Bedside monitoring of free flaps using ICG-fluorescence angiography significantly improves detection of postoperative perfusion impairment.

After microvascular tissue transfer, free flaps require meticulous postoperative surveillance. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect and applicability of indocyanine green fluorescence angiography (ICG-FA) in bedside monitoring of free flaps postoperatively, especially considering its role in correctly identifying vascular thromboses. Between February 2012 and October 2015, 210 free flaps used for defect reconstruction were analyzed.

Reconstruction of Defects Involving the Nasal Ala and the Nasolabial Fold: The Role of the Microvascular Prehelical Rim Graft.

Purpose: To demonstrate a surgical technique for reconstructing defects involving the triangle of the nasal ala, nasolabial fold and upper lip.

Procedure: Retrospective survey with follow-up including 4 consecutive patients with extensive skin and soft tissue defects.

Results: Successful reconstruction with good nasal function and acceptable cosmetic result was achieved in all patients.

Retrograde arterialized free venous flaps for the reconstruction of the hand: review of 14 cases.

Purpose: Although the literature is encouraging with regard to the survival rate of arterialized free venous flaps, previously reported difficulty in healing owing to early venous congestion and subsequent epidermolysis continues to prevent their widespread application. We report 14 arterialized free venous flaps for primary reconstruction of the hand, with inflow in the arterialized vein running against the valves.

Methods: Between February 2010 and May 2012, we performed 14 arterialized free venous flaps, each of which included at least 2 veins running in parallel.

The reoperation cascade after breast augmentation with implants: what the patient needs to know.

Breast augmentation with implants is the most commonly performed aesthetic surgical procedure. However, the risk of complications requiring revision surgery with unsatisfactory final results is often underestimated. In a 10-year retrospective study, patients receiving implant exchange or implant removal after breast augmentation were reviewed with regards to surgical technique, implant type and position, complications and follow-up interventions.

Radial pressure waves mediate apoptosis and functional angiogenesis during wound repair in ApoE deficient mice.

This study aims to quantify by intravital microscopy and histological wound scoring the effect of radial pressure wave treatment (RPWT) on murine incisional wound healing. The dorsal skinfold chamber in mice was used for intravital microscopy, whereby an incisional wound was created within the chamber. RPWT to the wound was carried out using a ballistic pressure wave source (EMS Swiss DolorClast).

A prevascularized tissue engineering chamber supports growth and function of islets and progenitor cells in diabetic mice.

Recent studies have shown that type 1 diabetes can be reversed in a murine model by islet transplantation to a vascularized tissue engineering chamber. In preliminary experiments using a prevascularized chamber we observed that islet grafts not functioning initially can show a delayed onset of function several weeks after implantation. We sought to characterize this phenomenon.

30 years later--does the ABSI need revision?

In light of changes in patient demographics together with constant developments in burn care, the predictive accuracy of the Abbreviated Burns Severity Index (ABSI) - first described in 1982 - for estimating the mortality of present day burns patients, may be questionable. We reviewed the records of 2813 burns patients treated between January 1968 and December 2008 in the intensive care unit at our institution, aiming to identify emerging discrepancies between the estimated and calculated outcome, based on each of the ABSI variables and the total burn score. The predictive value of each of the defined ABSI variables was confirmed to be highly significant.

Expansion and hepatocytic differentiation of liver progenitor cells in vivo using a vascularized tissue engineering chamber in mice.

Current cell-based treatment alternatives to organ transplantation for liver failure remain unsatisfactory. Hepatocytes have a strong tendency to dedifferentiate and apoptose when isolated and maintained in culture. In contrast, liver progenitor cells (LPCs) are robust, easy to culture and have been shown to replace damaged hepatocytes in liver disease.

Functional cooperation of epithelial heteromeric amino acid transporters expressed in madin-darby canine kidney cells.

The heteromeric amino acid transporters b(0,+)AT-rBAT (apical), y(+)LAT1-4F2hc, and possibly LAT2-4F2hc (basolateral) participate to the (re)absorption of cationic and neutral amino acids in the small intestine and kidney proximal tubule. We show now by immunofluorescence that their expression levels follow the same axial gradient along the kidney proximal tubule (S1>S2S3). We reconstituted their co-expression in MDCK cell epithelia and verified their polarized localization by immunofluorescence.