Retraction: Epiploic Appendagitis Clinically Masquerading as an Acute Diverticulitis.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.7759/cureus.20188.].

Robotic Microsurgery in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery: A Literature Review.

BACKGROUND: Surgical robots have innovated the microsurgical field by providing advantages that improve surgical performance. These robots have been adopted by certain specialties more than others. This study discusses the potential advantages of robotics in plastic and reconstructive surgery. METHOD: This study is a literature review of articles investigating "robotic microsurgery in plastic and reconstructive surgery" using the PubMed database and the Cochrane Library. RESULT: A total of nineteen relevant articles were found and 5 articles performed a direct comparison between the robotic and manual approaches. Longer operating times were reported in the robotic groups featuring higher learning curves. Reported advantages to robotic use included higher accuracy, precision and flexibility, elimination of tremor and improvement of ergonomic factors. CONCLUSION: While the results provide an outlook into the outcome of robotic platforms in this field, current research is limited and further studies are required to provide a fundamental analysis.

Epiploic Appendagitis Clinically Masquerading as an Acute Diverticulitis.

Acute diverticulitis is a prevalent surgical condition that typically presents with lower abdominal pain and tenderness. However, the clinical and laboratory findings of diverticulitis are non-specific and other conditions may give similar manifestations. We present the case of a middle-aged woman with a left lower quadrant abdominal pain and fever of three days duration. On examination, she had tachycardia and localized tenderness in the left iliac fossa with rebound tenderness. There were no signs of peritonitis, including the rigid abdomen and decreased bowel sounds. The laboratory findings were suggestive of an inflammatory or infectious process. A computed tomography scan of the abdomen demonstrated a fat-density lesion anterior to the descending colon representing epiploic appendagitis. The patient was managed conservatively with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (lornoxicam 8 mg). The patient experienced gradual improvement and was discharged after four days of hospitalization. No surgical intervention was needed. The case highlighted the importance of considering epiploic appendagitis in the differential diagnosis of acute diverticulitis. An accurate diagnosis will prevent the patient from having unnecessary surgeries as conservative management is often sufficient in patients with epiploic appendagitis.