Body contouring surgery after the massive weight loss due to bariatric surgery deals with different kinds of complications. The aim of this review is to analyze the role that some nutrients may play in tissue healing after surgery, thus helping plastic surgeons to improve the aesthetic and health outcomes in massive weight loss patients under a multidisciplinary approach. As a matter of fact, preoperative nutritional deficiencies have been shown for vitamins and minerals in a large percentage of post-bariatric patients. Preoperative deficiencies mainly concern iron, zinc, selenium, and vitamins (both fat-soluble and water-soluble), but also total protein. During the postoperative period, these problems may increase because of the patients’ very low intake of vitamins and minerals after bariatric surgery (below 50% of the recommended dietary allowance) and the patients’ low compliance with the suggested multivitamin supplementation (approximately 60%). In the postoperative period, more attention should be given to nutritional aspects in regard to the length of absorptive area and the percentage of weight loss.
Background: Opening a new practice is always challenging, and one of the main problems is how to engage patients. Most of them use social media to gather information about surgery and surgeons. Objectives: The aim was to evaluate social media's impact on a new practice, compared with a long-standing practice run by the same surgeon. Furthermore, changes in patients’ and surgeons’ perspectives regarding social media in recent years were studied. Methods: In the 2 aforementioned practices, a questionnaire was administered to patients seen in consultation for primary breast augmentation regarding their interaction with social media before booking the visit. Another questionnaire was administered to 152 surgeons to assess their perceptions of social media. Results: Two hundred forty-seven patients in Italy and 129 in Sweden answered the questionnaire. In the first year of the Italian practice, 97.2% of patients booked a consultation with the surgeon thanks to social media; after 3 years, the percentage dropped to 68.02%. Comparing Italian and Swedish patients, 68.02% vs 28.68%, respectively, booked a consultation with the surgeon specifically thanks to social media, 91.09% vs 79.84% did research about the surgeon before booking a consultation, and 36.03% vs 10.08% contacted the surgeon before booking an appointment. One hundred fifty-two surgeons from 24 different countries answered the questionnaire, and 77.9% opined that social media positively affected their practice. Conclusions: Social media is fundamental in patient-surgeon interaction and can strongly influence patient inflow, especially at the beginning of a new practice. Surgeons should be capable of using these tools to engage patients, bearing in mind the important role of these media in patients’ education.
BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is directly related to better prognosis and higher survival rate. Missed gynecologist follow-up, some cultural traditions and refrain from facing with a problem that involves intimacy and sexual sphere can be the cause of delayed diagnosis and treatment. Radical surgery still represents the gold standard, but narrow excision margins can progressively lead to local recurrence, even after years. CASE REPORT: The case we present is a rare case of misdiagnosed metastatic SCC of the vulva after radical excision and groin dissection 2 years before. After a full-through discussion with patient on treatment options and prognosis, a multidisciplinary surgical approach was planned, consisting in wide surgical resection of groin, part of mons pubis and right pelvic iliac-obturator lymphadenectomy. Femoral artery excision was performed due to absence of a clear margin, and reconstruction was accomplished with interposed great saphenous vein graft. The plastic reconstruction consisted in harvest of transverse rectus abdominal flap (TRAM), that was transposed inferiorly to repair right groin. Pathologist confirmed free margins of excision and pelvic lymph nodes resulted negative (pT1b, N3, M0 – stage IV A). DISCUSSION: When deep structures of the groin - such as femoral vessels - are involved by relapse, the condition is potentially life-threatening. A multidisciplinary approach consents to perform a radical surgery with free margins and likewise to achieve a satisfying functional reconstruction. CONCLUSION: This case should emphasize that skin ulceration on a non-weight-bearing surface is always suspicious for skin malignancy, an incisional biopsy is easy to perform and consents a rapid diagnosis. A history of recurrent vulvar SCC should always warn about the risk of late lymph node metastasis even years after a radical excision of the primary tumor and concomitant lymphadenectomy.
Background and Clinical Significance: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, debilitating skin disorder that often affects the inframammary fold (IMF). While surgical management, particularly wide local excision (WLE), is the gold standard for severe cases, less is known about the role of breast surgery techniques in treating HS in this area; Case Presentation: This report presents two cases of female patients with bilateral inframammary HS and mammary hypertrophy, both treated with reduction mammaplasty to excise diseased tissue while addressing breast volume and contour. Both patients had experienced inadequate response to medical therapies, including biologic treatments, and presented with distinct clinical features—one with significant asymmetry and active disease, and the other with more scarring and hypertrophic lesions. During follow-up, no recurrence of disease was observed and both patients reported improved breast appearance and satisfaction; Conclusions: These cases underscore the importance of a multidisciplinary approach, with dermatologists and surgeons both playing a key role in the management of this complex condition.