Plastic and reconstructive surgery
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Plast. Reconstr. Surg. · Jan 2008
Cervical spine injury in association with craniomaxillofacial fractures.
The incidence of cervical spine injuries associated with facial fractures varies from study to study. There is general agreement that immediate management of cervical spine injuries is mandatory to prevent further neurologic injury. Nevertheless, disagreement exists as to the actual incidence of cervical spinal trauma in conjunction with various facial fracture patterns. The purpose of this study was to review the incidence of cervical spine injury associated with various types of facial fractures presenting to St. Michael's Hospital Regional Trauma Center, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ⋯ The relationship between cervical spinal injuries and craniomaxillofacial trauma has been better defined as it relates to a regional trauma registry. The implications as related to the trauma assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of these injuries are reviewed.
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Plast. Reconstr. Surg. · Jan 2008
Randomized Controlled TrialInfluence of povidone-iodine preoperative showers on skin colonization in elective plastic surgery procedures.
Preoperative showering with antiseptic skin cleansers is common in elective operations, although the value of this procedure in reducing surgical wound infections has not been established. The authors designed a prospective study to assess the influence of povidone-iodine preoperative showers on skin colonization in elective plastic surgery procedures. ⋯ Single preoperative povidone-iodine showers are effective in reducing staphylococcal skin colonization before elective clean plastic surgical procedures on the thorax and abdomen.
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Plast. Reconstr. Surg. · Jan 2008
Dexmedetomidine in aesthetic facial surgery: improving anesthetic safety and efficacy.
Dexmedetomidine is an alpha2-agonist anesthetic with several properties that are advantageous in aesthetic facial surgery. By attenuating sympathetic nervous system activity, it induces sedation and analgesia while lowering blood pressure and preventing pain-induced hemodynamic fluctuations. It spares the respiratory drive and decreases the need for supplemental oxygen, thus reducing the fire risk of electrocautery. It decreases narcotic use, thereby further improving respiratory safety and decreasing postoperative nausea and vomiting. This retrospective study evaluated the safety and efficacy of dexmedetomidine in rhytidectomy. ⋯ Dexmedetomidine lowered blood pressure, decreased the frequency of oxygen desaturations, and reduced narcotic, anxiolytic, and antiemetic use. When compared with conventional sedation, dexmedetomidine appears to improve anesthetic safety and efficacy for rhytidectomy patients.
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Plast. Reconstr. Surg. · Dec 2007
Comparative StudyDevelopment and validation of a novel scar evaluation scale.
The authors previously developed a six-item ordinal wound evaluation scale to measure the short-term cosmetic outcome of wounds 1 week after injury. Although it was never intended to measure long-term outcomes, it has been used to assess scars 3 to 12 months after injury. The authors developed and validated a scar evaluation scale specifically aimed at measuring the long-term appearance of scars. ⋯ The authors describe a new long-term scar evaluation scale that is highly reliable and correlated with the cosmetic visual analogue scale, suggesting construct validity.