1/5. Prevention and treatment of wide scar and alopecia in the scalp: wedge excision and double relaxation suture.The visible linear scar of the scalp is a cosmetically serious complication of a scalp incision in scalp surgery, forehead lift, and craniofacial surgery, especially on the temporal scalp. Its causes are cicatrical alopecia and scar widening. To solve this problem, we performed the wedge excision of the scalp and the double relaxation suture of the galea in 2 patients undergoing facial surgery through the coronal approach and in 15 patients with scalp alopecia ranging from 0.5 to 3.0 cm in width. The wedge excision using the beveling incision at an angle of 30 degrees to the hair follicles preserves the deep hair follicles of the flap margins and allows the hair to grow into the scar, eventually preventing cicatricial alopecia and camouflaging the linear scar. The double relaxation suture of the trimmed galea with nonabsorbable suture with or without the relaxation incision minimizes skin tension for a long time, eventually preventing scar widening. This procedure was followed by the superficial skin suture for maintaining the skin sutures for a long time and avoiding the injury of the superficial hair follicles. In all patients, we observed an excellent cosmetic result of unnoticed scar line without complications during the follow-up period of 10 weeks to 6 months.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = relaxation (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/5. Rate of elongation provided by multiple subcutaneous pedicle rhomboid flaps-an experimental study in the rat inguinal skin.PURPOSE: To investigate the rate of elongation provided by multiple subcutaneous pedicle rhomboid flaps. MATERIALS AND methods: Lower extremities of 20 male Sprague-Dawley rats were strained and fixed on a table to provide a tension line over the inguinal area. Two rhomboid shaped adjacent flaps with subcutaneous pedicles were designed over the tension line. Each flap was 1cm long and the distance between two flaps was 0.5 cm. The total pre-operative length was 2.5 cm. Flaps were incised and freed from the stretched skin. Tension line over the inguinal area was relieved by relaxation incisions. The resulting defects were then closed by suturing the rhomboid flaps in V-Y advancement along the tension line and in Y-V advancement along the relaxation incisions. The final elongation was measured and the results were analysed statistically. RESULTS: All relaxation incisions were effective in relief of tension over the inguinal area and in lengthening the tension line. Pre-operative 2.5 cm lengths ranged between 5.7 and 6.3 cm post-operatively (mean /- standard deviation = 5.99 /- 17 cm). The mean difference between pre- and post-operative measurements was 3.49 cm (139.6% gain in length). The subcutaneous pedicle rhomboid flaps easily closed all defects generated by relaxation and elongation. Statistical analysis revealed that two adjacent subcutaneous pedicle rhomboid flaps were efficient to close the defects generated by the relaxation incisions that produced a 139% gain in length (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The results of this experimental study show that multiple subcutaneous pedicle rhomboid flaps promise to be a good alternate technique in the treatment of long contracture bands in terms of rate of elongation and simplicity.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.71428571428571keywords = relaxation (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/5. The use of subcutaneous pedicle multiple rhomboid flaps in the treatment of long postburn scar contractures.The subcutaneous pedicle rhomboid flap is a relatively new technique in the treatment of linear, wide or quadratic postburn scar contractures with two or more contracture lines. The effectiveness of the rhomboid flap depends on lengthening the contracture band by relaxation incisions and closing the emerged defect by suturing the rhomboid flap in V-Y and Y-V advancement. The technique is simple, efficient and versatile. The broad subcutaneous pedicle of the flap is very reliable and postoperative flap necrosis is rare. Clinical results show that the gain in length provided by a single rhomboid flap ranges from 75-90%. However, the technique may not be efficient enough to release the whole band in cases of long contracture bands. Therefore, a new design of rhomboid flaps, called "multiple rhomboid flaps", may be needed. Twelve patients (aged 3-40 years) with long linear and wide scar contractures were successfully treated with subcutaneous pedicle multiple rhomboid flaps. Multiple consequent or adjacent rhomboid flaps were applied in the upper extremity (in nine patients), trunk (in seven patients), and lower extremity (in two patients). Complete relaxation and elongation of the contracture bands were achieved in all of the cases and all rhomboid flaps healed uneventfully. The results were functionally and cosmetically successful. The application of rhomboid flaps in this consequent and adjacent fashion is a new concept. Clinical results prove that the technique is versatile and effective in the release of long potstburn scar contractures. Since distortion of the surrounding skin or displacement of anatomical landmarks is not seen with the technique, color and texture matches are perfect. Designing and performing multiple rhomboid flaps is very simple and the operation time is short. As no undermining is carried out in the technique, the flaps are more reliable than commonly used multiple Z-plasty.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.28571428571429keywords = relaxation (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/5. Subcranial facial bipartition osteotomy with glabellar reverse V-shaped and temporal approaches instead of the bicoronal approach.patients with Apert syndrome show hypertelorism and midfacial hypoplasia, and their features are significantly improved through facial bipartition surgery. In addition, because patients with Apert syndrome demonstrate cranial deformity as well as other deformities, they require multiple surgical interventions throughout their development. We present herein a girl with Apert syndrome for whom subcranial facial bipartition was performed. We could not use the coronal approach because she had a terribly cicatricial scalp and wide calvarial defects caused by previous cranial surgeries carried out at another institution. Therefore, we used the glabellar reverse V-shaped approach and temporal approaches in place of the standard approach. She enjoyed a complication-free intraoperative and postoperative course, and left the hospital on postoperative day 10. Her midfacial segment was repositioned 6 mm anteriorly and 12 mm inferiorly on the cephalometric measurement. Her interpupillary distance was altered from 83 mm preoperatively to 76 mm postoperatively. The reverse V-shaped glabellar approach permits more relaxation of the nasal skin and nasal augmentation that is more reliable, although an inconspicuous scar remains in the prominent area. The temporal approach is also useful, enabling easy zygomatic arch osteotomy and secure pterygo-maxillary separation for pterygo-maxillary separation through an oral approach, allowing chiseling toward the skull base.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.14285714285714keywords = relaxation (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/5. Burn scars treated by pinhole method using a carbon dioxide laser.Many patients with burn injuries have various complications and emotional problems due to scars. Although various modalities to improve burn scars have been attempted, such as excision of scars, skin grafts, laser abrasion and silicone product usage, the cosmetic outcomes have not been satisfactory for a large portion of patients. Herein, we describe two cases which showed satisfactory cosmetic results after treatment of burns scars with the pinhole method using a carbon dioxide (CO(2)) laser that allowed us to make deep, closely set holes reaching down to the upper dermis. A 20-year-old female patient with a scar on her neck and a 25-year-old female patient with a scar on her right forearm after burn injuries are presented. As early as only a few weeks after the treatment, the scars showed relaxation of contracture, reduction of wrinkles and improvement of texture and color compared to before the treatment. Treatment of burn scars with the pinhole method can be easily performed and results in dramatic improvement in scar quality with only a few side-effects.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.14285714285714keywords = relaxation (Clic here for more details about this article) |