The concept for creating the Northeastern Society of Plastic Surgeons originated in May 1982, at the American Association of Plastic Surgeons in Colorado Springs Colorado. The new society would ...supplement, not supplant, existing state and small regional societies. Two hundred fifty-seven northeastern plastic surgeons joined the charter membership. The inaugural meeting of the Northeastern Society of Plastic Surgeons was held in Philadelphia, September 1984. The following historical account highlights our society's founding principles and leadership throughout the first 40 years.
IMPORTANCE: Breast implant–associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL), a rare peripheral T-cell lymphoma, is increasing in incidence. However, many practitioners who treat patients with ...breast cancer are not aware of this disease. OBJECTIVES: To assess how BIA-ALCL develops, its risk factors, diagnosis, and subsequent treatment and to disseminate information about this entity to the medical field. EVIDENCE REVIEW: A literature review was performed in an academic medical setting. All review articles, case reports, original research articles, and any other articles relevant to BIA-ALCL were included. Data on BIA-ALCL, such as pathophysiology, patient demographics, presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes, were extracted. Particular focus was paid to age, time to onset, implant type, initial symptoms, treatment, and survival. The search was conducted in January 2017 for studies published in any year. FINDINGS: After duplicates were excluded, 304 relevant articles were assessed, and 115 were included from the first documented case in August 1997 through January 2017. Thirty review articles, 44 case reports or series, 15 original research articles, and 26 “other” articles (eg, techniques, special topics, letters) were reviewed. A total of 93 cases have been reported in the literature, and with the addition of 2 unreported cases from the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, 95 patients were included in this systematic review. Almost all documented BIA-ALCL cases have been associated with a textured device. The underlying mechanism is thought to be due to chronic inflammation from indolent infections, leading to malignant transformation of T cells that are anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) negative and CD30 positive. The mean time to presentation is approximately 10 years after implant placement, with 55 of 83 (66%) patients initially seen with an isolated late-onset seroma and 7 of 83 (8%) with an isolated new breast mass. Ultrasonography with fluid aspiration can be used for diagnosis. Treatment must include removal of the implant and surrounding capsule. More advanced disease may require chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and lymph node dissection. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Breast implant–associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma is a rare cancer in patients with breast implants but is increasing in incidence. It is important for all physicians involved in the care of patients with breast implants to be aware of this entity and be able to recognize initial symptoms.
BACKGROUND:Ventral hernia formation is a frequent and increasingly difficult problem. Nonmidline hernias, parastomal hernias, hernias near bony landmarks, and recurrent ventral hernias (especially ...after anterior component separation) present particular challenges. Typical reconstructive techniques may struggle to reestablish abdominal domain and to create a lasting repair. Posterior component separation with transversus abdominis release is a novel technique that offers a durable solution to a variety of complex ventral hernias.
METHODS:The posterior rectus sheath is incised and the retrorectus plane is developed. In a modification of the Rives-Stoppa technique, the transversus abdominis is released medial to the linea semilunaris to expose a broad plane that extends from the central tendon of the diaphragm superiorly, to the space of Retzius inferiorly, and laterally to the retroperitoneum. This preserves the neurovascular bundles innervating the medial abdominal wall. Mesh is placed in a sublay fashion above the posterior layer. In an overwhelming majority of patients, the linea alba is reconstructed, creating a functional abdominal wall with wide mesh reinforcement.
RESULTS:The technique is reliable and durable, with a 5 percent recurrence rate at 2 years. Although wound complications occur with a frequency similar to that of other techniques, they tend to be less severe, rarely requiring operative débridement. The technique is applicable to a broad range of hernias, including midline, parastomal, flank, subcostal, and recurrent hernias after prior component separations.
CONCLUSION:Posterior component separation with transversus abdominis release is a versatile, easy-to-learn technique of hernia repair that offers a reliable, durable solution to complex abdominal wall reconstruction.
BACKGROUND:The increasing incidence and associated mortality of breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) has become alarming. However, many patients remain unaware of their ...risk for BIA-ALCL and may overlook early warning signs of the cancer. The authors aim to contact all breast implant patients at a single institution to educate them on the disease and provide screening and treatment as indicated.
METHODS:All patients who had breast implants placed at Penn State Hershey Medical Center from 1979 to November of 2017 were mailed a letter to describe BIA-ALCL and to encourage a follow-up visit. Patient information regarding demographics, implant type, the number of calls and follow-up visits, physical examination findings, and patient decisions after being informed of the disease were recorded prospectively.
RESULTS:One thousand two hundred eighty-four letters were mailed to 1020 patients (79.4 percent) with smooth implants and 264 patients (20.6 percent) with textured implants. Seventy-six calls were received and 100 patients (84 smooth and 16 textured) were evaluated within the first 2 months. Of the 16 patients with textured implants, nine are undergoing secondary surgery to remove or replace their textured device.
CONCLUSIONS:Informing patients at risk for BIA-ALCL is an important endeavor. Patients educated on the disease will likely be diagnosed and treated earlier, which can prevent the need for adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy and decrease mortality. The authors provide a method, supporting documents, and preliminary data to help other institutions contact their breast implant patients at risk for BIA-ALCL.
INTRODUCTIONBreast implant selection is multifactorial and must assess risk profiles of the implants. Textured implants are available in an anatomically shaped form and are thought to have lower ...rates of capsular contracture. However, evidence is mounting that they carry a significantly higher risk of breast implant associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Given this relationship, we aimed to assess breast implant preferences and device selection for members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
METHODSAn online survey of all active members of ASPS was performed. Questions analyzed the surgeonsʼ demographic data as well as implant and tissue expander choices for patients receiving either breast augmentation or reconstruction. Logistic regression models of summarized data were used to assess surgeonsʼ implant choices.
RESULTSThe survey was sent to 5000 members and was completed by 824 for a response rate of 16.5%. Demographic data indicate a homogenous sampling of ASPS members from all geographical areas. A majority of surgeons reported that they perform 21–50 implant cases in the last year (n = 219, 28.5%), followed closely by surgeons performing greater than 100 cases (n = 194, 25.3%) and those placing between 51 and 100 (n = 189, 24.6%). Almost one-half of respondents (n = 361, 46.9%) stated that the majority (>50%) of the implants they placed were for cosmetic purposes. Conversely, 306 (37.9%) respondents stated that the majority of implants they placed were for reconstructive purposes and 102 (13.3%) respondents indicated equal placement of cosmetic and reconstructive implants. There were 40.9% (n = 318) surgeons who continue to use textured implants, whereas 59.1% (n = 460) report using only smooth implants. This data includes 47.7% (n = 363) of respondents who report switching to only smooth implants due to awareness of breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL).
CONCLUSIONSThe incidence of BIA-ALCL continues to rise. All known cases have some link to textured implants. With equally efficacious alternatives available with smooth implants, surgeons and patients are altering their implant choices.
Ongoing recognition of breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) and its link with textured devices has brought a paradigm shift in prosthetic-based breast reconstruction. ...Many institutions no longer offer textured expansion devices for staged reconstruction. However, there is a paucity of data regarding the efficacy of smooth tissue expanders (TE). We hypothesized that the time to final reconstruction and complication profile between smooth and textured TEs would be similar in breast reconstruction patients.
A retrospective chart review was performed of all patients who underwent TE breast reconstruction during a 6-year period at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center. Rates of complications treated nonoperatively and those requiring reoperation were assessed. Mechanical complications, including expander malposition and rupture, were evaluated. Time to final breast reconstruction was quantified. Mixed-effects logistic regression and linear regression models, as appropriate, were used to compare textured to smooth TEs. Patient characteristics and anatomic plane placement were adjusted for in all analyses of outcomes.
Data were collected on 389 patients, encompassing 140 smooth and 604 textured TEs. Textured devices had an increased incidence of complications treated nonsurgically (16.7% vs 10.7%; P = 0.14). However, smooth TEs had an increased incidence of reoperation (12.1% vs 7.6%; P = 0.06). Most noteworthy was that although smooth TEs had a 40-fold increase in malposition (13.6% vs 0.3%; P < 0.001), no reoperation for this complication was warranted. Further, the time to final reconstruction was comparable between the 2 devices (textured expanders: 221 days and smooth expanders: 234 days; P = 0.15).
Staged, implant-based reconstruction is the most common surgical approach to recreate the breast mound following mastectomy. Textured TEs were the cornerstone to this approach. Unfortunately, the association between textured devices and BIA-ALCL now mandates an alternative. We postulated that smooth expanders would compare favorably for breast reconstruction. Although our study suggests that smooth TEs suffer more malposition, this has a negligible impact on the reconstructive timeline. Thus, smooth TEs may prove beneficial when considering the risk of BIA-ALCL associated with textured devices.
With an increasing focus on multimodal pain control to reduce opioid requirements, regional and local anesthesia techniques have been investigated in bilateral reduction mammaplasty with variable ...results. The purpose of this study is to compare tumescent anesthesia with pectoral nerve block II (PECS II) in patients undergoing bilateral reduction mammaplasty with respect to postoperative pain and nausea, opioid consumption, length of stay, and cost.
A retrospective review of patients undergoing bilateral reduction mammaplasty for macromastia between November 2020 and December 2021 was performed. Demographic information, operative and anesthesia times, antiemetic and morphine equivalent requirements, postoperative numeric pain rating scales, and time until hospital discharge were compared between groups. χ2 and Fisher exact tests examined subgroup differences in categorical variables. Two-sample t test and Wilcoxon rank-sum test evaluated differences in continuous parametric and nonparametric variables, respectively.
Fifty-three patients underwent bilateral reduction mammaplasty by 3 surgeons, 71.7% (n = 38) with tumescent anesthesia infiltrated by the operating surgeon before the start of the procedure and 28.3% (n = 15) with bilateral PECS II blocks performed by anesthesia before the start of the procedure. There was no difference in age, body mass index, weight resected, intraoperative medication, or immediate postoperative complications. Postoperative pain scores and opioid requirements were similar between the 2 groups. Twenty-one percent (n = 8) of tumescent patients compared with 66.7% (n = 10) of block patients required 1 or more doses of postoperative antiemetics ( P = 0.002). Patients who received blocks spent longer in the postoperative recovery area (5.3 vs 7.1 hours, P < 0.01). However, this did not translate to a significant increase in overnight stays. The block group had significantly higher hospitalization cost by an average of $4000, driven by pharmacy and procedural cost ( P < 0.01).
In this cohort of multimodal perioperative pain-controlled reduction mammaplasty patients, tumescent anesthesia was associated with decreased antiemetic requirements, less time in recovery before discharge, and lower cost compared with PECS II blocks. Therefore, tumescent anesthesia may be favored over PECS II blocks when considering multimodal pain control strategies in reduction mammaplasty patients.
Summary Seromas are a common complication associated with breast reconstructive surgery. In expander based breast reconstructions, a seroma can pose a particularly difficult problem related to final ...tissue envelope shape as well as an increase in the risk of infection and possible tissue necrosis. Unfortunately, the literature describes few non-image related techniques to drain a seroma with a breast implant in place. We present a technique to drain a seroma associated with expander based breast reconstruction in conjunction with expander inflation, minimizing the risk of expander puncture, utilizing the same equipment necessary for expander inflation in the office. The benefit to this technique is that diagnostic and therapeutic imaging is not necessary and the risk of expander damage is minimized.
