Fumio Ohkubo

Primary repair in adult patients with untreated cleft lip-cleft palate.

Background: The authors have volunteered their services as plastic surgeons in several countries, such as Nepal and Cambodia. In these programs, the authors saw many adults with cleft lips or palates who could not have primary repair at the proper time. The purpose of this report is to discuss the primary repair of untreated cleft lips or palates in adult patients. Methods: Subjects were older than 17 years. In Nepal, primary repairs were performed in 129 adults with untreated clefts over the past 11 years. Unilateral cleft lips were repaired by rotation advancement with the small triangular flap method or the straight method with a small triangular flap. Bilateral clefts were repaired using a one-stage repair method. Cleft palates were repaired by a mucoperiosteal push-back or Furlow technique. Results: Differences between primary cleft repair for infants and for adults were as follows: (1) in adults, aggressive correction was possible, as maxillary growth was not a consideration; (2) correction of the anterior part of the nasal deformity was more difficult than in infants, as adults showed less elasticity and a more severe deformity of the nasal cartilages; (3) simultaneous palatoplasty should be chosen judiciously, as it is more invasive and results in higher morbidity; and (4) cheiloplasty under local anesthesia can reduce cost, time, and manpower. Conclusions: These observations should be useful for the local and foreign surgeons who treat clefts in developing regions.

Consideration of operative procedures for zygomatic reduction in Orientals: based on a consecutive series of 28 clinical cases.

Operative procedures for reduction malar bone plasty were considered in our consecutive series of 28 Japanese cases. The patients consisted of 7 males and 21 females whose ages ranged from 21 to 57 years. The operative procedures used were either shaving the protruded zygomatic body and arch with chisels by means of an intraoral approach and/or an extraoral sideburn-lateral canthal approach or, alternatively, mobilizing the protruded zygoma en bloc medioposteriorly into reduction of the prominent zygoma by a coronal approach. In principle, the noncoronal approach was indicated for males and young females, and the coronal approach, conducted in association with forehead lifting with or without canthopexy, was indicated for females over age 40. These procedures have individual merits and demerits. In some cases, associated surgery was performed concomitantly according to the facial balance or facial rejuvenization. We believe that the optimal operative approach and operative procedure should be considered in accordance with the patients sex, age, wishes, and/or cultural background.

A new cleft palate repair

Cleft palate can be repaired by a palatal mucoperiosteal flap, but we have devised a new technique for cleft palate repair using a wide mucoperiosteal flap with an alveolar ridge mucosa and a cleft margin flap. This technique leaves the mucosa of the nasal cavity and vomer intact. The results include (1) good velopharyngeal competence and normal articulation, (2) few cases of fistula formation, and (3) minimal maxillary retardation.

A simple method for lower lateral cartilage repositioning in cleft lip nose deformity.

Correction of the nasal deformity in patients with cleft lip remains a significant challenge. The lower lateral cartilages provide the key to the cleft lip nasal problem.1 For the repositioning of the lower lateral cartilage, most techniques have focused on the dissection of the lower lateral cartilage through the incisions of the rotation-advancement design or an infracartilaginous incision. The entire lower lateral cartilage is undermined from the overlying skin and repositioned using sutures to a stable cephalic position to achieve projection of the dome on the cleft side.1–7 Frequently, an external bolster is used, over which the suture is secured. We describe a simple and safe method applied to the subcutaneous anchoring suture for lifting the lower lateral cartilage in its correct position in the repair of cleft lip nose deformity. This method facilitates suture placement without an external bolster.

Nasolabial Growth in Individuals With Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate: A Preliminary Study of Longitudinal Observation Using Three-Dimensional Stereophotogrammetry

Abstract There are limited numbers of studies comparing the preoperative and postoperative facial features of infants with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) using three-dimensional (3D) stereophotogrammetry. The authors attempted an anthropometric analysis of nasolabial asymmetry 1 year after primary lip repair using a handheld 3D imaging system. Five different nasolabial dimensions in 24 infants with UCLP were measured using 3D images captured during primary lip repair and again, 1 year after the repair. The nasal and upper-lip elements of the cleft side were significantly changed after primary lip repair, and nasolabial asymmetry was anthropometrically improved. This is a preliminary longitudinal observation of nasolabial growth in individuals with UCLP using 3D stereophotogrammetric technique. The authors would like to follow these children until adulthood, capturing 3D images at every intervention.

Clinical features of axillary osmidrosis: A retrospective chart review of 723 Japanese patients

Axillary osmidrosis often disturbs a persons social life, particularly in Asian countries. However, the clinical aspects of this condition have not been well documented in the English‐language published work. This study aimed to provide information on the features of axillary osmidrosis, with a particular focus on sex differences. A retrospective review was made of the charts for 723 Japanese patients (492 female, 231 male). The mean age at initial presentation (29.1 years) was nearly the same for males and females. Almost all patients (96.1%) had wet earwax, which was extremely high compared to its frequency in the general Japanese population. An association with hyperhidrosis was seen in 61.8% of these patients. Subjective odor levels in female patients were significantly lower than those in males (P < 0.001). A positive family history was more frequent for females than for males (P < 0.001), and prior treatment history was also more frequent for females than for males (P < 0.015). Most patients (86.6%) had received some treatments in our clinic. There were significantly fewer females who underwent surgical treatments compared to males (P = 0.026), as females preferred less invasive techniques (P < 0.001). Several features, including male/female ratios, and associations of wet earwax and hyperhidrosis, corresponded to previously reported data on axillary osmidrosis. Female patients were more concerned with axillary odor than males, and females had a tendency for polysurgery.

Self-mutilation by a Patient with Borderline Personality Disorder

Abstract We present an unusual insatiable aesthetic/plastic surgery patient with borderline personality disorder (BPD) who removed her upper eyelids by herself after we rejected her request for revision blepharoplasty. This impulsive self-injury was attributed to anxiety from what the patient considered to be abandonment by the surgeon. Even after the eyelid defects were successfully treated, the patient requested several other revisions, including tattoo removal. Compared with other mental disorders, including body dysmorphic disorder, preoccupation with appearance in BPD is less profound and shifts from one body part to another. In an aesthetic and plastic surgery practice, a different psychiatric approach should be used for individuals with BPD, and the proper timing for a psychiatric referral should be established.Level of Evidence VThis journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.

Palatoplasty and Growth of the Temporal Bone Mastoid Air Cells

Objectives The present study was undertaken to analyze the relationship between the method used for manipulation of the levator veli palatini muscle and the area of the mastoid air cells in patients with cleft palate. Design Retrospective study. Patients The subjects were 50 patients seen for surgical treatment of cleft palate. Interventions Palatoplasty was carried out using the mucosal flap method in 25 patients and the mucoperiosteal flap method in 25 patients. In the mucosal flap method, the levator veli palatini muscle was overlapped and sutured, followed by posterior movement of the muscle bundle (the posterior relocation group). In the mucoperiosteal flap method (the control group), the mucoperiosteal flap was pushed back, followed by end-to-end suturing of the muscle. The area of the mastoid air cells was measured on X-rays when patients were 5 years old. Results The mastoid air cell area did not differ significantly between the posterior relocation group (mean, 5.00 cm2; range, 1.66 to 19.7 cm2) and the control group (mean, 5.3 cm2; range, 2.29 to 15.9 cm2). Conclusion No significant growth of mastoid air cells was noted following posterior relocation of the levator veli palatini muscle. Thus, in cases of cleft palate in which significant growth of mastoid air cells is not expected following reconstruction of the levator veli palatini muscle, the results confirm the view that tympanic ventilation tube insertion is the most suitable method for the treatment of otitis media.

Chronic expanding hematoma, ruptured through the skin 53 years after buttock contusion.

INTRODUCTION Chronic expanding hematoma is a relatively rare complication of soft tissue trauma and often clinically mistaken for a malignant neoplasm. PRESENTATION OF CASE A 71-year-old female presented with a chronic expanding hematoma that ruptured through the buttock skin 53 years after the original contusion. The diagnosis of CEH was made based on the results of the biopsy, physical examination, and CT. The tumor was completely excised, and the defect was covered with a rhomboid flap. DISCUSSION There are no reports of lesions rupturing through the skin. Almost all instances of chronic expanding hematoma previously reported in the English literature have a history ranging from 1 month to 20 years. There is a report of a thorax CEH that ruptured into the lung parenchyma after 24 years, so it is conceivable that other subcutaneous CEHs could break through the skin several decades after their inception. CONCLUSION Once this lesion has ruptured, its differentiation from other entities becomes more complicated.

Cervical necrotizing fasciitis with upper trunk extension

Abstract A 49-year-old patient presented with an unusual case of cervical necrotizing fasciitis that extended subacutely to the upper trunk. The source of the infection was unknown. The patient had a markedly protracted course and had severe complications, including pneumonia, septic shock, and disseminated intravascular coagulation. Following surgical debridement, split thickness skin grafting was performed from the neck to the anterior chest wall; a subcutaneous area on the back was debrided, the skin was not affected and the area healed like a bipedicled flap. This paper also focuses on the importance of intense supportive care and the clinical utility of intravenous human immunoglobulin.