To Operate or Not to Operate? Reconstructive Surgical Burden and Quality of Life of Pediatric Patients with Facial Differences.

Objective: The Craniofacial Condition Quality of Life Scale (CFC-QoL) was used to evaluate the relationship between surgical burden and quality of life (QoL).

Design: Patient-parent dyads completed the CFC-QoL which queries the following QoL domains: Bullying, Peer Problems, Psychological Impact, Family Support, Appearance Satisfaction, and Desire for Appearance Change. Stepwise multivariate linear regressions were performed for each QoL domain.

Perioperative Comparison Between Open Cranial Vault Remodeling and Distraction Osteogenesis for Unilateral Lambdoid Craniosynostosis.

There are multiple treatment options for unilateral lambdoid craniosynostosis (ULS) including open posterior cranial vault remodeling (OCVR) and distraction osteogenesis (DO). There is a paucity of data comparing these techniques in the treatment of ULS. This study compared the perioperative characteristics of these interventions for patients with ULS.

Virtual and In-Person Day Camps for the Craniofacial Community.

Children with congenital craniofacial conditions (CFCs) and their families may stand to benefit from day camps offering tailored psychosocial support and resources. Nonprofit ConnectMed International has held virtual and in-person day camps in San Diego for this community since 2018. We administered surveys before and after a series of day camps to understand the needs of this community and benefits perceived programming offered.

One size does not fit all: Sex bias in pharmacologic venous thromboembolism prophylaxis.

Background: The optimal enoxaparin dosing strategy to achieve venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis in trauma patients remains unclear. Current dosing guidelines often include weight, age, and renal function but still fail to achieve appropriate prophylactic anti-Xa levels in many patients. We hypothesized that additional patient factors influence anti-Xa response to enoxaparin in trauma patients.

Intracranial Volumes of Healthy Children in the First 3 Years of Life: An Analysis of 270 Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scans.

Background: There is a paucity of data on normal intracranial volumes for healthy children during the first few years of life, when cranial growth velocity is greatest. The aim of this study was to generate a normative predictive model of intracranial volumes based on brain magnetic resonance imaging from a large sample of healthy children to serve as a reference tool for future studies on craniosynostosis.

Methods: Structural magnetic resonance imaging data for healthy children up to 3 years of age was acquired from the National Institutes of Health Pediatric MRI Data Repository.

Delayed Presentation of Sagittal Suture Craniosynostosis.

Background: Sagittal craniosynostosis typically presents as dolichocephaly or less frequently as clinocephaly, a "saddle-shaped" phenotype. This project aimed to characterize clinically relevant differences between sagittal synostosis phenotypes and examine the etiology of the delay in presentation.

Methods: An institutional review board-approved retrospective review was performed from January 1999 to November 2018 at a single institution.

Role of t-tubule remodeling on mechanisms of abnormal calcium release during heart failure development in canine ventricle.

The goal of this work was to investigate the role of t-tubule (TT) remodeling in abnormal Ca cycling in ventricular myocytes of failing dog hearts. Heart failure (HF) was induced using rapid right ventricular pacing. Extensive changes in echocardiographic parameters, including left and right ventricular dilation and systolic dysfunction, diastolic dysfunction, elevated left ventricular filling pressures, and abnormal cardiac mechanics, indicated that severe HF developed.

A Posterior Rotational Flap Technique Using Distraction Osteogenesis for Unilateral Lambdoid Craniosynostosis.

Introduction: The craniofacial asymmetry seen in unilateral lambdoid craniosynostosis may not be effectively treated by posterior cranial vault remodeling, endoscopic suturectomy, and helmet therapy, or suturectomy and distraction osteogenesis alone due to limitations in soft-tissue envelope expansion and relapse of the deformity. The authors report a series of unilateral lambdoid craniosynostosis patients treated with a posterior rotational cranial-flap technique using internal distraction osteogenesis.

Methods: Posterior cranial vault reconstruction combined with internal distraction was used, aided by preoperative virtual surgical planning.

Triggered Ca Waves Induce Depolarization of Maximum Diastolic Potential and Action Potential Prolongation in Dog Atrial Myocytes.

Background: We have identified a novel form of abnormal Ca wave activity in normal and failing dog atrial myocytes which occurs during the action potential (AP) and is absent during diastole. The goal of this study was to determine if triggered Ca waves affect cellular electrophysiological properties.

Methods: Simultaneous recordings of intracellular Ca and APs allowed measurements of maximum diastolic potential and AP duration during triggered calcium waves (TCWs) in isolated dog atrial myocytes.

3D collagen architecture regulates cell adhesion through degradability, thereby controlling metabolic and oxidative stress.

The collagen-rich tumor microenvironment plays a critical role in directing the migration behavior of cancer cells. 3D collagen architectures with small pores have been shown to confine cells and induce aggressive collective migration, irrespective of matrix stiffness and density. However, it remains unclear how cells sense collagen architecture and transduce this information to initiate collective migration.