How to Be a Successful Businesswoman in Dermatology.

Successful businesswomen in dermatology know what type of practice they want and create a plan to make it happen. They align their business with their life and surround themselves with people who support their goals. They accept support but know how to delegate. They do the hard work required to be successful, gaining knowledge and strength from the experience. When they make mistakes, they learn from them. They try to make the most of each patient's experience, while acknowledging that relationships with family, friends, and colleagues, as well as personal growth, are of utmost significance outside of their practices.

Suture Products and Techniques: What to Use, Where, and Why.

BACKGROUND: There are an increasing number of wound closure materials and suturing techniques described in the dermatologic and surgery literature. A dermatologic surgeon's familiarity with these materials and techniques is important to supplement his or her already established practices and improve surgical outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To perform a thorough literature review of wound closure materials (sutures, tissue adhesives, surgical tape, and staples) and suturing techniques and to outline how and when to use them. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature review was conducted using PubMed and other online search engines. Keywords searched included suture, tissue adhesive, tissue glue, surgical tape, staples, dermatologic suturing, and suturing techniques. RESULTS: Numerous articles outline the utility of various sutures, surgical adhesives, surgical tape, and staples in dermatologic surgery. In addition, there are various articles describing classic and novel suturing techniques along with their specific uses in cutaneous surgery. CONCLUSION: Numerous factors must be considered when choosing a wound closure material and suturing technique. These include wound tension, desire for wound edge eversion/inversion, desired hemostasis, repair type, patient's ability to care for the wound and return for suture removal, skin integrity, and wound location. Careful consideration of these factors and proper execution of suturing techniques can lead to excellent cosmetic results.

Sutures, needles, and tissue adhesives: a review for dermatologic surgery.

BACKGROUND: Dermatologic surgery generally requires the removal of offending or excessive tissue followed by repair of the resultant defect. The functional and cosmetic outcome is increasingly important as patients' expectations grow and physicians become increasingly aware of surgical materials and techniques that enable them to repair defects in a functionally and cosmetically appealing manner. OBJECTIVE: To perform an updated and thorough review of the literature regarding sutures, surgical tape, tissue adhesives and stitching techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comprehensive literature review was conducted on-line via multiple search engines and sites using the keywords suture, suture techniques, suturing techniques, surgical techniques, surgical tapes, surgical adhesives, and tissue adhesives. RESULTS: There are numerous articles on sutures, surgical tape, and tissue adhesives, but there are no current articles that review them together in a comprehensive manner and combine the review with a discussion of stitching techniques. CONCLUSION: Suture choice and surgical and stitching techniques may be guided by the TAFT concept of wound closure that recognizes the main function of suture and closure devices: Tension relief; Apposition enhancement; and surface Finishing Touches. The dermatologist's goal is to create functionally and aesthetically pleasing scars for optimal patient satisfaction, which is of ultimate importance considering that the scars patients receive leave a lasting impression of their dermatology experience.

Absorbable poliglecaprone 25 sutures for both subcutaneous and transepidermal closure: a cosmetically and economically appealing option.

The majority of dermatologic surgeons close surgical defects using absorbable sutures to approximate deep subcutaneous tissue and nonabsorbable sutures to close the epidermal tissue. However, the absorbable monofilament poliglecaprone 25 can serve as the sole suture material in closing deep surgical defects involving subcutaneous and epidermal tissue with the benefits of providing aesthetically pleasing outcomes, possibly due to the material's low tissue reactivity and clear colorless appearance, and cost-effectiveness. We discuss the estimated cost savings per procedure when using poliglecaprone 25. Additional advantages include increased versatility, ease of handling, and convenience. Some disadvantages include a slight stiffness of the suture material, which may require a surgeon to make minor adjustments to his/her knot tying technique, as well as a transparent appearance that may make suture removal more challenging when using the undyed version of the suture material. However, the many benefits of using poliglecaprone 25 for closure of surgical defects outweigh the few disadvantages.