This is the first report on a localized pigmented villo-nodular synovitis (PVNS or TSGCT) occurring in the trochanteric bursa. Bursal involvement in PVNS is extremely rare. Most often PVNS occurs either as a localized or diffuse lesion in a major synovial joint, such as the knee, ankle joint or hip joint. In principle, all synovial structures can be involved. The case reported here is remarkable regarding the long period between the occurrence of the first symptoms and the final diagnosis as well as the age of the female patient (75 yrs). Therapeutically a complete resection was performed in order to avoid recurrence. More then three years later the patient did well and there has been no evidence of recurrence yet.
Objective: Lipomas are common, benign tumors usually located in the subcutaneous tissue. The "one-inch method" is a minimally invasive technique for resecting large subcutaneous lipomas through a one-inch incision after blunt dissection of the lipoma from its peripheral retaining ligaments. The limitations of this method are currently unclear.
Materials and methods: We assessed twenty-five patients with large lipomas, defined as a tumor diameter greater than 5 cm. The location of the lipoma was at the shoulder in fifteen patients, the extremity in six patients, and the torso in four patients.
Results: The mean operative time for all lesions was 28.3 minutes, with a mean time of 25.9 minutes for lipomas at the shoulder, 21.8 minutes for the extremities, and 47.0 minutes for the torso. We classified patients into three groups according to operative time: the short group (10-29 min), middle group (30-49 min), and long group (50-70 min). For lipomas of the shoulder, there were eleven patients (73%) in the short group, three patients (20%) in the middle group, and one patient (7%) in the long group. For lipomas of the extremity, the groups contained five patients (83%), one patient (17%), and no patients (0%), respectively. For lipomas of the torso, the groups contained one patient (25%), no patients (0%), and three patients (75%), respectively.
Conclusions: Lipomas of the torso require a longer operative time than those of the shoulder or extremity; this difference could be due to the number of retaining ligaments present, which is reportedly higher in the back than in the anterior or side body. Lipomas of the back are less amenable to the one-inch method, and posterior shoulder lipomas may take more time than those at other parts of the shoulder or at the extremities.
Background: Medical education was and still is challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, and several strategies were implemented by the universities worldwide in order to maintain a good level of education. The aim of this work is to point out how strategies adopted in a German university hospital reached students and how comfortable they felt with the proposed solutions in order to define future possibilities in modern teaching.
Methods: A questionnaire was answered by medical students at the end of the 8th and 10th semester in a German university hospital asking them about their perception of medical education during the pandemic as well as about strategies adopted by the faculty.
Results: A total of 92 out of 117 students answered the questionnaire (78.6% response rate). Students felt disadvantaged in their medical education because of the pandemic on a scale from 0 (not at all) to 10 (completely) (5.34±2.3, range 0-10 points), regardless of semester, gender, and whether they aimed at a surgical career or not. During the pandemic they missed practical exercises most (93.5%), followed by contact with other students (65.2%). Presence lessons were missed (28.3%) the least. Among the strategies offered to maintain education, recorded lessons were appreciated most, followed by skills labs. Live-stream lessons were considered less comfortable.
Conclusions: Several aspects of medical education were replaced satisfactorily during the pandemic, others need to be adapted in the future in order to meet the students' needs and expectations. Theoretical online education but not live stream lessons could be an option beyond COVID-19 as they are highly appreciated by students.
The deep inferior epigastric artery perforator (DIEP) flap is an excellent option for microsurgical breast reconstruction. In selected cases, e.g. in case of previous abdominoplasty, other autologous options like transverse upper gracilis (TUG) or superior gluteal artery perforator (sGAP) flaps can be considered. The anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap is reported to be used as a salvage procedure in selected cases of breast reconstruction, where other flaps were not available or failed. We present a case of a 41-year-old woman who was undergoing bilateral breast reconstruction after bilateral mastectomies following implant-based mastopexie and multiple infections. She also suffered from an adult onset Still's disease (AOSD) and was thus immunosuppressed. Microsurgical breast reconstruction was performed in a two-stage procedure. The left breast was reconstructed using a TUG flap. On the right side the TUG reconstruction failed due to vascular anomaly, so an ALT flap was successfully used instead. The whole procedure was accompanied by a multidisciplinary approach including a rheumatological complex treatment and enabled a successful bilateral breast reconstruction in this challenging case.
Objectives: Soft-tissue defects of the lower abdomen, perineum, groin, and trochanteric area often involve the loss of composite tissue components and are technically challenging to reconstruct. The goals of reconstruction should include the replacement of the defect with a suitable soft-tissue flap that provides stable coverage while protecting important exposed structures. However, there are limited locations in this region for the creation of pedicled flaps for complex defect reconstruction. The pedicled anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap is considered superior to other comparable flaps due to its varying soft-tissue components and long pedicle with consistent anatomy that allow the reconstruction of locations that are difficult to reach without significant flap donor site morbidity. Herein, we present a case series of our experience of using a pedicled ALT flap to reconstruct regional defects over a range of locations.
Methods: The present study comprised ten patients who underwent surgical reconstruction of soft-tissue defects of the lower abdomen, groin, trochanteric, scrotal, and penoscrotal defects using a pedicled ALT flap over a two-year period. The flap was customized according to the defect when required.
Results: In our case series, flap loss was not observed with only a few minor complications. All patients accepted the aesthetic appearance of the flap recipient site area without requesting revision surgery. The donor site was closed primarily in half of all cases, with split skin grafting applied in the remaining patients. Graft take at the flap donor site was satisfactory in all cases.
Conclusion: A pedicled ALT flap is a reliable and suitable option for complex soft-tissue reconstruction for regional soft-tissue defects of the lower abdomen and perineum.
Background: Breast symmetry remains a challenging quality to measure. The question arises of how much baseline breast symmetry exists in the female plastic surgical patient population.
Material and methods: Several linear dimensional assessments were collected based on a retrospective analysis of objective data of women with natural breasts, who presented for an initial consultation in a plastic surgical clinic and were measured with the 3D Vectra Camera by the company Canfield Scientific Inc., U.S.A. The first 100 cases were extracted from the large database in alphabetical order. The nipple positions were examined, including the following linear dimensions: distances from the jugulum to the nipple, from the nipple to the inframammary fold, and from the nipple to midline. Furthermore, the under-breast widths were obtained.
Results: The objective three-dimensional imaging method determined that all patients had some degree of asymmetry. The linear distances from the jugulum and midline to the nipple revealed that the measurements were larger on the left side. However, the nipple to the inframammary fold measurements were roughly the same. In the sample of plastic surgical patients, the average distance between the jugulum and nipple was around 20 cm, the distance between the nipple and inframammary fold was around 6.5 cm, the distance between the nipple and midline was around 10 cm, and the under-breast width was around 13 cm. On average, the jugulum-nipple distance on the right side was 19.9±2.3 cm and 20.1±2.4 cm on the left side. The distance between the nipple and the inframammary fold was 6.4±1.1 cm, revealing a similar distribution on both sides. The mean distance from the nipple to the midline was much larger on the left side of the body at 10.0±1.2 cm than on the right side at 9.4±1.3 cm. The under-breast width on the right side was slightly larger than the left side, with measurements of 13.4±1.8 cm versus 13.2±1.7 cm.
Conclusion: Breast dimensions can be described comprehensively by an objective three-dimensional imaging process, which can detect asymmetry in all patients. The differences related to the nipple position were larger on the left side than the right regarding the distances from the jugulum and particularly the midline to the nipple, which seems to be of special importance, but not from the nipple to the inframammary fold. The linear measurements for the distances from the jugulum and the midline to the nipple are essential to accurate symmetry assessments and form an aesthetic triangle of the breast, which is a new term and the key to a simplified shape analysis.