The creation of new rotation arc to the rat latissimus dorsi musculo-cutaneous flap with delay procedures

BACKGROUND: Latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous flap is one of the most frequently performed reconstructive techniques in surgery. Latissimus dorsi muscle has two arcs of rotation. It is classified as type V muscle. This muscle can be elevated on the thoracodorsal artery to cover large defects in the anterior chest and also, the muscle can be elevated on the segmental vessels to cover midline defects posteriorly. The aim of this study was to create a new arc of rotation on a vertical axis for the muscle and investigate effectiveness of vascular and chemical delays on the latissimus dorsi muscle flap with an inferior pedicle in an experimental rat model. We hypothesized that the latissimus dorsi muscle would be based on inferior pedicle by delay procedures. METHODS: We tested two different types of delay: vascular and combination of vascular and chemical. We also tried to determine how many days of "delay" can elicit beneficial effects of vascular and combination delays in an inferior pedicled latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous flap. To accomplish this, 48 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly subjected to vascular or combination delay (vascular and chemical). In addition, one ear of each rat was assigned into a delay procedure and the other ear was used as a control. Results were evaluated macroscopically, and micro-angiography and histological examinations were also performed. As a result, there was a significant difference in viable flap areas between vascular delay alone and control groups (p < 0.05). RESULTS: The higher rate of flap viability was obtained in seven-day vascular delay alone. However, there was no significant difference in the viability between seven-day vascular delay and five-day vascular delay (p < 0.05), so the earliest time when the flap viability could be obtained was at five days. The rate of flap viability was significantly higher in the vascular delay combined with chemical delay than the control group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The combination of vascular and chemical delays increased the rate of viability. Nevertheless, there was no significant difference between vascular delay alone and combination of vascular and chemical delays. Chemical delay did not significantly decrease the delay period. Better histological and microangiographical results were achieved in delay groups compared to control groups. We concluded that the arch of the latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous flap can be changed and the flap can be used for various purposes with the delay procedures

What Can Breast and Plastic Surgeons Do to Help Fight the Opioid Crisis: The Interpectoral Block for Pain Control Following Aesthetic and Reconstructive Breast Surgery

Abstract With the heightened awareness of the dangers of opioid administration, the importance of providing effective non-opioid postoperative pain management is evident. Regional analgesia for breast surgery has been described, but it is unclear how widely it is utilized. The authors describe a simple block performed during ablative, aesthetic, and reconstructive breast surgery to improve postoperative pain control and significantly decrease the need for postoperative pain medications. The interpectoral (PECS I) block covers the lateral and medial pectoral nerves and can be administered by the anesthesiologist under ultrasound guidance after induction of general anesthesia, or by the surgeon under direct vision, using a blunt cannula, at the time of surgery. The authors have been practicing this technique in every patient undergoing aesthetic, ablative, and reconstructive breast surgery in the last 4 years. In approximately 350 patients, none received opioids after discharge, which was either same day or the following day. The authors provide a brief review of the literature and a detailed description of the technique along with a video demonstrating the procedures. Intraoperative pectoral block is a simple and effective technique for decreasing postoperative pain and analgesic requirements and could be widely adopted as a standard of care in breast surgery.</jats:p

Clinical trials of amniotic membranes in burn wound care.

Four test conditions of increasing complexity were used to evaluate the clinical efficacy of amniotic membranes as biologic dressings on donor sites and burn wounds in children. These were the clean-skin donor-site wound, the uncontaminated shallow partial-thickness burn wound, the bed of freshly excised full-thickness wounds, and the granulating surface of colonized burn wounds. The rate of epithelialization under amniotic membranes was the same as that under 5% scarlet red ointment or 0.5% silver nitrate solution dressings. Preservation of a healthy excised wound bed and maintenance of a low bacterial count in contaminated wounds paralleled the experience with human allograft dressings despite technical difficulties and the absence of vascularization of amniotic membrane and its fragile structure. Tentative conclusions are drawn as to the mechanisms by which biologic dressings exert their beneficial effects