Local control of pediatric head and neck sarcoma with free flap reconstruction obviating the need for radiotherapy: a case report.

Background: Microvascular free-tissue transfer is a widely used technique for surgical site reconstruction following head and neck mass resection. While it is commonly used in adults, the rarity of head and neck cancers in children makes free flap reconstruction relatively rare in this population. Free flap reconstruction allows for coverage of large defects which may result from wide resections performed to avoid exposing pediatric patients to primary radiotherapy.

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae Responds to Virus-Infected Cells with a Significant Increase in Type IV Pilus Expression.

Nontypeable (NTHI) colonizes the human nasopharynx, but when the host immune response is dysregulated by upper respiratory tract (URT) virus infection, NTHI can gain access to more distal airway sites and cause disease. The NTHI type IV pilus (T4P) facilitates adherence, benign colonization, and infection, and its majority subunit PilA is in clinical trials as a vaccinogen. To further validate the strategy of immunization with PilA against multiple NTHI-induced diseases, it is important to demonstrate T4P expression under microenvironmental conditions that predispose to NTHI infection of the airway.