Advances in medical science have produced significant progress in the area of wound healing. Yet, despite proper administration of initial medical treatment, burns or radiation induced wounds often develop into chronic wounds or develop other complications such as scar contractures. In these type of patients, chronic wounds and the potential accompanied ulcers are difficult to heal as malignant changes may occur to the wounds especially in the absence of or in the delay in timely medical treatment. In our beauty oriented society today people have shown great interest in improving their image and many obese patients want to undergo suction-assisted lipectomies or abdominoplasties. Abdominoplasty is an effective procedure to remove locally accumulated fat and to reshape abdominal contours by tightening the muscles of the relaxed abdominal wall. Our medical research conducted on two patients, one with contact burn injuries accompanied by upper abdominal ulcers suffered for fifty years and another with radiation impaired wounds accompanied by lower abdominal ulcers due to cancer treatment for seven years, has shown that through the proper use of abdominoplasty. We have eliminated all possibilities that may trigger the re-occurrence of Marjolin's ulcers which may become malignant. Additionally, we have been able to heal chronic wounds and functionally improve our patient's restrictions of movement caused by the scar contractures by completely removing the lesions, erythemas and discharges from the ulcer areas by performing upper and lower abdominoplasties while still obtaining cosmetically satisfactory results.
Abdominal Wall ; Abdominoplasty ; Beauty ; Burns ; Cicatrix ; Contracture ; Erythema ; Humans ; Lipectomy ; Muscles ; Ulcer ; Wound Healing

PURPOSE: Garlic (Garlic: Allium sativum), throughout history, has long been used as a method to cure various diseases in different cultures. Although the intake or local application of garlic in order to treat skin disease and antibacterial effects is gradually increasing, its possible side effects cannot be neglected. As a chemical burn case due to local application of garlic has never been reported in Korea up to now, the following paper will present a case in which who suffered a partial layer second degree burn due to the local application of garlic. METHODS: A 53 year-old female patient was experiencing a partial layer second degree burn. The vesicobullous lesion was accompanied by erythema with a size of 20x7 cm and severe pain. Two days earlier, the patient spread ground garlics on her left arm and had wrapped it in order to remove the black spots. Unfortunately, due to her carelessness, the garlic had stayed there for 12 hours. She was treated with potadine soaked gauze every day. As soon as the erythema had worn out, she was treated by wet dressing using Hydrocolloid (Comfeel plus transplant dressing(R), Coloplast A/S and Denmark). RESULTS: Epithelialization of the injured area began from the 5th day since the burn. Complete epithelialization took seven days, and the outpatient's progress is currently being observed. CONCLUSION: Local application of garlic as a folk remedy is widely known, and the side effect such as contagious skin disease is also known to some extent. Patients today tend to rely more on organic remedies, let alone garlic. Moreover, they seek traditional methods or alternative medicine rather than conventional treatment. Thus, it is crucial to acknowledge the side effects of such folk remedies and to be aware whether they have been preceded.
Allium ; Arm ; Bandages ; Burns ; Burns, Chemical ; Colloids ; Complementary Therapies ; Erythema ; Female ; Garlic ; Humans ; Korea ; Linear Energy Transfer ; Medicine, Traditional ; Skin Diseases ; Transplants

PURPOSE: The liposuction has been generalized & undergone in the field of plastic surgery and it has had a great influence on fat graft. But despite of liposuction and fat injection being performed widely, we did not focus on complication associated with donor site. So we reported satisfactory result with the intraoperative sustained limited expansion & direct closure to donor site tissue necrosis after liposuction and analyzed the cause & measures of donor site necrosis with the literature investigation METHODS: From November 2007 to June 2008, we treated four cases of tissue necrosis and infection surrounding the thigh and forearm. Necrosis after liposuction was 1 case, donor site necrosis after fat injection were 3 cases and MRSA was detected in 2 cases. first, we debrided the necrotic tissue and treated with potadine gauze soaking dressing & susceptible antibiotics. After confirmation of healthy granulation tissue, we used intraoperative sustained limited expansion and closed directly of defect & observed the results. RESULTS: The patient was displeased and worried with the unexpected damage concerning the donor site and the procedure concerning time and financial exhaustion, but after confirming no contracture of the scar tissues and only a thin or slightly widened line of scar, showed satisfaction. CONCLUSION: Because it is fastidious to avoid donor site complication after liposuction & fat injection, enough explanation and understanding on possible complication to donor site are necessary and careful surgery procedure & materials are required. But if donor site necrosis occurred despite close consideration of possible causes of necrosis, we should think about not only wound healing process but also the sequela like scar contracture & cosmetic effect and treat the most adequate method to resolve both concerns.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bandages ; Cicatrix ; Contracture ; Cosmetics ; Forearm ; Granulation Tissue ; Humans ; Lipectomy ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; Necrosis ; Surgery, Plastic ; Thigh ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants ; Wound Healing

Pneumosinus dilatans is a rare condition of paranasal sinus, which is most commonly found in males of the age between 20 to 40. That is defined hypersinus as the enlargement of a paranasal sinus beyond the upper limits of normal. The deformity is caused by an abnormal enlargement of the paranasal sinus by hyperpneumatization. A valve mechanism raising the pressure inside the sinus is regarded to be responsible for this condition. A preoperative computed tomography scan is used to illustrate the anatomical condition and possible etiologic mechanisms and the most commonly affected sinus is the frontal sinus. Numerous methods have been suggested to repair the anatomical deformities of frontal sinus and we represent a method of correction for pneumosinus dilatans, too. We approached the frontal sinus by using a bicoronal incision and exposed total frontal sinus to remove total outer wall at one piece. We remodeled outer wall of fontal sinus by one piece and fixed with absorbable plates and screws. Ten months after the successful operation, the patient was satisfied with a good cosmetic result without recurrence. The latest, this comsmetic surgery is attractive and we wanted to improve frontal sinus bossing commonly, but it is not usual. Here, we present a case of pneumosinus dilatans of the frontal sinus of the repair method.
Congenital Abnormalities ; Frontal Sinus* ; Humans ; Male ; Recurrence

Scleroderma is a rare disease characterized by hard and thick skin, due to fibrosis of tissue with excessive deposition of collagen and extracellular matrix. It is well known that sclerodermatous skin does not heal well after trauma and also difficult to select proper reconstruction method. This article presents a treatment of skin and soft tissue defect with tendon exposure in a scleroderma patient using artificial dermis and STSG. A 67-year old woman, diagnosed as localized scleroderma in 2001, had contact thermal burn on her right hand 2 months ago. She was referred due to 9x5 cm sized skin and soft tissue defect with inflammation and necrosis on the dorsum of her right hand. Necrotic and inflammated tissues were excised under local anesthesia and, on postoperative day 13, debridement & artificial dermis (Terudermis(R)) was applied under general anesthesia. Her cutaneous lesion was spread so widely that we couldn't find appropriate donor site. After 16 days, wound was covered with STSG donated from sclerodermatous skin on right thigh. Artificial dermis was taken without inflammation or other specific complications, and she had uneventful post-operative course after STSG.
Anesthesia, General ; Anesthesia, Local ; Burns ; Collagen ; Debridement ; Dermis ; Extracellular Matrix ; Female ; Fibrosis ; Hand ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Necrosis ; Rare Diseases ; Scleroderma, Localized ; Skin ; Tendons ; Thigh ; Tissue Donors

PURPOSE: Sudoriferous cyst usually occurs on the face, and especially on the ear and scalp as a solitary cystic mass. It is derived from the sweat glands of Moll and results from the obstruction of excretory ducts with the retention of fluid. In the eyelid, it is usually seen as small and firm vesicle arising at the eyelid margin. If it rarely occurs on the orbit, it develops from orbital ectopic epithelial cells predetermined to form glands of Moll. We experienced a case of sudoriferous cyst on eyelid which was adhered to levator aponeurosis and it disappeared when patient closed eyes. METHODS: A 55-year-old women suffered palpable mass on left upper eyelid without pain that had been present for 25 years. Orbital computed tomographic finding showed a oval mass(2.1x0.6x0.6cm size) inside upper eyelid and it invaded the orbit. The mass was completely excised under general anesthesia and histopathological examination was followed. RESULTS: Cystic mass was purple color and it was located in superiorly to tarsal plate. The mass was adhered to levator aponeurosis and levator palpabrae superioris muscle between the fat layer of post-orbital septum and the Whitnall ligament. The mass was completely excised without injury of aponeurosis and muscle. Microscopically, the lesion was a solitary cyst lined by two layers of cuboidal epithelial cells and innermost cells displaying eosinophilic cytoplasm with apical expansions. CONCLUSION: Sudoriferous cyst usually occurs on eyelid margin. But in this case, cystic mass occurred on upper eyelid and disappeared when patient closed the eyes because it was partially adhered to levator aponeurosis and levator palpebrae superioris muscle. Therefore, if sudoriferous cyst occurs on eyelid, it is necessary to excised the mass carefully.
Anesthesia, General ; Bone Cysts ; Cytoplasm ; Ear ; Eosinophils ; Epithelial Cells ; Eye ; Eyelids ; Female ; Humans ; Ligaments ; Middle Aged ; Muscles ; Orbit ; Retention (Psychology) ; Scalp ; Sweat Glands

PURPOSE: To investigate the perceptions of postmenopausal symptoms and treatment options among middle-aged Korean women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 2330 Korean women. The women were administered a structured questionnaire to collect sociodemographic data and information regarding menopause and its treatment. RESULTS: More than half (65%) of the participants perceived menopause as a disease, and 66.8% knew hormone therapy (HT) is available for menopausal symptom treatment. However, only 19.7% of participants visited clinics for HT. The most common reasons for having negative views about HT were its adverse reactions (47.3%) and concerns about developing cancer (41.1%). For symptom management, 36.5% of the participants tried lifestyle modification instead of HT. CONCLUSION: The majority of Korean women regarded menopause as a disease. They were aware of HT for menopausal symptom treatment, but the use of HT was relatively low. Education about the safety and positive effects of HT and the importance of professional healthcare should be provided.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Delivery of Health Care ; Education ; Female ; Hormone Replacement Therapy ; Humans ; Life Style ; Menopause ; Middle Aged ; Postmenopause

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the usefulness of the high resolutional ultrasonographic features in patients with foreign body. METHODS: From September 2007 to August 2009, we retrospectively reviewed high resolutional ultrasonogram using 5~12MHz linear transducer of 13 patients presenting with inflammation after foreign body injection. They were referred for complications after foreign body injection. Injected foreign bodies were 4 silicone, 4 paraffin, 2 artecoll, and 3 unknown. We treated them with foreign body removal(7), foreign body removal and corrective plastic surgery(4), and conservative treatment with antibiotics and steroid injection(2). RESULTS: High resolutional ultrasonography well demonstrated the existence of foreign body and it's overall size, location within the tissue layer, and vascularity. Comparison between preoperative and postoperative ultrasonographic findings was useful not only to evaluate the prognosis but also to plan the treatment. These ultrasonographic findings aided in precise assessment of the contour and location of the foreign body and led to an accurate surgery. We were able to acquire various information in order to set a detailed plan for the operation which in turn, led to a precise, successful surgery. After the treatment, complication did not occur in 12 patients, except 1 patient. But this patient was also treated after reoperation. Postoperative high resolutional ultrasonography shows almost foreign body removed and inflammation disappeared. CONCLUSION: Considering the usefulness of high-resolution ultrasonography in foreign body injection, high-resolution ultrasonography would be necessary for both the patient and the doctor. Preoperative and postoperative high resolutional ultrasonography is highly accurate, safe, inexpensive and easy. It can be a useful modality in foreign body after plastic surgery.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Collagen ; Foreign Bodies ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Paraffin ; Polymethyl Methacrylate ; Prognosis ; Reoperation ; Retrospective Studies ; Silicones ; Surgery, Plastic ; Transducers

With the gradual increase of cases using fillers, cases of patients treated by non-medical professionals or inexperienced physicians resulting in complications are also increasing. We herein report 2 patients who experienced acute complications after receiving filler injections and were successfully treated with adipose-derived stem cell (ADSCs) therapy. Case 1 was a 23-year-old female patient who received a filler (Restylane) injection in her forehead, glabella, and nose by a non-medical professional. The day after her injection, inflammation was observed with a 3x3 cm skin necrosis. Case 2 was a 30-year-old woman who received a filler injection of hyaluronic acid gel (Juvederm) on her nasal dorsum and tip at a private clinic. She developed erythema and swelling in the filler-injected area A solution containing ADSCs harvested from each patient's abdominal subcutaneous tissue was injected into the lesion at the subcutaneous and dermis levels. The wounds healed without additional treatment. With continuous follow-up, both patients experienced only fine linear scars 6 months postoperatively. By using adipose-derived stem cells, we successfully treated the acute complications of skin necrosis after the filler injection, resulting in much less scarring, and more satisfactory results were achieved not only in wound healing, but also in esthetics.
Adult ; Cicatrix ; Dermis ; Erythema ; Esthetics ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Forehead ; Humans ; Hyaluronic Acid ; Inflammation ; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation ; Necrosis ; Nose ; Skin ; Stem Cells ; Subcutaneous Tissue ; Wound Healing ; Young Adult

A 81-year-old female patient was experiencing a second degree burn. The vesicobullous lesion and skin necrosis was accompanied by erythema with a size of 8x11 cm and severe pain. Three days earlier, the patient had bumped her forehead against the wall, her forehead was swelled and hurted. The patient spread ground indomethacin cream (Vigel cream(R)) on her forehead constantly. She was treated with potadine soaked gauze every day. As soon as the erythema had worn out, she was treated by foam dressing using Episurge(R) (Erweis). Epithelialization of the injured area began from the 7th day since the burn. Complete epithelialization took 14th days, and the outpatient's progress is currently being observed.
Aged, 80 and over ; Bandages ; Burns ; Burns, Chemical ; Erythema ; Female ; Forehead ; Humans ; Indomethacin ; Necrosis ; Skin