithelialized superomedial pedicle. Instead of fully releasing the pedicle from the lateral parenchyma for rotation and inset, a bridge of tissue between the pedicle on its most posterior aspect and the lateral pillar is maintained. Key holding sutures are subsequently placed in Scarpa's fascia for reshaping. RESULTS: We find that with this refinement, the connection with the lateral pillar pulls the lateral parenchyma medially and superiorly when the pedicle is rotated into its new position, adding a natural curve to the side. The superior medial pedicle is still attached in its postero-lateral aspect to the lateral pillar and theoretically, will provide an even more robust vascular supply to the NAC. In our series, three patients developed minor skin healing issues amenable to treatment with dressings. No one suffered from nipple loss or other serious complications, and no dog ear revisions were required. CONCLUSIONS: We present a simple alteration of the superomedial pedicle technique that we believe results in improved breast contouring. Our experience suggests that this simple adaptation is safe, effective, and reproducible. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Pelvic Reconstruction following Abdominoperineal Resection and Pelvic Exenteration: Management Practices among Plastic and Colorectal Surgeons.

BACKGROUND: Pelvic reconstruction with a muscle flap significantly improves postoperative outcomes following abdominoperineal resection (APR). Despite it being the gold standard, significant surgeon-selection bias remains with respect to the necessity of pelvic obliteration, flap choice, and ostomy placement. The objective of the study was to characterize management practices among colorectal surgeons (CSs) and plastic surgeons (PSs). METHODS: Specialty-specific surveys were distributed electronically to CSs and PSs via surgical societies. Surveys were designed to illustrate geographic and specialty-specific differences in management. RESULTS: Of 106 (54 CSs and 52 PSs) respondents (58% Canada, 21% Europe, 14% the United States, and 6% Asia/Africa), significant interdisciplinary differences in practices were observed. Most respondents indicated that multidisciplinary meetings were not performed (74% of CSs and 78% of PSs). For a nonradiated pelvic dead space with small perineal defect, 91% of CSs and 56% of PSs indicated that flap reconstruction was not required. For a radiated pelvic dead space with small perineal defect, only 54% of CSs and 6% of PSs indicated that there was no need for flap reconstruction. With respect to ostomy placement, 87% of CSs and 21% of PSs indicated that stoma placement through the rectus was superior. When two ostomies were required, most CSs preferred exteriorizing ostomies through bilateral recti and requesting thigh-based reconstruction. PSs favored the vertical rectus abdominis muscle (VRAM; 52%) over the gracilis (23%) and inferior gluteal artery perforator (IGAP; 23%) flaps. Among PSs, North Americans favor abdominally based flaps (VRAM 60%), while Europeans favor gluteal-based flaps (IGAP 78%). CONCLUSION: A lack of standardization continues to exist with respect to the reconstruction of pelvic defects following APR and pelvic exenteration. Geographic and interdisciplinary biases with respect to ostomy placement, flap choice, and role for pelvic obliteration continues to influence reconstructive practices. These cases should continue to be approached on a case by case basis, driven by pathology, presence of radiation, comorbidities, and the size of the pelvic and perineal defect.

The Role of Virtual Consultations in Plastic Surgery During COVID-19 Lockdown.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has led to government enforced 'lockdown' in the UK severely limiting face-to-face patient interaction. Virtual consultations present a means for continued patient access to health care. Our aim was to evaluate the use of virtual consultations (VCons) during lockdown and their possible role in the future. METHODS: An anonymous survey was disseminated to UK and European plastic surgeons via social media, email sharing and via the European Association of Societies of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery newsletter. Uptake of VCons, modality, effectiveness, safety and future utility were assessed. RESULTS: Forty-three senior plastic surgeons responded to the survey. The majority of the respondents (97.7%) reported using VCons during COVID-19 lockdown, of which 74.4% had no prior experience. Two-thirds of surgeons utilised commercial platforms such as Zoom, FaceTime and Skype, 38.1% of respondents did not know about or were unsure about adequate encryption for health care use, and just under a half (47.6%) reported they were unaware of or lacking GDPR compliance. Most (97.6%) say they are likely to use virtual consultations after lockdown. CONCLUSION: Virtual consultations have had a crucial role in patient care during UK lockdown. It is clear that they will serve as an adjunct to face-to-face consultation in the future. Further regulation is required to ensure platforms offer adequate safety and security measures and are compliant with relevant data protection laws. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

A pilot feasibility study of non-cultured autologous skin cell suspension for healing diabetic foot ulcers.

A prospective, single arm feasibility study was conducted to evaluate healing outcomes of DFUs treated with autologous skin cell suspension (ASCS) in combination with standard therapy. Wounds up to 100 cm2 in size that failed to heal with conventional therapy were included and wound healing, pain, exudate scores, Quality of Life, satisfaction scores, and safety outcomes were evaluated over a period of 26 weeks. Sixteen subjects were enrolled having a mean DFU duration of 60.4 weeks. All ulcers in this study had a positive healing trajectory, with a mean reepithelialization of 84.9% and 12.2 cm2 reduction in ulcer area. For ulcers that did not acquire a soft tissue infection post-treatment, all either healed or achieved ≥95% reepithelialization including some with exposed tendon. Improvements were observed in all aspects of the health-related Quality of Life questionnaire and subjects and clinicians were highly satisfied across all postoperative visits. This preliminary study suggests ASCS is a well-tolerated and promising therapy for the treatment of DFUs as all ulcers evaluated experienced positive healing results regardless of size, depth, and wound duration. Future studies are warranted to investigate ASCS compared to standard of care for all diabetic foot ulcers, inclusive of the evaluation of treatment algorithms and combination products.

Persistent lactation in bilateral breast implant augmentation: A case report and review of the literature.

Background: Persistent lactation, or galactorrhoea, is a common problem which is infrequently seen in the setting of aesthetic surgery. Increasing frequency of aesthetic breast surgery such as breast augmentation suggests a need for improved understanding of the effect of galactorrhoea on surgical outcomes. Case Report: A 34-year-old patient underwent day-case bilateral breast reduction/mastopexy combined with sub-muscular implant augmentation, abdominoplasty and bilateral liposuction to the flanks. She reported to have stopped breastfeeding more than 6 months prior. Intraoperatively, the breast tissue was noted to be lactating. The procedure was completed as planned and a routine postoperative plan was followed including oral antibiotics, analgesia and compression garments. The patient was discharged, however reattended on postoperative day 10 with breast pain and fevers. She was treated for right breast surgical site infection and required washout and implant removal. She was referred to Endocrinology for treatment of galactorrhoea with Bromocriptine and Cabergoline. She subsequently underwent revision implant augmentation with good outcomes. Discussion: This case highlights the increased likelihood of post-operative infection in galactorrhoea associated with breast implant augmentation. It is important to exclude lactation preoperatively and avoid a prosthesis in this situation, to minimise this risk and optimise surgical outcomes. Conclusion: Aesthetic breast surgeons must be aware of the incidence of galactorrhoea, and its possible effects on risks of postoperative complications and poor aesthetic outcomes. The authors suggest deferring implant augmentation until complete resolution of lactation where possible.

Comparing the safety profiles of implants and autologous fat grafting in gluteal augmentation: A systematic review.

Gluteal augmentation has become a popular esthetic procedure since its inception. The main methods are augmentation using implants or autologous fat grafting, which is the harvesting and grafting of patients' own fat tissue. The last review comparing the safety of these methods was written 7 years ago, which warrants the writing of a new one. PubMed, Cochrane, and Medline were searched for studies focusing on the methods of gluteal augmentation listed previously. Five search terms were used and 15 studies fulfilled the criteria. The data were cataloged according to the method described and outcomes compared. Seven articles focused on gluteal implants and another seven assessed autologous fat grafting, whereas one detailed both. The most common complications in 524 implant procedures were wound dehiscence (9.16%), excessive implant palpability (5.92%), and seroma (3.82%), with an overall complication rate of 25%. The most common complications in 1788 gluteal fat augmentation procedures were seroma (6.9%), infection (3.0%), and transient sciatic paresthesia (1.0%), with an overall complication rate of 13%. Several articles listed satisfaction figures, but these were not assessed because this article was not powered to assess this outcome. Overall, gluteal augmentation using autologous fat grafting leads to fewer postoperative complications than implants and allows greater contouring of the buttocks and the surrounding areas. However, it can also be a far more dangerous procedure if certain recommendations are not followed.

Plastic and Maxillofacial Training for War-Zones - A Systematic Review.

Study Design: Injuries sustained in war-zones are variable and constantly developing according to the nature of the ongoing conflict. Soft tissue involvement of the extremities, head and neck often necessitates reconstructive expertise. However, current training to manage injuries in such settings is heterogenous. This study involves a systematic review. Objective: To evaluate interventions in place to train Plastic and Maxillofacial surgeons for war-zone environments so that limitations to current training can be addressed. Methods: A literature search of Medline and EMBase was performed using terms relevant to Plastic and Maxillofacial surgery training and war-zone environments. Articles that met the inclusion criteria were scored then educational interventions described in included literature were categorised according to their length, delivery style and training environment. Between-group ANOVA was performed to compare training strategies. Results: 2055 citations were identified through this literature search. Thirty-three studies were included in this analysis. The highest scoring interventions were over an extended time-frame with an action-oriented training approach, using simulation or actual patients. Core competencies addressed by these strategies included technical and non-technical skills necessary when working in war-zone type settings. Conclusions: Surgical rotations in trauma centers and areas of civil strife, together with didactic courses are valuable strategies to train surgeons for war-zones. These opportunities must be readily available globally and be targeted to the surgical needs of the local population, anticipating the types of combat injuries that often occur in these environments.

Self-reported "worth it" rating of aesthetic surgery in social media.

BACKGROUND: A wide variety of surveys have been used to validate the satisfaction of patients who underwent aesthetic surgery. However, such studies are often limited by patient number and number of surgeons. Social media now allows patients, on a large scale, to discuss and rate their satisfaction with procedures. The views of aesthetic procedures patients expressed in social media provide unique insight into patient satisfaction. METHODS: The "worth it" percentage, average cost, and number of respondents were recorded on October 16, 2011, for all topics evaluated on the aesthetic procedure social media site www.realself.com . Procedures were divided into categories: surgical, liposuction, nonsurgical, and dental. For each group, procedures with the most respondents were chosen and ordered by "worth it" score. A literature search was performed for the most commonly rated surgical procedures and the satisfaction rates were compared. RESULTS: A total of 16,949 evaluations of 159 aesthetic surgery topics were recorded. A correlation between cost of the procedure and percentage of respondents indicating that the procedure was "worth it" was not found. The highest-rated surgical procedure was abdominoplasty, with 93 % of the 1,589 self-selected respondents expressing that abdominoplasty was "worth it." The average self-reported cost was $8,400. The highest-rated nonsurgical product was Latisse, with 85 % of 231 respondents reporting it was "worth it" for an average cost of $200. The satisfaction scores in the literature for commonly rated surgical procedures ranged from 62 to 97.6 %. No statistically significant correlations between literature satisfaction scores and realself.com "worth it" scores were found. CONCLUSIONS: Abdominoplasty had the highest "worth it" rating among aesthetic surgical procedures. Aesthetic surgeons should be wary that satisfaction scores reported in the literature might not correlate with commonly achieved results. Social media has opened a new door into how procedures are evaluated and perceived. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE III: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the table of contents or the online instructions to authors www.springer.com/00266 .

The quality of online information regarding non-surgical aesthetic procedures.

BACKGROUND: The rapid growth of non-surgical aesthetics has led to a scarcity of regulation that raises concerns for serious consequences to public health. Services are advertised primarily through websites which are not necessarily centrally monitored or maintained to a set gold standard. We quantitatively assess the quality of online information regarding non-surgical procedures in order to promote patient safety and informed decision making. METHODS: Google and Bing, search engines that represent 95.27of global searches, were queried with the expanded search terms "facial filler" and "Botox". The top 100 results were sampled and two validated tools were used to assess the quality of healthcare information retrieved; the DISCERN instrument and the JAMA benchmark criteria. RESULTS: Once duplicates were removed, a total of 77 unique websites were retrieved by the search. The majority of websites were published by private marketing firms. The median score for website quality across all included websites was 'fair' (42) when assessed according to the DISCERN instrument, and 'poor' (1) when assessed against the JAMA criteria. Private websites had the lowest quality of information online and institutional websites had the highest. CONCLUSION: Non-surgical aesthetics are becoming increasingly popular with patients and clinicians due to their convenience, scope of treatment, and novel and strategic marketing. Online information available to patients, however, is often of poor quality, dominated by private clinics and commercial entities, and thus presents a significant risk of misinforming patients desiring to undertake these procedures. Significant reform and regulation of information is required in order to make this industry safer for patients.

Resumption of Cosmetic Surgery During COVID - Experience of a Specialised Cosmetic Surgery Day-case Hospital.

The novel coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) in 2019 resulted in the suspension of all elective hospital procedures during the height of the pandemic in the UK. The Clinic in London is one of the first day-case hospitals to resume cosmetic surgery in a post-COVID-19 clinical environment, whilst also employing the use of virtual consultations. Details of the protocol implemented by the Clinic to allow the safe resumption of cosmetic surgery are stated in this paper. The volume of procedures at the Clinic saw a significant increase post-lockdown; reasons as to why this occurred are also explored in this paper. The disruption of cosmetic practice during lockdown can be said to have resulted in a backlog of procedures once lockdown restrictions began to ease. Whilst this may be true, we believe that there are other confounding factors regarding what may have influenced the rise in cosmetic surgery during the pandemic, including the privacy of working from home and the increased exposure to video conferencing software.

Occipital encephalocele in a neonate: a case successfully managed by excision and formation of a reverse visor scalp flap.

Encephaloceles are one form of neural tube defect and are associated with partial absence of skull bone fusion, with an incidence of 1-4 cases for every 10 000 live births. We report the case of a neonate born at term, with an antenatal diagnosis of occipital encephalocele, which was successfully managed with excision and formation of a reverse visor scalp flap on day 2 of life.Surgery was performed in a single stage, involving a multidisciplinary approach between neurosurgery and plastic surgery teams, with wider management involving neonatal intensive care, paediatric, obstetric and anaesthetic teams.The patient had no early postoperative complications, and we use this case report to demonstrate that a reverse visor scalp flap is a good option to cover full-thickness defects in patients with encephaloceles.Furthermore, we advocate early repair and a multidisciplinary approach to minimise the morbidity associated with occipital encephaloceles.

A retrospective comparison of 3M™ Micropore™ with other common dressings in cosmetic breast surgery.

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infection has considerable cost implications for healthcare providers. Evidence suggests that the use of Micropore™ tape as a dressing for surgical incisions may be associated with reduced/comparable rates of infection in surgical wounds. 3M™ Micropore™ tape is significantly cheaper than conventional wound dressings. The purpose of this study was to compare differences in the rate of wound healing problems including superficial incisional surgical site infection (SSI) and wound healing problems following cosmetic breast procedures between Micropore™ tape and other common wound dressings. METHODS: A clinical database was utilised to identify all patients undergoing elective breast surgery at a UK private cosmetic surgery group between May and November 2017. The patients were divided into 2 groups: those whose wounds were dressed with 3M™ Micropore™ tape post-operatively and those dressed with other common wound dressings. Data was analysed to assess the prevalence of post-operative wound healing problems (superficial incisional surgical site infection and delayed wound healing) in each group. RESULTS: 1216 patients were identified in our database, 659 patients receiving Micropore™ and 557 patients receiving conventional wound dressings. The overall prevalence of wound healing problems in the Micropore™ tape and conventional wound dressing group were 12% and 10% respectively, with no statistical difference (p = 0.3913). There was no statistical significance between the use of antibiotics and prevalence of wound healing problems in either group. CONCLUSION: The results of our study suggest that there is no difference between the use of Micropore™ tape and other conventional wound dressings in the prevalence of post-operative wound healing problems in cosmetic breast surgery. Our findings support the routine use of Micropore™ tape in post-operative dressing for clean, non-contaminated, directly closed, elective surgical wounds. We suggest a larger scale, prospective, randomized study should be conducted to confirm these initial findings.

Traumatic abdominal wall hernia secondary to seatbelt injury: a case successfully managed by delayed surgical mesh repair and complicated by intervening pregnancy.

Traumatic abdominal wall hernia (TAWH) is a rare type of hernia occurring secondary to blunt trauma. We report a case of seatbelt-associated TAWH in a 20-year-old woman who was presented to hospital via ambulance following a road traffic collision with a distended abdomen, peritonitis and free gas, with an associated TAWH identified on CT imaging. The patient underwent delayed surgical repair of her hernia using biological mesh, without recurrence, with a clinical course complicated by pregnancy. We use this report to demonstrate late repair as a safe and effective option for management of TAWH in pregnancy, with active surveillance and a multidisciplinary approach by the obstetric, plastic surgery and trauma teams.

Loss of domain leading to intra-operative cardiorespiratory arrest during open repair of a giant inguinoscrotal hernia and hydrocele.

We present the case of a 73-year-old man with a longstanding, giant inguinoscrotal hernia and hydrocele treated by an open approach, complicated intra-operatively by loss of domain leading to cardiorespiratory arrest. Surgery involved a midline approach by the general surgeons. Protruding viscera were mobilised, freed from adhesions, and returned to the abdominal cavity with closure of the internal ring, followed by reconstruction of the penis and scrotum by the plastic surgery and urology teams. Following abdominal closure, the patient developed severe cardiorespiratory instability attributed to large fluid shifts and increased intra-abdominal pressure due to loss of domain. The abdomen was therefore left open, and an ABThera negative pressure therapy system was employed. Two days later the abdomen was closed without tension. The remainder of the patient's post-operative recovery was unremarkable.

Severe soft tissue infection masquerading as necrotising fasciitis in a 31-year-old woman with a background of right thigh arteriovenous malformation.

A 31-year-old woman with a history of a right thigh arteriovenous malformation presented with an acute history of right thigh pain and swelling. This rapidly progressed to gross sepsis. She was intubated, requiring inotropic support and renal replacement therapy. She was considered disproportionately unwell, with the impression one of necrotising fasciitis (NF). She was taken to theatre for emergency exploration and debridement. There was no evidence of NF to note in theatre. Tissue samples cultured group C Streptococcus, with histopathological examination confirming group C Streptococcal soft tissue infection. Thereafter, she was treated with high-dose intravenous antibiotics, use of a negative pressure wound therapy system, and multiple returns to theatre for repeat debridement. Her condition gradually improved, and she was stepped down to a surgical ward 3 weeks after admission. Nine weeks after initial presentation, she underwent skin grafting for wound closure. She returned to work 7 months later.

Novel technique for avoidance of pressure competition between a negative pressure wound therapy device and chest drains in the management of deep sternal wound infections.

In recent years, the use of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) devices has changed the way sternal wound infections are being managed. It is not uncommon for deep sternal wound infections to occur together with mediastinal or even pleural collections requiring underwater seal drainage. In these patients in whom there is a communication between the pleural and mediastinal cavities, the concomitant use of an NPWT device negates the pressure gradient within the pleural and mediastinal drains, allowing suppurative fluid to stagnate. We present a novel technique to address this limitation of NPWT devices in patients with sternal wound infections that communicate with a pleural collection.