Smart and versatile biomaterials for cutaneous wound healing.

The global increase of cutaneous wounds imposes huge health and financial burdens on patients and society. Despite improved wound healing outcomes, conventional wound dressings are far from ideal, owing to the complex healing process. Smart wound dressings, which are sensitive to or interact with changes in wound condition or environment, have been proposed as appealing therapeutic platforms to effectively facilitate wound healing. In this review, the wound healing processes and features of existing biomaterials are firstly introduced, followed by summarizing the mechanisms of smart responsive materials. Afterwards, recent advances and designs in smart and versatile materials of extensive applications for cutaneous wound healing were submarined. Finally, clinical progresses, challenges and future perspectives of the smart wound dressing are discussed. Overall, by mapping the composition and intrinsic structure of smart responsive materials to their individual needs of cutaneous wounds, with particular attention to the responsive mechanisms, this review is promising to advance further progress in designing smart responsive materials for wounds and drive clinical translation.

The application of augmented reality in plastic surgery training and education: A narrative review.

Continuing problems with fewer training opportunities and a greater awareness of patient safety have led to a constant search for an alternative technique to bridge the existing theory-practice gap in plastic surgery training and education. The current COVID-19 epidemic has aggravated the situation, making it urgent to implement breakthrough technological initiatives currently underway to improve surgical education. The cutting edge of technological development, augmented reality (AR), has already been applied in numerous facets of plastic surgery training, and it is capable of realizing the aims of education and training in this field. In this article, we will take a look at some of the most important ways that AR is now being used in plastic surgery education and training, as well as offer an exciting glimpse into the potential future of this field thanks to technological advancements.

Imaging for thinned perforator flap harvest: current status and future perspectives.

With advances in anatomical knowledge and technology, increased interest has been directed towards reconstruction with enhanced aesthetic and functional outcomes. A myriad of thinned perforator flap harvest approaches have been developed for this purpose; however, concerns about jeopardizing their vascularity remain. To ensure optimum reconstructive outcome without hampering the flap's microcirculation, it is important to make good use of the existing advanced imaging modalities that can provide clear visualization of perforator branches, particularly in the adipose layer, and an accurate assessment of flap perfusion. Therefore, this review will highlight the imaging modalities that have been utilized for harvesting a thinned perforator flap from these two perspectives, along with future insights into creating both functionally and aesthetically satisfying, yet simultaneously safe, thinned perforator flaps for the best reconstructive outcomes for patients.

Investigating the potential of LSKL peptide as a novel hypertrophic scar treatment.

Hypertrophic scar (HTS) is a common pathologic dermal fibroproliferative disease after skin injury. Transforming growth factor ß (TGF-ß) plays a central role in HTS formation and development. Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) activates latent TGF-ß by binding to latency-associated peptide-ß on TGF-ß structure. So far, LSKL peptide was shown to selectively antagonize TSP-1. In this study, TSP-1 was first confirmed to be highly expressed in HTS. LSKL peptide was proven to inhibit the overexpression of extracellular matrix and contractile ability of HTS fibroblasts. In vivo, LSKL could attenuate the thickness of HTS, distortion of collagen alignment and fibrogenesis. Results also demonstrated that LSKL peptide not only remarkably attenuated cell proliferation and migration, but also induced cell apoptosis of HTS fibroblasts. Western blot analysis further revealed that LSKL peptide significantly suppressed the phosphorylation of PI3K, AKT, and mTOR, while not affecting the phosphorylation of Smad2/3 and MEK/ERK. These findings suggested that LSKL might be a promising anti-fibrosis agent to HTS through PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.