Needle Scoring in Otoplasty: A Basic Technique for Improving Aesthetic Outcomes.

Background: Prominent ears are a prevalent aesthetic concern, with numerous surgical techniques utilized in otoplasty procedures, without a widely approved gold standard. Traditional methods often leave residual deformities, reducing patient satisfaction.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective case series analysis involving 38 patients (30 Female, 8 Male) who underwent otoplasty to correct prominent ears for aesthetic purposes from January 2019 to December 2022.

Pectoralis Major Muscle 3D Volumetric Reconstruction in the Tuberous Breast: Anatomical and Radiomics Differences With Potential Surgical Impact.

Background: Tuberous breast (TB) is a congenital anomaly characterised by morphological, structural and breast region alterations. The pectoralis major muscle (PMM) is crucial for correction when using breast implants, alterations at this level have received little attention in the literature.

Objectives: This study aims to define the anatomical characteristics of the PMM in TB patients using radiomic data extracted from MRI sequences.

Rejuvenation in Men Facial Aging: A Combined Approach.

Facelift surgery, also known as rhytidectomy, is a popular cosmetic procedure aimed at reversing the signs of facial aging. While facelift surgery is more commonly performed in women, an increasing number of men are seeking this procedure to maintain a youthful appearance. The long recovery period conflicts the overall primary outcome anticipated by men undergoing rhytidectomy, i.

Implant-Based Breast Reconstruction: Impact of Body Mass Index on Postoperative Complications and Aesthetic Results: A 5-Year, Single-Center Study.

Background: Increasing adoption of implant-based breast reconstruction (IBR) has raised expectations regarding postoperative outcomes and aesthetic results. BMI has been extensively explored as a predictor of complications. This study is the first to examine complication rates in underweight subjects, and compares these rates among underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese patients.

Smartphone Dynamic Infrared Thermography for Harvesting AICAP Flap in a Large Breast-conservative Surgery.

Flaps based on perforators of the intercostal arteries have been described for the reconstruction of defects resulting from partial mastectomies. Dynamic infrared thermography (DIRT) identifies hot spots that accurately correspond to and evaluate perforator vessels toward the skin. The new generation of portable thermal cameras has become smaller, less expensive, more sensitive, and compatible with common smartphones.

Topical Tranexamic Acid: Risks, Benefits and Novel Complications in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

Antifibrinolytics, particularly tranexamic acid (TXA), are agents used to reduce bleeding. TXA is a synthetic reversible competitive inhibitor to the lysine receptor found on plasminogen. By reversibly binding to this site, it leads to plasminogen being unable to bind to fibrin and so prevents fibrinolysis, this stabilizes the clot and thus prevents hemorrhage.

Comment on: ''Tuberous Breast, Deformities, and Asymmetries: A Retrospective Analysis Comparing Fat Grafting Versus Mastopexy and Breast Implants''.

We read with great interest the article titled "Tuberous breast, deformities, and asymmetries: a retrospective analysis comparing fat grafting versus mastopexy and breast implants" by Gentile. In this interesting paper, the author compares results obtained in patients suffering from tuberous breast, deformities, and asymmetries treated with fat grafting (FG) with those of patients who underwent mastopexy and breast implant (M-SI). The TB reconstructive procedures aims to release the constricted base both vertically and horizontally, restore the correct nipple-inframammary fold distance, avoid the double bubble, correct ptosis and hypertrophy, and restore both volume and asymmetry.

"Just Pulse it!" Introduction of a conservative implant salvage protocol to manage infection in pre-pectoral breast reconstruction: Case series and literature review.

Post-operative implant infection is generally rare after breast augmentation, but it can occur in up to 35% of cases in post-mastectomy breast reconstruction. Standard treatment consists in the administration of antibiotics, implant removal, and delayed prosthesis replacement leading to multiple operations, with a negative impact on patient's clinical, economical, and psychological outcomes. There is little information published in the literature on the management of periprosthetic infection following pre-pectoral reconstructions.

Donor Site Wound Healing in Radial Forearm Flap: A Comparative Study Between Dermal Substitute and Split-Thickness Skin Graft Versus Full-Thickness Skin Graft Primary Coverage.

Radial forearm flap (RFF) is one of the most used flaps in reconstructive surgery. Despite its versatility and effectiveness, the donor site is affected by aesthetic and functional issues. In the group of techniques described to improve the donor site morbidity, dermal substitutes offer a valid approach in the wound management.

Donor-Site Morbidity After Osteocutaneous Free Fibula Transfer: Longitudinal Analysis of Gait Performance.

Purpose: The purpose was to evaluate donor-site clinical morbidity and changes in kinematic gait parameters after the harvest of a vascularized free fibula flap for facial reconstruction.

Materials And Methods: We enrolled 14 patients (aged 50 ± 15 years) in a longitudinal study. Every patient underwent a double evaluation in which a presurgical assessment and 6-month postsurgical assessment were performed.

Cooperation of Th1 and Th17 cells determines transition from autoimmune myocarditis to dilated cardiomyopathy.

Myocarditis is a potentially lethal inflammatory heart disease of children and young adults that frequently leads to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Since diagnostic procedures and efficient therapies are lacking, it is important to characterize the critical immune effector pathways underlying the initial cardiac inflammation and the transition from myocarditis to DCM. We describe here a T-cell receptor (TCR) transgenic mouse model with spontaneously developing autoimmune myocarditis that progresses to lethal DCM.

Molecular mapping of autoimmune B cell responses in experimental myocarditis.

Autoimmune responses directed against heart-specific antigens most likely play a key role in the pathogenesis of myocarditis. Although autoantibodies against cardiac determinants are frequently detected both in human patients and mice suffering from myocarditis, the immunological mechanisms for their induction have not yet been fully explored. We used here the SEREX approach (serological identification of recombinantly expressed proteins) to molecularly dissect heart-specific autoimmune B cell responses that develop in the course of experimentally induced myocarditis.

Quantification and characterization of myosin peptide-specific CD4+ T cells in autoimmune myocarditis.

Characterization of autoantigen-specific CD4+ T cells at the single cell level is crucial for understanding the immunopathological mechanisms underlying autoimmune diseases. Cardiac myosin heavy chain (myhca) is the major autoantigen associated with autoimmune myocarditis both in humans and in experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) in mice. In the current study, we evaluated two methods for the enumeration and phenotypic characterization of myhca-specific CD4+ T cells during the course of EAM.

Structural plasticity of the proteasome and its function in antigen processing.

The proteasome is the main provider of peptide ligands for major histocompatibility complex class I molecules. During an immune response to pathogens, the proinflammatory cytokine interferon (IFN)-gamma and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha are released, which induce the proteasome subunits LMP2, LMP7, and MECL-1. These replace the constitutively expressed active site subunits of the proteasome (delta, MB1, and Z) leading to a marked change in the cleavage preference of the proteasome and the production of T-cell epitopes.

Pronounced up-regulation of the PA28alpha/beta proteasome regulator but little increase in the steady-state content of immunoproteasome during dendritic cell maturation.

Dendritic cells (DC) are professional antigen-presenting cells that activate CTL by presenting MHC class I-restricted peptides that are processed through the proteasome pathway. Previously, we reported that upon DC maturation the synthesis is switched towards the exclusive production of immunoproteasomes containing the active site subunits LMP2, LMP7 and MECL-1. In this study we investigated the mechanism by which proteasome assembly is regulated in mature DC.

Immunoproteasomes largely replace constitutive proteasomes during an antiviral and antibacterial immune response in the liver.

The proteasome is critically involved in the production of MHC class I-restricted T cell epitopes. Proteasome activity and epitope production are altered by IFN-gamma treatment, which leads to a gradual replacement of constitutive proteasomes by immunoproteasomes in vitro. However, a quantitative analysis of changes in the steady state subunit composition of proteasomes during an immune response against viruses or bacteria in vivo has not been reported.

Cutting edge: neosynthesis is required for the presentation of a T cell epitope from a long-lived viral protein.

CTLs recognize peptide epitopes which are proteolytically generated by the proteasome and presented on MHC class I molecules. According to the defective ribosomal product (DRiP) hypothesis, epitopes originate from newly synthesized polypeptides which are degraded shortly after their translation. The DRiP hypothesis would explain how epitopes can be generated from long-lived proteins.