A Comprehensive Review of the Genetic and Epigenetic Contributions to the Development of Fibromyalgia.

This narrative review summarizes the current knowledge of the genetic and epigenetic contributions to the development of fibromyalgia (FM). Although there is no single gene that results in the development of FM, this study reveals that certain polymorphisms in genes involved in the catecholaminergic pathway, the serotonergic pathway, pain processing, oxidative stress, and inflammation may influence susceptibility to FM and the severity of its symptoms. Furthermore, epigenetic changes at the DNA level may lead to the development of FM.

Power-assisted Liposuction and a Single Incision Pull-through Technique for Top Surgery: A Case Report.

Various treatment approaches exist for female-to-male subcutaneous mastectomy, also known as "top surgery." The most commonly performed techniques for patients with decreased volume of breast tissue, no ptosis, and good skin elasticity continue to involve areolar or periareolar incision. Here, we report a case of a 17-year-old patient who underwent top surgery performed through power-assisted liposuction and a non-areolar single-incision "pull-through" technique.

Management of Congenital Auricular Anomalies.

Learning Objectives: After studying this article, the participant should be able to: 1. Describe normal ear anatomy and development, and evaluate the patient's ears for differences in shape, size, prominence, and symmetry. 2.

Evidence-based Sterility: The Evolving Role of Field Sterility in Skin and Minor Hand Surgery.

Field sterility is commonly used for skin and minor hand surgery performed in the ambulatory setting. Surgical site infection (SSI) rates are similar for these same procedures when performed in the main operating room (OR). In this paper, we aim to look at both current evidence and common sense logic supporting the use of some of the techniques and apparel designed to prevent SSI.

Effective Rejuvenation with Hyaluronic Acid Fillers: Current Advanced Concepts.

Learning Objectives: After studying this article, the participant should be able to: 1. Process several patient-specific factors before reaching an optimal treatment strategy with appreciation for facial balance. 2.

Wide-awake Anesthesia No Tourniquet Trapeziometacarpal Joint Prosthesis Implantation.

Wide awake local anesthesia no tourniquet (WALANT) hand surgery is a rapidly growing in popularity. WALANT has been used by hand surgeons when operating on bones, tendons, ligaments, nerve entrapments. We offer a case report of the first case in the literature describing WALANT technique when performing trapeziometacarpal joint arthroplasty with prosthesis implantation.

How Many Trigger Fingers Resolve Spontaneously Without Any Treatment?

Introduction: There is very little information in the literature evaluating the natural history of adult trigger fingers and their rate of spontaneous resolution over time.

Methods: A consecutive case series of patients with trigger finger was generated. For each patient, we recorded whether the patient's disease resolved from either no treatment versus active treatment options and over what time period.

Cases of Early Infectious Flexor Tenosynovitis Treated Non-Surgically With Antibiotics, Immobilization, and Elevation.

Background: Early infectious flexor tenosynovitis has been treated with urgent surgery by most surgeons since Bunnell wrote the first textbook of hand surgery in 1945. Some surgeons have good experience with non-surgical management of early presenting disease in some cases.

Methods: This retrospective chart review included 12 inpatients with early infectious flexor synovitis who received conservative treatment with antibiotics, immobilization, and elevation without surgical drainage.

Wide Awake Trapeziectomy for Thumb Basal Joint Arthritis.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

Wide Awake Open Reduction of Irreducible Metacarpal Phalangeal Joint Dislocations.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

Minimal Pain Local Anesthetic Injection with Blunt Tipped Cannula for Wide Awake Upper Blepharoplasty.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

Matching the Implant to the Breast: A Systematic Review of Implant Size Selection Systems for Breast Augmentation.

Background: For primary breast augmentation, several implant selection systems have been described to guide the surgeon with choosing from a variety of manufactured implant dimensions and properties. Controversy exists regarding the most efficacious method of selecting an appropriate implant size that best matches the patient's breast.

Methods: The goal of this systematic review was to provide a comprehensive list of documented implant size selection systems, and to critically evaluate them.

Achieving the optimal epinephrine effect in wide awake hand surgery using local anesthesia without a tourniquet.

Background: In our experience, for all surgeries in the hand, the optimal epinephrine effect from local anesthesia-producing maximal vasoconstriction and visualization-is achieved by waiting significantly longer than the traditionally quoted 7 min from the time of injection.

Methods: In this prospective comparative study, healthy patients undergoing unilateral carpal tunnel surgery waited either 7 min or roughly 30 min, between the time of injection of 1 % lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine and the time of incision. A standardized incision was made through dermis and into the subcutaneous tissue followed by exactly 60 s of measuring the quantity of blood loss using sterile micropipettes.

Closed Microfracture Technique for Surgical Correction of Inferior Turbinate Hypertrophy in Rhinoplasty: Safety and Technical Considerations.

An abundance of surgical procedures are in use for the management of inferior turbinate hypertrophy in rhinoplasty patients. An ideal treatment approach is elusive, given the variability of patient presentation regarding obstructive nasal airway, significant complications associated with techniques that cause mucosal trauma, and the high recurrence rates associated with more conservative techniques. In an effort to improve patient safety, the authors describe a conservative technique-the closed microfracture-that provides an effective functional airway improvement and minimal to no complications.

Inexpensive diffuse reflectance spectroscopy system for measuring changes in tissue optical properties.

The measurement of changes in blood volume in tissue is important for monitoring the effects of a wide range of therapeutic interventions, from radiation therapy to skin-flap transplants. Many systems available for purchase are either expensive or difficult to use, limiting their utility in the clinical setting. A low-cost system, capable of measuring changes in tissue blood volume via diffuse reflectance spectroscopy is presented.

A review of hydrofluoric acid burn management.

Hydrofluoric acid (HF) causes a unique chemical burn. Much of the current treatment knowledge of HF burns is derived from case reports, small case series, animal studies and anecdotal evidence. The management can be challenging because clinical presentation and severity of these burns vary widely.

Acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis induced by hydroxychloroquine: first case report in Canada and review of the literature.

Background: Acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP) is a rare drug eruption presenting with an acute, extensive formation of nonfollicular sterile pustules on an erythematous and edematous base. Typically, the rash is accompanied by fever and leukocytosis, with spontaneous resolution in < 15 days. The incidence of AGEP is estimated at one to five cases per million people per year.

Optimal time delay between epinephrine injection and incision to minimize bleeding.

Background: The time until maximal cutaneous vasoconstriction after injection of lidocaine with epinephrine is often given in textbooks and multiple choice examinations as 7 to 10 minutes. However, in our experience, there is significantly less cutaneous bleeding if one waits considerably longer than 7 to 10 minutes after injection of local anesthesia with epinephrine for most procedures on human skin.

Methods: This was a prospective, randomized, triple-blind study where 12 volunteers were injected simultaneously in each arm with either 1% lidocaine with epinephrine (study group) or 1% plain lidocaine (control group), after which the relative hemoglobin concentration of the underlying skin and soft tissues was measured over time using spectroscopy.

Is main operating room sterility really necessary in carpal tunnel surgery? A multicenter prospective study of minor procedure room field sterility surgery.

Background: Over 70% of Canadian carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) operations are performed outside of the main operating room (OR) with field sterility and surgeon-administered pure local anesthesia [LeBlanc et al., Hand 2(4):173-8, 14]. Is main OR sterility necessary to avoid infection for this operation? This study evaluates the infection rate in carpal tunnel release (CTR) using minor procedure room field sterility.

Ex vivo generation of a highly potent population of circulating angiogenic cells using a collagen matrix.

Biomaterials that have the ability to augment angiogenesis are highly sought-after for applications in regenerative medicine, particularly for revascularization of ischemic and infarcted tissue. We evaluated the culture of human circulating angiogenic cells (CAC) on collagen type I-based matrices, and compared this to traditional selective-adhesion cultures on fibronectin. Culture on a collagen matrix supported the proliferation of CD133(+) and CD34(+)CD133(+) CACs.

U.S. multicenter pilot study of daily consensus interferon (CIFN) plus ribavirin for "difficult-to-treat" HCV genotype 1 patients.

Background: Patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 (HCV-1) and difficult-to-treat characteristics respond poorly to pegylated interferon alfa and ribavirin (RBV), and could benefit from an interferon with increased activity (consensus interferon or CIFN), favorable viral kinetics from daily dosing, and a longer duration of therapy. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the efficacy and safety of daily CIFN + RBV for initial treatment of patients with HCV-1 infection.

Methods: Patients with difficult-to-treat characteristics (92% male, 33% African American, 78% Veterans Affairs [VA]; 67% high viral load, 59% stage 3-4 fibrosis, and mean weight of 204 lbs) were enrolled at seven VA and two community medical centers.

Avoiding flexor tendon repair rupture with intraoperative total active movement examination.

Background: Wide-awake flexor tendon repair in tourniquet-free unsedated patients permits intraoperative Total Active Movement examination (iTAMe) of the freshly repaired flexor tendon. This technique has permitted the intraoperative observation of tendon repair gapping induced by active movement when the core suture is tied too loosely. The gap can be repaired intraoperatively to decrease postoperative tendon repair rupture rates.