The role of ultrasound in the imaging assessment of the augmented breast. A pictorial review.

The imaging evaluation of the augmented breast is becoming more and more frequent in daily practice. Even if mammography remains the golden standard for breast cancer screening, ultrasound is used as a first step investigation in young symptomatic patients or as a screening tool in detecting pathology related to the implants. This pictorial essay reviews the indications and limitations of the imaging methods and illustrates the normal and pathological ultrasound findings in the augmented breast.

Serratus anterior-rib free flap in limb bone reconstruction.

The authors present their experience in surgical reconstruction of bone lesions in posttraumatic bone defects, pseudarthrosis, and osteitis by using the free serratus anterior-rib flap. The flap was used in 12 cases: 7 cases in the upper limb, and 5 cases in the lower limb. The overall immediate success rate in our series was of 91.

Emergency free flaps.

The use of top-quality tissue in covering soft-tissue loss, and precocity in reconstructing injuries and restoring function, are major prerequisites for obtaining a good surgical result. Earlier methods of reconstruction, based on a delay, for various periods of time, in reconstruction, have gradually become obsolete. The employment of more aggressive techniques and research supporting the "as-early-as possible" morphological and functional reconstruction path has become the rule in dealing with emergency reconstructive interventions.