Annals of plastic surgery
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Annals of plastic surgery · Mar 2009
Infection risk from the use of continuous local-anesthetic infusion pain pumps in aesthetic and reconstructive abdominal procedures.
Postoperative pain control after abdominal procedures can be an area of significant concern. Continuous local-anesthetic infusion pain pumps have been clearly documented in recent literature to provide effective early postoperative pain control, in addition to other benefits. Our goal was to evaluate any increase in the risk of infection with the use of pain pumps with aesthetic and reconstructive abdominal procedures. ⋯ Fifty-nine patients did not receive a pain pump, and 2 of those patients (3.3%) developed an infection. Overall, 1.3% (2 of 159) of patients in our study developed a postoperative infection. There is no increase in the risk of postoperative infection with the use of continuous local-anesthetic infusion pain pumps used after aesthetic and reconstructive abdominal procedures.
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In this study we present the first experimental vascularized penile allogenic transplantation model in the rat. In group 1 (n = 6), the vascular anatomy of the male rat perineal region was determined. In 12 Lewis rats of group 2 (n = 24), the penile composite graft was transplanted as isotransplant by microvascular anastomosis of the pedicle of the penis to the saphenous vessels and in another 12 Lewis rats of group 2, penile composite graft was transplanted without vascular anastomosis. ⋯ Direct observation, somatosensory evoked potential test, histologic examination and microangiography were used to assess the viability of the transplants. All vascularized isotransplants and allotransplants survived over 200 days (still under observation) whereas all the nonvascularized grafts were necrosed at 7 days posttransplant. In this study the new penile allograft transplantation model in the rat was developed and a new method of blood supply to a vascularized composite tissue with directly artery-to-corpus spongiosum anastomosis was introduced.