Plastic and reconstructive surgery
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Plast. Reconstr. Surg. · Mar 2007
Comparative StudyEndoscopic versus open tissue-expander placement: is less invasive better?
Skin tissue expansion provides an excellent option for reconstruction of large cutaneous defects. Unfortunately, the complication rate with tissue-expander reconstruction is very high. One potential alternative to reduce these complications and improve recovery time is to place the tissue expanders endoscopically. The authors hypothesize that endoscopic placement of tissue expanders will reduce the complication rate, operative time, and time to full expansion. ⋯ Endoscopic tissue-expander placement significantly reduced operative time for placement of each expander, major complication rate, time to full expansion, and length of hospital stay for this reconstructive technique. The authors conclude that endoscopic placement of tissue expanders is a safe and effective method for tissue-expander reconstructions of large, difficult wounds.
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Recently, pain infusion pumps for postoperative pain control have gained popularity in many surgical specialties. This investigation was designed to evaluate the efficacy of a local anesthetic pain infusion pump in management of postoperative pain in abdominoplasty patients. ⋯ The postoperative use of pain pumps in abdominoplasty patients does not significantly improve pain management. Further investigation into this application of the pain pump is necessary before recommending their routine use in abdominoplasty patients.