Early conversion to belatacept-based immunosuppression regimen promotes improved long-term renal graft function in kidney transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND: Belatacept has been demonstrated as an effective alternative immunosuppressant in kidney transplant recipients. This study focuses on outcomes of early and late conversion to Belatacept-based immunosuppression after kidney transplant. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected database included all adult kidney transplants patients at SUNY Upstate Medical Hospital from 1 January 2014 to 30 December 2022. Early conversion was defined as all conversions done at <6 months after kidney transplantation, and late conversion to belatacept was defined as conversion at >6 months after kidney transplantation. RESULTS: Out of 61 patients included in this study, 33 patients (54%) were in the early conversion group, and 28 patients (46%) were in the late conversion group. The mean eGFR in the early conversion group was 26.73 ± 16.26 ml/min/1.73 m2 before conversion to belatacept, which improved to 45.3 ± 21.01 ml/min/1.73 m2 at one-year post-conversion (p = 0.0006). Furthermore, eGFR changes in the late conversion group were insignificant, with 46.30 ± 15.65 ml/min/1.73 m2 before conversion to belatacept, and 44.76 ± 22.91 ml/min/1.73 m2 after one year of follow-up (p = 0.72). All four biopsy-proven allograft rejections in the early conversion group were acute T-cell-mediated rejections (ATMR). In the late conversion group, out of three biopsy-proven rejections, one was chronic antibody-mediated rejection (CAMR), one was ATMR, and one was mixed ATMR/CAMR. All four patients with ATMR rejection received mycophenolic acid (MPA) as part of their immunosuppressive regimen, and none received tacrolimus. The one-year post-conversion allograft survival rate in early and late conversion groups was 100%. However, the one-year post-conversion patient survival rate was 90.9% in the early conversion group and 100% in the late conversion group (P = 0.11). CONCLUSIONS: Early post-transplant conversion to belatacept can improve the eGFR more meaningful when compared to late conversion. Patients who receive belatacept and MPA rather than tacrolimus may have increased rates of T-cell-mediated rejection.

The use of dermal regeneration template (Pelnac®) in a complex upper limb trauma: the first Italian case report.

Dermal regeneration template (DRT) has been well widely implicated in the reconstruction of full-thickness injury. We present our experience and our clinical application of Pelnac® to achieve wound closure with complex acute, upper limb, full-thickness defect post-trauma. A 22-year-old boy presented a soft tissues loss of the back of the hand and forearm with tendon's involvement and exposure. The wound was treated with Pelnac®; the silicone layer was removed at postoperative day 30 and dermal regeneration template was reapplied at the level of the residual tendon exposure; a split-thickness skin graft (0.2 to 0.3 mm) was inserted. Clinically, the reconstructed areas demonstrated good granulation tissue at 14 days with a good take of the skin graft. There were no major acute graft loss, rejection or associated infections cells through downregulating TLR4 expression.

The New Trend of Pre-pectoral Breast Reconstruction: An Objective Evaluation of the Quality of Online Information for Patients Undergoing Breast Reconstruction.

The Web has increasingly become the major source of information about health care, and patients who need to undergo breast reconstruction often use the internet to acquire an initial knowledge on the subject. We would like to present our study that investigates the quality of published information on pre-pectoral breast reconstruction. We searched the term "Pre-pectoral breast reconstruction" on Google® and Yahoo®. Forty-two web sites were selected and underwent qualitative and quantitative assessment using the expanded EQIP tool. The analysis of document contents showed a critical lack of information about qualitative risks and side-effects descriptions, treatment of potential complications, alert signs for the patient and precautions that the patient may take. Health professionals should inform patients about the potential difficulties of identifying reliable informational web sites about pre-pectoral breast reconstruction. The quality of available information should be improved, especially the important topics included in the content data section of the modified EQIP tool.Level of Evidence IV This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Comparison between antimicrobial-coated sutures and uncoated sutures for the prevention of surgical site infections in plastic surgery: a double blind control trial.

OBJECTIVE: Surgical site infection (SSI) produces considerable morbidity and increases health care costs. One of its causes is microbial adherence to the surgical sutures surface. A strategy to avoid microbial colonization is the use of antimicrobial-impregnated sutures. Recently absorbable sutures treated with chlorhexidine (CHX) have been developed. Our study purpose was to compare CHX-coated and uncoated suture in elective plastic surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, single-centre controlled trial of 18 patients undergoing elective bilateral mammary surgery and 18 patients undergoing skin lesions removals. Patients were divided into 2 groups receiving antibacterial-coated (study group) and uncoated (controlled group) sutures for wound closure. Patients were evaluated for scar results and signs of SSIs were monitored over a period of 30 days (or 1 year in case of prosthetic surgery). Statistical comparison was performed using dependent t-tests for paired samples. RESULTS: For patients undergoing mammary surgery, based on Vancouver Scale, there were no significant differences between the two groups. We noticed that in 8 patients the vertical scars belonging to the control group were larger than the contralateral 8 vertical sutures belonging to the study group. For patients undergoing skin surgery, surgical wounds treated with uncoated sutures were significantly more erythematous than the ones belonging to the study group (Media: 0,8333% vs. 1,5556%, respectively; standard deviation: 9,235 vs. 0,6157; 95%; p=0.0092). CONCLUSIONS: No wounds infection was reported between the two groups. Based on our experience, we conclude that the use of CHX-coated sutures should be considered in case of inflamed lesions removal. Further studies are needed to validate our results.

Otoplasty for prominent ears deformity.

OBJECTIVE: Prominent ears are a common congenital deformity of the external ear, derived from a combination of defects in the antihelix and concha. The majority of cases are treated surgically, but one of major difficulties associated with otoplasty regards the achievement of lasting aesthetic results. With the present study we propose an effective combination of four surgical techniques of cartilage reshaping with the ultimate goal of creating a new stable antihelical fold. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-one patients with prominent ears were involved prospectively. The subjects (16 male and 25 female) ranged in age from 6 to 43 years, with a mean age of 12 years. All patients underwent to the same surgical procedure and we performed softening and reshaping of the antihelix adopting the consecutive use of four surgical techniques: hemitransfixing microincisions, scoring, squeezing and posterior mattress suture fixation. RESULTS: Total number of ears that underwent surgery was 71. The mean postoperative follow-up period was 2 years. The mean postoperative change of protrusion was 7.96 mm referring to the superior cephaloauricular distance, while it was 12.18 mm considering the middle cephaloauricular distance. No patient developed complications or recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed surgical procedure for otoplasty resulted in endurance of auricular appearance and symmetry with high success rate and low morbidity.

A new association between hyaluronic acid and collagenase in wound repair: an open study.

BACKGROUND: Most ulcers occur with slough and need debridement treatment. Surgical treatment is usually performed but many patients need an additional chemical therapy to promote healing process. This type of wound bed preparation is slower than surgical one, but it is essential in those patients who are not eligible for surgery because of systemic diseases. A collagenase derived from the bacterium Clostridium hisolyticum is the most used. AIM: To evaluate the safety and the effectiveness of a new collagenase produced by Vibrio algynoliticum. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty patients were enrolled and daily treated for five weeks with Bionect Start® ointment. Parameters took into account were fibrin degradation and pain relief. The same team carried out treatment during the study period of five weeks. RESULTS: 32 patients achieved a relevant reduction of the ulcer size, an improvement of the wound bed and a reduction of fibrin and exudates. Among of 32, 14 patients presented with a complete healing. Eight patients had mild or no improvements. The patients referred a remarkable pain reduction, 20 out of 40 patients reported a decrease in pain during treatment, 16 patients referred no pain at all and four patients had no significant changes. CONCLUSIONS: The application of this product on the lesions promotes vascularized granulation tissue and reduces formation of fibrin and exudate. Furthermore, a macroscopical margins proliferation is highlighted after a short time and an improvement of periwound skin is observed during the treatment period. Bionect Start® allowed easy removal of dressing, less pain for patient, reduction of dressing time.

Lipofilling in skin affected by radiodermatitis: clinical and ultrasound aspects. Case report.

In recent years, lipofilling has established itself as one of the most effective and least invasive techniques to treat connective dystrophy subsequent to radiotherapy. We report the case of a patient diagnosed with intraductal carcinoma of the right breast in 1996, at the age of 41. The patient underwent quadrantectomy with ipsilateral axillary lymph node dissection and adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Four years later, a recurrence led the patient to undergo a subcutaneous mastectomy and immediate reconstruction, involving the submuscular insertion of a permanent implant. In 2007 the patient suffered both radiodermatitis and capsular contracture around the implant, causing constant pain and significant functional limitation. She first took a leukotriene inhibitor (Zafirlukast, 20 mg daily for 8 months) to reduce the capsular contracture. She then underwent lipofilling (Coleman's technique) of the area affected by radiodermatitis, in which the skin was considerably thinned and visibly ischemic. A second session followed four months later. Clinical, photographic and ultrasound examination revealed clear and lasting thickening of the superficial tissues, increased coverage of the implant, and reduced skin discoloration and tension.

[The importance of periwound skin in the treatment of "difficult wound"]. / L'importanza della cute perilesionale nel trattamento delle ferite difficili.

A "difficult wound" consists of a loosing of cutaneous substance, with multi factor pathogenesis, that doesn't heal spontaneously. The treatment of this pathology is quite complex and first of all requires the analysis of the aetiopathogenesis of the wound, as it can healed only operating on its causes. Cutaneous wounds are formed by three different parts: bottom, border-edge and periwound skin, that must be analysed before every dressing, without overlooking all their components. Periwound skin is the part of skin that stretches for 10 centimetres beyond the wound edge. Our work aims to describe the importance of periwound skin in wound healing process, analysing clinical variants and specific treatment. Studying periwound skin we can provide many information in order to understand the cause of the lesion, to foresee healing time and to chance and find the most proper dressing, optimizing resources consumption.

Nd:YAG laser-assisted liposuction for an HIV patient.

Active antiretroviral therapy has reduced the mortality of patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and increased both the quality of life and the longevity of patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The long-term effects of HIV infection are increasingly observed, particularly changes in fat distribution or "lipodystrophy." Strategies to prevent, mitigate, or reverse HIV-associated lipodystrophy have been difficult to develop. The medical management of fat redistribution usually is ineffective, and surgical approaches to HIV-associated lipodystrophy have already been described, but major drawbacks include recurrence of the fat accumulation. This report aims to describe the clinical outcomes for a man with buffalo hump who underwent lipolaser-assisted liposuction. This technique obtained a significant reduction in the size of the adiposity and an improvement in the neck's range of motion. At this writing, after 3 years, the patient is satisfied with his cosmetic and functional results. The authors believe that lipolaser-assisted liposuction using the Smartlipo Deka-Mela neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) 1,064-mm-long pulse is effective in reducing the cervicodorsal fat pad. The technique is performed using local anesthesia with low operative risks and minimal surgical trauma. The treated zone shows rapid healing, and the whole procedure requires a day-hospital recovery, thus reducing the costs.

[Breast cancer metastasis in distal phalanx of the big toe. Case report]. / Un raro caso di metastasi di carcinoma della mammella nella falange distale del primo dito del piede.

Breast cancer represents the most prevalent malignancies in women and bone is the first site of metastasis in 26-50% of cases. Usually metastasis involve limbs in 16%. We present a rare case of 47-year-old woman, who underwent to monolateral mastectomy for lobular cancer. After 8 years from surgery, she presented pain, swelling and functional limitations, gradually increasing, to the left big toe. X-rays and MRI showed a lucent area of bone destruction on the shaft of the distal phalanx of the left big toe. Surgical biopsy on the excised bone assessed for breast cancer metastasis.

[Treatment of the capsular contracture around mammary implants: our experience]. / Trattamento della contrattura capsulare da impianto protesico mammario. Nostra esperienza.

The most common complication in patients who underwent mammary implant surgery is capsular contracture. Actually, there is no standard effective treatment for this complication. The aim of this article is to show our experience about LTRAs (leukotriene receptor antagonists) for the treatment of the capsular contracture. The findings indicate that these drugs may reduce pain and breast capsule distortion for patients with long-standing contracture.

[Electronic sheet in the management of difficult wounds]. / Utilizzo della cartella elettronica nel trattamento delle ferite difficili.

Nowadays, the treatment of the difficult wounds represents an emergent socio-sanitary problem, due to the increase of the average duration of life, with consequent increasing costs by the National Sanitary System. The term 'difficult wounds' refers to all losses of cutaneous substances with multifactorial pathogenesis that do not spontaneously recover. Today it is possible to use advanced dressings, representing a valid tool to speed-up the healing process that--as a consequence--improves quality of life for the patient. These patients need to be followed by medical teams composed by different specialists sometimes working in different hospitals. As a consequence it is has been necessary to create an electronic document containing the clinical history of the patient and reporting the different treatments. The electronic sheet allows: a) to evaluate in detail the evolution of patient conditions, thanks to an always available iconographic documentation, even when the patient is not followed by the same physician; b) and to test the effectiveness of the new advanced dressings available on the market.

The use of laser and Varioscope in the management of hemangiomas and vascular malformations.

Vascular lesions are common in infants and children and can be grouped into two main classifications: vascular tumors and vascular malformations. Hemangiomas are proliferative lesions characterized by increased endothelial cell turnover. Vascular malformations are congenital abnormalities involving capillaries, veins and/or lymphatics. A multidisciplinary approach regarding diagnosis and treatment of vascular anomalies in children is crucial. Several options are available for the treatment of hemangiomas. Since January 2003, 14 cases of hemangioma located in the cervicofacial region were treated at "La Sapienza" University. Seven patients underwent surgical resection, using Varioscope, and seven laser therapy. The Varioscope is an operating microscope, which is mounted on the head. Specific advantages convinced the authors to use the Varioscope initially. Autofocus, a magnification range between 3.6-7.2X and automatic parallax control allow unlimited freedom of movement which alleviates the discomfort of keeping the same distance for a long time. Laser therapy can selectively destroy specific targets within the skin by using an appropriate wavelength and pulse duration. Laser treatment parameters are based on several factors, including lesion location, lesion morphology, and patient skin type. The purpose of our study was aesthetic and functional improvement in patients comparing surgical and laser therapy. We obtained an aesthetic improvement in 11 patients and local pain control in all patients. Analysis of the cosmetic results was subjective but all parents indicated satisfaction with their decision regarding their child's treatment.

[An alternative to the usual operating microscope and loupe magnification for free microvascular tissue transfer. Varioscope AF3-A]. / Un'alternativa ai tradizionali ausili di magnificazione visiva nei lembi liberi microvascolarizzati: Varioscope AF3-A.

AIM: Free microvascular tissue transfers have become today a key instrument for the surgical treatment of wide loss of tissue, but their employment implies mandatory use of the right visual magnification means. Until now these instruments were mainly loupes and operating microscopes. Our study is focusing on the use of a new visual system--Varioscope AF3-A--in the reconstructive microsurgery field. METHODS: Varioscope AF3-A (Life Optics, Vienna, Austria) has been employed in our Institute in 10 microvascular reconstructions, where different free flaps were used in head and neck reconstruction. RESULTS: All the flaps took and only one developed a partial necrosis. We have also noticed, by using this new instrument, a learning curve with a progressive contraction of the operating time. In all cases we have operated on 2 mm caliber vessels or more and on tissues that didn't previously undergo radiation therapy. CONCLUSIONS: The employment of a visual magnification mean, as Varioscope AF3-A, allows autofocus (from 3.6X to 7.2X) and a wide vision. It can be easily used with substantial advantages for the surgeon in performing microvascular anastomosis. Partial drawbacks are the equipment high cost and weight, compared to the loupes and a stronger ocular stress due to the continuous autofocus compared to the static operating microscopes.

[Free anterolateral thigh flap for reconstruction of head and neck defects: preliminary results and a comparison with the radial forearm flap]. / Ricostruzione microchirurgica dell'estremo cefalico con il lembo anterolaterale di coscia. Risultati preliminari e valutazione comparativa con il lembo antibrachiale.

BACKGROUND: The authors present their personal preliminary experience with the free anterolateral thigh flap in the reconstruction of head and neck defects and compare these first cases with the radial forearm flaps. METHODS: Seventeen patients undergoing free flap reconstruction between December 1998 and September 2001 have been selected for this retrospective study and evaluated. In fourteeen patients reconstruction was performed with a radial forearm flap. In three patients an anterolateral thigh flap was used. Six dissections on cadavers have also been performed in order to study the anatomical variations of the perforators of the lateral circumflex femoral system. RESULTS: All flaps survived, without any major vascular impairment. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a laborious dissection of the pedicle the anterolateral thigh is a versatile flap, with a minimal morbidity of the donor area. Even if the radial forearm is overall accepted as the gold standard for head and neck reconstruction, the anterolateral thigh flap is suggested as a good and safe surgical option, especially when a large flap is requested or in female patients concerned with the cosmetic result in the forearm donor area.