A defined management strategy improves early outcomes after the Fontan procedure: the PORTLAND protocol.

Background: Patients undergoing the Fontan procedure may have extended hospital stay due to various postoperative factors including prolonged chest tube drainage. Our aim was to determine the efficacy of our Fontan management protocol in reducing chest tube drainage and length of stay.

Methods: Patients who underwent a Fontan procedure at our institution from June 2008 to September 2013 were analyzed (n = 42).

The neonatal hypoplastic aortic arch: decisions and more decisions.

Neonatal patients with hypoplasia of the aortic arch constitute a heterogeneous group with a wide spectrum of severity. The milder end of the spectrum comprises patients with aortic coarctation and isthmus hypoplasia. At the other end of the spectrum are patients with severe transverse arch hypoplasia or hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

Levator anguli oris: a cadaver study implicating its role in perioral rejuvenation.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of the levator anguli oris in perioral rejuvenation by delineating the detailed anatomy of this muscle and illustrating a new technique to elevate the oral commissure using this muscle. Fresh cadaver dissection was carried out in 9 facial halves specifically examining the anatomy of and surrounding the levator anguli oris. This muscle was identified in each cadaver to coalesce with the zygomaticus major muscle at the modiolus, thus elevating the oral commissure.