Long-term safety and effectiveness of style 410 highly cohesive silicone breast implants.

Background: In 2006, a single-center Swedish study demonstrated a low rupture rate and high patient satisfaction with the Style 410 shaped, form-stable gel implant. The current study aimed to validate the accuracy of the previously published results across multiple European sites.

Methods: A total of 163 subjects (approximately 70% had augmentation [n = 112], 15% had reconstruction [n = 25], and 15% had revision [n = 26]) underwent a physical examination followed by breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for rupture detection.

Fistula and stenosis after 135 (pharyngo)laryngectomies.

Background: Despite progress made with reconstruction, morbidity is still elevated after (pharyngo)laryngectomy. The present study was designed to determine the incidence and predisposing factors of the complications following (pharyngo)laryngectomy.

Methods: Primary surgical treatment was delivered in 60 patients.

Wide localized excision and reconstruction for minor salivary gland tumours.

Background: Insufficient excision is one of the main factors leading to recurrence of minor salivary gland tumours. Our aim is to perform large resections with immediate reconstruction in order to provide local control, as well as to achieve better cosmetic and functional results.

Methods: Four consecutive patients suffering from minor salivary gland tumours of the upper aerodigestive tract were treated: two had adenoid cystic carcinomas (one of the lateral oropharyngeal mucosa, one of the retromolar area); one had a polymorphous low-grade carcinoma (at the base of the tongue); and one had mucoepidermoid carcinoma (on the floor of the mouth).

Immediate breast reconstruction with implants and adjuvant chemotherapy: a good option?

Immediate breast reconstruction using implants is a currently practiced intervention. However, it is exposed to the potential adverse effects of adjuvant therapies necessitated for cancer control. Patients with implants, receiving adjuvant chemotherapy, were compared with those not necessitating chemotherapy to evaluate the real impact of this combination of treatment modalities on the final outcome.

Basal cell carcinoma of the external auditory canal.

Carcinomas of the external auditory canal are rare, nevertheless they are associated with a relatively poor prognosis. Among these tumours, basal cell carcinomas are less frequent than squamous cell carcinomas. Anyway, it is difficult to determine if their prognosis is better, as in other localizations on the body.

Lethal cutaneous verrucous carcinoma.

Verrucous carcinoma is a rare subtype of well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma that may occur anywhere on the skin. It is slow growing, enlarging relentlessly and invading locally. Some cases were reported to occur on chronic scar tissue but demonstrated the same clinical course than in other locations.

Bednar tumor of the foot: a case report.

Pigmented dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (Bednar tumor) is a rare neoplasm accounting for approximately 1-5% of all cases of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans. The majority occurs on the trunk, and the remainders are more or less equally distributed in the upper and lower extremities and the head and neck. Microscopically it is characterized by spindled cells arranged in a tight storiform pattern and admixed with a small population of melanin-containing dendritic cells.

Immediate breast reconstruction with saline-filled implants: no interference with the oncologic outcome?

The possible adverse effects on cancer control due to immediate breast reconstruction have been addressed recently for both silicone-filled implants and flap reconstruction. To evaluate those possible effects after immediate breast reconstruction with saline-filled implants, 49 patients reconstructed with saline-filled breast implants at the Jules Bordet Cancer Institute were studied. Selection was only based on the possibility to find a matched patient.

Cutaneous verrucous carcinoma.

Verrucous carcinoma is a rare, low-grade, well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma most commonly seen on mucosa. It has been infrequently reported to occur on the skin, where it is a slow-growing and locally aggressive tumour. It is not uncommon for cutaneous verrucous carcinomas to be mistaken for the more frequent verruca vulgaris and treated accordingly.

[Reconstructive surgical techniques after palliative tumor excision].

Palliative care is more and more of concern in medical information. If there is no exact definition about the real place of surgery in this concept, the rule of reconstructive surgery is even less clear. The goal of this paper is to try to define, on one hand the general characteristics of palliative surgery, and on the other hand, to underline the role of reconstructive surgery in four specific indications: the head and neck area, the thorax, the pelvis and the extremities.

Cutaneous malignant melanoma in children.

Unlabelled: Although rare, malignant melanoma does occur in children. As in adults, prognosis clearly depends on rapid diagnosis and early treatment. This paper describes eight cases of confirmed malignant melanoma in children, with full case history and pathological findings.

Radiation therapy after immediate breast reconstruction with implants.

The use of implants in immediate breast reconstruction is presently a common option. However, the practice should be evaluated in consideration of possible adjuvant therapies needed to control disease and to rule out negative interactions. This article discusses the effects of radiotherapy on breast implants with regard to the final cosmetic result.

Early surgical suction and washout for treatment of cytotoxic drug extravasations.

This case report is presented to assess safety and efficiency of early suction and saline washout of extravasated cytotoxic drugs. Through multiple small skin incisions, the area of extravasation is first suctioned and subsequently extensively washed out with saline. Incisions are left open and the arm is elevated for 24 hours.

Current guidelines in melanoma treatment. Melanoma Working Group of Gent and Bordet.

This article focuses on the actual management of cutaneous melanoma, dealing both with established, internationally well-accepted standard procedures and interventions which are still being investigated. It wants to offer a global picture to the dermatologist of what is currently available in the therapeutic arsenal against melanoma.

In vivo study of electrolyte exchanges through membranes of saline-filled breast implants.

Saline-filled breast implants are currently used in breast reconstruction and augmentation. Free diffusion of electrolytes through these implants has been questioned recently and is of potentially high importance. Many questions are still unanswered about this phenomenon.

Extravasation injuries and emergency suction as treatment.

To evaluate the efficiency of emergency suction in extravasation injuries of contrast medium, records of 11 patients treated for extravasation injuries with a combination of suction and saline washout were reviewed. All of the patients were treated in the first 2 hours after injury. The mean extravasated volume was 55 cc.

alpha-Melanotropin immunoreactivity in human melanoma exudate is related to necrosis.

We have previously reported high immunoreactive alpha-MSH (IR-alpha-MSH) concentrations in melanoma patients' plasma, as well as significant amounts in melanoma metastases and cells grown in culture. Necrosis within the melanoma tumour leads to a massive proteolysis of intracellular proteins and release of cell content: this might significantly contribute to the elevated IR-alpha-MSH plasma levels measured in melanoma patients. To test this hypothesis, we studied the necrosis-related release of MSH from human melanoma cells, using a specific radioimmunoassay.

Pilomatrix carcinoma.

A 43-year-old man presented with a tumour of the medial part of the right eyebrow. A biopsy was performed and histological examination revealed a malignant transformation of a 'calcifying epithelioma of Malherbe'. A secondary wide excision was performed.

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans of the upper lip: an overview and a case report.

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans is a slow-growing but locally aggressive malignant neoplasm of the skin. The preferential locations are on the trunk and proximal extremities but it can occur in the head and neck region in about 15% of the cases. This is a report of such a case and a review of the literature of head and neck cases attempting to analyse the profile of patients and surgical prognosis factors.

Immunoreactive alpha-melanotropin as an autocrine effector in human melanoma cells.

Melanotropin is a peptide having several functions, including the stimulation of melanogenesis and the modulation of proliferation of melanocytes and melanoma cells. It acts through binding to high-affinity receptors of the melanocortin-1 subtype, exclusively expressed in cells of the melanocytic lineage. Elevated levels of immunoreactive alpha-melanotropin were previously reported in melanoma cell lines, tumours and plasma from patients with melanoma.

Verrucous carcinoma of the nasal septum and columella.

Tumours of the nasal septum are rare. They mostly concern squamous cell carcinomas. Verrucous carcinomas are exceptional, with only three well-documented cases in the literature.