DESCRIPTION A 61-year-old man presents with invasive basal cell carcinoma of the scalp. Composite resection results in a 280-cm 2 scalp defect of the outer and inner table. Titanium mesh was used to reconstruct the calvarial defect, while reconstruction of the scalp wound was accomplished with a free latissimus dorsi (LD) flap plus split-thickness skin graft.

Phenotypical differences between muscle fibers are associated with a source of cellular energy. Coenzyme Q 10 (CoQ 10 ) is a major component of the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation process, and it significantly contributes to the production of cellular energy in the form of ATP. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between whole-tissue CoQ 10 content, mitochondri...

We read with great interest the article of Athanassiadi et al. [1] ‘Muscle-sparing versus posterolateral thoracotomy: a prospective study’ which elegantly compares the two approaches for thoracic surgery. Based on the results of their prospective study Athanassiadi et al. concluded that the rates of occurrence of acute and chronic pain and morbidity are equivalent after lateral muscle-sparing t...

Introduction: Thin women have fewer autologous tissue breast reconstructive options than their higher body mass index counterparts-due to a lack of adequate donor sites. They are therefore usually offered expander/implant techniques. The total autologous latissimus dorsi flap is generally used in "well-padded" individuals, as they have enough fat on their back on which a completely autologous r...

STUDY OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of endurance training only to endurance plus strength (combined) training in a randomized trial of patients with COPD. METHODS Twenty-four patients completed the study: 11 patients in the combined training group (FEV(1) 45 +/- 5% predicted), and 13 patients in the endurance training group (FEV(1) 40 +/- 4% predicted) [mean ...

Background: Aortomyoplasty is a treatment for heart failure in which the latissimus dorsi muscle is wrapped around the aorta and stimulated to contract during diastole to provide chronic diastolic counterpulsation. We hypothesized that the manner in which the latissimus dorsi muscle is wrapped around the aorta determines the effectiveness of counterpulsation. Methods: Nine mongrel dogs were stu...