Patent productivity among academic plastic surgeons in the United States over 20 years.

Background: Innovation is a cornerstone of plastic and reconstructive surgery. Patents are a way to measure innovation. The objective of this study was to quantify and understand patent productivity in the career of academic plastic surgeons.

Socioeconomic disparities in reception of limb-sparing surgery versus amputation for lower extremity sarcoma.

Background: In lower extremity sarcoma treatment, limb salvage approaches present superior alternatives to amputation due to reduced postoperative morbidity and improved quality of life. This study provides a novel analysis of socioeconomic disparities that may affect reception of limb-sparing surgery.

Methods: Patients with lower extremity bone or soft tissue sarcoma who received either limb-sparing surgery or amputation from 2007 to 2021 were identified in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database.

The Emerging Role of Three-dimensional Technologies in Orthoplastic Surgery.

Three-dimensional (3D) planning and manufacturing technologies have become integral to head and neck reconstruction following tumor resection. These technologies facilitate the prototyping of patient-specific solutions in both digital and physical form. Three-dimensional tumor models and cutting guides help conceptualize and verify the surgical approach, as well as serve as a blueprint for reconstruction.

Antecubital Burn Resulting From Antenna Coupling: A Case Report.

Case: We present the case of a 54-year-old man who underwent elective hip disarticulation complicated by third-degree burn of the left antecubital fossa requiring skin graft. After careful review, it was determined that "antenna coupling" as a result of electrosurgery was the likely cause. We present an experiment demonstrating this phenomenon.

A Systematic Review of the Orthoplastic Approach in Adult Lower Extremity Soft Tissue Sarcoma Flap Reconstruction.

Background: The orthoplastic approach to patient care has changed the way patients with a wide variety of lower extremity pathology are treated. Through a systematic review, we aim to analyze outcomes in adult patients with lower extremity soft tissue sarcomas who undergo an orthoplastic flap management approach to their care.

Methods: A systematic review of adult lower extremity soft tissue sarcoma excision with plastic surgery flap reconstruction was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines searching the Pubmed, Embase, and Web of Science databases from inception to April 2023.

Trends in orthoplastic operative exposure for plastic surgery residents in the United States.

Background: Recent trials have demonstrated clinical benefits to a combined orthoplastic approach for complex reconstructive surgery of the hand, upper and lower extremity.

Purpose: We sought to assess recent trends in exposure to orthoplastic-type procedures among plastic surgery residents training in the United States.

Methods: Independent plastic surgery residents' case logs were extracted from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (2011-2022).

Explantation in Tissue Expander and Direct-to-Implant Reconstruction with Acellular Dermal Matrix: How to Avoid Early Reconstructive Failures.

Background: In the United States, approximately 57,000 tissue expander/implant-based breast reconstructions are performed each year. Complete submuscular tissue expander coverage affords the best protection against implant exposure but can restrict lower pole expansion. The benefits of using acellular dermal matrix are enticing, but questions remain as to whether or not its presence increases reconstructive failures.

AeroForm Tissue Expander: A Case of Early Accidental Inflation.

Background: Device-based reconstruction, the most common approach to breast reconstruction, typically occurs in 2 stages to allow for the breast envelope to be expanded serially before exchanging for a permanent implant. The AeroForm tissue expander is a carbon dioxide-based expansion system that allows for patient-initiated filling, and compared with the traditional saline expander, it has been shown to decrease the median time to full expansion and implant exchange. Furthermore, multiple changes have been incorporated into the newer V2.

Submuscular Placement of Baclofen Infusion Pumps: Case Series and Technique.

Background: Baclofen pumps provide treatment of symptoms of spasticity for disease processes such as cerebral palsy and traumatic brain injury. These devices provide continuous infusion or periodic dosing of intrathecal baclofen (ITB). Traditionally, these pumps have been placed subcutaneously.

Surgical Management of Complex Syndromic Craniosynostosis: Experience With a Rare Genetic Variant.

Patients with syndromic craniosynostosis (CS) can present with both intracranial and extracranial manifestations. Extracranial features include proptosis, exorbitism, and midface hypoplasia. Intracranial manifestations can include elevated intracranial pressure (ICP), brainstem compression, foramen magnum stenosis or jugular foramen hypoplasia with resultant venous hypertension and anomalous drainage.

Rapidly Progressive Multisutural Craniosynostosis in a Patient With Jackson-Weiss Syndrome and a De Novo Pathogenic Variant.

Little is currently known about the mechanisms by which pathogenic variants of produce changes in the FGFR protein and influence the clinical presentation of affected individuals. We report on a patient with a de novo pathogenic variant of and a phenotype consistent with Jackson-Weiss syndrome who presented with delayed, rapidly progressive multisutural craniosynostosis and associated medical complications. Using 3-dimensional modeling of the FGFR protein, we provide evidence that this variant resulted in abnormal dimerization and constitutive activation of FGFR, leading to the Jackson-Weiss phenotype.

Jewelry Ring-Associated Electrothermal Burn Injuries: A Nine-Patient Case Series.

Ring-associated burns are infrequent, comprising only a small fraction of burn consults and admissions. However, because of the location of these burns and the propensity for circumferential wounds, small burn size may belie the severity of resultant injuries. Herein, the authors present their experience with this potentially severe type of burn.

ITC analysis of ligand binding to preQ₁ riboswitches.

Riboswitches regulate genes by binding to small-molecule effectors. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) provides a label-free method to quantify the equilibrium association constant, K(A), of a riboswitch interaction with its cognate ligand. In addition to probing affinity and specific chemical contributions that contribute to binding, ITC can be used to measure the thermodynamic parameters of an interaction (ΔG, ΔH, and ΔS), in addition to the binding stoichiometry (N).

Comparative genomics reveals 104 candidate structured RNAs from bacteria, archaea, and their metagenomes.

Background: Structured noncoding RNAs perform many functions that are essential for protein synthesis, RNA processing, and gene regulation. Structured RNAs can be detected by comparative genomics, in which homologous sequences are identified and inspected for mutations that conserve RNA secondary structure.

Results: By applying a comparative genomics-based approach to genome and metagenome sequences from bacteria and archaea, we identified 104 candidate structured RNAs and inferred putative functions for many of these.