Bustos VP

 The purpose of this review is to characterize themes among the five reconstructive microsurgery articles achieving the highest Relative Citation Ratios (RCRs) published in the past 20 years in the top journals. In doing so, researchers may…

[BACKGROUND] Closed-incision negative pressure therapy (ciNPT) has been shown to reduce complication rates in breast reconstruction (BR). This study aimed to evaluate postoperative outcomes in deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) dono…

[PURPOSE] Telemedicine has been increasingly utilized by plastic surgeons since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as it minimizes visit time, costs, and viral exposures. However, patient comfort level and preference for telemedicine visits…

[BACKGROUND] Patients with breast cancer living in rural areas are less likely to undergo breast reconstruction. Further, given the additional training and resources required for autologous reconstruction, it is likely that rural patients f…

 The impact of diabetes on complication rates following free flap (FF), pedicled flap (PF), and amputation (AMP) procedures on the lower extremity (LE) is examined.  Patients who underwent LE PF, FF, and AMP procedures were identified from…

In hand trauma, the uninjured forearm has been touted as the ideal site for ectopic banking in digit/hand amputations. Here, we describe the temporary ectopic implantation and subsequent replantation of a partially amputated hand and highli…

[BACKGROUND] The scapular free flap (SFF) is essential in complex reconstructive surgery and often indicated in complex defects with compromised or poor local tissue integrity. This review aims to assess the versatility and reliability of t…

[BACKGROUND] Gender disparities in plastic surgery authorship have been previously described in the literature. The relative citation ratio (RCR) index is a new metric that normalizes citation rates for field and time, which can be utilized…

Free tissue transfer is a valuable surgical option for the reconstruction of a myriad of complex lower extremity defects. Currently, there is a paucity of data that examines the risks of complications for each of these unique indications. …

[BACKGROUND] There exists an increasing array of treatments proposed to prevent, alleviate, and abort symptoms of a migraine; however, for patients who undergo reconstructive microsurgery, caution must be taken to preserve vascular integrit…

[BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE] Lipedema is a commonly underdiagnosed chronic condition. This study aimed to evaluate liposuction techniques for lipedema by conducting a systematic review and presenting our experience. A case series study and a …

[BACKGROUND] Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of cardiometabolic abnormalities including hypertension, obesity, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia. The safety profiles of patients with MetS undergoing breast reconstruction remain un…

[BACKGROUND] Recent literature has established outpatient breast reconstruction (BR) to be a safe alternative to inpatient BR. However, the impact of race and ethnicity on BR patient decision-making and postsurgical outcomes remains unexplo…

[UNLABELLED] In 1993, the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act mandated increasing minority and women enrollment in clinical trials (CTs). This study aimed to investigate trends in race and ethnicity enrollment and reporting in …

[BACKGROUND] This study aims to pioneer in evaluating women's representation in plastic surgery innovations, focusing on mammary prosthesis devices' inventorship. Despite growing gender parity in the field, women's involvement in innovation…

[INTRODUCTION] On most online platforms, just about anyone can disseminate plastic surgery (PS) content regardless of their educational or professional background. This study examines the general public's perceptions of the accuracy of onli…

[BACKGROUND]  Autologous free-flap breast reconstruction (ABR) is a valuable surgical option for patients following mastectomy. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a myriad of factors that have affected access to car…

[BACKGROUND] Although both botulinum toxin and facial filler injections are safe procedures with high efficacy and patient satisfaction, it is unclear how knowledgeable the general public is about the risks of these common cosmetic, nonsurg…

[PURPOSE] Lymphedema negatively impacts patients from a psychosocial standpoint and consequently affects patient's quality of life. Debulking procedures using power-assisted liposuction (PAL) are currently deemed an effective treatment for …

[BACKGROUND]  Microsurgery is a foundational plastic surgery principle. However, public unawareness of microsurgery and its associated rigorous training in the United States may contribute to current misconceptions and undervaluing of plast…

 Several studies have proven prophylactic lymphovenous anastomosis (LVA) performed after lymphadenectomy can potentially reduce the risk of cancer-related lymphedema (CRL) without compromising the oncological treatment. We present a systema…

[BACKGROUND]  Studies reporting on the deep circumflex iliac artery (DCIA) free flap are restricted to a limited number of patients and areas of application. The aim of this review was to assess the reliability and versatility of the DCIA f…

Tracheoesophageal puncture (TEP) and voice prosthesis insertion following laryngectomy may fail to form an adequate seal. When spontaneous closure of the fistula tract does not occur after conservative measures, surgical closure is required…