Antonio Cella

Power boosting the grafts in hair transplantation surgery: Evaluation of a new storage medium

background. When performing hair transplantation procedures, it is of the foremost importance to try to obtain the maximum survival rate possible of transplanted micrografts. objective. Aim of this study was to evaluate, in an in vitro model, the effects of preserving micrografts, for five hours, in an enriched storage medium in order to enhance the survival rate of hair micrografts. methods. A total of 200 human anagen hair follicles was obtained from ten male patients. Follicles were thus randomly assigned to one of the following group: Group A (control; n = 100 follicles), preserved for five hours in saline, and Group B (experimental; n = 100 follicles), preserved for five hours in a storage medium, containing adenosine triphosphate‐magnesium chloride and deferoxamine mesylate. Isolated hair follicles from both Groups were then cultured for 10 days. results. A statistically significant difference was found between the survival rate of experimental (98%) and control follicles (87%). conclusion. In our opinion, a “metabolic preconditioning” of micrografts by means of storing them for 5 hours in the described medium may be of some utility in augmenting the survival rate of hair grafts when performing hair transplantation surgery.

A simple surgical remedy for iatrogenic excessively thick lips.

A technique for the correction of excessively thick lips caused by injections of allogeneic substances is presented in this article. In most cases, surgical removal is the best possible solution to this problem because the materials mentioned above completely blend with the surrounding tissues. Twenty-four patients underwent surgical lip-volume reduction. The results were satisfactory in all of the patients.

Two modified techniques for flexor tendon repair.

The aim of this article is to present two new techniques for digital flexor tendon repair: a modification to the conventional Kessler technique (wrap core suture) and tendon splints (H-shaped splint). These techniques were aimed at enhancing the biomechanical properties of such repairs as related to resistance to both gap formation and repair failure. Comparing (in an ex vivo study) the tensiometric properties (gap formation and failure strengths) of 24 flexor digitorum profundus tendons repaired with the described techniques (12 repairs per each technique) and the conventional Kessler repair (24 repairs), we found that the former provided significantly stronger repairs than the latter in vitro. A statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) was found between each of the two presented techniques and the Kessler repair. The wrap core suture increased the load at which a visible (1 mm) gap formed by 22.6 percent when compared with the conventional Kessler suture. The mean gap strength of the wrap core repair was 6.5 N, whereas that of the conventional Kessler was 5.3 N. The failure loads (ultimate strength) of the wrap core suture were 33.8 percent higher than those of the conventional Kessler. The mean breaking load of the wrap core repair was 19.4 N, whereas that of the conventional Kessler was 14.5 N. The H-splint repair increased the load at which a visible gap formed and the failure loads (ultimate strength) by 158.5 and 333.1 percent, respectively, when compared with the conventional Kessler suture. The mean gap strength of the H-splint repair was 13.7 N, and its mean breaking load was 62.8 N.

Breast augmentation as an incentive in recovering from anorexia.

Abstract. In a survey carried out on 229 subjects who had undergone an augmentative mammaplasty it was possible to verify a postoperative increase in weight in 25 cases, four of which were clearly anorexic. We hypothesized that a change in perception of ones body proportions after the insertion of implants, might have been a determinant in blocking the mechanism leading to anorexia, or at least in the continuation of the recovering process. The aim of this article is obviously not to state that augmentative mammaplasty can be a kind of therapy for anorexia. Instead, we want to underline how a more pleasant contour of some body areas can have a role in solving deeper psychological problems.

A minimally-invasive thoracic-sympathectomy technique for the treatment of upper extremity ischaemia and palmar/axillary hyperhidrosis

Objectives To show how serious a human bite can be when a delicate organ such as the hand is involved. If improperly, inadequately managed or not managed at all in the early phases, the bite may have devastating consequences, both functionally and anatomically. If left untreated or if underestimated, it gives rise to infections that involve the hand in toto and that are very difficult to manage, even more so in hospitals in developing countries where diagnostic and therapeutic facilities may be lacking.