The effectiveness of pedicled groin flaps in the treatment of hand defects: results of 49 patients.

Purpose: Despite the growing number of free and local flaps used for repairing defects of the hand, groin flaps are also still widely used. The aims of this study were to evaluate the outcome of a large series of patients whose defects were covered by pedicled groin flaps, and to find out whether it is still indicated in replacing damaged soft tissue of the hand in the era of microsurgery.

Methods: From 1982 to 2009, we treated 85 patients with soft tissue defects on the hand and distal forearm with pedicled groin flaps in our department and recorded them in a prospective database.

Influence of antiseptics on microcirculation after neuronal and receptor blockade.

The topical application of the antiseptics octenidine and polyhexanide on wounds seems to improve microcirculation. These two antiseptics were tested in combination with neuronal inhibition and sympathethic receptor blockade to verify these findings, explore the influence of β blockers on these microcirculative effects, and find out the principle of operation. Investigations were carried out on a standardised cremaster muscle model in rats (n = 66).

Long-term comparison of a routine laboratory parameter-based severity score with APACHE II and SAPS II.

Background: Risk score models predicting mortality have tremendous value, but because of the additional effort involved, their clinical use remains low. The aim of this study is to compare three different scores that each requires different levels of effort during admission and throughout treatment: the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II), the Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (SAPS II), and the Dense Laboratory Whole Blood Applied Risk Estimation (DELAWARE) score. Of the three, only the DELAWARE is based solely on routine laboratory parameters.

Influence of topically applied antimicrobial agents on muscular microcirculation.

Bacterial infections cause major complications in wound healing. Local antiseptics are used for daily wound care; however, their potential toxic effects on the vasculature have not yet been thoroughly investigated. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of antiseptics on microcirculation.

Influence of receptor antagonists, local anesthetics, and denervation on microcirculation.

Objective: Impaired microcirculation is one of the most important factors in delayed wound healing. The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of chemical and surgical interruption of sympathetic nerve fibers and α- and β-receptors blockers on muscular microcirculation.

Methods: The experiment was performed on a standardized cremaster muscle model of male Wistar rats (n=51).

MFH revisited: outcome after surgical treatment of undifferentiated pleomorphic or not otherwise specified (NOS) sarcomas of the extremities -- an analysis of 140 patients.

Background: Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma/NOS (not otherwise specified; former pleomorphic and storiform MFH) of the extremities is a common malignant soft tissue tumor in adults. The objective of this study is to determine prognostic factors for the outcome after surgical treatment with respect to the recent developments in classification.

Methods: From 1996 to 2004, 140 undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcomas/NOS were identified out of 1,200 soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities that were treated at our institution and recorded in a prospective database.

Major and lethal complications of liposuction: a review of 72 cases in Germany between 1998 and 2002.

Background: Liposuction is the most frequently performed cosmetic operation in Germany, with approximately 200,000 procedures performed in 2003. The public perception of liposuction as minor surgery fails to consider the potential of major complications or a possibly fatal outcome.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of severe or lethal complications related to cosmetic liposuction is presented.

Analysis of neovascularization of PEGT/PBT-copolymer dermis substitutes in balb/c-mice.

Introduction: A fundamental prerequisite for using degradable synthetic biopolymers as composite skin substitutes is the ability to establish vascular tissue. PEGT/PBT block-copolymer matrices have previously been shown as a favorable dermal substitute. In this study, quantitative data on neovascularization of PEGT/PBT block-copolymer matrices are presented.

Response rate of fibrosarcoma cells to cytotoxic drugs on the expression level correlates to the therapeutic response rate of fibrosarcomas and is mediated by regulation of apoptotic pathways.

Background: Because of the high resistance rate of fibrosarcomas against cytotoxic agents clinical chemotherapy of these tumors is not established. A better understanding of the diverse modes of tumor cell death following cytotoxic therapies will provide a molecular basis for new chemotherapeutic strategies. In this study we elucidated the response of a fibrosarcoma cell line to clinically used cytostatic agents on the level of gene expression.

Feasibility of chemosensitivity testing in soft tissue sarcomas.

BACKGROUND: Soft tissue sarcomas comprise less than 1% of all solid malignancies. The presentation and behavior of these tumors differs depending on location and histological characteristics. Standard therapy consists of complete surgical resection in combination with adjuvant radiotherapy.

Prognostic significance of erythroblasts in burns.

Changes in hematopoiesis that occur in humans after a burn injury may have important effects on morbidity and mortality. In patients with a variety of severe diseases, the presence of erythroblasts in peripheral blood is known to be indicative of a poor prognosis. However, the prognostic significance of erythroblasts in peripheral blood of burn patients has not yet been estimated.

Fournier's gangrene after Milligan-Morgan hemorrhoidectomy requiring subsequent abdominoperineal resection of the rectum: report of a case.

The development of Fournier's gangrene after Milligan-Morgan hemorrhoidectomy of a previously healthy 76-year-old female patient is described. After such a common surgical procedure, the patient developed full-thickness skin necrosis of the perianal region including the rectum. Immediate radical debridement was mandatory.

In vivo visualization of platelet/endothelium cell interaction in muscle flaps.

Increasing evidence underlines the substantial pathophysiological impact of platelets on the development of ischemia/reperfusion injury (I/R) in flaps. Methods for studying dynamic platelet mechanisms in flaps in vivo are not available. The aim of this study was to develop a model enabling quantitative analysis of platelet kinetics and platelet-endothelium cell interaction within the microcirculation of muscle flaps in vivo.

Neovascularization of poly(ether ester) block-copolymer scaffolds in vivo: long-term investigations using intravital fluorescent microscopy.

Poly(ether ester) block-copolymer scaffolds of different pore size were implanted into the dorsal skinfold chamber of balb/c mice. Using intravital fluorescent microscopy, the temporal course of neovascularization into these scaffolds was quantitatively analyzed. Three scaffold groups (diameter, 5 mm; 220-260 thickness, microm; n = 30) were implanted.

Effects of desmopressin on thrombogenesis in aspirin-induced platelet dysfunction.

Aspirin causes a coagulation disorder. Desmopressin has haemostatic effects by increasing the plasma levels of coagulation factor VIII and von Willebrand factor. The precise effects of desmopressin on thrombogenesis are not known.