Plastic and reconstructive robotic microsurgery--a review of current practices.

Introduction: We sought to review the current state of robotics in this specialty.

Methods: A Pubmed and Medline search was performed using key search terms for a comprehensive review of the whole cross-section of plastic and reconstructive practice.

Results: Overall, 28 publications specific to robotic plastic and reconstructive procedures were suitable for appraisal.

Madura foot - mind the soil.

'Madura foot' or mycetoma is a chronic granulomatous soft-tissue infection, caused by either true fungi (eumycetoma) or Gram-positive aerobic bacteria (actinomycetoma). The infection is endemic to equatorial, tropical or sub-tropical regions. However, sporadic cases have been reported in the Western world mostly in the migrant population.

Acute upper limb ischaemia following chest wall reconstruction--a word of caution.

Irradiation arteriopathy, although rare, is a recognised entity following radiotherapy for the management of advanced cancers. It is known to manifest in varied forms and can be chronic and progressive. We present a case of an acute upper limb ischaemia following deep inferior epigastric artery perforator (DIEP) free flap reconstruction for a chest wall defect in a patient who had previously undergone radiotherapy 25 years back for carcinoma of the breast.