Injuries to our skin trigger a cascade of spatially- and temporally-synchronized healing processes. During such endogenous wound repair, the role of fibroblasts is multifaceted, ranging from the ...activation and recruitment of innate immune cells through the synthesis and deposition of scar tissue to the conveyor belt-like transport of fascial connective tissue into wounds. A comprehensive understanding of fibroblast diversity and versatility in the healing machinery may help to decipher wound pathologies whilst laying the foundation for novel treatment modalities. In this review, we portray the diversity of fibroblasts and delineate their unique wound healing functions. In addition, we discuss future directions through a clinical-translational lens.
A variety of breast reconstruction (BR) options are available. The significance of timing on outcomes remains debated. This study aims to compare complications in breast cancer patients undergoing ...implant-based and autologous BR immediately after mastectomy or at a delayed time point.
We reviewed the ACS-NSQIP database (2008–2021) to identify all female patients who underwent BR for oncological purposes. Outcomes were stratified by technique (implant-based versus autologous) and timing (immediate versus delayed), and included 30-day mortality, reoperation, (unplanned) readmission, and surgical and medical complications.
A total of 21,560 patients were included: 11,237 (52%) implant-based (9791/87% immediate, 1446/13% delayed) and 10,323 (48%) autologous (8378/81% immediate, 1945/19% delayed). Complications occurred in 3666 (17%) patients (implant-based: n = 1112/11% immediate, n = 64/4.4% delayed cohorts; Autologous: n = 2073/25% immediate, n = 417/21% delayed cohorts). In propensity score weighting (PSW) analyses, immediate BR was associated with significantly more complications than delayed BR (p < 0.0001). This was the case for both implant-based and autologous BR, with a greater difference between the two time points noted in implant-based. Confounder-adjusted multivariable analyses confirmed these results.
At the 30-day time point, delayed BR is associated with significantly lower complication rates than immediate BR, in both the implant-based and autologous cohorts. These findings are not a blanket recommendation in favor of immediate and/or delayed BR. Instead, our insights may guide surgeons and patients in decision-making and help refine patients’ eligibility in a case-by-case workup.
The increasing demand for gender-affirming surgery (GAS) in transgender and gender-diverse healthcare highlights the importance of breast augmentation surgery (BAS) for transfeminine patients. ...Despite its significance, there is a lack of research on postoperative outcomes of BAS.
We analyzed the multi-institutional American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) (2008–2021) database to identify female transgender individuals (TGIs) who underwent BAS surgery, both isolated and combined with concurrent GAS procedures. We evaluated 30-day outcomes, including the incidence of mortality, reoperation, readmission as well as surgical and medical complication occurrence.
Of 1699 female TGIs, 92% underwent isolated BAS and 7.7% underwent combined BAS. The mean age and body mass index (BMI) were 36 ± 12 years and 27 ± 6.6 kg/m2, respectively. Isolated BAS showed a 2.8% complication rate, while combined BAS had a higher rate with 9.1%. Specifically, all complications occurred in patients undergoing BAS with concurrent genitourinary surgery (n = 85; 14%), whereas no adverse events were recorded after combined BAS and facial feminization (n = 19) or chondrolaryngoplasty (n = 19). In patients seeking combined BAS, advanced age (p = 0.05) and nicotine abuse (p = 0.004) were identified as risk factors predisposing to adverse events, whereas American Society of Anesthesiology class 1 was found to be protective (p = 0.02).
Isolated BAS in TGIs demonstrates a positive safety profile. Combined surgeries, particularly with genitourinary procedures, pose higher risks. Identifying risk factors such as smoking and advanced age is crucial for patient selection and surgical planning. These findings can aid in refining patient eligibility and inform surgical decision-making for BAS.
Although a large number of adult women worldwide are affected by lipedema, the physiologic conditions triggering onset and progression of this chronic disease remain enigmatic. In the present study, ...a descriptive epidemiologic situation of postoperative lipedema patients is presented.
The authors developed an online survey questionnaire for lipedema patients in Germany. The survey was conducted on 209 female patients who had been diagnosed with lipedema and had undergone tumescent liposuction.
Most of the participants (average age, 38.5 years) had noticed a first manifestation of the disease at the age of 16. It took a mean of 15 years to accomplish diagnosis. Liposuction led to a significant reduction of pain, swelling, tenderness, and easy bruising as confirmed by the majority of patients. Hypothyroidism n = 75 (35.9 percent) and depression n = 48 (23.0 percent) occurred at a frequency far beyond the average prevalence in the German population. The prevalence of diabetes type 1 n = 3 (1.4 percent), and diabetes type 2 n = 2 (1 percent) was particularly low among the respondents. Forty-seven of the lipedema patients (approximately 22.5 percent) suffered from a diagnosed migraine. Following liposuction, the frequency and/or intensity of migraine attacks became markedly reduced, as stated by 32 patients (68.1 percent).
Quality of life increases significantly after surgery with a reduction of pain and swelling and decreased tendency to easy bruising. The high prevalence of hypothyroidism in lipedema patients could be related to the frequently observed lipedema-associated obesity. The low prevalence of diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension appears to be a specific characteristic distinguishing lipedema from lifestyle-induced obesity.
There is a mounting body of evidence that underscores the worldwide and US national need for increased plastic surgery recruitment of trainees. Thus, plastic surgery must attract more applicants ...while maintaining the high-level qualifications of residency candidates.
A total of 250 (w = 197) medical students rated the prototypical plastic surgeon (PS), general practitioner (GP), and craniomaxillofacial surgeon (CMF) with respect to traits derived from a literature review on the general perception of surgery, favorability, and their intention to pursue a respective career.
Factor analysis yielded two overarching dimensions of prototype perception in addition to femininity and resilience, one reflecting a coldhearted, narcissistic, competitive character (status primacy; SP), and one reflecting role-model-like traits (hard-working, healthy, admired, and empathetic). Prototypical PSs scored significantly higher on SP than GPs (t(249) = 18.72, p < 0.001, d = 1.26) and CMFs (t(249) = 5.73, p < 0.001, d = 0.36), while receiving significantly less positive evaluations (GP: t(249) = -9.93, p < 0.001, d = -0.63; CMF: t(249) = -3.52, p < 0.001, d = -0.22). The higher participants rated PSs on SP, the more likely a career in plastic surgery was excluded (OR = 0.71, p = 0.03). An opposite relationship with femininity approached significance (OR = 1.32, p = 0.06).
Given the growing need for PSs, worldwide and US national task fields have to overcome the outdated traits and highlight the field's pro-bono engagement. Furthermore, plastic surgery should further expand its leading role in promoting female trainees.
Surveys on quality of life (QOL) of male-to-female (MTF) transsexuals have found low QOL scores before and increased satisfaction scores after sex-reassignment surgery (SRS). To our knowledge, many ...of them lack standardized questionnaires and comparisons with normative data to evaluate different vaginoplasty techniques.
To analyze patient satisfaction and QOL after SRS.
Forty-seven patients participated in this study. All patients had surgery with our self-developed combined technique on average 19 months before the survey. They completed a self-developed indication-specific questionnaire concerning demographic and socioeconomic issues and postoperative satisfaction. Furthermore, a standardized self-assessment questionnaire on satisfaction and QOL (Fragen zur Lebenszufriedenheit
FLZ
; Questions on Life Satisfaction
) was used. The FLZ
consists of three modules (general life satisfaction, satisfaction with health, and satisfaction with body image) with scores of weighted satisfaction for each item. Results of the general and health modules were compared with normative data.
Demographics, QOL, general life satisfaction, satisfaction with health, and satisfaction with body image.
The self-developed indication-specific questionnaire showed that 91% experienced an improvement of QOL. All patients stated they would undergo SRS again and did not regret it at all. Patients stated their femininity significantly increased. For the FLZ
, the sum score for general life satisfaction (P < .001) was significantly lower than the normative data, whereas the sum score of the satisfaction with health module (P = .038) did not reach statistical significance. The two modules also showed positive trends for different items. Values of the body image module showed a significant increase in satisfaction with breasts (P < .001) and genitals (P = .002).
The findings of this survey emphasize the importance of SRS in the interdisciplinary gender-reassignment process. The detailed description of our combined technique could help to improve the surgical outcome and patient satisfaction of this complex and non-standardized surgery.
This is the first description of a new surgical technique (combined technique) for MTF SRS. QOL was assessed by a large number of patients by standardized questionnaires and could be compared with normative data. Because this is a retrospective study, we can draw only careful conclusions for pre- and postoperative changes.
Our self-developed combined surgical technique seemed to have a positive influence on QOL after SRS. Satisfaction with breasts, genitals, and femininity increased significantly and show the importance of surgical treatment as a key therapeutic option for MTF transsexuals. Papadopulos NA, Lellé J-D, Zavlin D, et al. Quality of Life and Patient Satisfaction Following Male-to-Female Sex Reassignment Surgery. J Sex Med 2017;14:721-730.
After a burn injury, superficial partial-thickness burn wounds may progress to deep partial-thickness or full-thickness burn wounds, if kept untreated. This phenomenon is called secondary burn wound ...progression or conversion. Burn wound depth is an important determinant of patient morbidity and mortality. Therefore, reduction or even the prevention of secondary burn wound progression is one goal of the acute care of burned patients. The objective of this study was to review preclinical approaches evaluating therapies to reduce burn wound progression. A systematic review of experimental approaches in animals that aim at reducing or preventing secondary burn wound progression was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The selected references consist of all the peer-reviewed studies performed in vivo in animals and review articles published in English, German, Italian, Spanish, or French language relevant to the topic of secondary burn wound progression. We searched MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar including all the articles published from the beginning of notations to the present. The search was conducted between May 3, 2012 and December 26, 2013. We included 29 experimental studies in this review, investigating agents that maintain or increase local perfusion conditions, as well as agents that exhibit an anti-coagulatory, an anti-inflammatory, or an anti-apoptotic property. Warm water, simvastatin, EPO, or cerium nitrate may represent particularly promising approaches for the translation into clinical use in the near future. This review demonstrates promising experimental approaches that might reduce secondary burn wound progression. Nevertheless, a translation into clinical application needs to confirm the results compiled in experimental animal studies.
There exists a paucity of large-scale, multi-institutional studies that investigate the outcomes of surgery for Bell's palsy (BP). Here, we utilize a large, multi-institutional database to study the ...risk factors and early-stage outcomes following surgical procedures in BP.
We reviewed the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database (2008-2019) to identify patients who underwent surgery for the diagnosis of BP. We extracted data on comorbidities and preoperative blood values, and 30-day postoperative outcomes.
Two hundred fifty-seven patients who underwent surgery for BP symptoms over the 12-year review period were identified. Muscle grafts (n=50; 19%) and fascial grafts (n=48; 19%) accounted for the majority of procedures. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (n=89; 35%) and obesity (n=79; 31%). Complications occurred in 26 (10.1%) cases. Additionally, length of hospital stay was significantly associated with both surgical and medical complications (3.9±4.7 versus 1.5±2.0; P <0.01) and (3.2±3.8 versus 1.4±2.0; P <0.01), respectively. Preoperative creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, and alkaline phosphatase were identified as potential predictors of poor postoperative outcomes.
Based on multi-institutional analysis, complication rates following surgery for BP were found to be overall low and seen to correlate with length of hospital stay. Reoperations and readmissions were the most frequent complications after surgery for BP. The preoperative evaluation of routine laboratory values may help refine patient eligibility and risk stratification. In addition, our findings call for future large-scale prospective studies in the field of facial palsy surgery to further improve the quality of care and optimize perioperative protocols.
Beside botulinum-toxin injections and hyaluronic acid fillers, thread lifts have established themselves as the third column of minimally invasive facial rejuvenation. Most commonly, barbed threads ...for this approach are made out of polydioxanone, a material known for decades from application in resorbable sutures. The clinical efficacy and the putative material safety of polydioxanone have fueled the popularity of thread lifts.
The present study highlights significant variation among six commercially available threads in microstructure, tensile strength, elasticity, anchoring capacity in human tissue, and biocompatibility.
Despite their license to be marketed and sold in the European Union, some products performed significantly worse than others on material testing, and even displayed cytotoxic characteristics.
The results of this study are highly relevant for clinicians and may be linked to various typical side effects of polydioxanone threads for facial rejuvenation.
Summary Background Several therapy options exist for male-to-female (MTF) transgenders desiring sex reassignment. Surgery includes numerous different procedures. Of those, vaginoplasty is predominant ...and aims at providing attractive esthetics and fully functional genitals. This study aimed to present the surgical results of our modified combined vaginoplasty technique in a consecutive patient cohort. Methods We included 40 MTF transgender patients who underwent a two-stage sex reassignment surgery (SRS) in an observational prospective study between September 2012 and January 2014. Demographic characteristics, medical and surgical history, operative details, and outcomes after surgery were documented. Postoperatively, 23 patients received a pelvic examination following the standardized protocol. Results Measured vaginal depth was 11.77–14.99 cm depending on the size of the dilator used (25–40 mm). Vaginal, clitoral, and labial sensitivities were intact and favorable in all examined patients. Nineteen women (47.5%) opted for breast augmentations to achieve a feminine cosmesis, making it the most common nongenital operation. Complications were mostly minor and temporary. Severe adverse events, such as wound infections ( n = 3), colon injuries (3), short (1) or narrow (1) vaginas, or partial clitoral necroses (1), were rare and immediately addressed by the surgical team. No vaginal construction was lost, and no secondary reconstructive approaches were required. Conclusion Satisfactory physical results and favorable low rates of complications endorse our combined technique for MTF SRS. These findings, however, need to be confirmed by other research groups as well. Therefore, in our opinion, MTF SRS remains an evolving area of development, whose research is aiming to establish a state-of-the-art surgical technique.
