Robotic Repair: An Alternative Technique for Rectus Diastasis and Abdominal Bulge Following DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction.

Background: The deep inferior epigastric artery perforator (DIEP) flap is the gold standard in autologous breast reconstruction. Despite advances in perforator dissection, abdominal morbidity still occurs. Traditional rectus diastasis (RD), abdominal bulge, and hernia repair with open techniques are associated with higher complication rates and recurrence.

Temporal and spectral contributions to musical instrument identification and discrimination among cochlear implant users.

Objective: To investigate the contributions of envelope and fine-structure to the perception of timbre by cochlear implant (CI) users as compared to normal hearing (NH) listeners.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort comparison study. Normal hearing and cochlear implant patients were tested.

Snails from heavy-metal polluted environments have reduced sensitivity to carbon dioxide-induced acidity.

Anthropogenic atmospheric CO2 reacts with water to form carbonic acid (H2CO3) which increases water acidity. While marine acidification has received recent consideration, less attention has been paid to the effects of atmospheric carbon dioxide on freshwater systems-systems that often have low buffering potential. Since many aquatic systems are already impacted by pollutants such as heavy metals, we wondered about the added effect of rising atmospheric CO2 on freshwater organisms.

Intractable epistaxis due to isolated primary telangiectasias.

Importance: Epistaxis is the most common otolaryngologic emergency in the United States. Most cases are controlled with first-line measures, but intractable epistaxis can be a challenging clinical problem requiring posterior nasal packing and surgical or endovascular intervention. Bleeding from nasal telangiectasias is well known in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, but there are no reports in the literature of recurrent epistaxis due to isolated telangiectasias not associated with systemic disease.

Histologic analysis of pediatric tonsil and adenoid specimens: is it really necessary?

Objective: To evaluate the incidence of unexpected histologic findings in routine tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy specimens.

Methods: A retrospective medical record review was performed at a tertiary care children's hospital. The pathology records of 2062 children who underwent tonsil or adenoid surgery were analyzed and the final histologic diagnosis was recorded.