The COVID-19 pandemic had significant impacts on medical education and on the 2021 Match. Visiting student rotations at locations other than students' home institutions were cancelled and residency interviews were hosted virtually. This study evaluated the impact that COVID-19 had on the 2021 Match including residency programs matching applicants from within their own institution as well as from within the same region. The sex of matched applicants in the Match cycles was analyzed as well. Data were collected from residency program websites, social media accounts, and communication with current residents. Data were tabulated and chi-square analysis was performed. The overall difference in matched internal candidates pre-/post-pandemic was determined to be statistically significant (8.3% increase; p = 0.004). The Midwest was determined to exhibit a significant increase for matching residents from medical schools in the same region (15.6% increase; p = 0.04). Female applicants were also determined to be significantly more likely to match into integrated plastic surgery programs in 2021. COVID-19 significantly impacted the 2021 Match with an increased number of programs selecting internal candidates, matched female applicants, and regional selectivity, especially in the Midwest. It is our hope that applicants, programs, and the plastic surgery community will use this information to continue to improve the residency selection process in the future.

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Introduction: Otolaryngology residency remains one of the most competitive surgical subspecialties to apply for with a 63% match rate in 2021. This is a difficult and stressful process for applicants in any given year, and it was even further complicated by restrictions mandated by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) protections. Analyzing geographical trends in successfully matched applicants provides prospective applicants and programs with helpful information about how previous trends were affected by the pandemic as we look toward future match cycles. Methods: The medical schools of 1,587 successfully matched applicants from 2017-2021 were identified and compared to the 116 otolaryngology residency programs. Successful applicants’ medical school state and region were then compared to the location of their matched residency program state and region. From this, we evaluated the number of applicants matching at the residency program affiliated with their medical school or at a residency program within the same state or region as their home medical school. Results: A significant increase in the percentage of applicants matching at their home program and within their home state (p < 0.001) occurred in 2021 when compared to previous years. Applicants matching within their home region was not found to increase significantly (p = 0.43) in 2021 compared to previously. The regions with the greatest increase in the percentage of applicants matching to their home programs were the Northeast and Midwest (12% increase), while the Midwest had the largest increase in percentage of applicants matching within their home state (15%). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected the otolaryngology match in 2021 with applicants and programs alike choosing to stay closer to home with their residency match selections. Overall, regional location remains a major determinant of future residency location for otolaryngology applicants, and this did not change significantly during 2021, but applicants matched more frequently at their home medical school program. It is anticipated that the match process will be similar in 2022 given the ongoing pandemic, so the importance of home program and region will likely be emphasized again.

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory dermatosis characterized by painful nodules, abscesses, sinus tracts, and scarring mainly in the intertriginous areas. Patients with HS often experience inadequate responses to traditional treatment consisting of lifestyle modification, topical and systemic antibiotics, hormonal modulators, biologics, and procedural modalities. Low-dose radiotherapy has been used in benign cutaneous conditions, including HS; however, there is a paucity of literature summarizing its evidence. Herein, we systematically review the current literature on the efficacy of radiotherapy for patients with HS. <b><i>Summary:</i></b> This systematic review of the published literature reports the patient demographics, treatment regimens, efficacy, and adverse effects of radiotherapy in the treatment of HS. The historic timeline of these publications highlights the changes in management recommendations, introduction of more standardized outcome measures, and enhancements in treatment options. Radiotherapy appears to be an option for patients with treatment-resistant HS or who are poor surgical candidates. However, there remains a paucity of consensus on proper candidate selection, dosing, efficacy, and safety of the short- and long-term effects of radiotherapy.

In the present article, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on geographical trends in the neurosurgery match in successfully matched applicants was analyzed. A cross-sectional analysis for the years from 2017 to 2021 was performed. Successful applicants' region, state, and medical school were compared with the location of their matched residency program. The number of applicants matching at a residency program within the same region or state as their home medical school or their own medical school was then evaluated. One hundred fifteen neurosurgery residency programs and 1066 successfully matched applicants were included in the analysis. When comparing 2021 with previous years, no significant change in the percentage of applicants matching at their home region (43.1% vs 49.7%, P = .09), home state (25.1% vs 26.3%, P = .69), or home program (19.9% vs 18.7%, P = .70) was found. The COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly affect geographic trends during the neurosurgery match in 2021. This is of note as the COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected the match in other competitive specialties, including plastic surgery, dermatology, and otolaryngology. Despite limited away rotations, it is possible that neurosurgery programs did not change their applicant selection criteria and implemented systems to virtually interact with applicants outside of their local region.

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is an inflammatory skin disorder typically affecting the groin, inframammary folds, and axillae. HS is characterized by the development of boils, abscesses, fistulas, and sinus tracts. Due to the inflammatory destruction of lymph vessels, patients with long-standing HS may develop lymphedema. Most commonly reported in the literature is lymphedema involvement of the genital and anal regions. In this case report, we describe unilateral breast skin changes in a patient with HS. The patient was extensively worked up for inflammatory breast cancer, and eventually underwent stereotactic biopsies. Subsequently, these biopsies were consistent with lymphedema due to her chronic HS. Although rare, there is a paucity of literature describing breast lymphedema associated with HS. As breast lymphedema due to HS may mimic inflammatory breast cancer, it is important for providers to firstly rule out malignancy and place lymphedema high on the differential when examining and treating these patients.

Introduction Matching into an orthopaedic surgery residency program presents a challenging accomplishment for applicants to achieve in any given year. Due to the profound changes to the application process caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic it was theorized that there would be a change in the number of graduates matching close to their home medical school region, state, and program. Methods Orthopaedic surgery residency program Web sites and social media accounts were accessed to elucidate current resident data, including graduates' medical school, and geographical location of their school. Chi-square analysis was performed to identify trends in current residents matching within their home program, state, and region associated with the 2021 orthopaedic match. These numbers were compared with previous year's successful applicants. Results In 2021, a significant 4.4% (p=0.02) increase in successful matches within applicants' home states occurred (33.4% vs. 37.8%) and home programs (p<0.001) when compared with previous years (21.2% vs. 27.4%). However, in 2021, there was no significant change in home region matching (p=0.56) with 60% of successful matches occurring in home regions. This was statistically consistent with what was observed in previous years (61.4%). Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with restrictions in travel and interview options resulting in a significant increase in the number of orthopaedic applicants who matched into their home program, or at programs in their home state compared with previous years. Although no statistically significant regional change occurred during the 2021 match, it remains the leading predictor of where successful applicants will match. With many unknowns related to the upcoming match cycles it is important for applicants and programs to have a general idea of recent trends and outcomes to best focus their efforts, especially if diversity and minority inclusion are considered in highly competitive specialties like orthopaedic surgery.

Introduction. Uncontrolled diabetes causes dysfunction in all stages of wound healing, including greatly delayed wound closure owing to impaired angiogenesis. CTPs play an important role in advanced wound care, especially in complex diabetic wounds. The 3 categories of CTP are ECMs, amniotic tissues, and composite products that combine living cells and a collagen matrix. These products are available as xenografts or allografts, or as bioengineered products. ECMs provide a biological scaffold to facilitate wound healing, and these tend to modulate the wound environment and become incorporated into the wound bed. Case Report. A right-hand dominant female with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes presented with a complex nonhealing wound of the right upper extremity; the patient was treated with CTPs after surgical intervention (incision and drainage of the abscess, open carpal tunnel release, forearm fasciotomy, and excisional debridement) for a deep forearm abscess. Exposed critical structures included flexor tendons and the median nerve. The patient received a single application of a meshed dermal regeneration template, an application of minimally processed human umbilical cord membrane, and an application of acellular fish skin, resulting in successful wound reconstruction and improved function of the right upper extremity. Conclusion. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first described use of acellular fish skin in the setting of upper extremity reconstruction.