Plastic Surgery International最新文献

Achieving a level of technical skill and confidence in surgical operations is the main goal of plastic surgical training. Operating rooms were accepted as the practical teaching venues of the traditional apprenticeship model. However, increased patient population, time, and ethical and legal considerations made preoperation room practical work a must for plastic surgical training. There are several plastic surgical teaching models and simulators which are very useful in preoperation room practical training and the evaluation of plastic surgery residents. The full thickness skin with its vascular network excised in abdominoplasty procedures is an easily obtainable real human tissue which could be used as a training model in plastic surgery.

In Brazil, the classic timeline for operating on cleft lip and palate is three months old for cheiloplasty and is 12 to 18 months old for palatoplasty. As from Brazilian treatment centers are usually located in major cities, patients living in more remote areas are often unable to receive treatment at the ideal ages. Data were analyzed retrospectively on 45 patients with cleft lip and/or palate, consecutively operated at the Reference Center, Rio de Janeiro Federal University, Brazil. Particularly noteworthy among these data are gender, clinical presentation, operations performed, age of surgery, and the distance between their homes and the hospital. The average age of patients undergoing primary cheiloplasty was 9.4 months, with primary palatoplasties performed at an average age of 7.2 years. As 67% of these patients lived in other towns, they encountered difficulties in seeking and continuing specialized care. Despite attempts to decentralize cleft palate care in Brazil, suitable conditions are not yet noted for following the treatment protocols in a full and adequate manner.

Skin graft is one of the most indispensable techniques in plastic surgery and dermatology. Skin grafts are used in a variety of clinical situations, such as traumatic wounds, defects after oncologic resection, burn reconstruction, scar contracture release, congenital skin deficiencies, hair restoration, vitiligo, and nipple-areola reconstruction. Skin grafts are generally avoided in the management of more complex wounds. Conditions with deep spaces and exposed bones normally require the use of skin flaps or muscle flaps. In the present review, we describe how to perform skin grafting successfully, and some variation of skin grafting.

Surgeons conventionally use electrocautery dissection and surgical clip appliers to harvest free flaps. The ultrasonic Harmonic Scalpel is a new surgical instrument that provides high-quality dissection and hemostasis and minimizes tissue injury. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and advantages of the ultrasonic Harmonic Scalpel compared to conventional surgical instruments in free flap surgery. This prospective study included 20 patients who underwent head and neck reconstructive surgery between March 2009 and May 2010. A forearm free flap was used for reconstruction in 12 patients, and a fibular flap was used in 8 patients. In half of the patients, electrocautery and surgical clips were used for free flap harvesting (the EC group), and in the other half of the patients, ultrasonic dissection was performed using the Harmonic Scalpel (the HS group). The following parameters were significantly lower in the HS group compared to the EC group: the operative time of flap dissection (35% lower in the HS group), blood loss, number of surgical clips and cost of surgical materials. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of the Harmonic Scalpel in forearm and fibular free flap dissections that may be extended to other free flaps.

Objective. Few orofacial cleft (OFC) studies have examined the severity of clefts of the lip or palate. This study examined associations between the severity of cleft of the lip with cleft type, laterality, and sex in four regional British Isles cleft registers whilst also looking for regional variations. Design. Retrospective analysis of cleft classification in the data contained in these four cleft registers. Sample. Three thousand and twelve patients from cleft registers based in Scotland, East England, Merseyside, and Belfast were sourced from the period 2002-2010. Submucous clefts and syndromic clefts were included whilst stillbirths, abortuses, and atypical orofacial clefts were excluded. Results. A cleft of the lip in CLP patients is more likely to be complete in males. A cleft of the lip in isolated CL patients is more likely to be complete in females. Variation in the proportion of cleft types was evident between Scotland and East England. Conclusions. Association between severity of cleft of the lip and sex was found in this study with females having a significantly greater proportion of more severe clefts of the lip (CL) and CLP males being more severe (P < 0.0003). This finding supports a fundamental difference between cleft aetiology between CL and CLP.

Goals/Background. To evaluate children's growth in the first year of life, who have cleft palate and lip, without the use of palatal plates. Materials/Method. Chart review was conducted, retrospectively, in the Center for Integral Assistance of Cleft Lip and Palate (CAIF), in Brazil, between 2008 and 2009. Results for both genders were compared to the data published by the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding average weight gain in children during their first year of life. Results. Patients with syndromic diagnosis and with cleft classified as preforamen were excluded, resulting in a final number of 112 patients: 56 male and 56 female. Similar patterns were seen comparing the two genders. Although it was observed weight gain below the average until the 11th month in male patients and until 9 months in female patients, both genders remained at the 50th percentile (p50) and improved after the 4th month of age for boys and the 9th month of age for girls. Conclusion. Children with cleft palate weigh less than regular children during their first months of life. At the end of the first year, weight gain is similar comparing normal and affected children. However, factors that optimized weight gain included choosing the best treatment for each case, proper guidance, and multiprofessional integrated care.

Objective. To compare the cutaneous lip height at early and late postoperative periods and to objectively determine the average amount of lip height improvement during the first year of unilateral complete cleft lip repair using Cutting extended Mohler technique. Methods. In this prospective cohort study, 26 unilateral complete cleft patients and 50 noncleft subjects were included. Photographs were taken between 12 and 16 weeks (T1) and also taken between 12 and 13 months after surgery (T2). The cutaneous lip height distance (photogrammetric lip analysis) obtained in these two periods of time were measured and statistically analyzed. Results. The average lip heights were 24% ± 9% in T1 and 8% ± 6% in T2 (P < 0.01). The average lip height asymmetry in the noncleft individuals was 4.52% ± 1.89%. Conclusion. Since all principles to obtain a symmetrical Cupid's bow were performed, the postoperative pull-up of Cupid's bow is probably owed to the scar contracture, which improves by 2 times during the first year after surgery.

Blepharoplasty is an operation to modify the contour and configuration of the eyelids in order to restore a more youthful appearance. The surgery involves removing redundant skin, fat, and muscle. In addition, supporting structures such as canthal tendons are tightened. Other conditions such as ptosis, brow ptosis, entropion, ectropion, or eyelid retraction may also need to be corrected at the time a blepharoplasty is performed to ensure the best functional and aesthetic result. Due to the complexity and intricate nature of eyelid anatomy, complications do exist. In addition to a thorough pre operative assessment and meticulous surgical planning, understanding the etiology of complications is key to prevention. Finally, management of complications is just as important as surgical technique.

Eyelid bags and blepharochalasis are the result of relaxation of lid structures like the skin, the orbicularis oculi, and mainly the orbital septum. Therefore, this aged appearance cannot be improved sufficiently with only a skin and orbicularis oculi resection. To improve this appearance, we use a very effective method of tucking of the orbital septum with infraeyebrow excision of the skin and the orbicularis oculi. Between January 2005 and April 2011, 103 patients (206 lids) were treated. There were 89 female and 14 male patients whose ages ranged from 43 to 75 years (mean = 65.2 years). After infraeyebrow excision, blepharoplasty with tucking of the orbital septum, the concealed lid crease becomes apparent and a good rejuvenation effect is obtained in all patients.

Several authors have proposed classifications to analyze the quality over time of secondary alveolar bone grafting. However, little discussion has been held to quantitatively measure the secondary bone grafting for correction of nasal deformity associated to cleft palate and lip. Twenty patients with unilateral alveolar cleft, who underwent secondary alveolar bone grafting, were studied with 3D computer tomography. The height between the inferior portion of the pyriform aperture and the incisal border of the unaffected side (height A) and the affected side (height B) was measured using a software Mirror. A percentage was then obtained dividing the height B by the height A and classified into grades I, II, and III if the value was greater than 67%, between 34% and 66%, or less than 33%. Age, time of followup, initial operation, and age of canine eruption were also recorded. All patients presented appropriate occlusion and function. Mean time of followup was 7 years, and mean initial age for operation was 10 years old. 16 patients were rated as grade I and 4 patients as grade II. No cases had grade III. We present a new grading system that can be used to assess the success of secondary bone grafting in patients who underwent alveolar cleft repair.