Evaluation of Modified Frailty Index for Predicting Postoperative Outcomes after Upper Extremity Replantation and Revascularization Procedures.

Background:  Upper extremity (UE) replantation and revascularization are challenging surgical procedures, with survival rates being 50 to 90%. Preoperative risk stratification is challenging yet crucial as patients with comorbid conditions face increased complications. This study assesses the predictive value of the modified 5-item frailty index (5-mFI) for postoperative complications in these procedures.

Pre-Emptive Pharmacogenetic Testing in the Acute Hospital Setting: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Pharmacogenetic guided prescribing can be used to improve the safety and effectiveness of medicines. There are several approaches by which this intervention might be implemented in clinical practice, which will vary depending on the health system and clinical context.

Aim: To understand the clinical utility of panel-based pharmacogenetic testing in patients admitted acutely to hospital and to establish variables which predict if an individual might benefit from the intervention.

Dosimetric comparison of hippocampal-sparing technologies in patients with low-grade glioma.

Background: Radiotherapy (RT) plays an integral role in the management of low-grade gliomas (LGG). Late toxicity from RT can cause progressive neurocognitive dysfunction. Radiation-induced damage to the hippocampus (HCP) plays a considerable role in memory decline.

Slice-specific B shimming improves the repeatability of multishot DWI at 7 T.

Purpose: Compared with lower field strengths, DWI at 7 T faces the combined challenges of increased distortion and blurring due to B inhomogeneity, and increased signal dropouts due to B inhomogeneity. This study addresses the B limitations using slice-specific static parallel transmission (pTx) in a multi-shot, readout-segmented EPI diffusion imaging sequence.

Methods: DWI was performed in 7 healthy subjects using MRI at 7 T and readout-segmented EPI.

Techniques and Outcomes in Microsurgical Treatment of Posttraumatic Lymphedema: A Systematic Review.

Background:  The microsurgical treatment of lymphedema has been well-studied and has been shown to be effective, especially in cancer-related lymphedema. Posttraumatic lymphedema (PTL) is a debilitating condition that remains understudied and underreported, and surgical techniques for PTL treatment are not well-represented in the literature. The purpose of this study was to systematically review all published reports of physiologic surgical interventions for PTL.

Hand and finger, ultrasound-guided, percutaneous core needle biopsies: A safe procedure with high diagnostic accuracy.

Introduction/purpose: To determine the diagnostic accuracy and complication rates of ultrasound-guided, percutaneous core needle biopsies of soft tissue masses in the hand and fingers.

Methods: Reports from all ultrasound-guided procedures between 21 May 2014 and 17 March 2022 were queried for keywords including "hand", OR "finger", AND "biopsy". Patient demographics, lesion size and location, biopsy needle gauge and the number of cores obtained were recorded.

Experience with ultrasound neurography for postoperative evaluation of targeted muscle reinnervation.

Targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) was originally developed as a means for increasing intuitive prosthesis control, though later found to play a role in phantom limb pain and neuroma prevention. There is a paucity of literature describing the clinical course of patients with poor TMR surgical outcomes and the value of imaging in the postoperative recovery period. This report will illustrate the potential utility of ultrasound neurography to accurately differentiate TMR surgical outcomes in two patients that received upper extremity amputation and subsequent reconstruction with TMR.

Spinal cord injury as a result of Staphylococcus aureus pyogenic spinal infection complicating infected atopic eczema: two case reports.

Introduction: Pyogenic spinal infections (PSI) are a rare cause of spinal cord injury (SCI). These most often affect the lumbar spine, followed by the thoracic spine and least commonly the cervical spine, with Staphylococcus aureus being the most common causative organism. Atopic eczema is a dermatological condition which can lead to a breakdown of the skin's natural barrier function, allowing bacterial colonisation and infection.

Leigh syndrome: an adult presentation of a paediatric disease.

A previously healthy 27-year-old man was admitted to the acute neurology ward with events involving his face, throat and upper limb, which video telemetry later confirmed were refractory focal seizures. He also had progressive pyramidal features, dysarthria and ataxia. MR scans of the brain identified progressive bilateral basal ganglia abnormalities, consistent with Leigh syndrome.

Alcohol and the central nervous system.

Ethanol use is common to most cultures but with varying doses and to varying extents. While research has focused on the effects on the liver, alcohol exerts a range of actions on the function and structure of the nervous system. In the central nervous system (CNS) it can provoke or exacerbate neurological and psychiatric disease; its effects on the peripheral nervous system are not included in this review.

Soft Tissue Masses of the Hand: A Review of Clinical Presentation and Imaging Features.

More than 15% of all soft-tissue tumors arise in the hand. Because of the location of these tumors, even small abnormalities may be alarming to patients on presentation. Although the majority of lesions are benign and can be diagnosed solely by history and physical examination, additional imaging workup may be required to confirm a diagnosis or define anatomic extent of involvement.

Two cases of SMA syndrome after neurosurgical injury to the frontal aslant tract.

Supplementary motor area (SMA) syndrome is characterised by transient disturbance in volitional movement and speech production which classically occurs after injury to the medial premotor area. We present two cases of SMA syndrome following isolated surgical injury to the frontal aslant tract (FAT) with the SMA intact. The first case occurred after resection of a left frontal operculum tumour.

The Scottish Brain Health Service Model: Rationale and Scientific Basis for a National Care Pathway of Brain Health Services in Scotland.

In order to address the oft-cited societal, economic, and health and social care impacts of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, we must move decisively from reactive to proactive clinical practice and to embed evidence-based brain health education throughout society. Most disease processes can be at least partially prevented, slowed, or reversed. We have long neglected to intervene in neurodegenerative disease processes, largely due to a misconception that their predominant symptom - cognitive decline - is a normal, age-related process, but also due to a lack of multi-disciplinary collaboration.

Pediatric Pain and Pain Management After Ambulatory Plastic Surgery: Trends in the Age of Opioid Awareness.

Background: Overprescribing by physicians has been shown to be a major contributor to the opioid epidemic. Although pediatric ambulatory plastic surgery patients are commonly prescribed opioids for postoperative pain control, there is a lack of evidence for their necessity. This study aimed to investigate the role of prescribed narcotics in the ambulatory pediatric plastic surgery setting.

Continuous External Tissue Expansion Closure Technique for Management of Forearm Compartment Syndrome Releases and Simple Upper-Extremity Wounds.

Upper-extremity wounds from various etiologies such as trauma and fasciotomies can prove to be problematic for the upper-extremity surgeon. These defects can result in considerable morbidity often requiring prolonged wound care and the eventual use of skin grafting from a separate painful donor site. Tissue expansion takes advantage of the viscoelastic properties of skin to provide additional tissue for reconstruction.

A Retrospective Review of Differences in Complication Rates between Dorsal Percutaneous and Mini-Open Surgical Fixation of Scaphoid Fractures.

 We retrospectively reviewed the complications of 80 cases of scaphoid screw fixation in acute fractures and early nonunions comparing dorsal percutaneous and mini-open approaches.  We performed a chart review of all patients who underwent surgical fixation of a scaphoid fracture or a nascent nonunion using a dorsal percutaneous or dorsal mini-open technique by a single surgeon. We collected data on patient demographics, including age and smoking status, time to surgery, fracture type, union, and the major and minor complications that occurred in each group.

Modafinil in the rehabilitation of a patient with post-surgical posterior fossa syndrome: a lesson to be learned?

Disorders of the cerebellum may present with motor, cognitive, behavioral and affective symptoms. There is a growing interest in developing neuroanatomical models of symptoms generation that involve the cerebellum and the cerebello-cortical connections. We describe an exciting first case report of successful use of Modafinil in an adult patient with post-operative posterior fossa syndrome.

Optimizing Successful Outcomes in Complex Spine Reconstruction Using Local Muscle Flaps.

Background: Postoperative wound complications in patients undergoing complex spinal surgery can have devastating sequelae, including hardware exposure, meningitis, and unplanned reoperation. The literature shows that wound complication rates in this patient population approach 19 percent and, in very high-risk patients (i.e.

Vascular smooth muscle cell optimization of vasculogenesis within naturally derived, biodegradable, hybrid hydrogel scaffolds.

Background: As vascularization represents the rate-limiting step in permanent incorporation of hydrogel-based tissue-regeneration templates, the authors sought to identify the material chemistry that would optimize endothelial cell adhesion and invasion into custom hydrogel constructs. The authors further investigated induction of endothelial tubule formation by growth factor supplementation and paracrine stimulation.

Methods: Hydrogel scaffolds consisting of combinations of alginate, collagen type I, and chitosan were seeded with human umbilical vein endothelial cells and maintained under standard conditions for 14 days.

Use of Integra and interval brachytherapy in a 2-stage auricular reconstruction after excision of a recurrent keloid.

Keloids present a formidable clinical challenge. Surgical excision in conjunction with radiation therapy may decrease the chance of keloid recurrence. Split-thickness skin grafts, however, are more prone to failure in the setting of radiation.

Soldiers' personal technologies on deployment and at home.

Objective: Personal technologies such as smartphones, computers, and gaming devices, are ubiquitous in the civilian world. Consequently they represent ideal vehicles for disseminating psychological and other health resources and interventions. However, almost nothing is known about personal technology use in the U.

Targeted radiotherapy: microgray doses and the bystander effect.

Indirect effects may contribute to the efficacy of radiotherapy by sterilizing malignant cells that are not directly irradiated. However, little is known of the influence of indirect effects in targeted radionuclide treatment. We compared gamma-radiation-induced bystander effects with those resulting from exposure to three radiohaloanalogues of meta-iodoben-zylguanidine (MIBG): [(131)I]MIBG (low linear energy transfer (LET) alpha-emitter), [(123)I]MIBG (high LET Auger electron emitter), and meta-[(211)At]astatobenzylguanidine ([(211)At]MABG) (high LET alpha-emitter).