Sexual reassignment surgery in female-to-male transsexuals: an algorithm for subcutaneous mastectomy.

INTRODUCTION: Subcutaneous mastectomy is one of the first steps in sexual reassignment in female-to-male transsexuals (FTMTS). The main goal is to masculinize the chest by removing the female contour. In this study, we introduce an algorithm to facilitate choosing the appropriate mastectomy technique depending on morphological aspects. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The records of 173 patients (346 mastectomies) from January 2008 to December 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. The authors conducted four different surgical techniques depending on breast volume, grade of ptosis and skin elasticity. The outcome parameters such as complication rate, patient satisfaction with the aesthetic result, nipple sensitivity and surgical correction rate were obtained and related to the employed technique. RESULTS: From January 2008 to December 2013, we performed 346 mastectomies, of which 48 breasts (13.9%) were treated by a semicircular incision in combination with water-jet-assisted liposuction, 66 breasts (19.1%) by an additional circumferential mastopexy, 170 breasts (49.1%) by an inferior pedicled mammaplasty and 62 breasts (17.9%) by mastectomy with free nipple grafting. The mean operation time lasted 103.6 min. The overall complication rate was 11.8%. Secondary revisions were necessary in 9%. Of the patients, 88% rated the aesthetic results as "very good" or "good." Nipple sensitivity was rated as "very good" or "good" in 80.3% of the breasts. CONCLUSION: FTMTS are a well-informed patient population and therefore increasingly more demanding for aesthetic outcomes. If possible, the most scar-saving procedure should be preferred. With ascending degrees of ptosis, a larger skin envelope and lesser elastic skin, an extended-incision technique is required. The presented surgical algorithm facilitates the selection of the appropriate mastectomy technique and shows a high patient satisfaction with the aesthetic result, a preservation of nipple sensitivity and a low rate of complications and secondary aesthetic corrections.

Bronchopleural fistula after pneumonectomy: interdisciplinary surgical closure by an ipsilateral pedicled latissimus dorsi flap supported by video-assisted thoracoscopy.

Post-pneumonectomy bronchopleural fistula (BPF) remains a rare but often life-threatening complication and therapeutic challenge. Traditional surgical procedures include chronic open drainage, attempts at direct stump closure, thoracoplasty with or without chest wall muscle transposition and trans-sternal bronchial closure. We describe a case with successful closure of a chronic BPF after pneumonectomy by intrathoracic transposition of a pedicled latissimus dorsi muscle flap circumferentially fixed on the surrounding pleural tissue under continuous video-assisted thoracoscopic overview. The postoperative course was without complications; no tumour, empyema or fistula re-occurred. In this article we want to present the potential advantages of video-assisted thoracoscopic support and interdisciplinary teamwork to improve the outcome of patients with BPFs after pneumonectomy.

Prediction of splenic involvement in children with Hodgkin's disease. Significance of clinical and intraoperative findings. A retrospective statistical analysis of 154 patients in the German therapy study DAL-HD-78.

In 154 splenectomized children and adolescents with histologically proven Hodgkin's disease in the therapy study DAL-HD-78, the incidence of splenic involvement was 39%. In single-parameter analyses 6 of 16 examined pre- and intraoperative findings showed significant correlation to splenic involvement: B-symptoms, palpable splenic enlargement, mediastinal/lung hilus involvement, nodular changes of splenic surface, enlarged lymph nodes at splenic hilus/pancreatic tail, or enlargement of other upper-abdominal lymph nodes. The results of multivariant analyses (Cox regression model) of these six parameters showed that the two most significant intraoperative parameters--changes of splenic surface and enlargement of lymph nodes at splenic hilus/pancreatic tail-gave almost all of the information which can be obtained about splenic involvement. With these two parameters, an intraoperative decisional strategy for selective splenectomy has been developed which allows the omission of splenectomy in about two thirds of children with Hodgkin's disease while still obtaining detailed information about infradiaphragmatic spread of disease. Since minor splenic involvement remains undetected in about 10% of the nonsplenectomized patients (i.e., 6% of all patients), this method should be used only in combination with chemotherapy.