Evaluation of sterile glove usage on digital tactile sensitivity using the Grating Orientation Task.

Introduction: Surgical glove use may be associated with a decrease in tactile sensitivity, with thicker gloves or double-gloving techniques further altering sensation. This study evaluates digital tactile sensitivity by use of a Grating Orientation Task (GOT) with multiple sterile gloving techniques (no gloves, single standard gloving, double standard gloving, orthopedic gloves, and micro-thickness gloves).

Methods: Each participant performed the GOT at increasing grating widths until correctly noting orientation in ≥8 of 10 trials with multiple glove types or double-gloving technique.

Use of Neuronavigation in Suturectomy for Craniosynostosis.

Smaller operative exposures associated with suturectomy for craniosynostosis may result in difficulties visualizing the prematurely fused suture during surgery. The authors report cases of suturectomy for lambdoid and metopic craniosynostosis in which neuronavigation or frameless stereotaxy was used to assist with incision planning and intraoperative localization of the fused suture. In both cases, neuronavigation integrated easily and safely into established workflows and was associated with complete suture release.

Description of a novel ultrasound-guided percutaneous dilatational esophagostomy tube placement in dog cadavers.

Background: Nutritional support has become an essential part of modern veterinary medicine. Among different techniques, esophagostomy tubes have been used extensively in dogs and cats. However, general anesthesia is typically required due to the critical step of passing an instrument orally to allow identification of the esophagus in the midcervical region.

An Update and Report Failure of Surgical Syndactyly Repair in Harlequin Ichthyosis.

Harlequin ichthyosis (HI) is a rare congenital skin disorder caused by irregular epidermal differentiation. Syndactyly in HI is associated with thick hyperkeratotic skin flexion and angulation deformity of the hand and fingers resulting in limited function of the upper extremity. Traditional syndactyly release is limited as full-thickness skin grafts typically used in reconstruction are composed of diseased skin and require donor sites in a patient predisposed for adverse wound healing.

Characteristics and Patterns of Facial Fractures in the Elderly Population in the United States Based on Trauma Quality Improvement Project Data.

With the increase in the elderly population in the United States, the number of people seeking care for trauma injuries is expected to increase. However, nationwide studies on epidemiological profile of elderly facial fractures remain sparse. The authors present the epidemiological measures of elderly facial fractures on national scale.

Dogs ≥ five years of age at the time of congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunt diagnosis have better long-term outcomes with surgical attenuation than with medical management alone.

Objective: To determine the outcome in dogs diagnosed with congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunts (EHPSS) at ≥ 5 years of age treated with medical management only (M) or with surgical attenuation (S). The hypothesis was that dogs undergoing surgical attenuation would have a longer survival time than dogs undergoing medical management only.

Animals: 351 dogs definitively diagnosed with EHPSS at ≥ 5 years of age.

Soft Elastomeric Capacitor for Strain and Stress Monitoring on Sutured Skin Tissues.

Sutures are ubiquitous medical devices for wound closures in human and veterinary medicine, and suture techniques are frequently evaluated by comparing tensile strengths in studies. Direct and nondestructive measurement of tensile force present in sutured biological skin tissue is a key challenge in biomechanical fields because of the unique and complex properties of each sutured skin specimen and the lack of compliant sensors capable of monitoring large levels of strain. The authors have recently proposed a soft elastomeric capacitor (SEC) sensor that consists of a highly compliant and scalable strain gauge capable of transducing geometric variations into a measurable change in capacitance.

Ex vivo mechanical testing of various suture patterns for use in tendon plating.

Objective: To determine the influence of suture patterns on resistance to gap formation after tendon plating STUDY DESIGN: Ex vivo study SAMPLE POPULATION: Suspensory ligament and superficial and deep digital flexor tendons harvested from 16 neonatal cadaver foal limbs.

Methods: Each tendon/ligament from a given limb was randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups consisting of a 7-hole veterinary cuttable plate fixed with alternating simple interrupted, figure-8, or hybrid suture patterns. The constructs were distracted at a rate of 1.

Radiation exposure associated with percutaneous fluoroscopically guided lag screw fixation for sacroiliac luxation in dogs.

Objective: To determine radiation exposure to surgical personnel and to evaluate the accuracy of a modified percutaneous lag screw fixation technique for sacroiliac luxation (SIL) under fluoroscopic guidance in dogs.

Study Design: Cadaveric experimental study.

Sample Population: Seventeen beagle cadavers with iatrogenic SIL.

Short-term outcomes of 59 dogs treated for ilial body fractures with locking or non-locking plates.

Objective: To determine the influence of plating systems on the clinical outcomes in dogs treated for ilial fractures.

Design: Retrospective study.

Animals: Fifty-nine dogs (63 hemipelves).

Monitoring Wound Health through Bandages with Passive LC Resonant Sensors.

This paper details a passive, inductor-capacitor (LC) resonant sensor embedded in a commercial dressing for low-cost, contact-free monitoring of a wound; this would enable tracking of the healing process while keeping the site closed and sterile. Spiral LC resonators were fabricated from flexible, copper-coated polyimide and interrogated using external reader antennas connected to a two-port vector network analyzer; the forward transmission scattering parameter (S) magnitude was collected, and the resonant frequency (MHz) and the peak-to-peak amplitude of the resonant feature were identified. These increase during the healing process as the permittivity and conductivity of the tissue change.

Numerical Investigation of Auxetic Textured Soft Strain Gauge for Monitoring Animal Skin.

Recent advances in hyperelastic materials and self-sensing sensor designs have enabled the creation of dense compliant sensor networks for the cost-effective monitoring of structures. The authors have proposed a sensing skin based on soft polymer composites by developing soft elastomeric capacitor (SEC) technology that transduces geometric variations into a measurable change in capacitance. A limitation of the technology is in its low gauge factor and lack of sensing directionality.

Preferences of Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Persons in Gender-Confirming Surgical Care: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: Increased awareness for transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals may lead to increased demand for surgical interventions in gender-confirming care. However, limited literature exists regarding transgender and gender-nonconforming preferences and experiences with medical or surgical care. The authors aim to characterize the medical and surgical care sought by this population, as well as their surgical preferences, motivations, and barriers to care.

Le Fort III in Syndromic Craniosynostosis: Cost Comparison of Distraction Osteogenesis Versus Single-Stage Internal Fixation Techniques.

Purpose: In syndromic craniosynostosis, the Le Fort III osteotomy is used to correct dental/skeletal imbalance, improve exorbitism, and increase the airway. The purpose of this study is to perform a cost comparison between the standard technique of single-stage rigid internal fixation and distraction osteogenesis (DO) in the Le Fort III osteotomy in this patient population.

Method: Hospital cost accounting databases were queried for patients undergoing single-stage advancement (SS) or DO from 2007 to 2016.

Use of flexible sensor to characterize biomechanics of canine skin.

Background: Suture materials and techniques are frequently evaluated in ex vivo studies by comparing tensile strengths. However, the direct measurement techniques to obtain the tensile forces in canine skin are not available, and, therefore, the conditions suture lines undergo is unknown. A soft elastomeric capacitor is used to monitor deformation in the skin over time by sensing strain.

Comparing Cephalic Index and Midsagittal Vector Analysis in Assessing Morphology in Sagittal Synostosis: A CT-Based Morphometric Analysis.

Introduction: Assessment of cranial dysmorphism in sagittal synostosis is often subjective but objective measures can be applied. These include cephalic index (CI) and midsagittal vector analysis (MSVA).

Objective: To assess discriminant validity, construct validity, and responsiveness of CI and MSVA measured from computed tomography (CT) in patients with sagittal synostosis.

Congenital laryngeal paralysis in Alaskan Huskies: 25 cases (2009-2014).

OBJECTIVE To characterize congenital laryngeal paralysis (CLP) in Alaskan Huskies. DESIGN Prospective case series. ANIMALS 25 Alaskan Huskies with CLP.

Rare Presentation of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Foot in a Noncompliant HIV+ Patient.

Introduction: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is most commonly found on sun-damaged skin and less often occurs on the toes and feet.

Case Report: A 41-year-old man with a history of human immunodeficiency virus and asthma, who had received highly active antiretroviral therapy for 7 years while incarcerated, presented to the emergency department with a primary SCC of the left foot with inguinal lymph node metastasis. The patient underwent a left foot transmetatarsal amputation; due to noncompliance, he underwent a below-the-knee amputation 17 days later as a result of surgical findings and extent of infection.

The Natural History of Cranial Morphology in Sagittal Craniosynostosis.

Background: Children with craniosynostosis have abnormal head shapes. Parents frequently ask whether the abnormal head shape will get worse with time. However, there is no information in the literature to indicate whether the deformity gets worse.

Application of tendon plating to manage failed calcaneal tendon repairs in a dog.

Objective: To report the application of a plate to treat a complicated calcaneal tendon rupture and the resulting outcome.

Study Design: Clinical case report.

Animals: A 3-year-old Labrador retriever.

A Comparison of Ex Vivo Leak Pressures for Four Enterotomy Closures in a Canine Model.

Initial and maximum intraluminal leak pressures of four enterotomy closures were compared. Closure patterns included a modified Gambee, simple interrupted, simple continuous, and skin staple closure. Forty-eight 3-cm enterotomy constructs were created from jejunal segments harvested from 12 dogs.