Publications by authors named "Gassman A"

Article Synopsis
  • Black cohosh extract is marketed as a dietary supplement to help relieve menopause symptoms and may protect against bone loss in postmenopausal women; however, its interactions with bisphosphonates like risedronate are unclear.
  • A study on female rats examined the effects of black cohosh, risedronate, and their combination on bone mineral density over 24 weeks after ovariectomy.
  • Results showed that while high doses of risedronate significantly increased bone mineral density, black cohosh extract had no significant effects alone or in combination with risedronate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Most breastfeeding individuals take at least one prescription drug, yet limited data from lactation studies are available to inform the safety of these drugs during breastfeeding. As a result, healthcare providers (HCPs) rely on available information about safety of drugs used during pregnancy or on personal experiences to inform prescribing/counseling decisions for breastfeeding individuals. To improve risk communication regarding drugs used during lactation, the U.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The aim of this article is to provide a template for building and sustaining a microsurgical breast reconstruction practice in a private practice setting. The target audience including residents, microsurgical fellows, and reconstructive microsurgeons were currently employed in an academic setting, and reconstructive microsurgeons were currently employed in a private group entity. We present five pillars that initiate, support, and sustain a successful practice in microsurgical breast reconstruction.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Anticancer agents can impair ovarian function, resulting in premature menopause and associated long-term health effects. Ovarian toxicity is not usually adequately assessed in trials of anticancer agents, leaving an important information gap for patients facing therapy choices. This American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) statement provides information about the incorporation of ovarian toxicity measures in trial design.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Complications posed by preterm birth (delivery before 37 weeks of pregnancy) are a leading cause of newborn morbidity and mortality. The previous discovery and validation of an algorithm that includes maternal serum protein biomarkers, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 4 (IBP4), with clinical factors to predict preterm birth represents an opportunity for the development of a widely accessible point-of-care assay to guide clinical management. Toward this end, we developed SHBG and IBP4 quantification assays for maternal serum using giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensors and a self-normalizing dual-binding magnetic immunoassay.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: There are many approaches to pain control in reduction mammaplasty. Preoperative bupivacaine regional blocks control pain relatively inexpensively ($0.07/mL), but last only 8 hours.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Sternal wound infections are a rare but life-threatening complication of cardiothoracic surgery. Prior literature has supported the use of negative pressure wound therapy to decrease sternal wound infections and promote healing. This study sought to determine whether closed incision negative pressure therapy reduced wound infection and improved outcomes in cardiothoracic surgery.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: There have been reports of clinically relevant uterine bleeding events among women of reproductive age exposed to rivaroxaban.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the risk of severe abnormal uterine bleeding (SAUB) resulting in transfusion or surgical intervention among women on rivaroxaban versus apixaban, dabigatran and warfarin.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study in the FDA's Sentinel System (10/2010-09/2015) among females aged 18+ years with venous thromboembolism (VTE), or atrial flutter/fibrillation (AF) who newly initiated a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC; rivaroxaban, apixaban, dabigatran) or warfarin.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tissue expanders are known adjuncts in ventral hernia repair, used in a staged approach where tissue closure or coverage of the defect is preferred but inadequate. Placement of tissue expanders in the correct tissue plane can be difficult, especially in thin patients or with loss of domain. This case series describes a technique in which tissue expander placement is facilitated by ultrasound-guided hydro-dissection, following the placement of a transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Recently, the profunda artery perforator flap has become one of the popular flap choices for patients who desire autologous breast reconstruction but are not optimal candidates for deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap surgery. These patients are not ideal patients for DIEP flap surgery because of having poor perforators, previous abdominal operations, low body mass index, or previously used/failed DIEP flap. In their institution, the authors have performed stacked profunda artery perforator flaps for these patients to provide full volumetric and aesthetic reconstruction.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Periocular necrotizing fasciitis is a rare, but potentially blinding, or even fatal disease. The authors report a case of a 44-year-old man who presented with quiescent bilateral periocular and facial necrotizing fasciitis. The patient was treated with antibiotics and surgical debridement, followed by negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT), until the wound bed was thought to be healthy enough to support bilateral upper eyelid full-thickness skin grafts.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The superficial inferior epigastric artery (SIEA) flap and the deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap have been increasingly adopted for breast reconstruction; however, each have its own set of advantages and disadvantages. In the select subset of patients that cannot tolerate minimal abdominal fasciotomy that occurs with DIEP harvest and do not have adequate pedicle length that often occurs after SIEA harvest, we suggest another option for abdominally-based free flap breast reconstruction. Here, we describe the formation of a composite perforator based on the pedicle of the retro-rectus deep inferior epigastric vessels and the superficial inferior epigastric vessels, known as a superficial and deep inferior epigastric artery (SADIE) flap, which allows for a more compatible anastomotic size match than the SIEA and elongation of the vascular pedicle with minimal dissection of the anterior rectus fascia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The success of microvascular reconstruction depends on many factors. Although many factors cannot be dictated by a surgeon, the success of anastomosis can be maximized by honing skill with performing anastomoses. However, size discrepancy of vessels remains a common challenge, given the lack of an ideal technique.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Laser-assisted indocyanine-green imaging (ICG) has a wide range of surgical applications, and has been used in reconstructive surgery to aid in assessing the viability of free tissue transfers and to help predict poor tissue perfusion. However, its indications for use is limited to assessing free flap tissue perfusion, coronary artery perfusion during coronary artery bypass (CABG), and tissue perfusion in diabetic foot ulcers, to name a few. This system has been proven to be a safe, reliable adjunctive modality to assess microvascular compromise or poor perfusion peri-operatively, which could minimize skin necrosis and other post-operative complications (Further et al.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis placed on reducing length of hospital stay and health costs associated with breast surgery. Adequate pain control is an essential component of enhanced recovery after surgery. Postoperative pain management strategies include use of narcotic analgesia, non-narcotic analgesia, and local anesthetics.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Seven mycobacteriophages from distinct geographical locations were isolated, using mc155 as the host, and then purified and sequenced. All of the genomes are related to cluster A mycobacteriophages, BobSwaget and Lokk in subcluster A2; Fred313, KADY, Stagni, and StepMih in subcluster A3; and MyraDee in subcluster A18, the first phage to be assigned to that subcluster.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Anatomical study has proven vital to the understanding and improvement of rejuvenation techniques of the face and neck. The microscopic septa responsible for individual facial fat compartments are also present in the neck. The authors' anatomical studies of the neck, including supraplatysmal and subplatysmal elements, have influenced their surgical and nonsurgical techniques.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Free and local flaps based on the profunda artery perforators were first used for reconstruction of pressure sores, burn contractures, and extremity wounds. Recently, a revised profunda artery perforator flap was introduced for breast reconstruction. However, despite increasing reports of the use of the flap, it remains a rarely used option.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Given the short recovery and immediate results, facial fillers have become a popular alternative to surgical rejuvenation of the face. Reported complications arising from facial filler injections include erythema, tissue loss, blindness, stroke, and even death. In this article, the authors describe their anatomically based techniques to minimize risk and maximize safety when injecting in the facial danger zones, including the glabella/brow, temporal region, perioral region, nasolabial fold, nose, and infraorbital region.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Two-stage facial reanimation procedures with a cross-facial nerve graft often have unsatisfactory results in the older patient. Although the cause of result variability is likely multifactorial, some studies suggest that increased donor nerve axonal load improves function of a free muscle transfer after a cross-facial nerve graft. This study attempts to characterize the relationship between age and facial nerve axonal load.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF