Reconstruction using the latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap, including muscle fascia structures, is a potential treatment option for severely infected large abdominal wall defects.

No abstract

Blood plexuses are characteristic anatomical features of acupuncture points (APs). We developed an optical technique using diffusive light illumination to increase the brightened area of skin for observation of the blood plexuses in skin. We found that the blood plexuses were coiled blood vessels which came out of the perforations in the fascia of muscle. The coiled vessels could be straightened by stretching the skin. We observed a series of blood plexuses at the putative APs along the left and right kidney meridian lines in the abdominal skin of rats. In addition, the locations of the plexuses on the muscle fascia were just above the putative acupuncture muscle channels along the kidney meridians. Furthermore, immunohistochemical analysis of the skin specimens of the plexuses revealed its neurovascular bundle nature as expected from known anatomical features of the APs.

Osteomyelitis is an acute or chronic inflammatory process that occurs in bone. Although cranial bones are rarely involved, timely diagnosis and early treatment are mandatory because of its proximity to critical neurovascular structures and aesthetic considerations.A 57-year-old woman, who had a comminuted open nasal bone fracture 20 years ago, presented a firm, painful swelling nose. Whole-body bone scan images indicated increased uptake of the nasal bone, which was suspected to be osteomyelitis. After debridement, the nose was reconstructed with a thin latissimus dorsi perforator flap.In this article, we report a rare case of chronic osteomyelitis of the nose and provide a brief review of the literature. It is important for clinicians to consider osteomyelitis for early diagnosis and treatment.