-
Journal of Clinical Medicine Feb 2024The medicinal leech has been used in plastic surgery to resolve venous congestion that can threaten the viability of tissue transfer. Within the context of breast... (Review)
Review
The medicinal leech has been used in plastic surgery to resolve venous congestion that can threaten the viability of tissue transfer. Within the context of breast surgery, venous congestion is a pertinent consideration for reconstructive and non-reconstructive breast surgery such as mammoplasty and mastopexy. However, leeching is closely associated with complications such as infection, pain, and anaemia. This is the first systematic review that examines the methodology, efficacy, and post therapeutic outcome data across all existing studies on medicinal leeching in breast surgery. A systematic search of PubMed and Embase databases from their inception to November 2023 was conducted. Inclusion criteria included studies reporting on the use of leeches to resolve venous congestion in any breast surgery. The JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Case Series tool was used for bias analysis. Descriptive statistics were undertaken in Microsoft Excel. A total of 18 studies with a combined sample size of 28 were examined, including 4 case series and 14 case reports. Patients mostly underwent reconstructive breast surgery (75%). The median number of leeches used was two, with a median number of three leeching sessions per day and 3 days of leeching. Medicinal leeching successfully prevented the loss of 75% of all tissue transfers. The complication rate was high at 81.14% and mainly included infection and anaemia. Medicinal leeching is an effective method to relieve venous congestion in breast surgery but must be judiciously used within the clinical context of the patient to maximise efficacy and mitigate harm from complications.
PubMed: 38592085
DOI: 10.3390/jcm13051243 -
Plastic Surgery (Oakville, Ont.) Feb 2024The popularity of aesthetic surgery is on the rise, as is patients' expectations towards excellent surgical results. In order to meet these expectations, risk factors... (Review)
Review
The popularity of aesthetic surgery is on the rise, as is patients' expectations towards excellent surgical results. In order to meet these expectations, risk factors that hinder desired outcomes, such as smoking, need to be identified and addressed. To that end, the present study summarizes an updated systematic review focused on the effects of smoking on cosmetic surgical procedures and outcomes. A systematic review of studies comparing aesthetic surgical outcomes by procedure, between tobacco smokers and non-smokers was carried out, querying PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane databases. Data regarding surgical outcomes were extracted and meta-analyzed by a random effects model in conjunction with the Mantel-Haenszel statistical method. Eighty-two studies were included in the final synthesis. Abdominoplasty/panniculectomy (nā=ā19 cohorts) and breast reduction (nā=ā27 cohorts) were the most common types of procedures included in this review. Other than mastopexy and rhinoplasty, smoking conferred a statistically significant increased risk of overall complications for all studied aesthetic procedures. The data demonstrates that smoking is a clear risk factor for the vast majority of aesthetic plastic surgeries studied. Although our meta-analysis suggests that smoking is not a risk factor for complications in mastopexies and rhinoplasties, these two specific analyses may have been biased, and should therefore be re-evaluated with future additional evidence. The results of this systematic review confirm the importance of smoking cessation and education relative to the outcomes of common cosmetic surgical procedures.
PubMed: 38433792
DOI: 10.1177/22925503221085083 -
JPRAS Open Dec 2022Mastopexy and reduction mammaplasty are commonly performed procedures in plastic surgery with many variations in incision pattern, pedicle design, and additional support... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Mastopexy and reduction mammaplasty are commonly performed procedures in plastic surgery with many variations in incision pattern, pedicle design, and additional support maneuvers. Aesthetically pleasing on table results are widely accomplished; however, the longevity of the outcome and sustained correction of ptosis or pseudoptosis is not universal. A systematic review of mastopexy and reduction mammaplasty procedures was performed to investigate which techniques provided the greatest long-term correction of ptosis.
METHODS
A broad search of the literature was performed using the PubMed database from inception to December of 2021. Study characteristics, number of patients, number of breasts, technique, outcome, and average follow-up time were extracted for analysis. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale when applicable.
RESULTS
The primary search yielded 1123 articles. After two levels of screening, 24 articles were identified for analysis. This included 16 case series, seven cohort studies, and one randomized controlled study. From these studies, 1235 patients and 2235 breasts were analyzed. The majority of articles reported on a change in the nipple to inframammary fold and sternal notch to nipple distances.
CONCLUSIONS
In the analytical studies, superior and superomedial pedicles tended to provide greater long-term stability than inferior pedicles. Mesh, dermal suspension flaps, and muscular slings showed promise in providing additional support over standard techniques. No single procedure is ideal for all patients; however, this systematic review provides a valuable description of techniques and long-term outcomes to guide surgical planning.
PubMed: 36061406
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpra.2022.05.003 -
BJS Open Nov 2021Therapeutic mammaplasty (TM) is an oncological procedure which combines tumour resection with breast reduction and mastopexy techniques. Previous systematic reviews have...
BACKGROUND
Therapeutic mammaplasty (TM) is an oncological procedure which combines tumour resection with breast reduction and mastopexy techniques. Previous systematic reviews have demonstrated the oncological safety of TM but reporting of critically important outcomes, such as quality of life, aesthetic and functional outcomes, are limited, piecemeal or inconsistent. This systematic review aimed to identify all outcomes reported in clinical studies of TM to facilitate development of a core outcome set.
METHODS
Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL and Web of Science were searched from inception to 5 August 2020. Included studies reported clinical outcomes following TM for adult women. Two authors screened articles independently for eligibility. Data were extracted regarding the outcome definition and classification type (for example, oncological, quality of life, etc.), time of outcome reporting and measurement tools.
RESULTS
Of 5709 de-duplicated records, 148 were included in the narrative synthesis. The majority of studies (n = 102, 68.9 per cent) reported measures of survival and/or recurrence; approximately three-quarters (n = 75, 73.5 per cent) had less than 5 years follow-up. Aesthetic outcome was reported in half of studies (n = 75, 50.7 per cent) using mainly subjective, non-validated measurement tools. The time point at which aesthetic assessment was conducted was highly variable, and only defined in 48 (64.0 per cent) studies and none included a preoperative baseline for comparison. Few studies reported quality of life (n = 30, 20.3 per cent), functional outcomes (n = 5, 3.4 per cent) or resource use (n = 28, 18.9 per cent).
CONCLUSION
Given the oncological equivalence of TM and mastectomy, treatment decisions are often driven by aesthetic and functional outcomes, which are infrequently and inconsistently reported with non-validated measurement tools.
Topics: Adult; Breast Neoplasms; Esthetics; Female; Humans; Mammaplasty; Mastectomy; Quality of Life
PubMed: 34894122
DOI: 10.1093/bjsopen/zrab126 -
Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Aug 2021Medical tourism is expanding on a global basis, with patients seeking cosmetic surgery in countries abroad. Little information is known regarding the risks and outcomes... (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
Medical tourism is expanding on a global basis, with patients seeking cosmetic surgery in countries abroad. Little information is known regarding the risks and outcomes of cosmetic tourism, in particular, for aesthetic breast surgery. The majority of the literature involves retrospective case series with no defined comparator. We aimed to amalgamate the published data to date to ascertain the risks involved and the outcomes of cosmetic tourism for aesthetic breast surgery on a global basis.
METHODS
A systematic review of PubMed, Google Scholar, EMBASE, the Cochrane library and OVID Medline was conducted using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines. Keywords such as "medical tourism", "cosmetic tourism", "tourism", "tourist", "surgery", "breast" and "outcomes" were used. Seven hundred and seventy-one titles were screened, and 86 abstracts were reviewed leaving 35 full texts. Twenty-four of these met the inclusion criteria and were used to extract data for this systematic review.
RESULTS
One hundred and seventy-one patients partook in cosmetic tourism for aesthetic breast surgery. Forty-nine percent of patients had an implant-based procedure. Other procedures included: mastopexy (n=4), bilateral breast reduction (n=11) and silicone injections (n=2). Two-hundred and twenty-two complications were recorded, common complications included: wound infection in 39% (n=67), breast abscess/ collection in 12% (n=21), wound dehiscence in 12% (n= 20) and ruptured implant in 8% (n=13). Clavien-Dindo classification of the complications includes 88 (51%) IIIb complications with 103 returns to theatre, 2 class IV complications (ICU stay) and one class V death of a patient. Explantation occurred in 39% (n=32) of implant-based augmentation patients.
CONCLUSIONS
Aesthetic breast surgery tourism is popular within the cosmetic tourism industry. However, with infective complications (39%) and return to theatre rates (51%) significantly higher than expected, it is clear that having these procedures abroad significantly increases the risks involved. The high complication rate not only impacts individual patients, but also the home country healthcare systems. Professional bodies for cosmetic surgery in each country must highlight and educate patients how to lower this risk if they do choose to have cosmetic surgery abroad. In this current era of an intra-pandemic world where health care is already stretched, the burden from cosmetic tourism complications must be minimised.
LEVEL OF EVIDENCE III
This 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 .
Topics: Breast Neoplasms; Esthetics; Female; Humans; Mammaplasty; Medical Tourism; Retrospective Studies; Surgery, Plastic; Tourism; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 33876284
DOI: 10.1007/s00266-021-02251-1 -
Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Dec 2021Secondary breast reduction is complex and poses significant challenges to surgeons. Complication rates exceed those of primary reduction, commonly caused by impaired...
BACKGROUND
Secondary breast reduction is complex and poses significant challenges to surgeons. Complication rates exceed those of primary reduction, commonly caused by impaired vascular supply of the nipple-areolar complex (NAC). Literature on the topic is scare and provides contradicting recommendations, especially with regard to pedicle choice in cases with unknown primary reduction technique. Aim of this study was to investigate international trends and to compare findings with literature.
METHODS
A large-scale web-based questionnaire on international trends in mammaplasty (mastopexy and breast reduction) was designed and distributed to over five thousand surgeons in eight geographic regions. The presented manuscript evaluated information regarding pedicle choice in secondary breast reduction and compared data to literature identified in a systematic review.
RESULTS
The survey was completed by 1431 participants. Overall, secondary procedures were performed in less than 5% or in 5 to 10% of cases. The preferred pedicle for secondary reductions differed significantly between geographic regions (p<0.001). The majority of respondents reported to use a superior or supero-medial pedicle (34.8% and 32.2%, respectively). Residual analysis revealed a strong association between the use of an inferior pedicle and procedures performed in North America.
CONCLUSIONS
Secondary breast reduction is challenging and there remains international disparity with regard to pedicle choice for secondary procedures. Studies investigating outcome when the primary pedicle is unknown are scarce and provide incoherent recommendations. High-quality data is needed to provide evidence-based practice guidelines.
LEVEL OF EVIDENCE III
This 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.
Topics: Cohort Studies; Esthetics; Female; Humans; Hypertrophy; Mammaplasty; Nipples; Retrospective Studies; Risk Assessment; Surgical Flaps; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 33821309
DOI: 10.1007/s00266-021-02243-1