Follicular Unit Excision-Linear Ellipse Donor Harvesting Technique: Combining Standard Follicular Unit Excision with Follicular Unit Excision inside a Linear Strip (Modified Linear Strip Excision) to Optimize Graft Yield.

Follicular unit excision (FUE) graft dissection has become the dominant method of donor harvesting globally, however, only a percentage of donor hair can be excised inside the safe donor area before visible donor thinning occurs. Compared to linear strip excision (LSE) where all follicular units inside the harvested ellipse of hair are used, FUE poses substantial limitations for lifetime graft yield and, therefore, cosmetic coverage in patients with advanced pattern hair loss. This paper reviews how combining the donor harvesting methods of FUE and LSE has been shown to optimize graft yield while minimizing the risk of donor depletion from overharvesting.

Female-pattern hair loss: therapeutic update.

Female androgenetic alopecia or female-pattern hair loss (FPHL) is highly prevalent and has a great impact on the quality of life. The treatment is a routine challenge in dermatological practice, as many therapeutic options have a limited level of evidence and often do not meet patients expectations. Lack of knowledge of the pathogenesis of the hair miniaturization process and the factors that regulate follicular morphogenesis restricts the prospect of innovative therapies.

Does the Use of Intraoperative Breast Sizers Increase Complication Rates in Primary Breast Augmentation? A Retrospective Analysis of 416 Consecutive Cases in a Single Institution.

Background. Is the use of intraoperative breast sizers beneficial for plastic surgeons or do they result in higher complication rates? Methods. This is a retrospective study of 416 consecutive cases of primary breast augmentation with silicone implants at the Plastic Surgery Service of Professor Ivo Pitanguy at the 38th Infirmary Santa Casa Misericórdia Hospital, Rio De Janeiro, from January 2011 to March 2014.

Long-term ultrasonographic evaluation of midline aponeurotic plication during abdominoplasty.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the plication of the anterior rectus sheath during abdominoplasty and the anatomical characteristics of patients with recurrence.

Methods: Thirty-eight patients were selected. Patients had undergone abdominoplasty between 1 and 5 years previously.

On skin expansion.

This article discusses skin expansion without considering cellular growth of the skin. An in vivo analysis was carried out that involved expansion at three different sites on one patient, allowing for the observation of the relaxation process. Those measurements were used to characterize the human skin of the thorax during the surgical process of skin expansion.

Ethical issues in plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Plastic, reconstructive, and cosmetic surgery refers to a variety of operations performed in order to repair or restore body parts to look normal or to enhance a certain structure or anatomy that is already normal. Several ethical considerations such as a patient's right for autonomy, informed consent, beneficence, and nonmalfeasance need to be given careful consideration. The principal objective of the medical profession is to render services to humanity with full respect for human dignity.

Junior plastic surgeon's confidence in aesthetic surgery practice: a comparison of two didactic systems.

The importance of residents' training in aesthetic surgery and the need for acquiring confidence in performing cosmetic procedures is an established knowledge. A survey was done in two different training systems to evaluate the experience of junior plastic surgeons in performing four common aesthetic surgery procedures at the end of their residency. The first system guarantees a theoretical background and a certain number of aesthetic procedures to be performed by the trainee, in contrast to the second system where mainly theoretical knowledge in cosmetic surgery is warranted to residents.

Primary essential cutis verticis gyrata--a case report.

Cutis verticis gyrata (CVG) is a skin deformity characterised by excessive growth of the skin of the scalp, resulting in furrows and folds which are similar to gyri of the brain cortex. CVG can be classified into two forms: 'primary' (essential and non-essential) and 'secondary'. The primary non-essential type is associated with the neurological and ophthalmological changes, while the primary essential form does not present any other disorder except for the cutaneous alterations.

Relative implant volume and sensibility alterations after breast augmentation.

Background: Recent studies have provided diverging results regarding the factors that may affect sensibility after primary breast augmentation. Implant volume is believed to be an important factor, but the relation of implant size to breast volume has not been adequately addressed. In addition, the literature shows that a conflict exists when the periareolar and inframammary approaches are compared.

Follicular transplantation for the correction of various stigmas after rhytidoplasty.

Background: Rhytidoplasty may cause permanent and unwanted stigmas, such as dislocation of the temporal and cervical hairline. Widened scars inside the hairline may cause considerable social embarrassment. Furthermore, pretrichial incisions, even if well placed, may widen or become hypochromic, thus revealing that an aesthetic procedure has been performed.

Repeated expansion in burn sequela.

This paper presents a retrospective study of the use of 346 expanders in 132 patients operated at the Ivo Pitanguy Clinic, between the period of 1985 and 2000. The expanders were used in the treatment of burn sequela. In the majority of cases, more than one expander was used at the same time.