Journal of plastic surgery and hand surgery
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J Plast Surg Hand Surg · Dec 2013
Review Meta AnalysisEffectiveness of local anaesthetic pain catheters for abdominal donor site analgesia in patients undergoing free lower abdominal flap breast reconstruction: A meta-analysis of comparative studies.
The use of an infusion pain pump with local wound catheters has increased among different surgical specialities. Autologous breast reconstruction with deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) and transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) flaps may cause severe abdominal donor site morbidity, and infusion devices delivering local anaesthetic are suggested to improve postoperative analgesia. This study performed a meta-analysis comparing pain pump use vs control to evaluate this issue. ⋯ Although not statistically significant, the pooled results showed a trend toward reduction of antiemetic medicament use (MD = -0.71, 95% CI = -2.14, 0.72, p = 0.33) and hospital stay time (MD = -0.53, 95% CI = -1.18, 0.11, p = 0.10). The use of local anaesthetic pain catheters for abdominal donor sites in microsurgical breast reconstruction might be associated with a decreased use of narcotics and antiemetic medicaments and shorter hospital stay. Further studies are needed to validate this promising treatment modality.
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J Plast Surg Hand Surg · Dec 2013
Acute paediatric bite injuries treated on inpatient basis: a 10-year retrospective study and criteria for hospital admission.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute bite wounds in children treated on an inpatient basis over a 10-year period and the criteria for inpatient treatment. This study comprised all acute mammalian bite injuries in relation to all paediatric bite injuries seen at the Emergency Surgical Department (ESD). Inclusion criteria were: aged between 0-18 years; acute human or animal bite injuries (presenting for the first time); and inpatient treatment. ⋯ In one case a partial distal flap necrosis occurred. Animal bite injuries treated on an inpatient basis are predominantly dog bites in young children under 10 years of age, with deep, extended, and commonly multiple injuries. Only 7% of paediatric bite injuries require inpatient treatment.