Introduction. Acellular dermal matrix (ADM) products are adopted in the management of injuries to soft tissues. ADMs have been increasingly employed for their clinical advantages, and they are acquiring relevance in the future of plastic surgery. The aim of our study is to evaluate the application of ADMs in our patients who could not undergo fast reconstruction. Materials and Methods. We performed a retrospective study on 12 patients who underwent ADM placement for scalp and limb surgical reconstructions at the Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano (Milano), Italy. Wounds resulted from 9 tumor resections and 3 chronic ulcers. The ADM substrate used to treat these lesions was PELNAC™ (Gunze, Japan), a double-layered matrix composed of atelocollagen porcine tendon and silicon reinforcement. All patients underwent a second surgical operation to complete the treatment with a full-thickness skin graft to cover the lesion. Results. In this study, 12 patients were treated with PELNAC™: 11 out of 12 patients showed a good attachment over a median time of 21.3 days (range 14-27). After almost 23 days, all patients were ready to undergo a full-thickness skin grafting. Conclusion. This study assesses the benefits of PELNAC™ and proposes this method as an alternative to traditional approaches, especially in situations where the latter techniques cannot be applied.
Background:
Nonmelanoma skin cancers constitute more than 15% of all types of cancer. To obtain the best cosmetic outcome, local flaps represent the ideal surgical choice.
Methods:
We conducted a retrospective review of patients treated from 2016 to 2019. The day-surgery group included 73 patients, and the outpatient group included 70 patients. We analyzed medical records regarding age of diagnosis, waiting time, site of lesion, reconstructive technique, histologic diagnosis, radicality of excision, and complications. We administered a survey based on quality items and carried out an economic evaluation.
Results:
Outpatient removals were radical 92.6% of the time against the 78% of those performed in the operating room (
P
= 0.14). We observed two cases of wound dehiscence and two cases of hematoma in the day-surgery group. Economic analysis showed reduced costs in the outpatient setting.
Conclusion:
Skin excision and local flap reconstruction are safe procedures in an outpatient setting under a clinical, economical, and patient perception point of view.
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