Plastic and reconstructive surgery
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Plast. Reconstr. Surg. · May 2009
Discharge practices, readmission, and serious medical complications following primary cleft lip repair in 23 U.S. children's hospitals.
Discharge timing following primary cleft lip repair balances the desire to return patients to their home environment with the risk of serious complications occurring outside a hospital. To derive information to help estimate these risks, the authors evaluated discharge practices, readmissions, and serious medical complications following primary cleft lip repair at 23 children's hospitals in the Pediatric Health Information System over a 5-year period. ⋯ A number of factors related to the hospital, surgeon, patient, and patient's family bear consideration in deciding the timing of discharge after primary cleft lip repair. The most clinically important factor appears to be the overall preexisting medical status of the patient.
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Plast. Reconstr. Surg. · May 2009
Indications and outcomes for surgical treatment of patients with chronic migraine headaches caused by occipital neuralgia.
Occipital neuralgia is a headache syndrome characterized by paroxysmal headaches localizing to the posterior scalp. The critical diagnostic feature is symptomatic response to local anesthetic blockade of the greater or lesser occipital nerve. Further characterization is debated in the literature regarding the diagnosis and optimal management of this condition. The authors present the largest reported series of surgical neurolysis of the greater occipital nerve in the management of occipital neuralgia. ⋯ Neurolysis of the greater occipital nerve appears to provide safe, durable pain relief in the majority of selected patients with chronic headaches caused by occipital neuralgia.