ABSTRACT
A two-month-old infant developed a vascular tumor of the right flank which upon biopsy proved to be a spindle cell hemangioendothelioma. The increased capillary bed characterizing the neoplasm caused a severe thrombocytopenia together with a consumption coagulopathy (Kasabach-Merritt syndrome). The patient, who was dependent on platelet transfusions, improved quickly after interferon alpha-2a was given at the dosage of 3,000,000 U/m2, with resolution of the Kasabach-Merritt syndrome after three weeks and a 75% decrease of the tumor volume within three months of treatment.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use , Hemangioendothelioma/complications , Hemangioendothelioma/drug therapy , Interferon-alpha/therapeutic use , Skin Neoplasms/complications , Skin Neoplasms/drug therapy , Thrombocytopenia/complications , Female , Hemangioendothelioma/diagnosis , Humans , Infant , Interferon alpha-2 , Recombinant Proteins , Skin Neoplasms/diagnosis , SyndromeABSTRACT
We have used a full thickness nasolabial island flap to reconstruct the lower lip after excision of its median or paramedian part for carcinoma in 12 patients. The flap is transposed through a subcutaneous tunnel over the modiolus without interrupting the muscle fibres of the commissura. All the patients were men who smoked, with a mean age of 64 years, and they have been followed up for a mean of 18 months (range 6-36). Functional and aesthetic results were good in all cases; there have been no recurrences or lymph node metastases, and the only postoperative complications were two cases of superficial necrosis of the distal part of the flap which healed spontaneously without scarring. We think that the full thickness nasolabial island flap is a satisfactory technique for reconstruction of the lower lip.
