Publications by authors named "Benjamin Slavin"

Background: The deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap is a predominant technique for autologous breast reconstruction. However, the best method of abdominal fascial closure in this technique is not well defined. This study details our initial experience with unidirectional barbed suture-only repair of abdominal donor site fascia.

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Article Synopsis
  • Federal grants for plastic surgery research mainly focus on reconstructive over aesthetic studies, with limited funding available for the latter; ASERF aims to enhance funding for innovative aesthetic surgery research.* -
  • A review of 130 ASERF-funded studies revealed that while there were notable differences in the h-indices of male versus female recipients, funding amounts were similar across genders and study types.* -
  • The primary investigator's practice setting significantly influenced funding decisions; the study highlighted a lack of female representation among applicants and recommended diversifying the applicant pool to include more non-academic and female or gender nonbinary individuals.*
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Background:  Cryoanalgesia is a tool being used by interventional radiology to treat chronic pain. Within a certain cold temperature range, peripheral nerve function is interrupted and recovers, without neuroma formation. Cryoanalgesia has most often been applied to the intercostal nerve.

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Bone tissue regeneration is a complex process that proceeds along the well-established wound healing pathway of hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. Recently, tissue engineering efforts have focused on the application of biological and technological principles for the development of soft and hard tissue substitutes. Aim is directed towards boosting pathways of the healing process to restore form and function of tissue deficits.

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Computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing and 3-dimensional (3D) printing techniques have revolutionized the approach to bone tissue engineering for the repair of craniomaxillofacial skeletal defects. Ample research has been performed to gain a fundamental understanding of the optimal 3D-printed scaffold design and composition to facilitate appropriate bone formation and healing. Benchtop and preclinical, small animal model testing of 3D-printed bioactive ceramic scaffolds augmented with pharmacological/biological agents have yielded promising results given their potential combined osteogenic and osteoinductive capacity.

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To evaluate the cellular response of both an intact fish skin membrane and a porcine-derived collagen membrane and investigate the bone healing response of these membranes using a translational, preclinical, guided-bone regeneration (GBR) canine model. Two different naturally sourced membranes were evaluated in this study: (i) an intact fish skin membrane (Kerecis Oral®, Kerecis) and (ii) a porcine derived collagen (Mucograft®, Geistlich) membrane, positive control. For the in vitro experiments, human osteoprogenitor (hOP) cells were used to assess the cellular viability and proliferation at 24, 48, 72, and 168 h.

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Introduction: Afflicting 2 million lives annually worldwide, breast cancer remains devastating. This study utilized a continuously updated network of electronic medical records (TriNetX Inc, Cambridge, MA) for analysis of 90-day postoperative outcomes of autologous breast reconstruction by increasing body mass index (BMI).

Methods: The deidentified electronic medical records (EMRs) of 29,453,000 females, age 18-99 years, were retrospectively screened from 45 healthcare organizations.

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Background: Multiple recent studies suggest a possible protective effect of the influenza vaccine against severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This effect has yet to be evaluated in surgical patients. This study utilizes a continuously updated federated electronic medical record (EMR) network (TriNetX, Cambridge, MA) to analyze the influence of the influenza vaccine against post-operative complications in SARS-CoV-2-positive patients.

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Unlabelled: Trainees may be implicated in malpractice lawsuits. Our study examines malpractice cases involving plastic surgery trainees.

Methods: Using the LexisNexis database, verdicts and settlements from appellate state and federal cases between February 1988 and 2020 were queried.

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Background: Thousands of Americans sustain injuries from various household appliances each year, though injury patterns have not been well characterized. We thus sought to determine the incidence, characteristics, and trends of household appliance-related hand injuries over the past decade.

Methods: The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database (NEISS) was queried from 2010 through 2019.

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Background: The healthcare industry's efforts to immunize the global community against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been unprecedented. Given the fast-tracking of the novel vaccine, its short- and long-term medical implications remain largely to-be-determined in most patient populations. This study aims to analyze 90-day post-operative outcomes in microsurgical patients, who have received or not received SARS-CoV-2-vaccination, using a continuously updated federated electronic medical record network (TriNetX Inc, Cambridge, MA).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study highlights a significant increase in youth baseball participation in the U.S. and examines the impact of safety equipment, particularly face-masks on batting helmets, amidst inconsistent enforcement.
  • Data on craniofacial injuries in baseball and softball collected from 2011 to 2020 shows notable differences in injury types and frequencies between the two sports, particularly among different age groups.
  • The findings suggest that future research is needed to understand the specific circumstances of these injuries, which could help improve safety equipment standards in baseball and softball.
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Background: Baseball is 1 of the most played sports among adolescents in the United States. Yet, youth baseball players experience the greatest numberoforal and facial injuries, compared to other athletes involved in other sports.

Methods: The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System was analyzed for all hospital admissions for youth baseball athletes (5-19-year-old) experiencing a baseball-related craniofacial injury.

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Topical silver sulfadiazine (SSD) is an effective antimicrobial therapy used to prevent burn wound infection and promote healing, but the frequency of application has not been previously examined. This study compares once versus twice daily dressing changes with SSD, focusing on development of wound infections, incidence of hospital acquired complications, patient pain scores, and length of stay. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether a once-daily or twice-daily application of SSD impacts burn wound healing outcomes.

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Introduction: Recently, several single center studies have suggested a protective effect of the influenza vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). This study utilizes a continuously updated Electronic Medical Record (EMR) network to assess the possible benefits of influenza vaccination mitigating critical adverse outcomes in SARS-CoV-2 positive patients from 56 healthcare organizations (HCOs).

Methods: The de-identified records of 73,346,583 patients were retrospectively screened.

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Patients who sustain peripheral nerve injuries (PNIs) are often left with debilitating sensory and motor loss. Presently, there is a lack of clinically available therapeutics that can be given as an adjunct to surgical repair to enhance the regenerative process. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) represents a promising therapeutic target to meet this need, given its well-described trophic and anti-apoptotic effects on neurons, Schwann cells (SCs), and myocytes.

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Introduction: Boxing is a popular combat sport in which competitors may sustain high impact blows to the face. For this reason, they are at high risk for craniofacial injuries; however, data on facial injuries specific to boxing remains sparse. Studies on safety measures, such as headgear, to prevent such injuries in boxing have been inconclusive.

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Introduction: Soccer is a global sport played by millions annually with an increasing popularity in the United States. Game is played by a wide range of participants from all ages and levels of competition. This scenario leads to a potential disparity in the injury profile based on quantifiable demographics.

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Introduction: Hockey is a sport of high speeds, projectiles, and slick surfaces. A scenario is ripe for craniofacial injuries. Annually, over 1 million Americans, with many more abroad participate in organized hockey.

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Introduction: With a following of over 825 million people, basketball currently ranks amongst the world's most popular sports. Despite a number of concussion awareness and player safety protocols that have been implemented at the professional level of organized play, a standardized, layperson-friendly algorithm for the acute management of basketball-related craniofacial injuries does not appear to presently exist.

Methods: This 10-year retrospective cohort study was conducted using the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database to examine basketball-related craniofacial injuries from 2010 to 2019.

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Functional recovery following peripheral nerve injury worsens with increasing durations of delay prior to repair. From the time of injury until re-innervation occurs, denervated muscle undergoes progressive atrophy that limits the extent to which motor function can be restored. Similarly, Schwann cells (SC) in the distal nerve lacking axonal interaction progressively lose their capacity to proliferate and support regenerating axons.

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Unlabelled: TriNetX (TriNetX Inc., Cambridge, Mass.) is a federated electronic medical record network.

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Purpose: Outcomes after end-to-end epineural suture repair remain poor. Nerve wraps have been advocated to improve regeneration across repair sites by potentially reducing axonal escape and scar ingrowth; however, limited evidence currently exists to support their use.

Methods: Forty Lewis rats underwent median nerve division and immediate repair.

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Introduction: Long regarded as "America's Past Time", over 8.6 million children partake in organized and recreational baseball. Although improved equipment has reduced contemporary injury rates, nearly half of pediatric baseball injuries requiring hospitalization are due to craniofacial trauma.

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Objective: Burn injuries have an annual incidence exceeding 40,000. The Burn Center Referral Criteria published by the American Burn Association (ABA) serve to guide health centers in determining appropriateness of patient transfer to a specialized center. With inappropriate transfer rates reaching up to 77%, reliance on the ABA criteria is critical as the decision to transfer a patient can impose significant costs to both the patient and healthcare system.

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