DESCRIPTION A 56-year-old woman with previous breast cancer underwent a muscle-sparing transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap to her left breast. She developed marked flap swelling postoperatively and episodes of pyrexia. A breast wound swab grew Escherichia coli and Acinetobacter baumannii. This strain of Acinetobacter was multidrug resistant, including resistance to meropenem.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE To explore the methods of clinical classification in chronic radiation-induced ulcers in the chest wall (CRUCWs). MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 64 patients with CRUCWs were treated. We divided the cases into 3 types (mild, moderate, or severe) according to their clinical manifestations. Conservative treatments, axial-pattern myocutaneous or local flaps, or filleted f...

BACKGROUND The abdomen remains a popular donor site for autologous tissue breast reconstruction. Recently, however, some authors have questioned whether the pedicled transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) flap should remain a first-line reconstruction option. METHODS Between 1998 and 2009, 188 women underwent breast reconstruction with pedicled TRAM flaps by the senior author (J.A.A....

BACKGROUND Our objective was to compare the complication rates of two common breast reconstruction techniques performed at our hospital and the cost-effectiveness for each test group. METHODS All patients who underwent deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap and transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) flap by the same surgeon were selected and matched according to age and mast...

BACKGROUND: Dermatologic surgeons routinely harvest pedicled flaps at distance with an axial or random pattern to repair facial defects. These types of skin flaps are time-consuming and have high economic, social and personal costs. These drawbacks could be avoided with the introduction of a single-step transfer of free flaps to the recipient site, with microvascular anastomosis. OBJECTIVE: To ...

RATIONALE Numerous types of flap coverage have been reported to prevent or to repair bronchopleural fistulas. Most of the flaps were harvested from chest area. However, these pedicled flaps might not be optimal for the patient who has undergone previous radiotherapy on pulmonary parenchyma because the pedicle artery of the flap might have been injured by irradiation. Therefore, an alternative f...

Sacral tumours often present surgical resection and reconstruction challenges. Wide resections result in large sacral defects and neoadjuvant radiotherapy impairs wound healing. The wounds need to be covered with bulky, well-vascularised, healthy tissues. We present 2 cases where large sacral defects were reconstructed following tumour resection. Both defects were reconstructed with inferiorly ...

Background: Breast reconstruction by using the rectus abdominis muscle (transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous, TRAM) flaps is a common procedure that has been per­ formed since the 1990s. Ipsilateral TRAM flaps were proven to be as safe as contralateral flaps for breast reconstruction. However, studies comparing the aesthetic outcomes of the two procedures are poorly described in the literat...

BACKGROUND Transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) flap reconstruction after mastectomy in breast cancer patients has become one of the milestones in breast reconstruction. There are several techniques that have been used in an attempt to minimize untoward complications. We present the whole muscle with partial sheath-sparing technique that focuses on the anatomy of arcuate line and the...