BACKGROUND: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is an indispensable surgical procedure in staging and management of intermediate-to-thick melanomas. Although recent studies have demonstrated that complete lymph node dissection (CLND) does not improve 3-year specific survival, its utility in increasing the disease-free period and the control of local disease remains confirmed. The most frequent complication related to CLND is lymphedema, which may affect up to 20% of patients undergoing ...

INTRODUCTION: Lymphedema resulting from breast cancer treatment is a chronic condition that can significantly compromise quality of life. Several works have documented the efficacy of vascularized lymph node flap transfer (VLNT) for the treatment of advanced-stage lymphedema. Given that the axillary scar may contribute to the patient's existing lymphedema, the authors assumed that combining VLNT and scar release with fat graft could be an effective strategy of treatment. The purpose of ...

BACKGROUND: Etiopathogenesis of nummular eczema is obscure; many causative factors have been proposed. Only a few studies investigated the relevance of contact allergy.

OBJECTIVE: This retrospective study aimed to investigate the role of contact allergy in the underlying mechanism of nummular eczema.

METHODS: From the 29,323 consecutive patients, we patch-tested for eczematous dermatitis of various type, 1022 (3.5%) with nummular eczema were enrolled. Data were collected for each ...

Over the last years, data have been accumulating regarding a possible association between alcohol and psoriasis. While it is still unclear whether alcohol misuse represents a true risk factor or merely an epiphenomenon of the cutaneous disease, a number of studies support the role of ethanol and its metabolites as triggering factors of psoriasis. A drinking habit also appears to exacerbate a preexisting psoriasis, and the magnitude of alcohol consumption may be related to both a higher ...

Sometimes, diagnostic excision of a primary melanoma would already necessitate skin grafting or transposition skin flaps, especially in areas with an esthetic or functional importance. The utility of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) after skin reconstruction is controversial. We carried out a single-institution retrospective case-control study. In patients with a wide primary lesion at high clinical-dermatoscopic suspicion for invasive melanoma in anatomical region in which a ...

Vitamin D features immunomodulatory effects on both the innate and adaptive immune systems, which may explain the growing evidence connecting vitamin D to allergic diseases. A wealth of studies describing a beneficial effect of vitamin D on atopic dermatitis (AD) prevalence and severity are known. However, observations linking high vitamin D levels to an increased risk of developing AD have also been published, effectively creating a controversy. In this paper, we review the existing ...

Combination therapy is a common approach to psoriasis, aimed at improving clinical response and minimizing the risk of side effects. The aim of this pilot randomized open-label study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination of low-dose cyclosporine (CsA) with calcipotriol-betamethasone dipropionate (CBD) ointment in the treatment of psoriasis. Sixty patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis were randomized to receive CsA, 2 mg/kg/day, combined with CBD ointment ...

The guidelines for the management of urticaria in adults and children have been revised and updated recently. However, there are few data in the literature concerning several aspects of this disease in the elderly (e.g., epidemiology, etiopathogenesis, clinical aspects, association with co-morbidities, efficacy and safety profiles of treatments, and management strategies). This is an obvious deficiency in the data, as this disease causes a deterioration in quality of life, affecting the ...

The presence of interval nodes (IN) in melanoma is testified in several studies and sometimes these lymph nodes can contain metastatic disease. Currently there are no guidelines about the management of patients with tumor-positive INs.We enrolled all patients affected by melanoma who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in a single institution. All patients with tumor-positive IN underwent the lymphadenectomy of the subsequent draining lymphatic field. Prognosis of IN+-patients ...

Current epidemiological data support the association between psoriasis and cardiovascular (CV) risk, in apparent correlation with psoriasis severity. Although less unanimously, evidence of an increased prevalence of CV diseases among psoriasis patients has been reported, including ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular, peripheral vascular and heart structural disorders. In particular, various studies showed a correlation between psoriasis and major CV events (i.e., myocardial ...

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a neurological impairment caused by compression of the median nerve throughout the carpal tunnel, which consequently induces ischemia and mechanical disruption, dysfunctional axonal transport, and epidural blood flow. Most common symptoms include numbness, rather than pain, with a typical night exacerbation, weakness, paresthesia, and loss of sensitive discrimination. In rare cases, such syndrome may present with cutaneous manifestations localized on the ...

Chemical leukoderma, often clinically mimicking idiopathic vitiligo and other congenital and acquired hypopigmentation, is an acquired form of cutaneous pigment loss caused by exposure to a variety of chemicals that act through selective melanocytotoxicity. Most of these chemicals are phenols and aromatic or aliphatic catechols derivatives. These chemicals, however, are harmful for melanocytes in individuals with an individual susceptibility. Nowadays, chemical leukoderma is fairly ...

BACKGROUND: Successful vascular anastomosis is essential for the survival of free tissue transfer. The aim of the study is to review the current literature and perform a meta-analysis to assess the potential advantages of a mechanical anastomosis coupler device (MACD) over the hand-sewn (HS) technique for venous anastomoses.

METHODS: A systematic Medline search was performed to gather all reports of articles related to MACD from 1984 until now. The following data were extracted: first ...

BACKGROUND: The management of toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is controversial and there is no uniform strategy.

OBJECTIVE: To share our 10 years' experience in treating severe TEN with a novel protocol based on the association of cyclosporine A and plasmapheresis.

METHODS: In this case series, we retrospectively collected and assessed the 12 cases of severe TEN treated from 2005 to 2015 at the Burn Unit of the University of Bari Policlinico hospital.

RESULTS: Average body surface area ...