Introduction The field of tissue engineering embodies, like few other areas of scientific endeavor, the principles, aspirations, and the techniques of plastic surgery. However, the “boom time” promise of the early “frontier” tissue engineers and their pioneering endeavors have not…
Synopsis ■ Human skin is a highly complex trilaminar structure with a plethora of emergent properties critical to health and survival. ■ Skin grafts are key to restoring cutaneous integrity after complex burn and polytrauma. ■ The history of skin…
Synopsis ■ Mammalian skin healing is a complex orchestrated process that results in scar formation. Scars are problems that arise in all areas of aesthetic and reconstructive surgery. As scars can cause a huge psychological and physical burden for patients,…
Access video content for this chapter online at Elsevier eBooks+ Introduction Wound healing is a dynamic, complex process that is essential for survival. Derangements in wound healing, either due to incomplete healing or excessive healing, are a source of significant…
Synopsis ■ There has been a gradual progression from radical to more conservative resections of many cancers. ■ While surgery remains the most successful single modality treatment for solid tumors, recent advances in multimodal therapy have improved outcomes. ■ Neoadjuvant…
Synopsis Health services research (HSR) in plastic surgery takes a broader view of outcomes and delivery of care than traditional clinical research. As attention turns to equitable access and health, the role of insurance coverage, out-of-pocket cost, quality of care…
SYNOPSIS Patient satisfaction and health-related quality of life are essential outcomes to consider in addition to traditional clinical outcomes (e.g., flap survival, postoperative infection, length of hospital stay) for many plastic and reconstructive surgery procedures. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are…
Synopsis The key take-home messages from this chapter are how to: Gather existing evidence on outcomes Interpret evidence on outcomes Design new studies to add evidence on outcomes Synthesize existing evidence, as in systematic reviews and meta-analysis Recognize the importance…
Introduction Pain management before, during, and after any procedure is a key component to successful outcomes in plastic surgery. Consistent patient satisfaction hinges largely upon favorable impressions and recollections of the surgical experience. As such, patient satisfaction and pain management…
Introduction “Patient safety” refers to the healthcare discipline that strives to reduce the risk of medical errors and harm to patients receiving medical care. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that adverse events due to unsafe medical care is one…