Andreas Vesalius (1515-1564) on animal cognition.

Until well in the 19th century, the Aristotelian concept of the scala naturae (ladder of nature) was the most common biological theory among Western scientists. It dictated that only humans possessed a rational soul that provided the ability to reason and reflect. Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533-1592) was the first philosopher influential enough to lastingly posit that animals are cognitive creatures.

Polyhydramnios in isolated oral cleft pregnancies: incidence and outcome in a retrospective study.

Objectives: Polyhydramnios is suggested to be associated with oral clefts (OCs) due to swallowing problems. This study assessed incidence and outcome of idiopathic polyhydramnios in isolated OC pregnancies.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of prenatally diagnosed OC.

Health-related quality of life in children with Robin sequence.

This patient-reported outcome (PRO) study reports on 102 children with Robin sequence (RS) and their parents. There has been differentiated between those with isolated RS and those with RS as part of a syndrome, and take various treatments into account. All RS families from an earlier described cohort were invited to participate.

Oral sildenafil as a treatment option for lymphatic malformations in PIK3CA-related tissue overgrowth syndromes.

Patients with extensive lymphatic malformations associated with tissue overgrowth syndromes (such as Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome and CLOVES) often pose a therapeutic challenge for physicians. In recent years, it has been suggested that oral sildenafil therapy might be used to treat congenital lymphatic malformations. However, this possible new therapy has not yet been used in patients with lymphatic malformations associated with tissue overgrowth syndromes.

Taste and speech following surgical tongue reduction in children with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome.

Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) is an overgrowth disorder in which macroglossia is one of the main signs. We investigated the long-term outcome of tongue surgery reduction (TRS) on taste and speech in patients with BWS who were more than 5 years of age and had undergone surgical anterior wedge resection of the tongue. A questionnaire was used to assess medical history and to determine some aspects of speech, taste, psychological well-being, and degree of satisfaction with regard to TRS and tongue mobility.

Defining post-sternotomy mediastinitis for clinical evidence-based studies.

Background: Considerable advances have already been made in the treatment of deep thoracic wound infections following a median sternotomy for cardiac surgery. Further improvement in diagnosis, treatment, and outcome will require a targeted approach by multidisciplinary teams. Clear communication and synergy between the various clinical and supportive disciplines would assist in removing the last barriers to standardized evidence-based studies and the development of improved evidence-based guidelines.

Interobserver Agreement of the Eaton-Glickel Classification for Trapeziometacarpal and Scaphotrapezial Arthrosis.

Purpose: To determine whether simplification of the Eaton-Glickel (E-G) classification of trapeziometacarpal (TMC) joint arthrosis (eliminating evaluation of the scaphotrapezial [ST] joint) and information about the patient's symptoms and examination influence interobserver reliability. We also tested the null hypotheses that no patient and/or surgeon factors affect radiographic rating of TMC joint arthrosis and that no surgeon factors affect the radiographic rating of ST joint arthrosis.

Methods: In an on-line survey, 92 hand surgeons rated TMC joint arthrosis and ST joint arthrosis separately on 30 radiographs (Robert, true lateral, and oblique views) according to the (modified) E-G classification.

Sclerotherapy for low-flow vascular malformations of the head and neck: A systematic review of sclerosing agents.

Background: Sclerotherapy has become the gold standard for the first-line therapy of most venous (VMs) and lymphatic malformations (LMs) of the head and neck. Numerous sclerosing agents are used to treat these low-flow vascular malformations; however, to date, it remains unclear which sclerosing agent is superior in terms of effectiveness and safety.

Methods: In a systematic review of the literature (1995-present), we compare the effectiveness and complications of the sclerosing agents most commonly used for cervicocraniofacial VMs and LMs.

Compression therapy for congenital low-flow vascular malformations of the extremities: A systematic review.

Introduction Low-flow vascular malformations are congenital abnormalities of the veins, capillaries or lymphatic vessels or a combination of the previous. Compressive garments are frequently used as a first-line treatment option for low-flow vascular malformations of the extremities with the purpose of relieving symptoms. Yet, the benefits and harms of compression stockings remain unclear.

Wound drainage after plastic and reconstructive surgery of the breast.

Background: Wound drains are often used after plastic and reconstructive surgery of the breast, in order to reduce potential complications. It is unclear whether there is any evidence to support this practice and we therefore undertook a systematic review of the best evidence available.

Objectives: To compare the safety and efficacy of the use of wound drains following elective plastic and reconstructive surgery procedures of the breast.

Etiology and pathogenesis of robin sequence in a large Dutch cohort.

Robin sequence (RS) can be defined as the combination of micrognathia and upper airway obstruction/glossoptosis causing neonatal respiratory problems, with or without a cleft palate and either isolated or non-isolated. Pathogenesis varies widely. We hypothesize that optimal treatment depends on pathogenesis and therefore patients should be stratified according to diagnosis.

Birth prevalence of Robin sequence in the Netherlands from 2000-2010: a retrospective population-based study in a large Dutch cohort and review of the literature.

The birth prevalence of Robin sequence (RS) is frequently cited to be 1 in 8,500 to 14,000 live births (range: 7,1-11,8 per 100.000), which is based on just a few epidemiological studies. The objective of this study is to contribute to the limited knowledge of the epidemiology of RS by determining the frequency of RS in a cleft palate (CP) population and the estimated birth prevalence in live births in the Netherlands, using distinct diagnostic criteria.

Frontometaphyseal dysplasia and keloid formation without FLNA mutations.

Frontometaphyseal dysplasia (FMD) is a distinctive sclerosing skeletal dysplasia associated with a number of non-skeletal manifestations including hearing loss, cardiac malformations, and stenosis, particularly of the upper airway and urinary tract. Some, but not all, patients have mutations in FLNA causing the condition. Consonant with the X chromosomal location of FLNA males are generally more severely affected than females.

Will the right Robin patient rise, please? Definitions and criteria during management of Robin sequence patients in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Background: Robin Sequence (RS) is characterized by micrognathia and upper airway obstruction (UAO), with or without cleft palate, causing respiratory and feeding problems. Management options are: positioning; nasopharyngeal airway (NPA); tongue-lip adhesion (TLA); mandibular distraction (MDO); and tracheostomy. Controversy exists in literature regarding RS definition and management.

Poststernotomy mediastinitis: a classification to initiate and evaluate reconstructive management based on evidence from a structured review.

Early recognition and, where possible, avoidance of risk factors that contribute to the development of poststernotomy mediastinitis (PSM) form the basis for successful prevention. Once the presence of PSM is diagnosed, the known risk factors have been shown to have limited influence on management decisions. Evidence-based knowledge on treatment decisions, which include the extent and type of surgical intervention (other than debridement), timing and others is available but has not yet been incorporated into a classification on management decisions regarding PSM.

Evaluating the Psychopathological Profile of Women Undergoing Reduction Mammaplasty With the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised.

Background: Patients who desire reduction mammaplasty (RM) also may seek relief from social and emotional challenges that accompany their physical condition, including low self-confidence and impaired body image. Reduction mammaplasty is known to improve patients' physical and psychological well-being. It may be speculated that patients who undergo RM are motivated by psychological problems and have psychopathologies.

Comparison of intralesional corticosteroid and propranolol treatment of periorbital infantile hemangiomas: an outcome study of 61 cases.

Purpose: To compare intralesional corticosteroid (IC) injections with oral propranolol in children with periorbital infantile hemangioma (IH).

Methods: Children were diagnosed with IH and treated with IC (n = 29) or propranolol (n = 14). In cases in which no further improvement was seen, treatment was stopped and the outcome measured.

Methylation analysis in tongue tissue of BWS patients identifies the (EPI)genetic cause in 3 patients with normal methylation levels in blood.

The Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome is caused by disturbed imprinting of genes at 11p15.5. Routine diagnostic testing for Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) includes methylation analysis of the imprinting centers ICR1 and ICR2 in DNA extracted from lymphocytes.

Trends in wrist arthroscopy.

Background Wrist arthroscopy plays a role in both the diagnosis and the treatment of wrist pathology. It has evolved in the last three decades. Questions The present status of wrist arthroscopy was investigated by answering the following questions: -What is its current position in the treatment wrist pathologies according to the literature? -What is its current position according to hand surgeons? Methods Analysis of the number of publications on wrist arthroscopy was performed and compared with the number of publications on other arthroscopy topics to assess the current position of wrist arthroscopy.

The effect of breast hypertrophy on patient posture.

Background: One of the reasons women with macromastia chose to undergo a breast reduction is to relieve their complaints of back, neck, and shoulder pain. We hypothesized that changes in posture after surgery may be the reason for the pain relief and that patient posture may correlate with symptomatic macromastia and may serve as an objective measure for complaints. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the effect of reduction mammaplasty on the posture of women with macromastia.

Hypertrophy in labial capillary malformations: clinical and pathological findings in 11 patients.

Hypertrophy in capillary malformation (CM) may be present at birth or manifest itself later in life. To gain insight into the pathology of hypertrophic CM, we investigated a series of 11 excisional biopsies of hypertrophic lips.All biopsies showed dilated thin-walled microvessels in the superficial dermis without a neural component.

Propranolol versus corticosteroids: what should be the treatment of choice in infantile hemangiomas?

Background: Infantile hemangiomas (IHs) are common and benign vascular tumors and usually involute spontaneously. Nevertheless, in some cases, treatment with systemic corticosteroids or propranolol is required. No randomized controlled studies, in which both treatment options were compared, have been performed.

Bridging phenomenon - Simplifying complex ear reconstructions.

Background: Extirpation of noninvasive skin tumors of the anterior ear may create large defects. Various flaps, described to cover these defects, demand special knowledge without which a loss of the fine detail of the ear may result.

Methods: Healthy, exposed cartilage is deliberately excised leaving a basic framework for support, thus preserving contours and a well-vascularized recipient bed for full-thickness skin grafting.

The persistent embryonic vein in Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome.

Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome (KTS) is a congenital malformation syndrome with prominent vascular anomalies. A persistent embryonic vein (PEV) may be located on the affected leg(s) of patients with KTS. Our understanding of PEVs of the legs is limited and their nomenclature is confusing.