ABSTRACT
Lip carcinoma is one of the most frequent conditions affecting the general population. It is among the ten most common neoplasms, but despite advances in research and therapy, its prognosis has not improved in a significant way in the past few years, making it a challenge in the medical research field and in surgical treatment. This study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the available reconstructive surgical options for the treatment of lip carcinomas in order to define which could be the most appropriate technique to achieve satisfying aesthetic and functional outcomes considering hospital resources in the COVID-19 era. Seventeen patients were included in this retrospective study, which took place between January 2019 and April 2021. There were two groups: seven patients who underwent a radial forearm free flap and ten who underwent locoregional flaps. The statistical analysis was performed to evaluate four different endpoints. Surgical length, ICU stay, and hospitalization time were minor for locoregional flaps. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups when considering post-operative complications. Locoregional flaps have a more aesthetically pleasing result, but from a functional point of view, the results can be superimposable. Both techniques are associated with adequate speech, mouth opening, sealing, and symmetry. Given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the healthcare system, locoregional flaps have been proven to be a good surgical option in the reconstruction of lip defects both in terms of aesthetics and functional outcome. © 2023 by the authors.
ABSTRACT
Following the COVID-19 outbreak, the redesign of an emergency mechanical pulmonary ventilator that is cheap and easily portable became necessary in several contexts, such as emergency hotspots and environments with poor resources. To address this important issue, a general multibody approach is employed in this paper to develop a reciprocating mechanism suitable for retrofitting the existing manual mechanical ventilators through computer-aided engineering tools. By analyzing various basic articulated mechanisms typically found in engineering mechanics, a prototype is created and reproduced in a threedimensional environment using SOLIDWORKS's CAD software. Subsequently, a high-fidelity mechanical model is developed starting from the CAD geometry and employing the SIMSCAPE MULTIBODY software, an extension of the MATLAB family of programs that can effectively and efficiently perform kinematic and dynamic simulations of the mechanism of interest. As discussed in the paper, by carrying out numerous numerical experiments, the virtual simulations predict several fundamental medical parameters, such as the airflow introduced into patients, the respiratory rate, and the respiratory ratio.