Debarati Chattopadhyay

Skin Sparing Mastectomy with Preservation of Nipple Areola Complex and Immediate Breast Reconstruction in Patients with Breast Cancer: A Single Centre Prospective Study

Background. Skin and nipple areola sparing mastectomy (NASM) has recently gained popularity as the management of breast cancer. This study aims to evaluate the aesthetic outcome, patient satisfaction, and oncological safety of NASM. Methods. The study prospectively analyzes the results of NASM and immediate breast reconstruction in 34 women with breast cancer. The criteria for inclusion were core biopsy-proven, peripherally located breast cancer of any tumor size and with any “N” status, with documented negative intraoperative frozen section biopsy of retroareolar tissue, and distance from the nipple to tumor margin >2 cm on mammography. Results. The median age of the patients was 45 years. The majority had either stage II or stage III breast cancer. The median mammographic distance of tumor from nipple areola complex (NAC) was 3.8 cm. The overall operative morbidity was minimal. The NAC could be preserved in all the patients. There was no local recurrence of tumor at median follow-up of 28.5 months. The aesthetic outcomes were satisfactory. Conclusion. NASM and immediate breast reconstruction can be successfully achieved with minimal morbidity and very low risk of local recurrence in appropriately selected breast cancer patients, with acceptable aesthetic results and good patient satisfaction.

Cleft palate with lateral oral synechiae presenting in late childhood: An extreme rarity

Congenital lateral oral synechia is a very rare anomaly which may be present in association with cleft palate and other facial abnormalities. Infants with lateral oral synechiae usually present very early in the neonatal period with restricted mouth opening and the resultant feeding difficulty, warranting early operative intervention. In the present article the authors report a 12-year-old child with lateral oral synechiae and cleft palate, presenting in late childhood and managed successfully by single-stage surgical correction.

Paraspinal transposition flap for reconstruction of sacral soft tissue defects: a series of 53 cases from a single institute.

Study Design Case series. Purpose To describe paraspinal transposition flap for coverage of sacral soft tissue defects. Overview of Literature Soft tissue defects in the sacral region pose a major challenge to the reconstructive surgeon. Goals of sacral wound reconstruction are to provide a durable skin and soft tissue cover adequate for even large sacral defects; minimize recurrence; and minimize donor site morbidity. Various musculocutaneous and fasciocutanous flaps have been described in the literature. Methods The flap was applied in 53 patients with sacral soft tissue defects of diverse etiology. Defects ranged in size from small (6 cm×5 cm) to extensive (21 cm×10 cm). The median age of the patients was 58 years (range, 16-78 years). Results There was no flap necrosis. Primary closure of donor sites was possible in all the cases. The median follow up of the patients was 33 months (range, 4-84 months). The aesthetic outcomes were acceptable. There has been no recurrence of pressure sores. Conclusions The authors conclude that paraspinal transposition flap is suitable for reconstruction of large sacral soft tissue defects with minimum morbidity and excellent long term results.

Diprosopus dirrhinus: A rare case report

Diprosopus or craniofacial duplication is an extremely rare craniofacial anomaly. It is the rarest form of conjoined twins. One of the types of incomplete facial duplication is the duplication of nose known as diprosopus dirrhinus, of which there is only a single case report from India to date. In the present article, the authors describe a 5-year-old boy having diprosopus dirrhinus with severe hypertelorism, right cleft 12 and right upper eyelid coloboma, a combination of anomalies which have not been reported to date.