To have met inclusion criteria, the patient must undergone delayed breast reconstruction without having had any prior The transverse rectus abdominis Muscle (TRAM) flap was used in 2 breasts, and muscle-sparing TRAM 6 breasts (Table 1) Dear Sir, We thank Mantelakis et al [[1]] for their interest our article Delayed, two-staged autologous reconstruction: an approach to improving reconstructive o...

BACKGROUND Venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk models including the Davison risk score and the 2005 Caprini risk assessment model have been validated in plastic surgery patients. However, their utility and predictive value in breast reconstruction has not been well described. We sought to determine the utility of current VTE risk models in this population and the VTE rate observed in various meth...

PURPOSE To evaluate the effects of isoxsuprine and nicotine on TRAM. METHODS Forty eight 48 Wistar rats distributed into four Groups (n=12). All rats received medication managed daily for 20 days: saline solution (SA), nicotine solution (NI), isoxsuprine solution (IS) and nicotine solution (NI) + isoxsuprine solution (IS). On day 21st the rats were submitted to the caudally based, right unipe...

BACKGROUND The authors aimed to quantify overall patient satisfaction with three breast reconstruction techniques and identify factors that have influenced satisfaction. METHODS Two hundred sixty-eight questionnaires were mailed at least 6 months after immediate breast reconstruction to consecutive breast reconstruction patients over a 3-year period. A second questionnaire was sent out 9 mont...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to evaluate the recurrence pattern after skin-sparing mastectomy (SSM) and immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) using transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous (TRAM) flap in patients with invasive breast cancer. METHODS From 1995 to 2010, patients with invasive breast cancer who underwent SSM followed by IBR using TRAM flap were retrospectively review...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES We report our results of a selective approach to primary direct appositional vaginal repair versus transverse rectus abdominis flap repair (TRAM) in patients with extensive rectal/anal cancer or in cases with primary cancer of cervix, vagina or vulva involving the anal canal and anal sphincters. METHODS Eighteen female patients (mean age: 62.9 years; range: 44-81 yea...

In this study, the effects of procedure type, timing, and other clinical variables on complication rates in mastectomy reconstruction were prospectively evaluated. Using a prospective cohort design, women undergoing first-time, immediate or delayed breast reconstruction were recruited from 12 centers and 23 plastic surgeons. Complication data for expander/implant, pedicle transverse rectus abdo...