Has the Pectoralis Major flap Really Become Obsolete?

Aim: To evaluate the current role of pectoralis major (PM) flap including the reasons for selecting it over free flaps. Materials and methods: All patients who underwent PM flap at Apollo Hospitals Ahmedabad during the 3-year period from January 2020 to December 2022 were included. Patient demographics, tumour characteristics and complications were studied and reasons for selecting pectoralis major flap were analyzed. Data was entered in Microsoft excel spreadsheet and analyzed using online statistical calculators. The p value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: 57 patients underwent reconstruction with PM flap while 154 patients underwent free flap reconstruction. 54 were male and 3 were female. Median age was 51 years. PM flap was used for intraoral lining in 25 patients, and it was bilobed in 26 patients with full thickness cheek defect. Most common complication was wound infection seen in 10 patients. 5 patients developed marginal necrosis of the flap and 5 had donor site wound dehiscence. No complete flap loss was seen. During the same period, 15/154 (9.74%) patients with free flaps developed complete flap necrosis and this was statistically significant (p = 0.012). Reasons for choosing PM flap were also analyzed. 14 patients had major comorbidities, 18 had extensive disease, in 5 patients it was used for salvage post free flap failure, while 10 previously treated patients had unavailability of suitable vessels for anastomosis. 12 patients underwent PM flap due to financial constraints. Conclusion: Thus, PM flap is not obsolete and continues to maintain its place in head and neck reconstruction.

A retrospective cohort study of 756 cases of abdominal tuberculosis: Two decades single centre experience.

AIM/OBJECTIVE: India accounts for the highest tuberculosis burden in the world, and abdominal tuberculosis has been an endemic surgical and gastroenterological problem. Aim of this study is to present our two decades experience on abdominal (gastrointestinal) tuberculosis. METHOD: 756 patients, who received standard antituberculous treatment with or without surgical treatment with the diagnosis of abdominal tuberculosis from January 1996 and May 2014, were reviewed retrospectively. On the basis of clinical presentation, four groups of clinical presentation were identified and various diagnostic measures used in different groups were studied. Numeric values were determined as percent or mean±standard deviation. Kruskal-Wallis test was used for quantitative results and chi-square test was used for qualitative results between groups. p value of less than 0.05 was considered to indicate the statistical significance. RESULTS: The duration of symptoms was variable in this study. Out of 756 patients, 64 patients gave definite past history of tuberculosis. Most of the patients in the acute pain abdomen group required surgery while most patients in chronic pain group responded well to medical management. There was significant difference in mortality among the four groups (p=0.025). CONCLUSION: Prognosis seems significantly related to the severity of disease, with graver prognosis and less symptomatic improvement in more seriously ill presentations.