No abstract

Polyglycolic acid sutures elicit a significant foreign body inflammatory response proportional to suture gauge. This reaction may be minimized by early suture removal. The study validates a novel and ethical approach to the examination of human skin response to implanted suture material.

PURPOSE Stiff skin syndrome (SSS; MIM#184900) is a rare autosomal dominantly inherited Mendelian disorder characterised by thickened and stone-hard indurations of the skin, mild hypertrichosis, and limitation of joint mobility with flexion contractures. It is autosomal dominant with high penetrance and results from mutations in the fibrillin 1 (FBN1; MIM*134797) gene. Here we present the associated ocular phenotype in a two generation nonconsanguineous Northern Irish family.METHODS The affected patients underwent complete ophthalmic and orthoptic assessment and genetic testing.RESULTS All three patients had ophthalmoplegia of varying degrees. Direct sequencing of the FBN1 gene detected a heterozygous pathogenic mutation (c.4710G>C; p.Trp1570Cys) in all affected patients.CONCLUSIONS This is the first report of ophthalmoplegia in association with SSS.

We report a high success rate for periocular skin grafts without the use of a bolstered dressing. The use of a bolster increases operating time, postoperative care and is possibly less acceptable to the patient. We suggest that that in most cases the use of a bolster is not necessary for periocular skin grafts.