Browsing by Author "Mountziaris, Paschalia M"

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    Systematic Review and Guidelines for Perioperative Management of Pediatric Patients Undergoing Major Plastic Surgery Procedures, with a Focus on Free Tissue Transfer.
    (Plastic and reconstructive surgery, 2022-08) Mountziaris, Paschalia M; Rudolph, Christina M; Fournier, Craig T; Haykal, Siba; Ricci, Joseph A; Rezak, Kristen M; Patel, Ashit

    Background

    Microsurgical free tissue transfer has been successfully implemented for various reconstructive applications in children. The goal of this study was to identify the best available evidence on perioperative management of pediatric patients undergoing free tissue transfer and to use it to develop evidence-based care guidelines.

    Methods

    A systematic review was conducted in the PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases. Because a preliminary search of the pediatric microsurgical literature yielded scant data with a low level of evidence, pediatric anesthesia guidelines for healthy children undergoing major operations were also included. Exclusion criteria included vague descriptions of perioperative care, case reports, and studies of syndromic or chronically ill children.

    Results

    Two hundred four articles were identified, and 53 met inclusion criteria. Management approaches specific to the pediatric population were used to formulate recommendations. High-quality data were found for anesthesia, analgesia, fluid administration/blood transfusion, and anticoagulation (Level I Evidence). Lower quality evidence was identified for patient temperature (Level III Evidence) and vasodilator use (Level IV Evidence). Key recommendations include administering sevoflurane for general anesthesia, implementing a multimodal analgesia strategy, limiting preoperative fasting, restricting blood transfusions until hemoglobin level is less than 7 g/dl unless the patient is symptomatic, and reserving chemical venous thromboembolism prophylaxis for high-risk patients.

    Conclusions

    Pediatric-specific guidelines are important, as they acknowledge physiologic differences in children, which may be overlooked when extrapolating from adult studies. These evidence-based recommendations are a key first step toward standardization of perioperative care of pediatric patients undergoing plastic surgical procedures, including free tissue transfer, to improve outcomes and minimize complications.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Use of Innovative Technologies in Pediatric Lower Extremity Reconstruction.
    (Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open, 2016-08) Mountziaris, Paschalia M; Soteropulos, Carol E; Rezak, Kristen M; Patel, Ashit
    The anterolateral thigh (ALT) free flap has proven to be a reliable option for the coverage of soft tissue defects in adults and more recently in the pediatric population. When considering the use of the ALT flap in the pediatric patient, there are few studies that detail techniques specific to pediatric free flap management. We present a unique case of a 14- × 8-cm ALT flap used for traumatic wound coverage in a distal tibial injury in a 6-year-old girl. This case highlights innovative techniques in pediatric perioperative free flap monitoring and the use of continuous external tissue expansion to achieve delayed primary closure of the donor site.