Plastic and reconstructive surgery
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Plast. Reconstr. Surg. · Aug 2013
Comparative StudyBiological and electrophysiologic effects of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) on regenerating peripheral nerve fibers.
Uninjured peripheral nerves in upper-limb amputees represent attractive sites for connectivity with neuroprostheses because their predictable internal topography allows for precise sorting of motor and sensory signals. The inclusion of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) reduces impedance and improves charge transfer at the biotic-abiotic interface. This study evaluates the in vivo performance of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-coated interpositional decellularized nerve grafts across a critical nerve conduction gap, and examines the long-term effects of two different poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) formulations on regenerating peripheral nerve fibers. ⋯ Both poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) formulations were compatible with peripheral nerve regeneration at 3 months. This study supports poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) as a promising adjunct for peripheral nerve interfaces for prosthetic control and other biomedical applications because of its recognized ionic-to-electronic coupling potential.
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Plast. Reconstr. Surg. · Aug 2013
Comparative StudyQuality-of-life outcomes between mastectomy alone and breast reconstruction: comparison of patient-reported BREAST-Q and other health-related quality-of-life measures.
Published data on quality of life in women after breast reconstruction are inconsistent. This cross-sectional study evaluated the quality of life of women after successful breast reconstruction in comparison with those who underwent mastectomy alone. ⋯ Therapeutic, III.
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Plast. Reconstr. Surg. · Aug 2013
Free-style local perforator flaps: versatility of the v-y design to reconstruct soft-tissue defects in the skin cancer population.
Free-style local perforator flaps can be harvested from any region of the body where an appropriate and detectable perforator vessel is present. Their use allows the surgeon to perform a "like with like" reconstruction by mobilizing surrounding tissues on a consistent vascular source. The authors report their experience with V-Y free-style perforator flaps in reconstruction of soft-tissue defects subsequent to skin cancer excision. ⋯ Therapeutic, IV.
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Plast. Reconstr. Surg. · Jul 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyDigital animation versus textbook in teaching plastic surgery techniques to novice learners.
The authors present a prospective, randomized, blinded trial comparing the educational efficacy of digital animation versus a textbook in teaching the Ivy loop technique to novice learners. ⋯ A prospective, randomized, blinded study comparing the educational efficacy of a surgical textbook to digital animation demonstrates that, in novice learners, digital animation is a more effective tool for learning the Ivy loop technique. Test takers found digital animation to be the superior educational medium.