Reduction mammoplasty and mastopexy in the previously irradiated breast - a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women, and early stages are treated with lumpectomy and irradiation. Irradiation, however, leads to reduced vascularization and fibrosis, which may influence the cosmetic outcome unfavourably and increase complications after subsequent surgery on irradiated breasts. Patients with significant asymmetry after treatment may desire corrective reduction mammoplasty or mastopexy, but this may be associated with increased complication rates.

Interventions for frostbite injuries.

Background: Frostbite is a thermal injury caused when tissue is exposed to sub-zero temperatures (in degrees Celsius) long enough for ice crystals to form in the affected tissue. Depending on the degree of tissue damage, thrombosis, ischaemia, necrosis (tissue death), gangrene and ultimately amputation may occur. Several interventions for frostbite injuries have been proposed, such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy, sympathectomy (nerve block), thrombolytic (blood-thinning) therapy and vasodilating agents such as iloprost, reserpine, pentoxifylline and buflomedil, but the benefits and harms of these interventions are unclear.

Capsular contracture in patients with prior breast augmentation undergoing breast conserving therapy and irradiation.

Radiation is considered to be a risk factor for developing capsular contracture in augmented women, but the studies reporting on this subject show conflicting results. In this systematic review we sought to understand the risk of capsular contracture in augmented patients with breast cancer treated with breast conserving surgery and radiotherapy. A search was conducted through PubMed for studies reporting on breast cancer, breast augmentation and radiotherapy, with capsular contracture as our primary outcome.

Short-stay unit hospitalisation vs. standard care outcomes in older internal medicine patients-a randomised clinical trial.

Background: the effect of hospitalisation in emergency department-based short-stay units (SSUs) has not been studied in older patients. We compared SSU hospitalisation with standard care at an Internal Medicine Department (IMD) in acutely admitted older internal medicine patients.

Methods: pragmatic randomised clinical trial.