A staged approach for complex scalp defects using titanium mesh and anterolateral thigh flaps: Two case reports.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Scalp tumors are diverse, with the characteristics of individual tumors depending on the cell lineage. Invasive squamous cell carcinoma and sarcomas of the scalp are a variety of uncommon, aggressive neoplasms of the head and neck. Resecting large invasive tumors causes extensive full-thickness scalp defects, and repairing these defects remains challenging. CASE PRESENTATION: The authors present two successful cases using a staged approach with titanium mesh and free tissue transfer (anterolateral thigh flap) technique. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: Complex scalp defects are challenging to manage when insufficient local tissue is available. This frequently necessitates the use of microvascular free tissue transfer for reconstruction. The availability of microsurgery in developing countries such as ours has enabled functional and aesthetic reconstruction for patients presenting with such complex defects. CONCLUSION: Free flaps are safe and reliable when scalp defects are significant and require both scalp and calvarial reconstructions. The ALT-free tissue transfer shows predictable results in both clinical cases.

A thermochemical pretreatment process to produce xylooligosaccharides (XOS), arabinooligosaccharides (AOS) and mannooligosaccharides (MOS) from lignocellulosic biomasses.

Efficient and high yield production of xylooligosaccharides, arabinooligosaccharide and mannooligosaccharides from biomasses is a significant boost to the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industry. These organic compounds, also known as prebiotics, promote the growth of intestinal probiotic microorganisms thus improving the hosts' overall immune system. This work aimed at designing a thermochemical pretreatment of biomasses leading to production of high prebiotic yields and assessing the liquor quality based on resultant oligomer-monomer constituents. Four biomasses, namely Miscanthus sinensis, Panicum virgatum, Calamagrostis acutiflora and Bagasse, each having a dry weight xylan content of ≥ 20% were used. Identification and quantification using HPLC and ion chromatography systems showed xylooligomer yields of 65.0%, 84.2%, 87.9% and 92.3%, respectively. The xylooligomers also showed a degree of polymerization ranging from 2 to 25. These results demonstrate the potential of a low cost, pretreatment process of biomasses which may be suitable for a commercial scale production of prebiotics.