Tissue Options for Construction of the Neovaginal Canal in Gender-Affirming Vaginoplasty.

Gender-affirming vaginoplasty (GAV) comprises the construction of a vulva and a neovaginal canal. Although technical nuances of vulvar construction vary between surgeons, vulvar construction is always performed using the homologous penile and scrotal tissues to construct the corresponding vulvar structures. Therefore, the main differentiating factor across gender-affirming vaginoplasty techniques is the tissue that is utilized to construct the neovaginal canal.

The Current State of Transgender Health Curricula in Graduate Surgical Education: A Systematic Review of Survey Data.

Objectives: Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals in the U.S. face significant healthcare disparities, which can be further exacerbated by providers' unfamiliarity with this population's specific needs.

Outcomes of Orchiectomy for Gender-affirming Surgery: A National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Study.

Objective: To identify perioperative outcomes of transgender orchiectomy (TGO) and to broadly compare outcomes of TGO to cisgender orchiectomy (CGO) for nononcologic indications.

Methods: Using the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database from 2010 to 2020, a retrospective study was performed on patients with ICD-9/10 codes for gender dysphoria, testicular torsion, and testicular pain who underwent simple orchiectomy. Demographics and surgical outcomes were summarized.

Ethnic Disparities in Thrombotic and Bleeding Diatheses Revisited: A Systematic Review of Microsurgical Breast Reconstruction across the East and West.

Background:  Ethnicity has been shown to play a role in disparate coagulative responses between East Asian and Caucasian patients undergoing nonmicrovascular surgery. In this study, we sought to further investigate this hematologic phenomenon between the two ethnic groups within the field of microsurgical breast reconstruction.

Methods:  A systematic review examining the reported incidence of microvascular thrombosis and all-site bleeding among breast free flaps in East Asians and Westerners was performed.

Mineralocorticoid receptors in immune cells: emerging role in cardiovascular disease.

Mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs) contribute to the pathophysiology of hypertension and cardiovascular disease in humans. As such, MR antagonists improve cardiovascular outcomes but the molecular mechanisms remain unclear. The actions of the MR in the kidney to increase blood pressure are well known, but the recent identification of MRs in immune cells has led to novel discoveries in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease that are reviewed here.

Electrochemical characterization of Escherichia coli adaptive response protein AidB.

When exposed to known DNA-damaging alkylating agents, Escherichia coli cells increase production of four DNA repair enzymes: Ada, AlkA, AlkB, and AidB. The role of three enzymes (Ada, AlkA, and AlkB) in repairing DNA lesions has been well characterized, while the function of AidB is poorly understood. AidB has a distinct cofactor that is potentially related to the elusive role of AidB in adaptive response: a redox active flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD).