Journal of plastic, reconstructive & aesthetic surgery : JPRAS
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J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg · Jan 2008
ReviewComposite tissue allotransplantation: a review of relevant immunological issues for plastic surgeons.
Composite tissue allotransplantation of hand, facial and other tissues is now a clinical reality. The terminology, treatment principles, drug combinations, dosage schedules and mechanisms of the immunosuppression medications on which contemporary transplant surgery is based are unfamiliar to plastic surgeons and most healthcare providers outside the field of transplantation medicine. With this in mind, the purpose of this manuscript is to provide plastic surgeons with a comprehensive and understandable review of key immunological principles relevant to composite tissue allotransplantation. ⋯ Today, as transplant and reconstructive surgeons join forces to move hand and facial tissue allotransplantation into the clinical arena, it is important that plastic surgeons have an understanding of the major immunological principles upon which this new treatment is based.
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This is a review of 249 patients who have suffered ear trauma and who have presented for reconstruction over the last eighteen years. All were born with normal ears and had lost one or both ears or a major segment of the ear. Congenital ear problems including microtia are not included.