Experimental study of the effect of adipose stromal vascular fraction cells on the survival rate of fat transplantation

Objective To investigate the effect of adipose stromal vascular fraction cells(SVFs)on the survival rate of fat ransplantation.Methods 0.5mL autologous fat tissue was mixed with: ① DiI-labeled autologous SVFs (Group A);②

The intragraft vascularized bone marrow component plays a critical role in tolerance induction after reconstructive transplantation

The role of the vascularized bone marrow component as a continuous source of donor-derived hematopoietic stem cells that facilitate tolerance induction of vascularized composite allografts is not completely understood.In this study,vascularized composite tissue allograft transplantation outcomes between recipients receiving either conventional bone marrow transplantation(CBMT)or vascularized bone marrow(VBM)transplantation from Balb/c(H2d)to C57BL/6(H2b)mice were compared.Either high-or low-dose CBMT(1.5×10^(8)or 3×10^(7)bone marrow cells,respectively)was applied.In addition,recipients were treated with costimulation blockade(1 mg anti-CD154 and 0.5 mg CTLA4Ig on postoperative days 0 and 2,respectively)and short-term rapamycin(3 mg/kg/day for the first posttransplant week and then every other day for another 3 weeks).Similar to high-dose conventional bone marrow transplantation,5/6 animals in the vascularized bone marrow group demonstrated long-term allograft survival(>120 days).In contrast,significantly shorter median survival was noted in the low-dose CBMT group(~64 days).Consistently high chimerism levels were observed in the VBM transplantation group.Notably,low levels of circulating CD4^(+)and CD8^(+)T cells and a higher ratio of Treg to Teff cells were maintained in VBM transplantation and high-dose CBMT recipients(>30 days)but not in low-dose VBM transplant recipients.Donor-specific hyporesponsiveness was shown in tolerant recipients in vitro.Removal of the vascularized bone marrow component after secondary donor-specific skin transplantation did not affect either primary allograft or secondary skin graft survival.

Factors affecting complications development and mortality after single lung transplant

Lung transplantation(LT)is a life-saving therapeutic procedure that prolongs survival in patients with end-stage lung disease.Furthermore,as a therapeutic option for high-risk candidates,single LT(SLT)can be feasible because the immediate morbidity and mortality after transplantation are lower compared to sequential single(double)LT(SSLTx).Still,the long-term overall survival is,in general,better for SSLTx.Despite the great success over the years,the early post-SLT period remains a perilous time for these patients.Patients who undergo SLT are predisposed to evolving early or late postoperative complications.This review emphasizes factors leading to post-SLT complications in the early and late periods including primary graft dysfunction and chronic lung allograft dysfunction,native lung complications,anastomosis complications,infections,cardiovascular,gastrointestinal,renal,and metabolite complications,and their association with morbidity and mortality in these patients.Furthermore,we discuss the incidence of malignancy after SLT and their correlation with immunosuppression therapy.

Vascularized lymph node transfer with efferent lymphatico-lymphatic anastomosis for treatment of upper extremity lymphedema

Vascularized lymph node transfers(VLNT)are useful options for the surgical treatment of lymphedema.Conventional VLNT does not include the reconstruction of physiological lymphatic outflow,which may pose a risk of postoperative lymphatic vessel obstruction and lymph node sclerosis.We report a case of lymph flow bypass reconstruction using a superficial circumflex Iliac artery perforator(SCIP)flap,including VLNT with efferent lymphatico-lymphatic anastomosis.A 63-year-old female with severe right upper extremity lymphedema after mastectomy was reconstructed using a SCIP free flap,which included a vascularized lymph node elevated from the left groin area and transferred to the right axilla area.The SCIP vessels were anastomosed to the medial intercostal artery perforator vessels and the efferent lymphatic vessel from the vascularized lymph node was anastomosed to the internal mammary lymphatic vessels using supermicrosurgical technique.Indocyanine green lymphography showed the reconstructed lymphatic flow from the right hand to the right internal mammary lymphatics through the transferred flap.Postoperatively,lymphedema improved and there was no lymphedema at the donor site with a 2-year follow-up.Lymphatic flow bypass reconstruction using VLNT with efferent lymphatico-lymphatic anastomosis may provide a useful option for the treatment of severe lymphedema.

The Boston lymphatic center’s early experience with lymph node transplantation to the upper extremity

Aim:Although vascularized lymph node transplantation(VLNT)has gained recognition as an effective treatment option for lymphedema,no consensus on the timing of transplant with other lymphatic procedures has been established.The aim of this study is to describe our institutional experience with VLNT,including our staged approach and report postoperative outcomes.Methods:A retrospective review of patients who underwent VLNT for upper extremity lymphedema from May 2017 to April 2022 was conducted.Patients were divided into fat-or fluid-dominant phenotypes based on preoperative workup.Patients with a minimum of 12-month follow-up were included.Records were reviewed for demographic,intraoperative,and surveillance data.Results:Twenty-three patients underwent VLNT of the upper extremity during the study period,of which eighteen met the study criteria.Nine patients had fluid-dominant disease and nine patients had fat-dominant disease and had undergone prior debulking at our institution.Fluid-dominant patients demonstrated slight reductions in limb volume and hours in compression,and improvement in quality-of-life scores at twelve months.Fat-dominant patients who underwent prior debulking had a slight increase in limb volume without a change in hours of compression,and demonstrated improvements in quality-of-life scores in nearly all subdomains.Overall,17% of patients discontinued compression therapy entirely.Improvement in extremity edema was present in 83% of postoperative MRIs.Conclusion:VLNT had varying effects on limb measurements while reliably improving quality-of-life and allowing for the potential of discontinuing compression.Utilizing a staged approach wherein debulking is performed upfront may be particularly beneficial for patients with fat-dominant disease.

Free flap transfer bridged by antegrade and retrograde posterior tibial vessel flaps temporally borrowed from the healthy leg

Objective: To study the methods and techniques of free flap transfer bridged by posterior tibial vascular flap in treating large soft tissue defects in low limbs without usable recipient blood vessels. Methods: Based on morphological observation and measurement of arterial pressure and blood flow, an antegrade and a retrograde vascular bridge flaps were designed using the healthy posterior tibial vessels to serve as vascular pedicles to carry two free flaps for transplantation. Results: Eight cases of patient with one or two large soft tissue defects in the leg region were treated by the method. All the bridge flaps and free flaps survived well, and the defects were repaired completely. Conclusions: The results showed that it is an ideal method for using the posterior tibial vessels from the healthy limb to form vascular pedicles in repairing large soft tissue defects in patients without a usable recipient blood vessel.