Paola Panarese

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.

Comparative effectiveness of benzyl alcohol 0.9% as a local anaesthetic for minor plastic surgery procedures

Abstract Although the duration of anaesthesia provided by benzyl alcohol 0.9% is limited, its possible advantages as a local anaesthetic in minor plastic surgery procedures include its inexpensiveness and a lower rate of adverse reactions compared to other local anaesthetics. A double blind, randomised controlled trial was performed to compare the amount of pain experienced after both subcutaneous infiltration and the surgical procedure using commonly used local anaesthetics or benzyl alcohol 0.9%. Ninety patients were randomly and consecutively assigned to one of three groups of thirty subjects. A different anaesthetic solution was used for each group: Group A: 1% mepivacaine with epinephrine 1:100000; Group B; 1% mepivacaine with epinephrine 1:100000 “neutralized” with sodium bicarbonate 80 meq/L; Group C: 0.9% benzyl alcohol. Immediately after intradermal infiltration, and following each surgical procedure, the patients were asked to quantify on a visual analogue scale the degree of pain felt. Benzyl alcohol 0.9% has proven to be an effective local anaesthetic agent for minor plastic surgery procedures, providing less painful intradermal infiltration compared to the other local anesthetics tested. In our opinion, benzyl alcohol 0.9% represents an excellent and cheap alternative for patients having minor plastic surgery and having a history of allergy to other local anaesthetics.

Autologous cutaneous grafts for experimental reconstruction of facial cartilagineous defects: ideas and innovations

Abstract The aim of this paper is to report histological and biomechanical observations on autologous skin grafts that had been treated with a stabilized glutaraldehyde process in order to obtain elastic cartilage substitutes. Two parallel, para-midline full-thickness cutaneous rectangular grafts (1.5×3 cm) were harvested on the dorsum of 20 New Zealand rabbits. The 40 cutaneous grafts thus obtained were then immersed, for 30 min, into a solution of 25% glutaraldehyde, thoroughly rinsed with saline, and individually grafted subcutaneously at the level of the base of the homolateral ear. After 4 months, the grafts were harvested again in order to evaluate their histologic and tensiometric properties: The plasticity of the grafts resembled that of normal elastic cartilage (mean pliability=0.3335 N/cm), while, at the histological level, only little change was noted in any of the grafts. All the grafts were surrounded by a thick connective capsule. Apart from some areas of intercellular edema, there was no evidence of any cell infiltration or tissue growing into the grafts. The cell architecture appeared intact. In our experience, autologous skin grafts may be permanently fixed (and their complex architecture preserved) in order to obtain, in a rabbit model, stable cartilaginous bioprostheses.

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.