Browsing by Author "Mateas, Catalin"

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    Rapid Transition to Telehealth Group Exercise and Functional Assessments in Response to COVID-19.
    (Gerontology & geriatric medicine, 2020-01) Jennings, Stephen C; Manning, Kenneth M; Bettger, Janet Prvu; Hall, Katherine M; Pearson, Megan; Mateas, Catalin; Briggs, Brandon C; Oursler, Krisann K; Blanchard, Erin; Lee, Cathy C; Castle, Steven; Valencia, Willy M; Katzel, Leslie I; Giffuni, Jamie; Kopp, Teresa; McDonald, Michelle; Harris, Rebekah; Bean, Jonathan F; Althuis, Katherine; Alexander, Neil B; Padala, Kalpana P; Abbate, Lauren M; Wellington, Toby; Kostra, James; Allsup, Kelly; Forman, Daniel E; Tayade, Arti S; Wesley, Alan D; Holder, Alice; Morey, Miriam C
    Exercise is critical for health maintenance in late life. The COVID-19 shelter in place and social distancing orders resulted in wide-scale interruptions of exercise therapies, placing older adults at risk for the consequences of decreased mobilization. The purpose of this paper is to describe rapid transition of the Gerofit facility-based group exercise program to telehealth delivery. This Gerofit-to-Home (GTH) program continued with group-based synchronous exercise classes that ranged from 1 to 24 Veterans per class and 1 to 9 classes offered per week in the different locations. Three hundred and eight of 1149 (27%) Veterans active in the Gerofit facility-based programs made the transition to the telehealth delivered classes. Participants' physical performance testing continued remotely as scheduled with comparisons between most recent facility-based and remote testing suggesting that participants retained physical function. Detailed protocols for remote physical performance testing and sample exercise routines are described. Translation to remote delivery of exercise programs for older adults could mitigate negative health effects.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Systematic Review of Tissue Expansion: Utilization in Non-breast Applications.
    (Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open, 2021-01-21) Langdell, Hannah C; Taskindoust, Mahsa; Levites, Heather A; Mateas, Catalin; Sergesketter, Amanda R; Kaplan, Samantha J; Marcus, Jeffrey R; Erdmann, Detlev

    Background

    Tissue expansion is a versatile reconstructive technique providing well-vascularized local tissue. The current literature focuses largely on tissue expansion for breast reconstruction and in the context of burn and pediatric skin/soft tissue replacement; however, less traditional applications are also prevalent. The aim of this study was to systematically review the utilization of tissue expansion in such less well-characterized circumstances.

    Methods

    The authors conducted a systematic review of all publications describing non-breast applications of tissue expansion. Variables regarding expander specifications, expansion process, and complications were collected and further analyzed.

    Results

    A total of 565 publications were identified. Of these, 166 publications described tissue expansion for "less traditional" indications, which fell into 5 categories: ear reconstruction, cranioplasty, abdominal wall reconstruction, orthopedic procedures, and genital (penile/scrotal and vaginal/vulva) reconstruction. While lower extremity expansion is known to have high complication rates, tissue expander failure, infection, and exposure rates were in fact highest for penile/scrotal (failure: 18.5%; infection: 15.5%; exposure: 12.5%) and vaginal/vulva (failure: 20.6%; infection: 10.3%; exposure: 6.9%) reconstruction.

    Conclusions

    Tissue expansion enables index operations by providing additional skin before definitive reconstruction. Tissue expanders are a valuable option along the reconstructive ladder because they obviate the need for free tissue transfer. Although tissue expansion comes with inherent risk, aggregate outcome failures of the final reconstruction are similar to published rates of complications without pre-expansion. Thus, although tissue expansion requires a staged approach, it remains a valuable option in facilitating a variety of reconstructive procedures.