Implementation of a Modified Enhanced Recovery Protocol in Cleft Palate Repairs.

Aims: Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) protocols have been shown to improve patient outcomes in numerous adult surgical populations, but there are few known standards for their use in pediatric patients. To assess the effectiveness in pediatric craniofacial surgery, we present our results following the application of a modified ERAS protocol for patients undergoing primary palatoplasty.

Methods: A modified ERAS program was developed and implemented in a multidisciplinary manner.

Vascular rarefaction in peripheral skeletal muscle after experimental heart failure.

A decrease in vascular density in peripheral skeletal muscle has been associated with exercise intolerance in humans with congestive heart failure (CHF). The purpose of this study was to determine whether CHF results in a reduction in vascular density in peripheral skeletal muscle. In this established model, CHF was induced by coronary artery ligation in New Zealand White rabbits and sham rabbits that underwent an identical surgical procedure without ligation of the coronary artery.

Induction of hypergammaglobulinemia and macrophage activation by silicone gels and oils in female A.SW mice.

Although most published epidemiological studies have found little evidence of systemic autoimmune disease associated with silicone breast implants, there still remains a question of whether silicones can cause local and/or systemic immune dysfunction. This study further investigates the effects of silicones on autoantibody and immunoglobulin production and macrophage activation in female A.SW mice.