OBJECTIVETo explore the influence of visceral fat area(VFA) on laparoscopic radical gastrectomy and short-term outcome in patients with gastric carcinoma.

METHODSClinicopathological and imaging data of 202 patients with gastric cancer who were treated by laparoscopic radical gastrectomy in the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from May 2011 to July 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. VFA of all the patients were measured by CT, of which more than 10 000 m(2) were found in 104 patients(VFA-L group), less than 10 000 m2 in other 98 patients (VFA-S group). Intraoperative and postoperative outcomes were compared between the two groups.

RESULTSThere were no differences in operation time, intraoperative blood loss and number of harvested lymph node between the two groups(all P>0.05). As compared to VFA-S group, VFA-L group had a higher incidence of conversion to open surgery[9.6%(10/104) vs. 2.0%(2/98), P=0.023], higher complication rate [22.1%(23/104) vs. 10.2%(10/98), P=0.003], longer postoperative fever time [(3.0±1.3) d vs. (2.4±1.1) d, P=0.000], total length of hospital stay [(18.6±11.8) d vs. (15.8±6.0) d, P=0.039]. There were no significant differences in first flatus passage time and total hospitalization costs between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONElevated VFA can raise the difficulty of laparoscopic radical gastrectomy, increase the risk of postoperative complication and prolong the postoperative recovery.

Blood Loss, Surgical ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Intra-Abdominal Fat ; Laparoscopy ; Length of Stay ; Lymph Nodes ; Operative Time ; Postoperative Complications ; Postoperative Period ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms

OBJECTIVETo examine the benefits of anterolateral thigh myocutaneous flaps in reconstruction of oral and maxillofacial defects.

METHODSPatients were recruited from February 2002 to June 2013 in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of Central South University. All patients (1,185 patients, 1,212 transferred flaps) underwent reconstructive surgery employing anterolateral thigh myocutaneous flaps. Basic information for all patients including defect side, flap size and type, recipient vessel processing method, donor complications, and postoperative quality of life were recorded and statistically analyzed.

RESULTSAmong the 1 212 transferred flaps, 1 176 survived and 36 showed necrosis, for a survival rate of about 97.0%. No cases presented with local serious complications, and 90% of patients achieved good functional recovery and aesthetically acceptable results after reconstruction of oral and maxillofacial defects at various locations using anterolateral thigh myocutaneous flaps. The time for anastomosis of one vein was significantly less than that for two veins (P=-0.000 3), which indicated one vein anastomosis could significantly reduce the operating time. The incidence of venous crisis, the survival rate after treatment, and the rate of venous crisis resulting in flap necrosis were comparable between the groups (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONAnterolateral thigh myocutaneous flaps can be easily obtained and provide a good amount of muscle for filling dead space and fascia lata. These flaps can meet the various requirements of oral and maxillofacial defects. Therefore, the anterolateral thigh myocutaneous free flaps are more suitable for oral and maxillofacial defects than other flaps.

Free Tissue Flaps ; Humans ; Maxillofacial Abnormalities ; surgery ; Myocutaneous Flap ; Necrosis ; Quality of Life ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; methods ; statistics & numerical data ; Surgery, Oral ; Thigh ; Wound Healing

In this paper is proposed a new method for functional connectivity detection using regression analysis. First, the resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from each voxel is passed through a bandpass filter to obtain frequencies between 0.01 Hz and 0.1 Hz. Then, the region of interest (ROI) is defined and the mean time course of all voxels in ROI is used as a regressor. Finally, the linear relationship between the time course of other voxels and the regressor in the resting brain is estimated. By the application of this new method in simulation data and fMRI data, the relevant validity and reliability are demonstrated.
Brain ; physiology ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; Regression Analysis ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted