Lipoabdominoplasty: A Comparative Study of Combined Operation Versus Lipoabdominoplasty Only

Abdominoplasty may be applied to achieve aesthetic outcome and it also can be combined with other surgeries. In addition, liposuction has been offered to patients to improve contour. Liposuction combined with abdominoplasty gives us the advantage of higher patient satisfaction, better aesthetic outcome, and one-staged surgery. The authors performed a retrospective study to evaluate the outcomes. A total of 6 patients who underwent lipoabdominoplasty were included. The patients were all female and the mean age of the patients was 50.5 years old(age range, 32 to 58 years). This study surveyed lipoabdominoplasty based on the purpose of operation, type of suture, and application of quilting suture. Complication rates, patient satisfaction, and postoperative contour of the abdomen were questioned. A mild abdominal complication occurred in one patient, flap bullae, but this was healed within a week and overall flap survival was excellent with good satisfactory outcome. It appears that complication rates of simple lipoabdominoplasty group is low(1/6), and only minor complication occurs. Preservation of perforators during liposuction accounts for improved flap survival. In addition, abdominoplasty may be combined with other abdominal surgeries since other abdominal surgeries usually involve the lower abdomen, which will eventually be cut away curing the abdominoplasty stage.

Formidable Angiosarcoma of the Scalp

PURPOSE: Angiosarcoma is a tumor of mesenchymal origin with an extremely high rate of metastasis and invasiveness. This tumor is notorious for its very poor prognosis, although surgical excision followed by radiation therapy is considered to be effective by many. The authors experienced three angiosarcoma patients with their tumors removed and wounds covered with split-thickness skin grafts and/or latissimus dorsi free flaps. METHODS: Three patients were admitted to our hospital showed plaques of different morphology. Based on their medical records, these patients were classified by sex, age, type of reconstruction, recurrence, and further treatment after surgical removal. RESULTS: All patients were male, with a mean age of 72 years (range, 66 to 77 years). Split-thickness skin grafts with latissimus dorsi free flaps were performed on two cases, and of these two cases, cervical lymph node biopsy was done in one case, and radical neck dissection was done in the other. In all cases, radiation therapy was done within two weeks of tumor removal. Distant metastasis occurred without local recurrence in two of the cases. Lung was the first organ affected by metastasis. In the remaining case, the tumor recurred locally 6 times, and additional excision was necessary. All patients died due to local recurrence and lung metastasis. CONCLUSION: Irregular margins and high recurrence and metastasis rates cause a poor prognosis in large angiosarcoma of the scalp. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy should be strongly considered in large angiosarcomas.