Annals of plastic surgery
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Annals of plastic surgery · Jun 2007
Incidental discovery of bilateral breast cancer in a 24-year-old man presenting with gynecomastia.
We present a case of a 24-year-old man who was treated for gynecomastia with bilateral mastectomy and free nipple grafts with subsequent discovery of bilateral breast cancer in the submitted specimens. Surgical treatment of gynecomastia is becoming more popular with over 16,000 procedures of gynecomastia reduction performed in 2005, an increase of 17% compared with the previous year. ⋯ We caution that male breast tissue should be regarded with the same oncologic principle as female breast tissue. In cases in which ultrasound-assisted suction lipectomy is used, the inability to analyze the breast tissue should be disclosed to the patient.
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Annals of plastic surgery · Jun 2007
Rigid fixation of the sternum using a new coupled titanium transverse plate fixation system.
Restoration of sternal integrity after median sternotomy for cardiac interventions better ensures optimal postoperative pulmonary function and minimizes overall morbidity. Sternal dehiscence or nonunion mitigates against such a successful outcome. Under such circumstances, if enough viable and uninfected sternum remains, an anatomic reduction should be attempted. ⋯ A new titanium sternal fixation system that permits transverse orientation of plates has been used in 4 patients who had sterile complete or imminent sternal dehiscence to allow eventual sternal union. The specific advantage of this new system is the presence of a releasing pin in the center of coupled plates to allow rapid chest reentry if required without the specific need for cumbersome plate removal. One patient had delayed removal of an infected plate after sternal union was achieved.