Preventing Suture Extrusion and Recurrence in Mustarde and Furnas Otoplasties by Using Laterally Based Postauricular Dermal Flap, Long-Term Results.

BACKGROUND: Prominent ear deformity (PD) is an unacceptable condition of pinna that affects 5% of the population and is associated with emotional stress, behavioral disturbances, and social restrictions in relationships. Conchal hypertrphy, inadequate formation of antihelical fold, earlobe placement ahead than it should be, or various combinations of these changes are main characteristics of PD. Many surgical techniques have been described for the PD.The authors' aim was to present laterally based postauricular dermal flap combination with cartilage-sparing methods and effectiveness of this technique in suture extrusion prevention and reducing the rate of recurrence with long-term results. METHODS: Forty-one patients had bilateral and 6 patients had unilateral PD, a total of 47 patients with a mean age of 14.48 were operated by using this combined procedure. A laterally based supraperichondrial dermal flap was prepared from a deepithelized elliptical postauricular incision. Mustarde and Furnas suture techniques were used solely for PD correction. The dissected laterally based dermal flap was fixed to the mastoid bone with sutures in stretched position after reshaping the auricular cartilage with sutures. RESULTS: The average helix-mastoid distance was (mm) 16.28 ±â€Š2.36, concha-mastoid angle was 25.71 ±â€Š0.96° on 12-month measurements. The helix-mastoid distance showed an increase of 1 to 3 mm, in the concha-mastoid angle measurements of 1° to 2°. Statistically significant changes were observed between the average preoperative, postoperative 1. month, postoperative 12. month helix-mastoid distances (mm), and month concha-mastoid angle (°) measurements (P = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The laterally based postauricular dermal flap technique is an effective method to prevent suture extrusion and recurrence which are the most important complications of otoplasty procedure and easy to apply.

Recurrent Ameloblastoma in the Free Fibula Flap: Review of Literature and an Unusual Case Report.

Ameloblastoma is the second most common odontogenic tumor of the oral cavity with the primary site being the mandible. The ratio of maxillomandibular involvement however is 5:1 in favor of the mandible. The most common complaint is a painless swelling over the mandibular area. Despite its benign nature, ameloblastoma has a high local recurrence rate, with the most recurrences seen within 5 years after operation. Biopsy and radiological evaluation may be helpful in differentiating the subtypes of ameloblastoma. Differentiation is important because some subtypes are more aggressive than the others. Preoperative planning may be done according to this classification, which can help decrease the recurrence rate. In our case, a 26-year-old female patient with recurrent ameloblastoma which developed on the fibular flap is presented. The free fibular flap and the left parasymphyseal part of the mandible were totally excised. Ameloblastoma was confirmed on pathological examination. We reconstructed the left mandibular site with a reconstruction plate and recurrence was not seen during follow up period.

A New Paradigm for Surgical Management of Congenital Triple Lobe Type Cleft.

Congenital earlobe clefts (CELC) may be annoying for the plastic surgeons. Many classifications and techniques were described for CELC. The previously described techniques are useful in some conditions, but not proper in all. We present a simple, effective method for a rare CELC 'triple lobe' in this article.

Quantification of the surgical margin shrinkage in lip cancer: determining the relation between the surgical and histopathologic margins.

Lip carcinoma is one of the most common cancers of the head and neck region. Lower lips are more frequently affected. Squamous cell carcinoma accounts for more than 95% of the cases. The aim of treatment is to achieve the highest cure rates with adequate excision with clear surgical margins while leaving the smallest defect sizes behind for reconstruction. Excised tissue is known to shrink when removed, in relation with its retractile properties. In this study, the evaluation of the amount of shrinkage in excised lip cancer specimens and determination of the relation between surgical and histopathologic margins were aimed. The study included 21 consecutive excised lip specimens for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the lip. The volume of the specimen, tumor length, and margin distance measurements were measured and recorded step by step from before surgical excision to histopathologic evaluation. Specimens were evaluated in a standardized fashion by the same pathologist after 48 hours of fixation. For data analysis, Number Cruncher Statistical System 2007 and Power Analysis and Sample Size 2008 Statistical Software (Kaysville, UT) were used. The surgical margins of the excised lip specimen shrink up to 41% to 47.5% from before excision to histopathologic evaluation. The most significant step was the excision step, followed by the formalin fixation step. The histopathologic process itself and the duration of formalin fixation did not result a significant change in surgical margins. The tumor tissue itself did not show a significant shrinkage.

Ulnar nerve compression at the elbow caused by the epitrochleoanconeus muscle: a case report and surgical approach.

Cubital tunnel syndrome is the second most common peripheral nerve compression syndrome. It is the most common peripheral neuropathy of the ulnar nerve. The surgical treatment of the cubital tunnel syndrome is widely described in the literature, however the variations of the standard muscular anatomy in the medial humeral epicondyle region may create technical difficulties during surgical management. The epitrochleoanconeus muscle, which is an aberrant muscle of this region, is a rare cause of cubital tunnel syndrome. A case with ulnar nerve compression at the elbow caused by an uncommon etiological factor, hypertrophic epitrochleoanconeus muscle, and its surgical management is reported.

New otoplasty approach: a laterally based postauricular dermal flap as an addition to Mustarde and Furnas to prevent suture extrusion and recurrence.

Prominent ear is the most common deformity of the external ear. The major causes can be an underdeveloped antithetical fold, concha hypertrophy, and prominence of the ear lobule. Since Ely's first aesthetic correction of the prominent ear in 1881, more than 200 different techniques have been described, but the choice of procedure still remains the surgeon's preference. This report presents the laterally based posterior auricular dermal flap technique as an adjunct to the conventional cartilage-sparing otoplasty. An elliptical skin incision was planned according to the classic prominent ear correction technique. Instead of the excision, skin was deepithelialized. From the inferior border of the incision, the dermal flap was incised and elevated in a medial-to-lateral direction. The posterior auricular dermal flap was used to support and cover the suture material. This method was used in the treatment of 17 consecutive patients. After a follow-up period of 6-32 months (mean 16 months), the patients were evaluated in terms of the recurrence and suture line problems. No suture line problems or recurrences were observed at the end of the follow-up period. Use of the posterior auricular dermal flap both prevents suture extrusion and decreases recurrences. Level of Evidence V 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 .

Concurrent repair of orbital shallowness with craniosynostosis surgery: two late cases of simultaneous orbital decompression.

Early closure of cranial sutures results in various types of cranial vault deformities, named craniosynostosis. Although mostly associated with syndromic cases, bony orbit deformities such as exorbitism can be seen with various types of craniosynostosis. This condition can be associated with papilledema and besides its effect on the patient's appearance can cause subluxation of the globe, lagophthalmos or keratitis resulting in corneal ulcers and ultimately loss of vision. Various techniques have been proposed for repair or exorbitism such as fronto-orbital advancement procedures, orbital wall decompression, periosteum scoring and tissue excision. Orbital periosteal scoring covering the globe can be extremely efficient for orbital fat decompression when combined with other orbital volume expanding procedures. We hereby present two late cases of craniosynostosis associated with bilateral exorbitism due to orbital shallowness for which cranial vault reconstruction was performed simultaneously with combinations of fronto-orbital advancement, orbital decompression and periosteal scoring. The late referral of these patients at ages older than the usual time of operation indication made the surgical procedure for craniosynostosis repair and exorbitism treatment challenging. The combined and simultaneous use of bone advancement, orbital wall decompression and specially periosteum scoring can be highly efficient in the treatment of exorbitism associated with craniosynostosis.

Islanded perforator flaps in the reconstruction of hidradenitis suppurativa defects.

Hidradenitis suppurativa is a recurrent, chronic, and suppurative cutaneous disease of unknown etiology. Radical excision of all affected skin followed by flap coverage of the defect is the treatment method of choice in severe and recurrent cases. This study discusses the use of local islanded perforator flaps in the reconstruction of defects following excision of hidradenitis suppurativa lesions in axillary, gluteal, and inguinal regions. Eleven male patients (mean age of 39.3 years) underwent reconstruction of hidradenitis suppurativa defects with 13 local islanded perforator flaps. Three patients (one being bilateral) had gluteal, two patients (one being bilateral) had inguinal, and six patients had axillary involvement. The defects in the gluteal region were repaired with superior gluteal artery perforator flaps, inguinal defects were repaired with medial circumflex femoral artery perforator flaps, and the axillary defects were repaired with thoracodorsal artery perforator flaps. There was no total flap loss in the postoperative period, but one marginal necrosis and two wound infections occurred. There was no recurrence of hidradenitis suppurativa or revision requirement during the mean follow-up period of 11.5 months.

Effective use of negative pressure wound therapy provides quick wound-bed preparation and complete graft take in the management of chronic venous ulcers.

Venous ulcers are characterised by longstanding and recurrent loss of skin integrity. Once occurred, healing is slow and recurrence is high because of inappropriate conditions of the wound bed. This study involves 20 patients with chronic venous ulcers at least 6 weeks of duration treated with negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT). Patients underwent a radical debridement of all devitalised tissues in the first operation. After adequate haemostasis, silver-impregnated polyurethane foam was applied. Once the wounds were determined to be clean and adequate granulation tissue formation was achieved, split-thickness skin grafts were applied. Black polyurethane foam was applied over them. All wounds completely healed without the need for further debridement or regrafting. The mean number of silver-impregnated foam dressing changes prior to grafting was 2·9 (one to eight changes). The mean number of NPWT foam changes was 2·6 after skin grafting (two to five changes). Two patients who did not use conservative treatments for chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) after discharge from the hospital had recurrence of venous ulcers in the follow-up period. Application of NPWT provides quick wound-bed preparation and complete graft take in venous ulcer treatment.