3D image system improves the learning curve and contributes to medical education of rhinoplasty

Background: Rhinoplasty is a complex surgical procedure that requires critical analysis and precise design before surgery, making it a challenging operation for both the surgical team and medical educators. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of 3D design involvement on learning curves and to establish a more effective method for rhinoplasty education.Methods: Surgeons who participated in an educational program were divided into two groups. The experimental group was involved in the 3D design before the operation, and the control group was asked to review the rhinoplasty atlas. A self-assessment questionnaire was used to evaluate the learning curve of the eight rhinoplasty procedures for each surgeon, and the overall satisfaction rate data were also collected.Results: The self-assessment scores in both groups showed an increasing trend from the first to the eighth operation. The mean scores of the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group at the fifth operation(P=0.01). The satisfaction rate of the experimental group(91.7%) was higher than that of the control group(54.5%).Conclusion: The 3D imaging system can improve the learning curve and satisfaction rate of rhinoplasty education,proving that it is an easy and effective tool for medical education.

Prefabricated Anterolateral Thigh Flaps for Phalloplasty in Female-to-Male Transsexuals

Background Phalloplasty is still a challenging operation because of the high urethral complication rate.Several options regarding different flaps can be chosen,but there is still no perfect solution for phalloplasty in female-to-male(FTM)transgender patients.Our group tried to use prefabricated anterolateral thigh(ALT)flaps for phalloplasty to overcome the urethral complications.Methods A total of 21 transgender patients were included from 2010 to 2019.A twostage operation was performed to reconstruct the phallus.The vaginal mucosa was prefabricated as neourethra at the first stage,and the shaft of the phallus was reconstructed at the second stage.Results All reconstructed phallus survived completely in our study,and the satisfaction rate was 76.2%.The total complication rate was 57.1%.The occurrence of fistula and strictures after the operation was 52.4%and 5.8%,respectively Conclusion Prefabricated ALT flaps with vaginal mucosa have a lower stricture rate.This technique provides a simple,effective surgical option in FTM transsexuals.

Delivery of Cas9 Protein into Mouse Zygotes through a Series of Electroporation Dramatically Increases the Efficiency of Model Creation

Previously we established Zygote Electroporation of Nucleases（ZEN） technology as an efficient and high-throughput way to generate genetically modified mouse models.However,there were significant variations of the targeting efficiency among different genomic loci using our previously published protocol.In this study,we improved the ZEN technology by delivering Cas9 protein into mouse zygotes through a series of electroporation.Using this approach,we were able to introduce precise nucleotide substitutions,large segment deletion and short segment insertion into targeted loci with high efficiency.