Plastic Surgery / Chirurgie Plastique

Background: Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is offered as part of the standard-of-care to females undergoing mastectomy. Racial disparity in IBR has been previously reported with a longstanding call for its elimination, though unknown if this goal is achieved. The aim of this study was to examine the current association between race and IBR and to investigate whether racial disparity is diminishing. Methods: Data was extracted from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) from 2004 to 2016. All variables in the database were controlled so that the comparison would be made solely between Black and White females. We also analyzed the trend in racial disparity to see if there has been a change from 2004 to 2016 after several calls for healthcare equality. Results: After propensity score matching, 69,084 White females were compared to 69,084 Black females. There was a statistically significant difference between the rate of IBR and race (23,386 [33.9%] in White females vs 20,850 [30.2%] in Black females, P-value  < .001). Despite a twofold increase in the rate of IBR in both White and Black females, a persistent gap of about 4% was observed over the study period, which translates to more than 2,500 Black females not receiving IBR. Conclusions: Using the NCDB database, a racial disparity was identified for IBR between White and Black females from 2004 and 2016. Unfortunately, the gap between the groups remained constant over this 13-year period.

Background: Closed-incision and surrounding soft tissue negative pressure therapy (cistNPT) is theorized to decrease infection, reduce tissue edema, and promote healing of the mastectomy skin flap. We report our early experience with this dressing in pre-pectoral direct-to-implant (pDTI) breast reconstruction. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all patients who underwent post-mastectomy pDTI breast reconstruction with cistNPT between July 2019 and February 2020. All reconstructions utilized smooth round silicone gel implants and human acellular dermal matrix. Results: Thirty-five female patients underwent 58 mastectomies. Mean age and body mass index were 49.9 years and 28.9 kg/m², respectively. Eleven (31.4%) patients had neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The mean sternal notch-to-nipple distance was 27.0 cm. The median specimen weight was 483 g, while the median implant volume was 495 cc. The mean implant-to-specimen ratio was 1.4 for nipple-sparing, 1.1 for skin-sparing, and 0.7 for skin-reducing mastectomy. Total drain volume was 483.1 cc from each breast. Post-operative complications included seroma (5.2%), peri-incisional necrosis (8.6%), and superficial skin epidermolysis (13.8%). There were no cases of surgical site infection, dehiscence, or hematoma. Rate of return to the operative room was 3.4%. Mean follow-up was 90 days. Conclusions: In our series of pDTI breast reconstructions with cistNPT, no patients experienced hematoma, dehiscence, or infection complications. Rates of seroma, skin necrosis requiring operative debridement, and total drain volumes were lower than those reported in literature.

Background: Ever since the description of the first microvascular anastomosis, numerous alternative methods have been described to the classical approach. Tissue adhesive has shown promising result in previous studies and can be a fast and efficient alternative which still requires more studies to allow its clinical implementation. Methods: A randomized comparative experimental study was conducted on rats’ femoral arteries and an end-to-end anastomosis was performed in order to compare 2 anastomosis techniques. In one group, a simple interrupted suture was utilized, whereas in the second group a combination between fewer sutures and tissue adhesive was used. The anastomotic time, total operative time, blood flow velocity before, immediately after and 48 hours after the procedure, as well as an independent grading of the anastomosis immediately after the procedure were performed. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in order to assess the degree of stenosis. After euthanasia, histology and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were performed on the vessels in order to assess possible complications. Results: A total of 24 anastomoses were performed, of which 12 with a classic technique and 12 with an adhesive technique. All the anastomoses were patent with a significant reduction of anastomotic and total operative time. The grading of the anastomoses showed better results in the classic suture group. The blood flow velocities were not statistically significant between the 2 groups. On MRI there was one stenotic anastomosis, whereas histology and SEM showed more complications on the adhesive group. Conclusion: Anastomotic times were significantly lower with a non-significant trend toward more thrombotic complications in the adhesive group. Further improvement of the glue properties and refinement of the technique will likely make it a viable alternative to interrupted suturing in the future.

Background: Venous thrombosis, the leading cause of free flap failure, may have devastating consequences. Many anti-thrombotic agents and protocols have been described for prophylaxis and treatment of venous thrombosis in free flaps. Methods: National surveys were distributed to microsurgeons (of both Plastics and ENT training) and hematology and thrombosis specialists. Data were collected on routine screening practices, perceived risk factors for flap failure, and pre-, intra-, and post-operative anti-thrombotic strategies. Results: There were 722 surveys distributed with 132 (18%) respondents, consisting of 102 surgeons and 30 hematologists. Sixty-five surgeons and 9 hematologists routinely performed or managed patients with free flaps. The top 3 perceived risk factors for flap failure according to surgeons were medical co-morbidities, past arterial thrombosis, and thrombophilia. Hematologists, however, reported diabetes, smoking, and medical co-morbidities as the most important risk factors. Fifty-four percent of physicians routinely used unfractionated heparin (UFH) or low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) as a preoperative agent. Surgeons routinely flushed the flap with heparin (37%), used UFH IV (6%), or both (8%) intra-operatively. Surgeons used a range of post-operative agents such as UFH, LMWH, aspirin, and dextran while hematologists preferred LMWH. There was variation of management strategies if flap thrombosis occurred. Different strategies consisted of changing recipient vessels, UFH IV, flushing the flap, adding post-operative agents, or a combination of strategies. Conclusions: There are diverse practice variations in anti-thrombotic strategies for free tissue transfers and a difference in perceived risk factors for flap failure that may affect patient management.

Background: Canadians are increasingly engaging in medial tourism. The purpose of this study was to review Canadians’ experiences with travelling abroad for cosmetic surgery, including primary motivations for seeking care outside of Canada. Methods: A qualitative analysis was conducted using semistructured interviews following a pre-determined topic guide. People who had undergone cosmetic surgery outside of Canada were interviewed. The interviews were transcribed and coded to determine motivational themes. Patients were recruited until thematic saturation was achieved. Results: Thematic saturation was achieved after recruitment of 11 patients. The most common motivational themes identified in this study for seeking cosmetic surgery outside of Canada included cost, post-operative care provided, marketing/customer service, and word-of-mouth. Member checking and theory triangulation were validation techniques used to verify identified themes. Mexico was the most common location for cosmetic tourism. The most common procedures were breast augmentation, mastopexy, and abdominoplasty. Participants gathered pre- and post-operative information primarily through pamphlets and contact with surgeons’ offices. Follow-up was only available for half of the participants in this study, and only 5 of the participants felt that they had received informed consent. Conclusions: The majority of participants engaged in cosmetic tourism due to cost reasons and the level of post-operative care provided.

Background: Studies that have previously validated the use of incisional negative pressure wound therapy (iNPWT) after body contouring procedures (BCP) have provided limited data regarding associated health care utilization and cost. We matched 2 cohorts of patients after BCP with and without iNPWT and compared utilization of health care resources and post-operative clinical outcomes. Methods: Adult patients who underwent abdominoplasty and/or panniculectomy between 2015 and 2020 by a single surgeon were identified. Patients were propensity score matched by body mass index (BMI), gender, smoking history, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and incision type. Primary outcomes included time to final drain removal, outpatient visits, homecare visits, emergency department visits, and cost. Secondary outcomes included surgical site occurrences (SSO), surgical site infections, reoperations, and revisions. Results: One hundred sixty-six patients were eligible, and 40 were matched (20 with iNPWT and 20 without iNPWT) with a median age of 47 years and BMI of 32 kg/m². There were no differences in demographics or intraoperative details (all P > .05). No significant differences were found between the cohorts in terms of health care utilization measures or clinical outcomes (all P > .05). Direct cost was significantly greater in the iNPWT cohort (P = .0498). Inpatient length of stay and procedure time were independently associated with increased cost on multivariate analysis (all P < .0001). Conclusion: Consensus guidelines recommend the use of iNPWT in high-risk patients, including abdominal BCP. Our results show that iNPWT is associated with equivalent health care utilization and clinical outcomes, with increased cost. Additional randomized controlled trials are needed to further elucidate the cost utility of this technique in this patient population.

Background: The reverse sural fasciocutaneous flap (RSFCF) has been used with success to cover noncomplicated foot and ankle soft tissue defects. However, there are some controversies when it is used in patients having chronic diabetic foot ulcers. This aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of RSFCF in covering diabetic foot and ankle ulcers. Methods: A systematic review was undertaken from MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. Only diabetic foot and ankle ulcers were accepted for inclusion and all study designs were included. Proximally based flaps, nondiabetic ulcers, and assisted negative pressure therapy were excluded. Suitability for inclusion was assessed by 2 reviewers. The random-effect estimate was reported for the set outcomes whenever high heterogeneity was present. Metaregression analysis was performed to identify independent risk factors for failure. Results: The search identified 33 relevant studies comprising 187 patients and flap interventions; all but 1 were case-series. The weighted outcomes were as follows: (1) the flap healing rate was 93.3% while 6.6% resulted in total necrosis, (2) the rate of partial flap necrosis was 12%, (3) venous congestion was reported in 6.6% of cases, (4) the infection rate was 8.3%, and (5) the donor site morbidity was 4.6%. No association was found between pedicle width or presence of a subcutaneous pedicle tunnel and the primary outcome of total loss. Conclusions: This review demonstrated excellent results of the flap when covering complicated or large diabetic foot and ankle ulcers. When compared to those published in the literature, our results found RSFCF to be relatively less successful in diabetic wounds than in trauma patients but more successful than in those having associated osteomyelitis and those who were treated with random local flaps.