Cosmetic Surgery Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Cosmetic Surgery, including details on microsurgery, reconstruction, techniques, risks.

Plastic surgery repair of abdominal wall and pelvic floor defects.

Buck DW, Khalifeh M, Redett RJ

Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.

Urologists often encounter large perineal and abdominal wall defects, the treatment of which may require close collaboration with the plastic surgeon. These complex defects can be successfully treated using a variety of techniques. Ventral hernias or freshly created abdominal wall defects can be treated with the basic principles of tension-free closure using abdominal wall components separation, synthetic mesh reconstruction, and, more recently, biosynthetic acellular dermis reconstruction. Pelvic floor defects often require flap reconstruction using gracilis flaps, vertical rectus abdominis myocutaneous flaps, or local fasciocutaneous flap. In this article, we seek to familiarize the urologists with the most common techniques used by plastic and reconstructive surgeons in the treatment of these complicated pelvic floor and abdominal wall defects.

Published 12 March 2007 in Urol Oncol, 25(2): 160-4.
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