Skin Cancer Knowledge, Sun Exposure, Photoprotection Behavior, and Perceived Barriers Associated with Skin Cancer Types in a Greek Cohort: A Cross-Sectional Study on the Island of Crete.

Backgorund: This study aimed to explore the relationship between different types of skin cancer and factors such as sun exposure and photoprotection measures in a Greek cohort on the island of Crete.

Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted in the Dermatology Department of the University Hospital in Heraklion, Crete, between January 2019 and January 2024. The study population included consecutive patients diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and malignant melanoma (MM), as well as healthy controls.

Paccianon the Neglected Galenic Drug for Ophthalmic Lesions.

The Greco-Roman physician Galen of Pergamon was the first to mention a drug named Paccianon. This drug was unknown in ancient Greece and most probably through the School of Alexandria entered medical literature. Oribasius and Aetius were the only two practitioners who mentioned it after Galen, administrating it in various forms, such as poultice, mixture, and collyrium, for a series of ophthalmic diseases and cutaneous lesions.

Design, Simulation and Multi-Objective Optimization of a Micro-Scale Gearbox for a Novel Rotary Peristaltic Pump.

Peristaltic pumps are widely used in biomedical applications to ensure the safe flow of sterile or medical fluids. They are commonly employed for drug injections, IV fluids, and blood separation (apheresis). These pumps operate through a progressive contraction or expansion along a flexible tube, enabling fluid flow.

Biomechanical explanation of W-plasty effectiveness using a finite element method approach.

The finite element method has often been used to assist analyzing local flaps in terms of deformation and stress measurements as it takes into account complex skin properties. We, herein, present an isotropic two-dimensional finite element skin model applied to the W-plasty method to demonstrate that the good outcomes of W-plasty should be attributed to the geometry itself, as it generates lower stresses. The skin was modeled as a two-dimensional (2D) planar geometry.

A Six-Year Retrospective Study of Microbiological Characteristics and Antimicrobial Resistance in Specimens from a Tertiary Hospital's Surgical Ward.

Surgery has revolutionized the practice of medicine by allowing the treatment of conditions amenable to conservative medical management with some of them pathophysiologically involving the prevalence of pathogenic microorganisms. On the other hand, infections such as surgical site infections or urinary tract infections may complicate patients hospitalized in surgical wards leading to considerable morbidity, mortality, and increased healthcare-associated costs. The aim of this study was to present the microbiological characteristics and antimicrobial resistance of all isolates identified in microbiological specimens from a surgical ward of a tertiary hospital in Greece during a six-year period.

Comparative activities of ampicillin and teicoplanin against Enterococcus faecalis isolates.

Background: Enterococcus faecalis remains one of the most common pathogens causing infection in surgical patients. Our goal was to evaluate the antibiotic resistance of E. faecalis, causing infections in a surgical clinic, against two antibacterial drugs, ampicillin and teicoplanin.

Computer-aided clinical image analysis as a predictor of sentinel lymph node positivity in cutaneous melanoma.

Background: Delays in sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy may affect the positivity of non-SLNs. For these reasons, effort is being directed at obtaining reliable information regarding SLN positivity prior to surgical excision. However, the existing tools, , dermoscopy, do not recognize statistically significant predictive criteria for SLN positivity in melanomas.

Periscyphismus and Section of the Temporal Vessels: Two Byzantine Surgical Remedies for Headache Relief.

Headache is a prevalent clinical symptom and condition, whose management has been challenging from the antiquity to the 21st century. Physicians in the Greek, Roman and Byzantine antiquity employed surgical techniques to treat headache in patients presenting with persistent symptoms that were not alleviated with conservative means. A survey in the medical literature of the period reveals that two surgical procedures, periscyphismus and section of the temporal vessels, were developed for this purpose.

Apocrine and eccrine hidrocystomas: a clinicopathological study.

Introduction: Eccrine and apocrine hidrocystomas are uncommon, benign, cystic proliferations of the sweat glands usually located on the head and neck area.

Objectives: To describe the key clinical and histopathological characteristics of a large series of hidrocystomas in Greece to improve diagnostic accuracy, and to perform a historical review of the medical term hidrocystoma.

Methods: A case series of 22 hidrocystomas from 20 consecutive patients treated with surgery at University Hospital of Heraklion in Crete, Greece, from January 1, 1998 to January 1, 2020 was performed along with a comprehensive historical literature review of the term hidrocystoma and its corresponding term hydatis from ancient Greek literature to the present.

Computer-aided clinical image analysis for non-invasive assessment of tumor thickness in cutaneous melanoma.

Objective: Computerized clinical image analysis is shown to improve diagnostic accuracy for cutaneous melanoma but its effectiveness in preoperative assessment of melanoma thickness has not been studied. The aim of this study, is to explore how melanoma thickness correlates with computer-assisted objectively obtained color and geometric variables. All patients diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma with available clinical images prior to tumor excision were included in the study.

Forensic Recreation and Visual Representation of Greek Orthodox Church Saint Eftychios of Crete.

Facial reconstruction is employed in medical science and archaeology. Though quite popular as anthropological method, it has not so far been used in the orthodox ecclesiastical tradition. This work presents the facial reconstruction of St Eftychios of Crete, who lived between the ninth and tenth centuries.

Platelet-rich Plasma Improves Healing of Pressure Ulcers as Objectively Assessed by Digital Planimetry.

Introduction: The effectiveness of autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in chronic wounds remains controversial.

Objective: The aim of this prospective study is to objectively assess the impact of PRP therapy on pressure ulcer (PU) healing utilizing digital planimetry.

Materials And Methods: Eligible patients included those with PUs with a surface area ⟩ 1 cm2 and ⟩ 3 months' duration.

Surgical treatment of polydactyly and syndactyly during the 4th century AD.

Introduction: Polydactyly, or polydactylism, is a common congenital disorder of the limbs, consisting of any digit duplication beyond the normal five. The term syndactyly refers to fused digits. We herein present a thorough description of these diseases together with their surgical treatment, provided by Oribasius, a Byzantine physician of the 4th century.

Pilomatrix carcinoma: More malignant biological behavior than was considered in the past.

Pilomatrix carcinoma is a very rare malignancy, with ~130 cases reported in the literature. In the past, pilomatrix carcinoma was considered to be a low-grade malignant tumor. Currently, however, its significant recurrence and metastatic potential has been well documented.

Popliteal cyst before William Baker: first report in the Galenic Corpus.

Introduction: A popliteal cyst, also known as Baker cyst, is a benign fluctuant swelling of the gastrocnemius-semimembranosus bursa in the popliteal fossa at the back of the knee. The cyst is named after William Morrant Baker, who is considered to have first described this fluid collection with new sac formation outside of the knee-joint in 1877. We herein present a short description contained in the Galenic Corpus that appears to match to what we now call the Baker cyst.

Anthropometric Analysis of the Face.

Background: Facial anthropometric analysis is essential for planning cosmetic and reconstructive facial surgery, but has not been available in detail for modern Greeks. In this study, multiple measurements of the face were performed on young Greek males and females to provide a complete facial anthropometric profile of this population and to compare its facial morphology with that of North American Caucasians.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-one direct facial anthropometric measurements were obtained from 152 Greek students.

Management of penile tumours during the Byzantine period.

While conventional treatment of penile cancer consists of total penile amputation and bilateral lymphadenectomy, recently a more conservative strategy comprising penile-preserving surgery and selective lymphadenectomy has been applied in order to preserve the penis and to minimize unnecessary inguinal lymphadenectomy. A thorough literature survey was performed to see what was already known of the surgical treatment of penile tumours in ancient times. In the Byzantine period, surgery appeared to have been highly developed, as one may conclude from the surgical material included mainly in the works of Oribasius of Pergamus and Paul of Aegina.

Paul of Aegina's surgical instruments: a complete surgical instrumentarium in the seventh century AD.

Background: Although current progress in surgical instruments is oriented towards stapler devices, minimally invasive instrumentation and advanced cautery tools, it definitely seems intriguing to determine what instruments were used in antiquity and to appraise their use. Most adequate information can be retrieved from manuscripts of early medical authors, of whom Paul of Aegina (AD 625-690), also being a most important surgeon, is the most recent. The aim of this study is to present surgical instruments used in his practice.

Computed tomography-based assessment of abdominal adiposity changes and their impact on metabolic alterations following bariatric surgery.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of surgically induced weight loss on the abdominal adipose tissue depots and the metabolic profile in morbidly obese (MO) patients.

Methods: The study was performed with a semi-automated quantification of adipose tissue compartments on single-slice abdominal CT series before surgery, 6 and 12 months after bariatric surgery. Thirty-eight MO patients with mean age of 35.

Neoclassical facial canons in young adults.

Background: Facial proportional analysis is commonly used in the preoperative planning as well as in consultation for aesthetic and reconstructive operations. Neoclassical canons, introduced by Ancient Greeks, have been used to describe the facial morphological features for many years. In this paper, the validity of 7 neoclassical canons was tested in young adult Greeks.

Significant differences in skin irritation by common suture materials assessed by a comparative computerized objective method.

Background: Erythema can be described only through subjective evaluation, except when it is quantified by digital image analysis software. Using such software, the authors performed comparisons of the erythema produced after skin closure of clean surgical wounds. Five suture materials were compared with respect to the local skin irritation that was caused.