Interrupted subcuticular suture spacing during linear wound closures and the effect on wound cosmesis: a randomized evaluator-blinded split-wound comparative effectiveness trial.

Background: Surgical reconstructions following Mohs micrographic surgery and standard surgical excisions are often closed with two layers of sutures: a deep subcuticular layer and a superficial cuticular layer. Some surgeons feel the need to place many deep sutures in order to reduce tension on cuticular sutures, as they believe this may decrease incidence of track marks and dehiscence, and lead to better cosmetic outcomes. However, others feel that a higher number of subcuticular sutures increases the risk of a suture reaction, which leads to patient anxiety and poorer wound cosmesis.

Late-onset bexarotene-induced CD4 lymphopenia in a cutaneous T-cell lymphoma patient.

Various infections, autoimmune diseases, medications, and total-body irradiation are known factors associated with CD4 lymphopenia, defined as a CD4 T-cell count below 300 cells/mL or less than 20% of total lymphocytes. We report a rare case of a patient with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) who developed profound CD4 lymphopenia in the setting of long-term bexarotene therapy. Bexarotene is a third-generation retinoid that inhibits epithelial cell proliferation and is approved for treatment of advanced CTCL (stages IIB-IVB) in adult patients who have failed at least 1 prior systemic therapy.

Cosmetic approach to the Asian population.

The types of cosmetic procedures favored by Asian individuals are unique and tailored to their anatomical differences. Thus, a customized approach is taken for different cosmetic procedures, ranging from neurotoxins and fillers to nonablative fractional resurfacing. The purpose of this review article is to identify the different types of cosmetic procedures commonly sought by Asian individuals and to understand how these different procedures are customized toward their aesthetic preferences.

Psoriatic plaques "koebnerizing" to areas of acanthosis nigricans in an obese female: clues to a common pathway?

Recent evidence suggests that the activation of several growth factor receptors (EGFR, IGFR1, and FGFRs) is a possible cause of acanthosis nigricans, a skin disorder characterized by velvety thin plaques in skin folds and often seen in patients with insulin resistance. The authors report a 14-year-old obese (body mass index = 38.5kg/m(2)) girl with a history of polycystic ovarian syndrome and pre-diabetes who presented with psoriatic plaques in her scalp and, subsequently, in areas mostly confined to where she had characteristic lesions of acanthosis nigricans.

Early language development after peri-natal stroke.

Early unilateral brain damage has different implications for language development than does similar damage in adults, given the plasticity of the developing brain. The goal of this study was to examine early markers of language and gesture at 12 and 24months in children who had peri-natal right hemisphere (RH) or left hemisphere (LH) stroke (n=71), compared with typically developing controls (n=126). Parents completed the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI): Words & Gestures (12month data point), or the CDI: Words & Sentences (24month data point).