The Journal of craniofacial surgery
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Jaw fracture surgery or orthognathic surgery usually involves the application of an intermaxillary fixation (IMF). Obstructions that cannot be relieved by suction require an immediate release of IMF wires, but releasing the IMF may damage the surgical alignment of the facial bones. The mean time taken to release the jaws was an average of 2 minutes 9 seconds by hospital staff involved in caring for these patients. ⋯ Most of the students (54; 90%) performed it within 4 minutes; more than half (33; 55%), within 3 minutes. With our manikin model and Melker cricothyrotomy kit, 60 medical students completed the procedure successfully. This model can be useful to cricothyrotomy training for medical personnel.
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Comparative Study
An easy, rapid, and reproducible way to create a split-thickness wound for experimental purposes.
Partial-thickness wound models of rat skin have some difficulties in creating the wounds in equal size and depth. Moreover, making a split-thickness wound on the rat skin seems not to be simple and rapid. A new alternative method was presented here to overcome these obstacles, by using a waterjet device to create a split-thickness wound on rat skin. ⋯ When compared with the healing times of the wounds in the groups, a statistically significant difference was found between them. Creation of a split-skin wound, by using the waterjet system, provides a wound in reproducible size and depth, also in a standardized and rapid manner. Moreover, it makes precise and controlled wound creation in the rat skin.
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Comparative Study
Influence of smartphone Wi-Fi signals on adipose-derived stem cells.
The use of smartphones is expanding rapidly around the world, thus raising the concern of possible harmful effects of radiofrequency generated by smartphones. We hypothesized that Wi-Fi signals from smartphones may have harmful influence on adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs). An in vitro study was performed to assess the influence of Wi-Fi signals from smartphones. ⋯ Apoptosis assay, flow cytometry analysis, and growth factor concentrations showed no remarkable differences among the 3 groups. We could not find any harmful effects of Wi-Fi electromagnetic signals from smartphones. The increased proliferation of ASCs under the smartphone, however, might be attributable to the thermal effect.
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Pediatric facial fractures represent a challenge in management due to the unique nature of the growing facial skeleton. Oftentimes, more conservative measures are favored to avoid rigid internal fixation and disruption of blood supply to the bone and soft tissues. In addition, the great force required to fracture bones of the facial skeleton often produces concomitant injuries that present a management priority. The purpose of this study was to examine a level 1 trauma center's experience with pediatric facial trauma resulting in fractures of the underlying skeleton with regards to epidemiology and concomitant injuries. ⋯ Pediatric facial fractures in our center are often caused by interpersonal violence and are frequently accompanied by other more life-threatening injuries. The distribution of fractures parallels previous literature. Midface fractures and a depressed GCS showed a strong correlation with intracranial hemorrhage and cervical spine fracture. A misdiagnosed cervical spine injury or intracranial hemorrhage has disastrous consequences. On the basis of this study, it is the authors' recommendation that any patient sustaining a midface fracture with an abnormal GCS be evaluated for the aforementioned diagnoses.
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Patients with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS), a genetic disorder characterized by macroglossia, abdominal wall malformations, and gigantism, are at risk for sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). SDB is defined by abnormal breathing that is exacerbated during sleep and is a spectrum ranging from apnea of prematurity to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of SDB in children with BWS, and to document clinical characteristics and method(s) of treatment. ⋯ The prevalence of SDB in this cohort of patients with BWS was 48%. The etiology of SDB in these patients is multifactorial and may not be solely the result of a large tongue. Further information as to the site(s) of airway obstruction in patients with BWS will help guide treatment strategies.