Objectives Antiretroviral therapy has dramatically improved the survival of HIV‐infected children. Nevertheless, side effects comparable to those found in adults have been encountered, such as facial lipoatrophy, which can have a negative impact on the self‐esteem of otherwise healthy adolescents. Cosmetic surgical procedures in adolescents raise psychological issues which need to be specifically addressed and which have never been previously reported in this population. We evaluated the patient satisfaction, safety and cosmetic results of HIV‐infected adolescents who experienced autologous fat transplants for the correction of facial lipoatrophy. Methods We report the results of plastic surgery using autologous fat transplants (Coleman's Lipostructure™) in six HIV‐infected adolescents with facial lipoatrophy: three boys and three girls, aged 14–19 years. Results The quantity of reinjected fat on each side of the face varied from 5 to 12 mL within a single procedure. All the patients reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the cosmetic results and reported a positive impact on their daily life. Conclusions With well‐trained surgeons and carefully selected indications, corrective surgery of facial lipoatrophy in HIV‐infected adolescents can provide immediate and long‐lasting benefits in terms of physical appearance and psychological wellbeing, and should be considered as a component of comprehensive care.

Vacuum-assisted closure(VAC) is a simple wound healing tool in plastic surgery. We report a large thoracic defect in a child, in which the VAC was used to cover an exposed polytetrafluoroethylene prosthesis. The VAC saved the prosthesis and induced complete granulation of the wound, which healed completely in five weeks.

The treatment of pressure ulcers complicated by osteitis in patients with paraplegia is often complex. Surgical debridement of a pressure ulcer and infected bone often creates a large wound that is left to heal by either secondary intention or covered with a flap (immediately or later). Topical negative pressure (TNP) therapy, delivered using the Vacuum Assisted Closure device (KCI International, the Netherlands), is a non-invasive technique for healing by negative pressure. We report its use in the treatment of large wounds following segmentary resection of osteitis of the lower limbs in two paraplegic patients.

Spatial localization of radioactive sources is currently a main issue interesting nuclear industry as well as homeland security applications and can be achieved using gamma cameras. For several years, CEA LIST has been designing a new system, called GAMPIX, with improved sensitivity, portability and ease of use. The main remaining limitation of this system is the lack of spectrometric information, preventing the identification of radioactive materials. This article describes the development of an imaging spectrometer based on the GAMPIX technology. Experimental tests have been carried out according to both spectrometric methods enabled by the pixelated Timepix chip used in the GAMPIX gamma camera. The first method is based on the size of the impacts produced by a gamma-ray energy deposition in the detection matrix. The second one uses the Time over Threshold (ToT) mode of the Timepix chip and deals with time spent by pulses generated by charge preamplifiers over a user-specified threshold. Both energy resolution and sensitivity studies demonstrated the superiority of the ToT approach which will consequently be further explored. Energy calibration, tests of different pixel sizes for the Timepix chip and use of the Medipix3 chip are future milestones to improve performances of the newly implemented imaging spectrometer.

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