Labial Length and Patient Symptomatology: Is There a Correlation?

Background: Labia minora length is used in classification systems and to determine labiaplasty candidacy, with shorter labia leading to nonsurgical recommendations. Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate the correlation between labia length and symptomatology. Methods: Patients undergoing labiaplasty from January 2017 to May 2023 underwent chart review. Data collected included age, exposed, and total labia length. Patients completed a preoperative survey with possible scores from 0 to 13 to gauge complaints and symptoms. Results: Out of 50 charts with complete data, the average age was 34. Exposed labia lengths were 10.1 mm (right) and 11.4 mm (left); total lengths from sulcus to edge measured 32.0 mm (right) and 33.4 mm (left). Survey scores averaged 6.5 (range, 2-11) median of 7. The correlation between exposed labia length and symptoms yielded Pearson correlation coefficient values (R) of 0.25 for both right and left sides, with coefficient of determination (r 2) values at 0.06. For total labia length, R values were 0.08 (right) and 0.06 (left), and r 2 values were 0.007 (right) and 0.003 (left). Conclusions: The correlation between a patient's exposed and total labia length and reported symptomatology is weak. Patients with longer labia can experience few symptoms, just as those with shorter labia can have a high degree of symptomatology. Rather than use labia length as a primary factor determining labiaplasty candidacy, the focus should be on patient-reported symptoms.

Large Language Models and Artificial Intelligence: A Primer for Plastic Surgeons on the Demonstrated and Potential Applications, Promises, and Limitations of ChatGPT.

BACKGROUND: The rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence (AI) holds great potential for plastic surgeons. ChatGPT, a recently released AI large language model (LLM), promises applications across many disciplines, including healthcare. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this article was to provide a primer for plastic surgeons on AI, LLM, and ChatGPT, including an analysis of current demonstrated and proposed clinical applications. METHODS: A systematic review was performed identifying medical and surgical literature on ChatGPT's proposed clinical applications. Variables assessed included applications investigated, command tasks provided, user input information, AI-emulated human skills, output validation, and reported limitations. RESULTS: The analysis included 175 articles reporting on 13 plastic surgery applications and 116 additional clinical applications, categorized by field and purpose. Thirty-four applications within plastic surgery are thus proposed, with relevance to different target audiences, including attending plastic surgeons (n = 17, 50%), trainees/educators (n = 8, 24.0%), researchers/scholars (n = 7, 21%), and patients (n = 2, 6%). The 15 identified limitations of ChatGPT were categorized by training data, algorithm, and ethical considerations. CONCLUSIONS: Widespread use of ChatGPT in plastic surgery will depend on rigorous research of proposed applications to validate performance and address limitations. This systemic review aims to guide research, development, and regulation to safely adopt AI in plastic surgery.

Greening Hand Surgery: Targeted Measures to Reduce Waste in Ambulatory Trigger Finger and Carpal Tunnel Decompression.

BACKGROUND: Operating rooms (ORs) produce approximately 70% of hospital waste. Greening strategies in the OR aim to reduce the environmental impact of surgery while maintaining patient safety and outcomes. The aim of this study was to strategically reduce waste and cost associated with common ambulatory hand procedures by implementing a 3-stage "green case" plan over a 1-year period in a high-volume tertiary referral hand surgery division. METHODS: A 3-stage greening initiative for hand surgery was designed and implemented in ambulatory open carpal tunnel release (CTR) and trigger finger release (TFR) cases, including: (1) introduction of minor field sterility; (2) implementation of a lean and green minor hand surgery pack and reduced instrument set; and (3) elimination of gown use by surgeons and OR staff. Surgical supply usage and costs were tracked during the study period and compared with control. RESULTS: Each "green case" resulted in savings of $105 compared with the control cases from the preceding year, excluding cost savings associated with reduced waste processing. There was a 64% and 75% reduction in waste and costs after greening, respectively. This equates to a minimum institutional annual savings of $51 000 when used for CTR and TFR. There was no observed increase in surgical site infections or complications after the introduction of greening. CONCLUSION: Greening initiatives can be successfully implemented by surgeons to reduce waste and costs. With targeted greening of CTR and TFR procedures, we significantly reduced waste and decreased costs while maintaining patient safety and outcomes.

Technical Tips to Reduce Implant Rippling in Staged Pre-pectoral Breast Reconstruction.

INTRODUCTION: Pre-pectoral implant-based breast reconstruction (IBR) is becoming increasingly popular, permitting optimal implant positioning on the chest wall, prevention of animation deformity, and reduced patient discomfort. There are, however, concerns related to increased rates of breast implant rippling in pre-pectoral (versus submuscular) IBR, which can prompt a patient to seek revisionary surgery. The aim of this study is to identify factors that can be implemented to reduce implant rippling in the setting of pre-pectoral IBR. METHODS: A literature review was conducted using the PubMed database to determine the rate of rippling in pre-pectoral IBR. Clinical studies in English were included. Further review was then performed to explore technical strategies associated with reduced rates of rippling in pre-pectoral two-stage breast reconstruction. RESULTS: Implant rippling has been reported with a rate varying from 0 to 53.8% in 25 studies of pre-pectoral IBR (including both direct-to-implant and two-stage IBR). The majority of studies reviewed did not demonstrate a significant association between BMI and rippling, suggesting that other factors, likely technical and device-related, contribute to the manifestation of implant rippling. Hence, we explored whether specific technical modifications could be implemented that would reduce the risk of rippling in patients undergoing pre-pectoral IBR. Specifically, we highlight the need for close attention to expansion protocol and pocket dimension, expander fill medium and implant characteristics, and the rationale behind adjunctive procedures to reduce implant rippling. CONCLUSION: Surgical modifications may reduce the incidence of rippling in pre-pectoral breast reconstruction. 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 .

Denervation during mandibular distraction osteogenesis results in impaired bone formation.

Mandibular distraction osteogenesis (DO) is mediated by skeletal stem cells (SSCs) in mice, which enact bone regeneration via neural crest re-activation. As peripheral nerves are essential to progenitor function during development and in response to injury, we questioned if denervation impairs mandibular DO. C57Bl6 mice were divided into two groups: DO with a segmental defect in the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) at the time of mandibular osteotomy ("DO Den") and DO with IAN intact ("DO Inn"). DO Den demonstrated significantly reduced histological and radiological osteogenesis relative to DO Inn. Denervation preceding DO results in reduced SSC amplification and osteogenic potential in mice. Single cell RNA sequencing analysis revealed that there was a predominance of innervated SSCs in clusters dominated by pathways related to bone formation. A rare human patient specimen was also analyzed and suggested that histological, radiological, and transcriptional alterations seen in mouse DO may be conserved in the setting of denervated human mandible distraction. Fibromodulin (FMOD) transcriptional and protein expression were reduced in denervated relative to innervated mouse and human mandible regenerate. Finally, when exogenous FMOD was added to DO-Den and DO-Inn SSCs undergoing in vitro osteogenic differentiation, the osteogenic potential of DO-Den SSCs was increased in comparison to control untreated DO-Den SSCs, modeling the superior osteogenic potential of DO-Inn SSCs.

An Inexpensive 3D Printed Mouse Model of Successful, Complication-free Long Bone Distraction Osteogenesis.

Distraction osteogenesis (DO) is used for skeletal defects; however, up to 50% of cases exhibit complications. Previous mouse models of long bone DO have been anecdotally hampered by postoperative complications, expense, and availability. To improve clinical techniques, cost-effective, reliable animal models are needed. Our focus was to develop a new mouse tibial distractor, hypothesized to result in successful, complication-free DO. Methods: A lightweight tibial distractor was developed using CAD and 3D printing. The device was fixed to the tibia of C57Bl/6J mice prior to osteotomy. Postoperatively, mice underwent 5 days latency, 10 days distraction (0.15 mm every 12 hours), and 28 days consolidation. Bone regeneration was examined on postoperative day 43 using micro-computed tomography (µCT) and Movat's modified pentachrome staining on histology (mineralized volume fraction and pixels, respectively). Costs were recorded. We compared cohorts of 11 mice undergoing sham, DO, or acute lengthening (distractor acutely lengthened 3.0 mm). Results: The histological bone regenerate was significantly increased in DO (1,879,257 ± 155,415 pixels) compared to acute lengthening (32847 ± 1589 pixels) (P < 0.0001). The mineralized volume fraction (bone/total tissue volume) of the regenerate was significantly increased in DO (0.9 ± 0.1) compared to acute lengthening (0.7 ± 0.1) (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in bone regenerate between DO and sham. The distractor was relatively low cost ($11), with no complications. Conclusions: Histology and µCT analysis confirmed that the proposed tibial DO model resulted in successful bone formation. Our model is cost-effective and reproducible, enabling implementation in genetically dissectible transgenic mice.

Investigating the Severity of Complications following Mastectomy and Prepectoral Implant-Based versus Autologous Reconstruction.

BACKGROUND: Several clinical studies have reported autologous breast reconstruction (ABR) to be associated with a higher postoperative complication rate; however, few have investigated the impact of reconstructive modality on complication severity. This study examines the impact of reconstructive modality on complication severity in a matched cohort of patients who underwent ABR versus implant-based breast reconstruction (IBR). METHODS: A retrospective study of patients who underwent nipple-sparing mastectomy with immediate reconstruction was performed. Propensity score matching ensured adequate matching of patients who underwent ABR and staged prepectoral IBR, respectively. Patient demographics, breast measurements, and postoperative outcomes (including the incidence and severity of complications) were analyzed. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed. P < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: One hundred twenty-eight patients (214 breast reconstructions) were included for analysis (ABR, n = 64; IBR, n = 64). No difference in overall complication rate was noted ( P = 0.61). However, a significant association of IBR with major complications was noted ( P = 0.02). In contrast, minor complications were significantly more frequent following ABR ( P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Although the reconstructive modality did not appear to have an effect on the overall complication rate, it did significantly affect the severity of postoperative complications, with major and minor complications being associated with IBR and ABR, respectively. These findings are relevant to patient-centered decision-making, as they provide further granularity regarding postoperative complications and address the issue of complication severity. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, III.

Peripheral Nerve Injury After Upper-Extremity Surgery Performed Under Regional Anesthesia: A Systematic Review.

Purpose: Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) is a known adverse event following upper-limb surgery performed under brachial plexus regional anesthesia (RA). When PNI is noted after surgery, patients and providers often have questions about which factors might have contributed to this complication. This systematic review evaluates the literature on hand and shoulder surgeries performed under ultrasound-guided, plexus RA to identify factors potentially associated with PNI, including the surgery location and block type. We hypothesized that shoulder surgery might be associated with an increased risk of PNI compared to hand surgery. Methods: A systematic review of the relevant literature was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Only prospective studies on the use of ultrasound-guided, preoperative, brachial plexus RA for hand or shoulder surgery on adult patients were included. Study groups were categorized according to surgery location and block type and compared across a number of factors via univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: A total of 3,037 abstracts were screened; 192 full-text articles were independently reviewed by 2 of the authors; and 53 studies were included in the systematic review analysis. Following hand surgery, PNI was reported at an average rate of 1.35% ± 3.21% across 836 subjects in 40 study groups; after shoulder surgery, the average rate was 0.50% ± 1.57% across 3,383 subjects in 15 study groups. There was no statistically significant correlation between the incidence of PNI and surgery location (P =.70) or any of the most common approaches for brachial plexus anesthesia in the multivariate analysis. Conclusions: This systematic review of over 50 articles on upper-limb surgery performed under RA shows no association between the incidence of PNI and the location of surgery or type of brachial plexus block. Type of study/level of evidence: Diagnostic II.

Smooth versus textured tissue expanders in breast reconstruction - A retrospective review of post-operative surgical site infections.

BACKGROUND: Textured tissue expanders (TTEs) were introduced to limit migration and reduce capsular contracture, which were inherent to smooth tissue expanders (STEs). Previous reports suggest that textured devices have increased rates of bacterial contamination and biofilm formation in comparison with smooth devices. Recently, the relative increased association of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) with textured versus smooth devices has led to increased adoption of smooth devices. The aim of our study is to evaluate the post-operative surgical site infection (SSI) rates of STEs versus TTEs. METHODS: A retrospective case series was conducted at a single academic teaching hospital from April 2016 to December 2019. The primary outcome variable was the development of a post-operative SSI. RESULTS: One hundred seventy-seven breasts underwent reconstruction with TTEs and 109 breasts underwent reconstruction with STE. In total, 54 SSIs were recorded (n = 34 TTE; n = 20 STE), with the majority of infections occurring within the first 30 post-operative days (TTE 65%, STE 70%). There was no statistically significant difference in overall post-operative infection rates between TTE and STE groups when broken down into the following time points: <30 day, 30-60 days, and >90 days (p = 0.924). There was no statistically significant difference between infection type (superficial vs. deep, p = 0.932), infection management (medical, surgical, or both, p = 0.409) or salvage results (p = 0.078) seen in STE versus TTE cohort. On multivariate analysis, seroma history was associated with SSI development (OR 3.18, p = 0.041). CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference in the rate of post-operative SSI following breast reconstruction with STE relative to TTE.