Lymphedema surgery: the current state of the art.

Background/purpose: Lymphedema surgery, when integrated into a comprehensive lymphedema treatment program for patients, can provide effective and long-term improvements that non-surgical management alone cannot achieve. Such a treatment program can provide significant improvement for many issues such as recurring cellulitis infections, inability to wear clothing appropriate for the rest of their body size, loss of function of arm or leg, and desire to decrease the amount of lymphedema therapy and compression garment use.

Methods: The fluid predominant portion of lymphedema may be treated effectively with surgeries that involve transplantation of lymphatic tissue, called vascularized lymph node transfer (VLNT), or involve direct connections from the lymphatic system to the veins, called lymphaticovenous anastomoses (LVA).

Surgeon motivations behind the timing of breast reconstruction in patients requiring postmastectomy radiation therapy.

Objectives: Although postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) has been shown to reduce breast cancer burden and improve survival, PMRT may negatively influence outcomes after reconstruction. The goal of this study was to compare current opinions of plastic and reconstructive surgeons (PRS) and surgical oncologists (SO) regarding the optimal timing of breast reconstruction for patients requiring PMRT.

Methods: Members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBS), and the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) were asked to participate in an anonymous web-based survey.

A novel two-stage surgical approach to treat chronic lymphedema.

Surgical treatment of chronic lymphedema has seen significant advances. Suction-assisted protein lipectomy (SAPL) has been shown to safely and effectively reduce the solid component of swelling in chronic lymphedema. However, these patients must continuously use compression garments to control and prevent recurrence.

Use of Dual, Tubularized Supraclavicular Artery Island Flaps in Series to Restore Gastrointestinal Continuity After a Failed Ileocolic Esophageal Reconstruction.

The supraclavicular artery island flap (SCAIF) is a versatile pedicled flap that can be an excellent alternative to free flap reconstruction in complex head and neck defects. We use the SCAIF routinely as a first-line option for many of our soft tissue head and neck reconstructions. Here we describe a novel application of dual SCAIFs used in series for proximal esophageal reconstruction.

Review of current surgical treatments for lymphedema.

Background: The current mainstay of lymphedema therapy has been conservative nonsurgical treatment. However, surgical options for lymphedema have been reported for over a century. Early surgical procedures were often invasive and disfiguring, and they often had only limited long-term success.

An effective system of surgical treatment of lymphedema.

Background: Effective surgical treatments for lymphedema now can address the fluid and solid phases of the disease process. Microsurgical procedures, including lymphaticovenous anastomosis (LVA) and vascularized lymph node transfer (VLNT), target the fluid component that predominates at earlier stages of the disease. Suction-assisted protein lipectomy (SAPL) addresses the solid component that typically presents later as chronic, nonpitting lymphedema of an extremity.

The sensate fibula osteocutaneous flap: neurosomal anatomy.

Background: Rapid return of oral sensation enhances quality of life following oromandibular reconstruction. For predictable reinnervation of flaps, a detailed knowledge of their nerve supply is required. This study was designed to investigate the cutaneous nerve supply of the fibula osteocutaneous flap.

The sensate fibular osteoneurocutaneous flap in oromandibular reconstruction: clinical outcomes in 31 cases.

Thirty-one patients requiring composite mandibular resection were reconstructed with sensate fibula osteocutaneous flaps. Preoperatively, all patients underwent lower extremity sensory testing at the location of the proposed flap site. Intraoperatively, either the Lateral Sural Cutaneous Nerve (LSCN) or the Recurrent Superficial Peroneal Nerve (RSPN) was chosen as donor.

Bipedicled flaps in posttraumatic lower-extremity reconstruction.

Background: Complex, lower-extremity, soft-tissue defects pose a significant challenge to the reconstructive surgeon and often require the use of free flaps, which puts significant demands on the patient, the surgeon and the health-care system. Bipedicled flaps are random but receive a blood supply from two pedicles, allowing the surgeon to use local tissue with an augmented nutrient blood flow. They are simple to elevate and economical in operating time.

The supraclavicular artery island flap (SCAIF) for head and neck reconstruction: surgical technique and refinements.

Objective: We have found the supraclavicular artery island flap (SCAIF) to be a reliable, first-line tool for the reconstruction of complex head and neck defects. Here, we review our technique of flap elevation and summarize the current literature citing important contributions in the evolution of this flap.

Data Sources: Medline literature review of supraclavicular artery island flap or shoulder flap in head and neck reconstruction with particular emphasis on developments within the past 5 years.

Supraclavicular artery island flap (SCAIF) vs free fasciocutaneous flaps for head and neck reconstruction.

Objective: At our institution, the supraclavicular artery island flap (SCAIF) has become a reliable option for fasciocutaneous coverage of complex head and neck (H&N) defects. We directly compare the outcomes of reconstructions performed with SCAIFs and free fasciocutaneous flaps (FFFs), which have not been reported previously.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Quality of innervation in sensate medial plantar flaps for heel reconstruction.

Background: Reconstruction of the heel represents a difficult challenge for surgeons, given the demand for thick, durable skin capable of withstanding both pressure and shear. The authors describe the use of a sensate medial plantar flap for heel reconstruction in three patients and document the long-term retention of sensation compared with the contralateral uninjured heel and corresponding donor site.

Methods: A medial plantar flap was harvested to include the branch of the medial plantar nerve to the instep to preserve innervation.

Professional perceptions of plastic and reconstructive surgery: what primary care physicians think.

Background: The great breadth of the specialty of plastic surgery is often misunderstood by practitioners in other specialties and by the public at large. The authors investigate the perceptions of primary care physicians in training toward the practice of different areas of plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Methods: A short, anonymous, Web-based survey was administered to residents of internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatrics training programs in the United States.

Breast reconstruction with perforator flaps.

Background: Perforator flaps represent the latest in the evolution of soft-tissue flaps. They allow the transfer of the patient's own skin and fat in a reliable manner, with minimal donor-site morbidity. The powerful perforator flap concept allows transfer of tissue from numerous, well-described donor sites to almost any distant site with suitable recipient vessels.

Age-related changes of the orbit and midcheek and the implications for facial rejuvenation.

Background: Aging of the midface is complex and poorly understood. Changes occur not only in the facial soft tissues, but also in the underlying bony structure. Computed tomography (CT) imaging was used for investigating characteristics of the bony orbit and the anterior wall of the maxilla in patients of different ages and genders.

Breast reconstruction using perforator flaps.

Background: Perforator flaps allow the transfer of the patient's own skin and fat in a reliable manner with minimal donor-site morbidity. The deep inferior epigastric artery (DIEP) and superficial inferior epigastric artery (SIEA) flaps transfer the same tissue from the abdomen to the chest for breast reconstruction as the TRAM flap without sacrificing the rectus muscle or fascia. Gluteal artery perforator (GAP) flaps allow transfer of tissue from the buttock, also with minimal donor-site morbidity.

The in-the-crease inferior gluteal artery perforator flap for breast reconstruction.

Background: Perforator free flaps harvested from the abdomen or buttock are excellent options for breast reconstruction. They enable the reconstructive surgeon to recreate a breast with skin and fat while leaving muscle at the donor site undisturbed. The gluteal artery perforator free flap using buttock tissue was first introduced by the authors' group in 1993.

Breast reconstruction with gluteal artery perforator flaps.

Background: Several alternatives exist for breast cancer reconstruction with perforator flaps. For those patients in whom the buttock is the best choice as a source for autologous tissue, the IGAP and SGAP flaps are an excellent option. These flaps allow the reliable transfer of skin and soft tissue from the buttock without the associated donor site morbidity of a muscle flap.

Breast reconstruction with the deep inferior epigastric perforator flap: history and an update on current technique.

Perforator flaps allow the transfer of the patient's own skin and fat in a reliable manner with minimal donor site morbidity. For breast reconstruction, the abdomen typically is our primary choice as a donor site. The deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap remains our first choice as an abdominal perforator flap and has become a mainstay for the repair of mastectomy defects.

A simple method for the control of medicinal leeches.

The medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, has been widely used in the salvage of microvascular free flaps. Numerous publications have detailed the biology, use, benefits, and risks of leech therapy. One reported significant risk is the risk of leech movement or migration from the surgical site, possibly into body orifices or even deeper into the wound itself.

Cleft palate and toe malformations in a child with fetal methotrexate exposure.

Methotrexate, a commonly administered chemotherapeutic agent, is a well-known human teratogen. Exposure of a fetus between 6 and 8 weeks of gestation is postulated to cause birth defects. However, fetal exposure to this drug after this critical period is thought to have little to no effect on eventual fetal development and growth.