Fat Grafting into Younger Recipients Improves Volume Retention in an Animal Model.

Background: Soft-tissue deficits associated with various craniofacial anomalies can be addressed by fat grafting, although outcomes remain unpredictable. Furthermore, consensus does not exist for timing of these procedures. Whereas some advocate approaching soft-tissue reconstruction after the underlying skeletal foundation has been corrected, other studies have suggested that earlier grafting may exploit a younger recipient niche that is more conducive to fat graft survival.

Doxycycline Reduces Scar Thickness and Improves Collagen Architecture.

Objective: To investigate the effects of local doxycycline administration on skin scarring.

Background: Skin scarring represents a major source of morbidity for surgical patients. Doxycycline, a tetracycline antibiotic with off-target effects on the extracellular matrix, has demonstrated antifibrotic effects in multiple organs.

An Improved Humanized Mouse Model for Excisional Wound Healing Using Double Transgenic Mice.

Splinting full-thickness cutaneous wounds in mice has allowed for a humanized model of wound healing. Delineating the epithelial edge and assessing time to closure of these healing wounds via macroscopic visualization have remained a challenge. Double transgenic mice were created by crossbreeding K14-Cre and ROSA reporter mice.

Three-Dimensional Ultrasound Versus Computerized Tomography in Fat Graft Volumetric Analysis.

Studies evaluating fat grafting in mice have frequently used micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) as an accurate radiographic tool to measure longitudinal volume retention without killing the animal. Over the past decade, however, microultrasonography has emerged as an equally powerful preclinical imaging tool. Given their respective strengths in 3-dimensional reconstruction, there is no study to our knowledge that directly compares micro-CT with microultrasound in volumetric analysis.