Orthognathic surgery with iliac bone grafting for an interpositional gap in a patient with type III hemifacial microsomia: A case report

Hemifacial microsomia (HFM) is characterized by uni- or bilateral microtia and hypoplasia of the mandible, orbits, facial nerve, and adjacent soft tissues. Patients with Pruzansky-Kaban type III HFM show the most severe facial deformities and often encounter difficulty obtaining treatment. In recent years, orthognathic surgery for HFM-related deformities has often been performed after the patient has stopped growing. However, few detailed reports have described the difficulties of orthognathic surgery for patients with type III HFM. This report describes the case of a patient with type III HFM who underwent three unilateral mandibular reconstructions while still growing, including autogenous reconstructions and secondary distraction osteogenesis, followed by orthognathic surgery with iliac bone grafting for an interpositional gap between the proximal and distal segments after she had stopped growing to improve facial asymmetry and malocclusion.

In vitro elastic cartilage reconstruction using human auricular perichondrial chondroprogenitor cell-derived micro 3D spheroids

Morphologically stable scaffold-free elastic cartilage tissue is crucial for treating external ear abnormalities. However, establishing adequate mechanical strength is challenging, owing to the difficulty of achieving chondrogenic differentiation in vitro; thus, cartilage reconstruction is a complex task. Auricular perichondrial chondroprogenitor cells exhibit high proliferation potential and can be obtained with minimal invasion. Therefore, these cells are an ideal resource for elastic cartilage reconstruction. In this study, we aimed to develop a novel in vitro scaffold-free method for elastic cartilage reconstruction, using human auricular perichondrial chondroprogenitor cells. Inducing chondrogenesis by using microscopic spheroids similar to auricular hillocks significantly increased the chondrogenic potential. The size and elasticity of the tissue were maintained after craniofacial transplantation in immunodeficient mice, suggesting that the reconstructed tissue was morphologically stable. Our novel tissue reconstruction method may facilitate the development of future treatments for external ear abnormalities.

A procedure combining double opposing Z-plasty with buccal flap and skin graft for a cleft palate patient with short palate

Cleft palate patients with a short palate are sometimes encountered and it is difficult to achieve effective primary palatoplasty and good speech in these cases. Our purpose was to establish an effective palatoplasty for a cleft palate patient with Randall type III short palate. Buccal musculomucosal flap on the nasal side and skin graft on the oral side were performed, along with double opposing Z-plasty. Speech improved postoperation. This procedure brought the nasopharyngeal area closer to the normal anatomical state. In terms of disadvantages, the procedure is rather complicated and depends on the engraftment rate.

Active middle ear implant (vibrant soundbridge) in children with unilateral congenital aural atresia

BACKGROUND

Detailed studies have not been conducted on sound localization and speech perception in noise in patients with unilateral congenital aural atresia (UCAA).

AIMS/OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the benefits of the use of the Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) for UCAA by performing audiometric and sound localization tests.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Four children with UCAA underwent VSB (VORP 503) implantation from 2018 to 2019. Speech perception tests in noise were conducted using the Japanese monosyllable test. The spatial configuration for speech testing consisted of speech presented from the front and noise presented into the normal ear (S₀N₉₀). The sound localization test was conducted using nine loudspeakers equally distributed in a semicircle.

RESULTS

The children's speech perception in noise 6 months after VSB activation was significantly better than before activation (p < .05). Additionally, the children's sound localization ability after VSB activation was significantly better than before VSB activation.

CONCLUSION AND SIGNIFICANCE

The benefits of VSB use in children with UCAA were revealed using audiometric and sound localization tests.

Side branch FFR after provisional stenting: simplified approach based on OCT frame count

Background/Introduction

Treatment of bifurcation coronary artery lesions remains a major challenge in interventional cardiology. Side branch (SB) stenoses are frequently observed after stent implantation in bifurcation lesions, although angiographically narrowed SBs may not be functionally significant. Fractional flow reserve (FFR), a pressure-derived index of the hemodynamic significance of a coronary artery stenosis, may be useful in determining whether additional intervention is required in jailed SBs. Angiography and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) derived parameters have showed poor diagnostic accuracy in predicting the functional significance of jailed SBs.

Purpose

The aim of the present study was to use high resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging to predict functionally significant SB stenoses after provisional stenting defined as SB FFR ≤0.80.

Methods

Seventy-one patients with 71 calcified bifurcation lesions with angiographically intermediate SB stenoses undergoing provisional stenting were enrolled in the prospective study. OCT pullbacks were performed before and after stent placement, and SB FFR was measured after main vessel stenting. SB ostium area (SBOA) was assessed using three-dimensional OCT cut-plane analysis off-line. In addition, we developed a simplified approach to SB ostium assessment based on SB ostium frame count using two-dimensional OCT pullback not requiring off-line 3D reconstruction. For the analysis, consecutive frames were counted between the most distal and most proximal take-off of the SB frames.

Results

Similar to previous studies, quantitative coronary angiography findings were not associated with the functional significance of SBs after main vessel stenting. In contrast, SBOA assessed by 3D-OCT after provisional stenting strongly correlated with post-procedure SB FFR. The optimal cut-off value for the SBOA area to predict a SB FFR ≤0.80 was 0.76 mm2 (sensitivity 82%, specificity 89% and area under the curve of 0.92 (95% CI: 0.84–0.99). A simplified approach to SB ostium assessment using OCT frame count yielded a sensitivity of 82%, specificity 89% and area under the curve 0.92 (95% CI: 0.84 to 0.99) with a cut-off of 4.5 frames allowing detection of functionally significant SB stenoses during the procedure in real time. Figure 1 shows a receiver-operating characteristic curve for SB FFR ≤0.8 and a representative case with SB FFR = 0.66 after provisional stenting and SB ostium frame count equal 3 (Frame 1 to 3)

Conclusion(s)

Assessment of SB using either 3D OCT off-line reconstruction or a simplified approach based on OCT frame count can detect SB branches with FFR ≤0.80 with high sensitivity and specificity. The developed approaches may represent a useful tool to assess provisional stent outcomes.

Figure 1

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: Private grant(s) and/or Sponsorship. Main funding source(s): Boston Scientific; St. Jude Medical

P3393Comparison of intermediate-term vascular response to new-generation biodegradable polymer and durable polymer-based drug-eluting stents: optical coherence tomographic study

Background

Over the last decade, drug-eluting stents (DES) have undergone substantial modifications with thinner struts and more biocompatible durable polymer (DP) or biodegradable polymer (BP). In DP-based DES, after drug elusion has been completed, DP remnants may trigger of local inflammatory vascular reactions and promote delayed healing, leading to accelerated neoatherosclerosis (NA). Thus, BPs have been developed to reduce the above-mentioned risks. Recently, poor strut coverage and in-stent NA are increasingly recognized the cause of late stent failure, but it is unclear whether BPs can reduce the incidence of NA and the poor stent coverage as compared to DPs.

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to compare the incidence of NA and the stent coverage using optical coherence tomography (OCT) between the DPs and the BPs.

Methods

Between July 2016 and April 2018, 127 consecutive patients with new-generation DES who underwent 8-month follow up OCT imaging were enrolled. Patients were divided into the two groups: DP group who had the new-generation durable polymer everolimus-eluting and zotarolimus-eluting stents and BP group who had the new-generation biodegradable polymer sirolimus-eluting and everolimus-eluting stents. We compared patient characteristics including hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes mellitus and 8-month follow up OCT findings including NA, uncovered struts and malapposed struts between the two groups.

Results

The DP group comprised 64 patients (50.4%. The incidence of NA, uncovered struts and malapposed struts were similar between the two groups (DPs vs BPs, 1.56% vs 7.94%, P=0.11; 7.80% vs 5.88%, P=0.16 and 2.76% vs 2.01%, P=0.43, respectively) (table). The other parameters were also similar between the two groups.

Table 1 DP group (n=64) BP group (n=63) P value Hypertension 44 (68.8%) 50 (79.4%) 0.2251 Dyslipidemia 39 (60.9%) 37 (58.7%) 0.8573 Diabetes mellitus 25 (39.1%) 30 (47.6%) 0.3731 8 month OCT follow up findings   Neoatherosclerosis 1 (1.6%) 5 (7.9%) 0.1147   Uncovered struts 7.8% (2.8–20.4) 5.9% (0.7–16.7) 0.1616   Malapposed struts 0.2% (0–2.8) 0% (0–2.8) 0.4392

Conclusions

The new-generation DP based-DES may have similar effects on vascular response compared to the new-generation BP-based DES during 8-month follow-up period.

P1914Relationship between myocardial injury, inflammation and early, late recurrence after pulmonary vein isolation may be different between radiofrequency catheter ablation and cryoballoon ablation

Background

High sensitive cardiac troponin I (hs-TnI), subunit of cardiac troponin complex, is a sensitive and specific marker of myocardium injury as troponin T. Several studies showed hs-TnI was associated with worse cardiovascular outcomes but relationship between serum hs-TnI level in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) and AF recurrence remains unclear.

Methods

We enrolled 444 consecutive AF patients who underwent PVI from May 2017 to September 2018. We investigated the difference of relationship between serum hs-TnI, inflammation markers at 48 hours after PVI and early or late recurrence of AF (ERAF, <3 months and LRAF, during 1 year after PVI in patients with AF) between radiofrequency ablation (RFA) group and cryoballoon ablation (CBA) group.

Results

RFA and CBA were performed in 328 and 116 patients, respectively. There were no significant differences in patient characteristics between RFA group and CBA group. Serum hs-TnI in RFA group was significantly lower than in CBA group (1.93 ng/ml±3.28 vs 5.08 ng/ml±4.29, p<0.001), while hs-CRP was significantly higher in RFA group than CB group (1.97±2.38 mg/dl vs 1.10±0.84 mg/dl, p<0.001). The incidence of ERAF was similar between the two groups (RFA group: 26.8% and CBA group: 21.6%, p=0.262). There was no significant difference of hs-TnI and hs-CRP between patients with ERAF and without ERAF (table). In 213 patients who were followed during 1 year (PVIs were performed from May 2017 to January 2018, RFA 149 and CBA 64 patients), there was no significant association between hs-TnI, hs-CRP and incidence of LRAF (table).

TnI and CRP between RFA and CBA RFA (n=328) CBA (n=116) P value hs-TnI 1.93±3.28 5.08±4.29 <0.001 hs-CRP 1.97±2.38 1.10±0.84 <0.001 3 months follow-up RFA (n=328) CBA (n=116) ERAF (+) ERAF (−) P value ERAF (+) ERAF (−) P value hs-TnI 1.68±1.90 2.02±3.66 0.410 5.03±3.17 5.10±4.56 0.943 hs-CRP 2.23±2.65 1.88±2.27 0.238 1.01±0.84 1.13±0.85 0.524 1 year follow-up RFA (n=149) CBA (n=64) LRAF (+) LRAF (−) P value LRAF (+) LRAF(−) P value hs-TnI 1.61±1.77 1.87±2.69 0.570 4.71±2.14 5.60±5.69 0.664 hs-CRP 2.18±2.24 1.92±2.24 0.550 1.12±0.64 1.12±0.98 0.991

Conclusion

CBA may cause more myocardial injury than RFA, on the contrary RFA may cause more inflammation than CBA. These markers did not affect ERAF and LRAF after PVI.

Evaluation of Congenital Maxillary Growth Using Computed Tomography in Patients With Bilateral Cleft Lip and Palate

OBJECTIVE

To analyze congenital lateral maxillary growth for patients with bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP).

DESIGN

A retrospective study.

SETTING

Kanagawa Children's Medical Center.

MATERIALS

Images from computed tomography (CT) of patients with BCLP and control patients that were previously used for treatment.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The following landmarks were used: A, the posterior most point of the piriform aperture; B, the superior most point of the acoustic meatus; C, the point at which line A-B intersects the line drawn perpendicular from line A-B to the maxillary tuberosity; and D, the apical most point of the nasal bone. The following distances were then measured using these landmarks: (1) A-B distance; (2) A-C distance; (3) A-C/A-B; (4) the angle between lines A-B and A-D (∠BAD); and (5) B-D distance.

RESULT

Mean A-B and A-C distances and A-C/A-B were significantly smaller in the BCLP group than in the control group (P < .01 each). Mean ∠BAD was significantly larger in the BCLP group than in the control group (P < .01). Mean B-D distance did not differ significantly between groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicated that the lateral maxillary segments of patients with BCLP were more posterior than those of the control group, and segment length was shorter compared to the control group on 3D-CT analysis. The lateral maxillary segments of patients with BCLP were basically suggested to originally be underdeveloped.

Pathological changes in the lymphatic system of patients with secondary upper limb lymphoedema

Secondary upper limb lymphoedema is usually caused by lymphatic system dysfunction. Diagnosis is primarily based on clinical features. However, there are no distinct diagnostic criteria for lymphoedema. Although conventional lymphoscintigraphy is a useful technique to diagnose the severity of lymphoedema, the resultant data are two-dimensional. In this study, we examined the pathology of lymphoedema using single photon emission computed tomography-computed tomography lymphoscintigraphy (SPECT-CT LSG), a new technique that provides 3-dimensional information on lymph flow. We observed lymph flow pathways in the subcutaneous and muscle layers of the upper limbs. A significant positive correlation was found between the dermal back flow (DBF) type and the visualization of lymph nodes around the clavicle (p = 0.000266), the type of lymph flow pathways and the visualization of lymph nodes around the clavicle (p = 0.00963), and the DBF type and the lymph flow pathway (p = 0.00766). As the severity of lymphoedema increased, the DBF appeared more distally in the upper limb and the flow into the lymph nodes around the clavicle decreased, whereas the lymph flow pathways in the muscle layer became dominant. These findings demonstrate the features of lymphoedema pathology and the functional anatomy and physiology of the lymphatic system without the need for cadaver dissection.

Reduced skin lipid content in obese Japanese women mediated by decreased expression of rate-limiting lipogenic enzymes

Skin barrier function is often deficient in obese individuals, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. This study investigated how skin structure and lipid metabolism, factors strongly associated with barrier function, differed among 50 Japanese women of greatly varying body mass index (BMI). Subjects receiving breast reconstruction surgery were chosen for analysis to obtain skin samples from the same site. The subjects were classified into two groups, control (BMI < 25 kg/m²) and obese (25 kg/m² ≤ BMI < 35 kg/m²), according to standards in Japan. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was used to assess skin thickness, Ki-67 immunostaining to examine keratinocyte proliferation, and real-time polymerase chain reaction to measure skin expression levels of genes associated with lipid metabolism. Total lipids, cholesterol, and fatty acids were also measured from these same skin samples. In the obese group, structural changes included epidermal thickening and an increase in the number of Ki-67-positive (proliferating) cells. Both skin cholesterol and fatty acid levels exhibited an “inverted-U” relationship with BMI, suggesting that there is an optimal BMI for peak lipid content and barrier function. Decreased lipid levels at higher BMI were accompanied by downregulated expression of PPARδ and other genes related to lipid metabolism, including those encoding acetyl-CoA carboxylase and HMG-CoA reductase, the rate-limiting enzymes for fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis, respectively. Thus, elevated BMI may lead to deficient skin barrier function by suppressing local lipid synthesis.

Deltopectoral flap revisited for reconstruction surgery in patients with advanced thyroid cancer: a case report

Background

We present the cases of 2 patients with invasive thyroid cancer, who underwent reconstructive surgery using a deltopectoral flap. Although the overall rate of extrathyroidal extension in patients with thyroid cancer is quite low, skin invasion is the most common pattern observed. Reconstructive surgery, involving local skin flaps, is required in these patients. The deltopectoral flap relies on the blood supply from intercostal perforators of the internal thoracic artery and usually requires skin grafting to the donor site. The internal thoracic artery is rarely sacrificed in these cases, even in an advanced surgery such as in patients with invasive thyroid cancer.

Case presentation

A 55-year-old man with a distended thyroid gland presented to our hospital. He underwent advanced surgery, including skin excision, because we suspected that his tumor was thyroid cancer. The defect was covered with an ipsilateral deltopectoral flap via transposition of the flap, without skin grafting. In the second case, a 67-year-old woman with thyroid cancer that metastasized to her neck lymph nodes presented to our institution. Although the ipsilateral internal thoracic artery was sacrificed near its origin during tumor resection, the deltopectoral flap was raised in the usual manner without any complications. The skin defect caused by the tumor resection was covered with the flap. The patient had an uneventful clinical course for more than 2 years of follow-up.

These 2 cases show the effectiveness of using the deltopectoral flap as a reconstructive option for patients with thyroid cancer who underwent radical surgery, resulting in a skin defect. The first case shows that this flap does not always require skin grafting to the donor site. To our knowledge, the second case may be the first report of a deltopectoral flap that was safely raised and applied with resection of the bifurcation of the ipsilateral internal thoracic artery.

Conclusions

Although thyroid cancer surgery with surrounding skin excision is a rare procedure, we found that the deltopectoral flap was useful and should be the first choice for patients undergoing reconstructive surgery, whether the bifurcation of the ipsilateral internal thoracic artery is sacrificed.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12893-017-0297-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.