The Impact of Microsurgery on the Treatment of Ring Avulsion Injuries.

Background: Treating ring avulsion injuries continues to challenge the reconstructive hand surgeon. The complex operation draws from plastic surgery and orthopedic surgery principles to provide soft-tissue coverage, skeletal fixation, tendon repair, and neurovascular reconstruction. Furthermore, the application of microsurgical techniques has enabled the revascularization and replantation of completely avulsed fingers.

Comparative Accuracy of Clinical and Formula-Based Estimation of Resection Weight in Reduction Mammoplasty and Implications for Insurance Preapproval and Payment.

Introduction: Insurance companies use minimum resection weight, sometimes based on body surface area (Schnur sliding scale), as a criterion for preapproval and ultimately coverage of reduction mammoplasty. The purpose of this study is to compare the accuracy of subjective resection estimates and estimates calculated by published formulae versus measured resection weights, and to explore the impact of these estimates on insurance preauthorization and payment.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of bilateral reduction mammaplasties performed at a single academic medical center by seven plastic surgeons from January 2011 to December 2017 was performed.

Freeze-cast Porous Chitosan Conduit for Peripheral Nerve Repair.

A novel freeze-cast porous chitosan conduit for peripheral nerve repair with highly-aligned, double layered porosity, which provides the ideal mechanical and chemical properties was designed, manufactured, and assessed in vivo. Efficacies of the conduit and the control inverted nerve autograft were evaluated in bridging 10-mm Lewis rat sciatic nerve gap at 12 weeks post-implantation. Biocompatibility and regenerative efficacy of the porous chitosan conduit were evaluated through the histomorphometric analysis of longitudinal and transverse sections.

The Diagnosis and Management of Mallet Finger Injuries.

Background: Mallet finger is a common injury of the extensor tendon insertion causing an extension lag of the distal interphalangeal joint.

Methods: We reviewed the most current literature on the epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of mallet finger injuries focusing on the indications and outcomes of surgical intervention.

Results: Nonoperative management has been advocated for almost all mallet finger injuries; however, complex injuries are usually treated surgically.

Methods in obtaining split-thickness skin grafts from skin reduction surgery specimens.

Background: To devise a method for obtaining bacterial culture-negative split-thickness skin grafts from specimens removed from living donors undergoing skin reduction surgery.

Methods: Specimens were obtained from patients undergoing abdominal skin reduction surgery in inpatient and outpatient surgical settings. Skin specimens were cleaned in a method adapted from the former Yale Skin Bank's methods.

Benjamin Alcock and the pudendal canal.

The anatomy of the pudendal nerve is complex and difficult to visualize. Entrapment of the pudendal nerve is believed to occur in a canal, the pudendal canal or Alcock's canal, yet in the literature this term is used to refer to several different anatomic locations. We present a brief history of Benjamin Alcock, and we compare Alcock's original description of the pudendal canal with our findings from a cadaveric study.