Impact of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Risk Factors on Stricture Recurrence After Anterior One-stage Buccal Mucosal Graft Urethroplasty

Histologic Analysis of Buccal Graft Quality Stratified by Tobacco Use in Patients Undergoing Substitution Urethroplasty

OBJECTIVE

To determine if there are histologic differences relative to tobacco exposure in buccal mucosa. Substitution urethroplasty outcomes may be worse in tobacco users and we investigate if the buccal graft is inherently damaged due to chronic tobacco exposure.

METHODS

Subjects undergoing substitution urethroplasty with buccal graft harvest were prospectively consented in this IRB approved study. Subjects with poor dentition were excluded. A detailed tobacco use history was obtained. Cotinine testing was performed day of surgery to confirm or exclude active tobacco use. Trimmed portions of harvested graft were sent for tissue processing. Standard hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed. A single blinded pathologist performed analysis of the slides. Using a scale of none, mild, moderate, or severe slides were analyzed for cytologic atypia, architectural complexity, inflammation, and keratinization. Evidence of vascular damage was noted and the type of inflammation if present was classified.

RESULTS

Twenty-five buccal grafts were analyzed. No evidence of vascular damage or cytologic atypia were noted in any grafts. While mild architectural complexity and mild inflammation, typically lymphocytic, were noted in several of the buccal mucosa sections, this did not appear to correlate with tobacco exposure. The majority of grafts demonstrating increased keratinization correlated with significant tobacco exposure, but this was not consistently noted in all those with tobacco use.

CONCLUSIONS

Buccal mucosa in patients with tobacco exposure did not show significant histologic alterations. Outcomes of substitution urethroplasty may be more impacted by persistent systemic exposure causing local ischemia as opposed to the graft tissue itself.

Cause analysis and reoperation effect of failure and recurrence after epiblepharon correction in children

BACKGROUND

In children, it is common to see failure and recurrence in the correction of epiblepharon and to have reoperation due to obvious irritation symptoms and corneal injury.

AIM

To explore the causes of failure and recurrence after epiblepharon correction in children, to remove accurately redundant epiblepharon and orbicularis oculi muscle in patients via the cilia-everting suture technique combined with lid margin splitting in some patients due to inverted lashes in the medial part of the eyelid, and to observe the therapeutic effect.

METHODS

From 2015 to 2019, in the Outpatient Department of Ophthalmology of Beijing Tongren Hospital, 22 children (40 eyes) with epiblepharon, aged 5-12 years, were treated due to correction failure and recurrence. Fourteen patients (28 eyes) underwent the full-thickness everting suture technique, and eight patients (16 eyes) underwent incisional surgery. They were treated by reviewing the previous surgical methods and observing epiblepharon, eyelash direction, and corneal injury. During reoperation, a subciliary incision was made 1 mm below the inferior lash line. Incisional surgery for the lower eyelid was used to remove accurately redundant epiblepharon and part of the pretarsal orbicularis muscle. Subcutaneous tissue and the orbicularis muscle of the upper skin-muscle flap were anchored to the anterior fascia of the tarsal plate by rotational sutures. Lid margin splitting was used only for patients who had seriously inverted lashes located in the medial part of the eyelid. All patients were followed for 6-12 mo after reoperation to observe the lower eyelid position, skin incision, eyelash direction, corneal damage, and recurrence.

RESULTS

After reoperation, all the patients were corrected. Photophobia, rubbing the eye, winking, and tearing disappeared. There was no lower eyelid entropion, ectropion, or retraction. There was no obvious sunken scar or lower eyelid crease. The eyelashes were far away from the cornea, and when the patients looked down, the eyelashes on the lower eyelid did not contact the cornea or conjunctiva. The corneal injuries were repaired. Follow-up observation for 6 mo showed no recurrence of epiblepharon.

CONCLUSION

The type of suture method, the failure to remove accurately redundant skin and orbicularis muscle, the lack of cilia rotational suture use, and excessive reverse growth of eyelashes are the main causes of failure and recurrence after epiblepharon correction in children.