Liposomal Bupivacaine Analgesia in Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator Flap Breast Reconstruction: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Liposomal bupivacaine (LB) can be used for postsurgical analgesia after breast reconstruction. We examined real-world clinical and economic benefits of LB versus bupivacaine after deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap breast reconstruction.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study used the IQVIA claims databases to identify patients undergoing primary DIEP flap breast reconstruction in 2016-2019.

The Use and Technique of Sentinel Node Biopsy for Skin Cancer.

Learning Objectives: After studying this article, the participant should be able to: 1. Understand the indications for and prognostic value of sentinel lymph node biopsy in skin cancer. 2.

New Developments in the Management of Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Learning Objectives: After studying this article, the participant should be able to: 1. List important prognostic features that affect cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma risk. 2.

Fat Grafting and the Palpable Breast Mass in Implant-Based Breast Reconstruction: Incidence and Implications.

Background: Fat grafting is a powerful and increasingly used technique in breast reconstruction. However, fat necrosis can lead to palpable postoperative changes that can induce anxiety and lead to unplanned diagnostic studies. The authors' aim in this study was to evaluate the incidence, type, and timing of these unanticipated studies; the specialty of the ordering provider; and the factors that trigger the ordering process.

Utilization of Indocyanine Green to Aid in Identifying Sentinel Lymph Nodes in Merkel Cell Cancer.

Background: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a relatively rare skin cancer with high rates of regional lymph node involvement and metastatic spread. National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines recommend sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for staging purposes. The goal of this study is to report our experience utilizing indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence-based technology to aid in SLNB detection in MCC.

Gene expression profiling in melanoma: past results and future potential.

The field of melanoma oncology is rapidly evolving with advances in detection, staging and treatment. There is heterogeneity in all stages of melanoma where some patients fare better than others for reasons currently unknown and it is sometimes unclear which patients warrant closer surveillance, multidisciplinary care, increased imaging, more aggressive surgery or adjuvant therapy. Early studies have shown the predictive ability of gene expression profiling (GEP) and institutions that have adopted GEP for melanoma treatment have demonstrated changes in practice patterns and patient management.

Malignant Melanoma: Diagnostic and Management Update.

Learning Objectives: After studying this article, the participant should be able to: 1. Summarize the changes to the American Joint Committee on Cancer Eighth Edition Melanoma Staging System. 2.

Indocyanine green fluorescence imaging with lymphoscintigraphy for sentinel node biopsy in head and neck melanoma.

Background: Head and neck melanoma is associated with a high false negative (FN) sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) rate. If techniques are developed that can decrease FN SLNBs, better prognostic information will be obtained, and it may be possible to improve overall survival as patients are assigned to the appropriate adjuvant management. Our group previously demonstrated that the combination of lymphoscintigraphy and indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence-based technology was feasible for SLNB in primary melanoma.

Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Comparison of Bupivacaine versus Liposomal Bupivacaine for Pain Management after Unilateral Delayed Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator Free Flap Reconstruction.

Effective postsurgical analgesia is a critical aspect of patient recovery. The goal of this prospective, randomized, controlled, blinded study was to examine the effect that liposomal bupivacaine delivered by means of a transversus abdominis plane block has on pain control in women undergoing unilateral deep inferior epigastric perforator flap reconstruction. Institutional review board approval was granted for this prospective study.

Variations in the origins and absence of the common digital arteries of the hand: a cadaveric study.

We studied anomalies of the common digital arteries by dissecting 33 fresh cadaver hands under magnification. In the majority of the dissected hands (25 hands), common digital arteries took off from the superficial palmar arch and ran superficial and parallel to the flexor tendons. Variations were found in eight out of 33 hands.

Aggressive digital papillary adenocarcinoma: treatment with Mohs micrographic surgery and an update of the literature.

Background: Aggressive digital papillary adenocarcinoma (ADPA) is a rare adenocarcinoma of the sweat glands.

Aims: We wish to report the treatment of two cases of ADPA with Mohs micrographic surgery and review the presentation, management, and prognosis of this rare malignancy.

Materials & Methods: Cases of ADPA were identified from recent surgery logs.

A novel approach to training students in delivering evidence-based obesity treatment.

Background And Objectives: Obesity is a major public health concern because of its prevalence, serious health consequences, and costs. Many health care providers believe they have been inadequately trained to treat obesity and, as a result, often do not address patients' weight. Despite recommendations to improve knowledge and skills so they can more effectively address obesity, health care educational curricula are already overburdened with content and have been slow to respond to these recommendations.

Characterization of a novel two-component system in Burkholderia cenocepacia.

Two-component systems are important regulatory systems that allow bacteria to adjust to environmental conditions, and in some bacteria are used in pathogenesis. We identified a novel two-component system in Burkholderia cenocepacia, an opportunistic pathogen that causes pneumonia in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. The putative operon encodes BceS, a sensor kinase, and BceR, a response regulator.

Green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin 3-gallate, contributes to the degradation of DNMT3A and HDAC3 in HCT 116 human colon cancer cells.

Background: Colon cancer is still the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Epigenetic gene silencing involving DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs) plays an important role in the progression of colon cancer.

Materials And Methods: In the present study we found that the sensitivity of colon cancer cells to methylation plays a role in its response to alternative therapy involving the green tea polyphenol, epigallocatechin 3-gallate.

Vitamin D receptor and retinoid X receptor α status and vitamin D insufficiency in models of murine colitis.

The anti-inflammatory actions of vitamin D have long been recognized and its importance in modulating colon cancer and colitis development is becoming apparent. The vitamin D receptor (VDR) is downregulated in human ulcerative colitis and colitis-associated cancer (CAC); however, its status in murine models of colitis has yet to be explored. Snail and Snail2, zinc-finger transcription factors regulated by inflammatory pathways and able to transcriptionally silence VDR, are upregulated in human Ulcerative Colitis and are associated with localized VDR silencing.

Epigenetic mechanisms underlying diet-sourced compounds in the prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal cancer.

The development of colon cancer, the third most diagnosed cancer and third leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, can be influenced by genetic predispositions and environmental exposures. As 80% of colon cancer cases are sporadic in nature, much interest lies in determining risk factors that may foster its development, as well as identifying compounds that could inhibit colon cancer development or halt progression. A major risk factor for sporadic colon cancer is a high fat, Western diet which has been linked to a cancer-prone, pro-inflammatory state.