Background The worldwide spread of a novel coronavirus disease has led to a near total stop of nonurgent, elective surgeries across all specialties in most affected countries. In the field of aesthetic surgery, the selfimposed moratorium for all aesthetic surgery procedures recommended by most international scientific societies has been adopted by many surgeons worldwide and resulted in a huge socioeconomic impact for most private practices and clinics. An important question still unanswered in most countries is when and how should elective/aesthetic procedures be scheduled again and what kind of organizational changes are necessary to protect patients and healthcare workers when clinics and practices reopen. Defining manageable, evidence-based protocols for testing, surgical/ procedural risk mitigation and clinical flow management/contamination management will be paramount for the safety of non-urgent surgical procedures. Methods We conducted a MEDLINE/PubMed research for all available publications on COVID-19 and surgery and COVID-19 and anesthesia. Articles and referenced literature describing possible procedural impact factors leading to exacerbation of the clinical evolution of COVID-19positive patients were identified to perform risk stratification for elective surgery. Based on these impact factors, considerations for patient selection, choice of procedural complexity, duration of procedure, type of anesthesia, etc., are discussed in this article and translated into algorithms for surgical/anesthesia risk management and clinical management. Current recommendations and published protocols on contamination control, avoidance of crosscontamination and procedural patient flow are reviewed. A COVID-19 testing guideline protocol for patients planning to undergo elective aesthetic surgery is presented and recommendations are made regarding adaptation of current patient information/informed consent forms and patient health questionnaires. Conclusion The COVID-19 crisis has led to unprecedented challenges in the acute management of the crisis, and the wave only recently seems to flatten out in some countries. The adaptation of surgical and procedural steps for a riskminimizing management of potential COVID-19-positive patients seeking to undergo elective aesthetic procedures in the wake of that wave will present the next big challenge for the aesthetic surgery community. We propose a clinical algorithm to enhance patient safety in elective surgery in the context of COVID-19 and to minimize cross-contamination between healthcare workers and patients. New evidence-based guidelines regarding surgical risk stratification, testing, and clinical flow management/contamination management are proposed. We believe that only the continuous development and broad implementation of guidelines like the ones proposed in this paper will allow an early reintegration of all aesthetic procedures into the scope of surgical care currently performed and to prepare

Therapeutic, IV.

Background: The deep intramuscular approach during buttock augmentation with fat grafting has been associated with a significantly increased risk for pulmonary fat embolism. This study was designed to provide guidance for injection into the subcutaneous fat. Methods: The authors investigated 150 Caucasian individuals with an equal distribution of men and women (n = 75 each) and a balanced distribution of age (n = 30 per decade: 20 to 29, 30 to 39, 40 to 49, 50 to 59, and 60 to 69 years) and body mass index (n = 50 per group: ≤24.9 kg/m2, between 25.0 and 29.9kg/m2, and ≥30 kg/m2). Ultrasound-based measurements were conducted of the thickness of the total, superficial, and deep gluteal fatty layers. Results: An increase in body mass index of 1.0 kg/m2 corresponded to an increase of 3 mm of the total gluteal subcutaneous fat of men and a 4-mm increase of the total gluteal subcutaneous fat in women. With increasing age, the thickness of the deep fatty layer increased, whereas with increasing body mass index the thickness of the superficial layer primarily increased. Formulas were generated to estimate the total thickness of the gluteal subcutaneous fatty layer for men [total thickness (in millimeters) = −33.56 + (age × 0.078) + (body mass index × 3.042)] and women [total thickness (in millimeters) = −56.997 + (age × 0.1) + (body mass index × 3.86)]. Conclusions: Knowing the total thickness of the gluteal subcutaneous fat (i.e., the safe space) allows surgeons to estimate their operating range for cannula motion even if no ultrasound machine is available during buttock augmentation with fat grafting. This can increase safety, potentially reducing the number of adverse events.