Background: Informed consent is important in clinical practice, as a person’s written consent is required prior to many medical interventions. Many informed consent forms fail to communicate simply and clearly. The aim of our study was to create an easy-to-understand form. Methods: Our assessment of a Polish-language plastic surgery informed consent form used the Polish-language comprehension analysis program (jasnopis.pl, SWPS University) to assess the readability of texts written for people of various education levels; and this enabled us to modify the form by shortening sentences and simplifying words. The form was re-assessed with the same software and subsequently given to 160 adult volunteers to assess the revised form’s degree of difficulty or readability. Results: The first software analysis found the language was suitable for people with a university degree or higher education, and after revision and re-assessment became suitable for persons with 4–6 years of primary school education and above. Most study participants also assessed the form as completely comprehensible. Conclusions: There are significant benefits possible for patients and practitioners by improving the comprehensibility of written informed consent forms.

The aim of the study is to present the preliminary results of the in vivo application of Komagataeibacter xylinum E25 bacterial cellulose (BC) as a replacement material for produced defects during operations. Three pigs (sus scrofa domestica) had the same defects in the ear cartilage (4 × 4 cm) and in the rectus abdominis muscle (6 × 10 cm) with BC membranes implanted into them. The time of observation of the condition of the animals was 3 months. Implantation sites did not show clinical signs of complications in the form of inflammation or necrosis. Histologically, a normal scar was produced as a result of the material healing into the host’s body. In one case, no residual implant material was found at the site of implantation, and the remodeled scar confirmed healing. No systemic inflammatory reaction was observed in any of the animals. The host organism’s reaction to the bacterial cellulose allows us to believe that it meets the expectations as a material that can be widely used in reconstructive surgery. Nevertheless, this requires further research on a larger group and also using other foreign bodies. The next step would be an experiment on a group consisting of people.

Background/Objectives: Keratinocyte carcinomas (KCs), including squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) and basal cell carcinomas (BCCs), are the most common malignancies worldwide. Accurate delineation of surgical margins is essential to ensure oncological control while preserving favourable aesthetic outcomes. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive, real-time, high-resolution technique that may facilitate preoperative and intraoperative margin assessment. This systematic review aims to analyse existing evidence on the use of in vivo OCT in the assessment of surgical margins in KC. Methods: This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. The articles included were retrieved from the PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and EBSCO databases. The search was limited to studies published between 2010 and November 2025. The inclusion criteria were the application of in vivo OCT as an adjunctive method in the surgical excision of KC. A total of 11 studies involving 303 patients met the inclusion criteria. OCT was used preoperatively, intraoperatively, combined pre- and intraoperatively and both pre-, intra- and postoperatively, with most studies focused on margin delineation by itself. Results: Agreement between OCT and histopathology ranges from 84% to 95.5%. Surgical benefits were observed in both conventional surgery and Mohs micrographic surgery, including reduction in MMS stages (1.89 to 1.23), fewer stages required, and narrower excision margins. Conclusions: Based on data analysis, it may be assumed that in vivo OCT may have potential in non-invasive margin assessment in the surgical treatment of KC. The available evidence is limited by the heterogeneity of protocols and devices and variability between lesion types, as well as the small sample sizes and limited comparability. Further research should focus on randomised multicentre trials involving large cohorts, cost–benefit analysis and evaluation of operator-dependent variability.

Background and Objectives: Melanoma is an aggressive cutaneous malignancy with a high recurrence rate even after complete resection. Circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) has emerged as a promising biomarker for detecting minimal residual disease (MRD), assessing tumour burden, and predicting recurrence. This study aims to evaluate the clinical utility of ctDNA analysis in determining completeness of melanoma resection and disease staging. Materials and Methods: A systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, searching PubMed and Web of Science for studies published between January 2017 and February 2025. Eligible studies assessed ctDNA before, during, or after melanoma resection to evaluate surgical completeness and staging. Studies without perioperative ctDNA assessment or which focused solely on immunotherapy efficacy were excluded. Results: Fourteen studies with 1077 patients met the inclusion criteria. Preoperative ctDNA detection correlated with advanced stage, greater tumour burden, and poorer survival. Postoperative ctDNA persistence was strongly associated with recurrence, often detectable months before clinical relapse. In most patients remaining disease-free, ctDNA cleared within weeks after surgery. ctDNA levels reflected metastatic spread, though sensitivity was lower for brain lesions. Across studies, undetectable postoperative ctDNA was consistently linked to longer recurrence-free survival. Conclusions: Perioperative ctDNA analysis shows promise as a prognostic biomarker for detecting residual disease and anticipating relapse in melanoma. However, heterogeneity in patient cohorts, study design, and ctDNA detection methods limits immediate clinical application. Large, standardized prospective trials are needed to validate ctDNA for perioperative management.

Keloids are pathological scars originating from connective tissue characterized by excessive growth that extends beyond the original edges of the wound. They occur significantly more often in skin areas exposed to increased mechanical tension during the wound-healing process and up to fifteen times more frequently in individuals with darker skin pigmentation. The underlying mechanism of keloid formation is driven by an inflammatory response triggered by skin injury extending into the reticular dermis, leading to fibroblast accumulation and neovascularization. The management of keloids remains challenging, as the recurrence rate is high when surgical excision is performed as a standalone treatment. Evidence indicates that combining surgical resection with adjunctive modalities results in superior clinical outcomes and may significantly lower recurrence rates compared with monotherapy. Adjuvant radiotherapy plays a key role in this approach, as it has been shown to reduce recurrence rates to below 10%, primarily through suppression of inflammation and inhibition of fibroblast activity. This systematic review adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. A systematic search of the PubMed and Web of Science databases identified 22 studies comprising more than 2219 patients treated with surgical excision followed by postoperative radiotherapy. Reported recurrence rates ranged from 1.6% to 55.2% and were influenced by total radiation dose, fractionation schedule, radiotherapy technique, and duration of follow-up. Despite its proven effectiveness when combined with surgery, radiotherapy has certain limitations, including the lack of standardized guidelines regarding dose, fractionation, and timing of administration. Most reported adverse effects were mild to moderate and localized to the treated area, while a direct causal relationship between postoperative radiotherapy and secondary malignancy development could not be established. The variability in treatment protocols highlights the need for further studies to support more effective, evidence-based decision-making in the treatment of keloids.

Background: Non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) of the head and neck represent a therapeutic challenge due to the region’s complex anatomy, functional considerations, and frequent involvement of high-risk anatomical zones. Local recurrence remains a clinically significant concern, however real-world data regarding recurrence patterns and associated risk factors in facial NMSCs are limited. Objectives: To evaluate the incidence of local recurrence of facial skin cancers after surgical treatment and to determine clinicopathological and anatomical actors associated with an increased risk of recurrence. Methods: In this single-center retrospective cohort study, consecutive patients undergoing surgical excision of facial NMSC were included. The treatment of choice was always surgical excision under general or local anesthesia, with an adequate margin of macroscopically unchanged tissue. Mohs surgery was not used, and none of the patients received immunosuppression. Clinical and pathological data were extracted from medical records. Histopathological examination constituted the basis for establishing the final clinical diagnosis and thus was not verified otherwise. The primary outcome was histologically confirmed local recurrence defined as the reappearance of a tumor of the same histopathological type at the same anatomical site as the previously excised lesion. Patients in the non-recurrence group were defined as those who did not experience any recurrence within a 5-year follow-up period after the initial surgical treatment. Fisher’s exact test and the Mann–Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis. Logistic regression was performed to explore factors associated with recurrence. Due to incomplete follow-up data for the non-recurrent group, we limited the timing analysis to recurrent cases only, as these limitations precluded the use of standard survival analysis. Results: A total of 302 lesions were analyzed, with recurrence status available for 291 tumors. The overall recurrence rate was 28.52%. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) was the most common histopathological subtype. Recurrences occurred more frequently in anatomically high-risk areas, particularly the scalp, temple and nose. Infiltrative BCC subtypes demonstrated higher recurrence rates than nodular and superficial subtypes. Patients with recurrent tumors were younger than those without recurrence. A history of prior skin radiotherapy was associated with increased odds of recurrence. Tumor size and surgical margin width were not significantly associated with recurrence. Multivariate models showed limited discriminatory ability, suggesting that additional unmeasured factors contribute to recurrence risk. Conclusions: Local recurrence of non-melanoma skin cancers in the head and neck region remains a substantial clinical concern, particularly in high-risk anatomical sites and tumors with aggressive histopathological features. These findings highlight the importance of long-term follow-up and support further prospective studies to improve recurrence risk assessment and treatment strategies.