Plastic and reconstructive surgery
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Plast. Reconstr. Surg. · Jun 2003
Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialAn alternative method to minimize pain in the split-thickness skin graft donor site.
In the art of plastic surgery, the reconstruction of tissue defects to obtain cosmetic and functional recovery is the major concern. Skin grafting is the most frequently used procedure for reconstructing defects of various size and anatomical localizations. On the other hand, donor-site problems associated with this invaluable procedure are inevitable. ⋯ The mean pain scores were significantly lower in group I than in group II (p < 0.0001). When donor-site pain is of primary concern, this procedure provides uneventful and comfortable healing while avoiding postoperative pain in the donor site. For that reason, this technique might be used in appropriate cases to minimize donor-site pain.
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Plast. Reconstr. Surg. · Jun 2003
Reliability of a structured method of selecting abstracts for a plastic surgical scientific meeting.
There is no generally accepted method for assessing abstracts that are submitted for a medical scientific meeting. This article describes the development and prospective evaluation of such a method applied to the 220 abstracts submitted for the 2000 Annual Meeting of the European Association of Plastic Surgeons. Structured abstracts were evaluated in three categories: aesthetic surgery, basic research, and clinical study. ⋯ Using a structured questionnaire can be helpful in the objective assessment of abstracts for a scientific meeting and may facilitate comparison of abstracts. Meritocratic dichotomy of abstracts by the reviewers is advocated to further improve reliability of the rating. Even though reliability generally increases with the number of reviewers, the annual increase of submitted abstracts may necessitate a decrease in the number of reviewers for each abstract.
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Plast. Reconstr. Surg. · May 2003
Intralesional cryotherapy for enhancing the involution of hypertrophic scars and keloids.
Although therapeutic management of hypertrophic scars and keloids using contact or spray cryosurgery has yielded significant improvement or complete regression of hypertrophic scars and keloids, it requires one to 20 treatment sessions. This study was designed to assess the clinical safety and efficacy of an intralesional needle cryoprobe method in the treatment of hypertrophic scars and keloids. Ten patients, ranging in age from 3 to 54 years, with a total of 12 hypertrophic scars and keloids of more than 6 months duration and of diverse causes, were included in this study. ⋯ As a result, fewer treatment cycles are needed. Because the reepithelialization period is short, treatment intervals, if any, can be shortened to 2 to 3 weeks. This intralesional cryoneedle method is simple to operate and safe to use, it necessitates less postoperative care of the wound, and it can easily be added to any preexisting cryosurgical unit.
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Plast. Reconstr. Surg. · May 2003
Comparative StudyResorbable plate osteosynthesis of sagittal split osteotomies with major bone movement.
This study evaluates resorbable miniplate osteosyntheses in sagittal split osteotomies with major bone repositioning. Two resorbable 2.0-mm miniplate systems, MacroSorb (Macropore, San Diego, Calif.) and PolyMax (Synthes, Oberdorf, Switzerland), were compared consecutively. Amorphous 70:30 poly-L/DL-lactide copolymer plates sustain continuous hydrolysis through water penetration into the implant body during the first 6 months in situ. ⋯ Comparison of the number of patients in each group with stable osteosyntheses and regular healing showed no significant differences by Fisher's exact test (p = 0.1516); therefore, the authors focused on the combined results for both treatments. The current osteosynthesis systems showed sufficient stability for mandibular fixation after sagittal split osteotomy and repositioning more than 10 mm distant when two plates were applied to each side; however, 27 percent of patients had complications, including relapses. Disadvantages were the cost, breakability, diameter, and need to place the screws vertically to the plate, necessitating a bent instrument or transbuccal incisions.