【Abstract】 Objective To explore the effect of early scrotal dermatoplasty on spermatogenic functional rehabilitation of testis in juvenile pigs with third degree burn wound of the scrotum. Methods Thirty healthy male Guizhou miniature pigs (weighing 10-15 kg, 2-month-old) were divided into 3 groups: control group (group A, n=10), natural healing group (group B, n=10), and dermatoplasty group (group C, n=10). In group A, the pig was not given any treatment; after third degree burn model of the scrotum was prepared, wounds were not treated in group B and the burn skin was excised and whole hypogastric pachydermia was used for dermatoplasty in group C. At 3 months and 1 year after model preparation, bilateral testis were collected from 5 pigs, respectively. HE staining was performed to observe the effects of different repair method on the morphology of spermatogenic cells and immunohistochemical staining was used to detect Survivin protein expression. Results All pigs survived to the end of the experiment and the wound healed successfully. Histological observation showed that spermatogenic cells had normal shape at all stages and mature sperms were seen in lumens in group A; the thickness of seminiferous epithelium was thinner, having one layer or two layers of spermatogenic cells in group B; the spermatogenic cells in group C were slightly more than that in group B with some spermatids; and in groups B and C, the spermatogenic cells at 1 year were more than that at 3 months. Immunohistochemistry staining showed that the Survivin protein expression in groups B and C was less than in group A, and group B was less than group C, showing significant differences at 3 months and 1 year (P lt; 0.05), but no significant difference between 3 months and 1 year in the same group (P gt; 0.05). Conclusion Dermatoplasty has inhibitory effect on spermatogenic functional rehabilitation of testis. Dermatoplasty can decrease spermatogenic cells and reduce Survivin protein expression, but some spermatids still survive in seminiferous tubule.
Objective To explore the effectiveness of the improved pedicled superficial iliac circumflex artery flap for repairing serious wound of the hand and forearm. Methods Between June 2008 and June 2011, 13 cases of serious wound of the hand and forearm were treated. There were 9 males and 4 females with a mean age of 41 years (range, 23-64 years). The disease causes included twist injury by machine in 2 cases, wire rope squeezed injury in 4 cases, traffic accident injury in 3 cases, crushing injury in 2 cases, high voltage electrical injury in 1 case, and snake bites in 1 case. There were 10 cases of fresh wounds and 3 cases of infection and necrosis wounds, and all had bone and tendon exposure. The skin and soft tissue defects ranged from 7 cm × 3 cm to 22 cm × 6 cm. The pedicled iliac artery flap was used in 8 cases, and pedicled iliac artery composite flap in 5 cases. The flap size ranged from 12 cm × 4 cm to 27 cm × 8 cm, with the flap pedicle of 2-4 cm wide strip and 3-5 cm wide fascia. Results The pedicle of flap was cut at 3 weeks in 12 patients, and at 4 weeks in 1 patient who had partial avulsion and hemorrhage at 1 week after operation. All flaps survived and incisions at donors and wounds healed by first intention. Eleven patients were followed up 6-36 months (mean, 20 months). The flap color and texture were good; 3 bulky flaps were observed, and satisfactory appearance was achieved after skin flap thinning. After 6 months, the protective sensation recovered in all cases; according to the Hand Surgery Society of Chinese Medical Association evaluation of upper extremity function trial standard for total active motion of the fingers, the results were excellent in 9 cases, good in 1 case, and poor in 1 case. Conclusion Improved fascia pedicled superficial iliac circumflex artery skin flap can repair serious hand and forearm injury, which is easy-to-operate and less injury at donor site.
Objective To investigate the characteristics of blood supply of popliteal fossa middle artery pedicled flaps and the feasibility of reconstruction of postburn popliteal fossa contractures using the flaps in children. Methods Between January 2008 and October 2010, 6 cases of postburn popliteal fossa contractures were recontructed using popliteal fossa middle artery pedicled flaps. Of them, 2 were boys and 4 were girls, aged from 2 years and 2 months to10 years. All burns were caused by hot water. The wound ranged from 5 cm × 4 cm to 10 cm × 8 cm after scar relaxation. The size of the flap ranged from 6 cm × 4 cm to 11 cm × 9 cm. Donor sites were covered with split-thickness skin graft in 5 cases, and sutured directly in 1 case. Results All the flaps and the skingraft survived; no vascular crisis or flap necrosis occurred. All incisions at donors and wounds healed by first intention. All patients were followed up 12-24 months. The color, texture, and appearance of the flaps were good. Hyperplastic scar was found at incision of popliteal fossa in 1 case at 6 months after operation; the range of motion (ROM) of the knee joint was 0-175°, and no obvious change was observed at 15 months after operation. The others had no functional disturbance of the knee joints or claudication; the ROM of the knee joint was 0-180°. Conclusion The popliteal fossa middle artery pedicled flap has reliable blood supply, simple operative procedure, and good results in reconstruction of popliteal fossa contracture.
Objective To investigate the effectiveness of latissimus dorsi Kiss flap for repairing composite tissue defects and functional reconstruction of upper arm. Methods Between March 2010 and November 2016, 12 cases of composite tissue defects of upper arm were repaired by latissimus dorsi Kiss flap with blood vessel and nerve bunch. There were 8 males and 4 females with a median age of 34 years (range, 21-50 years). The reason of injury included plowing mechanical injury in 4 cases, traffic accident injury in 5 cases, electrical injury in 2 cases, and resecting upper arm soft tissue sarcoma in 1 case. There were deltoid defect in 5 cases, triceps brachii and brachialis defect in 4 cases, and deltoid, triceps brachii, and brachialis damaged in varying degrees in 3 cases. The defect area ranged from 13 cm×7 cm to 20 cm×8 cm. Among them, there were 6 cases of fracture combined with partial bone exposure, one of them with bone defect. The disease duration was 3 hours to 6 months. The flap size ranged from 10 cm×6 cm to 15 cm×7 cm, and the donor sites were directly sutured. Results Twelve flaps survived with primary healing of wounds. Ten patients were followed up 6-26 months (mean, 14 months). At last follow-up, the flaps were soft and the skin color was similar to the surrounding skin. No obvious scar was found at donor sites. The abduction range of motion of shoulder was 30-90°. The muscle strength of brachialis were all at grade 4 or above. The superficial sensation and tactile sensation recovered partialy (S1 in 2 cases, S2 in 6 cases, S3 in 2 cases). According to Society of Hand Surgery standard for the evaluation of upper part of the function, the shoulder joint function was excellent in 2 cases, good in 4 cases, and fair in 4 cases. Conclusion The design of the latissimus dorsi Kiss flaps are flexible, and the donor site can be directly sutured, with the nerves of the latissimus dorsi muscle can partialy reconstruct abduction function of upper arm. In general, the Kiss flap repairing upper arm defect can obtain satisfactory effectiveness.
Objective To investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of designing wide pedicle of abdominal pedicled flap and repairing large skin defect of upper limb with improved suture method. Methods Between March 2014 and August 2016, 11 cases with hand and forearm skin soft tissue defect were repaired with abdominal pedicled flaps. Among them, 8 cases were male and 3 were female; aged 18-65 years (mean, 38 years). The causes of injury were machinery injury in 7 cases and traffic accident in 4 cases. The wound located at left upper limb in 6 cases and right upper limb in 5 cases. The size of wound ranged from 12 cm×7 cm to 20 cm×10 cm. The interval from injury to operation was 2-5 days (mean, 4 days). Four cases were repaired with lower abdominal flap and 7 with umbilical flap. The size of flap ranged from 10 cm×9 cm to 22 cm×10 cm. And the flap was designed with wide pedicle at width of 8 to 18 cm (mean, 15 cm); then the wound was sutured with improved method. The pedicle was cut after 3 weeks. Results All the flaps survived without congestion, necrosis, and tension blisters. The wound and the incision were both healed at stage Ⅰ. All patients were followed up 4-12 months (mean, 8 months). The skin color, texture, and shape were satisfying, and no ulcer formed. Only line-like scar left at the donor site. Conclusion Abdominal pedicled flap with wide pedicle and improved suture method can reduce the abdominal skin waste, avoid postoperative infection, and be feasible to repair large skin defect of upper limb with advantages of simple operation and reliable fixation.
Objective To summarize the effectiveness of the temporal island flap pedicled with the perforating branch of zygomatic orbital artery for repairing defects after periocular malignant tumor resection. Methods Between January 2015 and December 2020, 15 patients with periocular malignant tumors were treated. There were 5 males and 10 females with an average age of 62 years (range, 40-75 years). There were 12 cases of basal cell carcinoma and 3 cases of squamous carcinoma. The disease duration ranged from 5 months to 10 years (median, 2 years). The size of tumors ranged from 1.0 cm×0.8 cm to 2.5 cm×1.5 cm, without tarsal plate invasion. After extensive resection of the tumors, the left defects in size of 2.0 cm×1.5 cm to 3.5 cm×2.0 cm were repaired with the temporal island flap pedicled with the perforating branch of zygomatic orbital artery via subcutaneous tunnel. The size of the flaps ranged from 3.0 cm×1.5 cm to 5.0 cm×2.0 cm. The donor sites were separated subcutaneously and sutured directly. Results All flaps survived after operation and the wounds healed by first intention. The incisions at donor sites healed by first intention. All patients were followed up 6-24 months (median, 11 months). The flaps were not obviously bloated, the texture and color were basically the same as the surrounding normal skin, and the scars at recipient sites were not obviously. There was no complication such as ptosis, ectropion, or incomplete closure of the eyelids and recurrence of tumor during follow-up. Conclusion The temporal island flap pedicled with the perforating branch of zygomatic orbital artery can repair the defects after periorbital malignant tumors resection and has the advantages of reliable blood supply, flexible design, and good morphology and function.
Objective To investigate effectiveness of a novel suture method—stepwise progressive ultra-tension-reducing suture method in closing high-tension wounds on the chest, back, and limbs. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 25 patients with high-tension wounds on the chest, back, and limbs who were treated with stepwise progressive ultra-tension-reducing suture method between January 2022 and December 2022. Among the patients, there were 8 males and 17 females, with an average age of 30.5 years (range, 18-56 years). All wounds after scar or tumor resection were located on the chest, back, upper limbs, and lower limbs in 8, 6, 9, and 2 cases, respectively. The size of wounds ranged from 3.5 cm×2.8 cm to 40.0 cm×15.0 cm. All patients were advised to use topical silicone-based treatments postoperatively. The protrusion of the incision, the height of the protrusion, and the duration of the tension reduction effect were observed. The scar formation at the incision site at 6 months after operation was observed, the scar appearance was evaluated by Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) score, and the scar width was measured. The patient’s satisfaction and adverse reactions to incisions were also evaluated. Results The incisions significantly elevated, with a height of 0.3-2.5 cm, and the tension reducing effect lasted for 8.5-18.0 weeks after operation, with an average of 13.6 weeks. All incisons healed by first intention. One patient experienced transient hyperpigmentation, which resolved spontaneously. Three keloid patients showed localized redness postoperatively, and 2 experienced local recurrence, which improved significantly after treatment with triamcinolone, 5-fluorouracil injections, and laser therapy. All patients were followed up 6.0-13.5 months, with an average of 10.1 months. At 6 months after operation, all patients had linear scars, with VSS scores ranging from 1.0 to 3.5 (mean, 2.0). The width of the scars ranged from 0.5 to 3.0 mm (mean, 1.4 mm). The patients expressed satisfaction with the effectiveness. Conclusion The stepwise progressive ultra-tension-reducing suture method for high-tension wounds can effectively reduce the tension at the wound edges, providing a prolonged tension-reducing effect and satisfactory effectiveness.
Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of anterolateral thigh polyfoliate perforator flap plus pedicle with one foliate flap for repairing extremities soft tissue defect. Methods Between January 2014 and January 2017, 24 patients with extremities soft tissue defects were treated by anterolateral thigh polyfoliate perforator flap plus pedicle with one foliate flap. There were 15 males and 9 females, with a median age of 33.5 years (range, 5-64 years). Wounds located in upper limb in 8 cases, complicated with radial styloid fracture in 1 case, extensor tendon exposure in 3 cases, and brachioradialis muscle tendon exposed in 1 case. Wounds located in lower extremity in 16 cases, complicated with calcaneal or metatarsal, phalangeal fractures in 4 cases, Achilles tendon departure in 1 case, toe long extensor tendon and flexor digitorum longus tendon exposed in 8 cases. The wound area ranged from 8 cm×5 cm to 18 cm×12 cm. According to wound size, anterolateral thigh perforators were detected by conventional ultrasound Doppler (2-5 perforators). The irregular wounds were decomposed into multiple parts and the leaf number (2-4 leaves) of polyfoliate flap depended on the part number of the wound. The flap area ranged from 9 cm×6 cm to 20 cm×14 cm, and the largest area of single leaf was 24 cm×6 cm. The vascular pedicle length ranged from 7 cm to 12 cm. The foliate flap area with protecting pedicle ranged from 5 cm×3 cm to 7 cm×5 cm. Results All the flaps survived, and no vascular crisis occurred. All the patients were followed up 2-28 months (mean, 9 months). Sinus occurred in 1 case of calcaneal fracture after flap repair, and the sinus was healed after 3 months by conventional dressing. All the flaps were thin and had a good texture. Healing of soft tissue was found in 5 patients with fracture. The wrist and ankle plantar flexion and dorsiflexion function of recipient site were normal in all patients. Conclusion It is safe and reliable to repair the extremities soft tissue defect with anterolateral thigh polyfoliate perforator flap plus pedicle with one foliate flap. And it is one of the ways to reduce the vascular crisis of the anterolateral thigh free perforator flap.
ObjectiveTo explore the effectiveness of propeller facial artery perforator flap to repair the defect after resection of skin malignant tumor at upper lip.MethodsBetween July 2012 and January 2017, 17 cases with skin malignant tumor at upper lip underwent tumor resection and the remained defect was repaired with propeller facial artery perforator flap. Among the 17 patients, 3 were male and 14 were female, with an average age of 57 years (range, 35-82 years). There were 5 cases of squamous cell carcinoma and 12 cases of basal cell carcinoma. The disease duration ranged from 4 months to 11 years with an average of 20 months. The tumor size ranged from 1.4 cm×0.3 cm to 3.1 cm×1.4 cm. The extended resection of the tumor tissue was performed according to the characters of tumor. According to the location, size, and shape of the defect and the position of facial artery perforator explored with Doppler ultrasonography, the propeller facial artery perforator flap was designed to repair the defect and partial donor site. The flap size ranged from 5 cm×2 cm to 7 cm×3 cm. The length of the perforator pedicle was 0.5–1.0 cm with an average of 0.8 cm. The defect at donor site was directly closed.ResultsCyanosis occurred in 3 cases of the distal flap after operation, then healing after symptomatic treatment. The remaining flaps survived successfully and the wound healed by first intention. Primary healing was obtained in the donor site. All the patients were followed up 6-36 months with an average of 18 months. The shape of the patient’s upper lip was good and the scar on the donor site was unconspicuous. There was no lip deformity, ala nasi deflection, facial tension, entilation dysfunction, or recurrence of tumor during follow-up. At last follow-up, the results of self-evaluation were very satisfactory in 13 cases and satisfactory in 4 cases.ConclusionBased on multiple advantages of good blood supply, large rotation range, aesthetic outcome, and slight injury of the donor site, propeller facial artery perforator flap is not only an optimal choice for repairing upper lip defect after resection of skin malignant tumors, but also can achieve good functional and cosmetic effectiveness.
Objective To investigate the effectiveness of modified free medial plantar flap with preserved abductor hallucis for repairing cicatricial contracture deformity of palm. Methods Between January 2012 and July 2017, a modified free medial plantar flap with preserved abductor hallucis was used to repair 9 cases of cicatricial contracture deformity at the palm. There were 7 males and 2 females with a median age of 23 years old (range, 15-40 years). The duration of cicatricial contracture was 4-23 years (mean, 9 years). In addition, 3 cases had combined stiffness of finger joints, 2 cases of tendon exposure, and 2 cases with exposed tendon and nerve. The range of flap was 4.5 cm×4.0 cm to 8.0 cm×6.0 cm. The vessel pedicle of the flap was 7-8 cm in length, with an average length of 7.5 cm. Grafting and repairing were performed with full-thickness skin graft from the ilioinguinal region in the donor site. Results All flaps and skin grafts survived after operation, and all wounds healed at first intention. All 9 patients were followed up 5-22 months (mean, 10 months). The flap exhibited smooth appearance and soft texture, which was similar to that of the normal skin around. The recovery time of dermal sensation was 5-12 months (mean, 9 months). At last follow-up, the flap recovered to level S4 in 5 cases, level \begin{document}$\small{{\rm{S}}_{{{\scriptsize 3}^ + }}}$\end{document} in 2 cases, and level S3 in 2 cases. The two-point discrimination was 6.0-10.0 mm (mean, 8.5 mm). According to the assessment of the upper limb function issued by the Hand Surgery Society of Chinese Medical Association, the hand function was excellent in 5 cases, good in 2 cases, and fair in 2 cases. Additionally, the abduction and flexion activities of the great toe of the donor foot were not affected, and the skin grafting area was slightly colored. Conclusion The modified free medial plantar flap for repairing cicatricial contracture deformity of palm has such advantages as no impact on abductor hallucis, small damage of the donor area, improved survival rate of skin grafting, and the unaffected function of the donor foot.