Would Marjolin see it coming? Two unusual cases of squamous cell carcinoma.

Introduction: Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a common skin cancer, second in incidence only to basal cell carcinoma (BCC). The incidence of SCC increases significantly with age; thus, it is rarely diagnosed in young patients. In this paper, we present two cases of young patients who presented clinically with purulent lesions that were later diagnosed as large primary SCCs.

Optimizing Safety, Predictability, and Aesthetics in Direct to Implant Immediate Breast Reconstruction: Evolution of Surgical Technique.

Background: Although immediate breast reconstruction with the insertion of a permanent prosthesis rather than a tissue expander (direct to implant [DTI]) has become gradually more preferred and requested by patients, the technique has yet to be fully embraced by most plastic surgeons, presumably due to concerns of patient safety and perceived higher complication and revision rates, despite not being supported by the literature.

Objectives: The authors review the senior author's protocol for patient selection and surgical technique in DTI reconstructions. A simple device is introduced which adds predictability and control in determining the inset suture line for the acellular dermal matrix and thus the position of the inframammary fold and lateral mammary fold, resulting in improved aesthetic outcomes, reduced complications, and reduced reoperation rates.

Successful bilateral composite ear reattachment.

A successful bilateral ear composite graft nonmicrosurgical reattachment is presented. In cases where suitable vessels are unavailable for microsurgical revascularization, the reconstructive challenge can be formidable for salvaging the unique anatomic and aesthetic structure of the ear. The case is presented of an 18-year-old woman who was a victim of an assault wherein both of her ears were intentionally amputated by her attacker.

RNA degradation in human breast tissue after surgical removal: a time-course study.

There is much interest in the study of human malignancy using gene expression profiling techniques. Expression profiles obtained from microarrays utilize RNA extracted from the tissue in question. Currently, cell cultures or fresh tissue processed "quickly" are used in these studies.