The British journal of surgery
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Accuracy of the Wound Healing Questionnaire in the diagnosis of surgical-site infection after abdominal surgery in low- and middle-income countries.
Telemedicine is being adopted for postoperative surveillance but requires evaluation for efficacy. This study tested a telephone Wound Healing Questionnaire (WHQ) to diagnose surgical site infection (SSI) after abdominal surgery in low- and middle-income countries. ⋯ SSI can be diagnosed using a telephone questionnaire (obviating in-person assessment) in low resource settings.
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To restore sensation after breast reconstruction, a modified surgical approach was employed by identifying the cut fourth intercostal lateral cutaneous branch, elongating it with intercostal nerve grafts, and coapting it to the innervating nerve of the flap or by using direct neurotization of the spared nipple/skin. ⋯ Using the lateral cutaneous branch of the intercostal nerve as the innervating stump and elongating it with intercostal nerve grafts is a suitable technique to restore sensation after mastectomy. This method effectively innervates reconstructed breasts and spares the nipple/skin with minimal morbidity.