Soft tissue sarcomas occur most commonly in the lower and upper extremities. The standard treatment is limb salvage surgery combined with radiotherapy. Postoperative radiotherapy is associated with wound complications. This systematic review aims to summarise the available evidence and review the literature of the last 10 years regarding postoperative wound complications in patients who had limb salvage surgical excision followed by direct closure vs flap coverage together with postoperative radiotherapy and to define the optimal timeframe for adjuvant radiotherapy after soft tissue sarcomas resection and flap reconstruction. A literature search was performed using PubMed. The following keywords were searched: limb salvage, limb‐sparing, flaps, radiation therapy, radiation, irradiation, adjuvant radiotherapy, postoperative radiotherapy, radiation effects, wound healing, surgical wound infection, surgical wound dehiscence, wound healing, soft tissue sarcoma and neoplasms. In total, 1045 papers were retrieved. Thirty‐seven articles were finally selected after screening of abstracts and applying dates and language filters and inclusion and exclusion criteria. Plastic surgery provides a vast number of reconstructive flap procedures that are directly linked to decreasing wound complications, especially with the expectant postoperative radiotherapy. This adjuvant radiotherapy is better administered in the first 3–6 weeks after reconstruction to allow timely wound healing and avoid local recurrence.

Autologous fat transfer is a century-old method for both aesthetic and reconstructive purposes. It is considered by many plastic surgeons the ideal body filler. The only disadvantage is its variable degree of resorption, which ranged from 45% to 80%. Various groups have studied the effects of cryo-preservation for fat storage, the advantage being that fat harvesting need only be performed once, and thereafter fat injections can be performed using stored fat as an outpatient service. This a clinical study carried out to test the aesthetic outcome of serial injection of the cryo-preserved fat cells for both aesthetic and reconstructive purposes. Methods: Clinical evaluation was performed under standardized condition for serial lipofilling between October 2003 and May 2012, and 364 autologous fat transfers were performed in 104 patients ranging in age from 18 to 69 years (mean age 34 years). Results: The postoperative clinical results favored the use of serial fat transfer because the aesthetic and structural results were stable up to 90% of the initial volume more than a year after initial transfer. Conclusion: Our data suggest that serial transfer of the cryo-preserved fat leads to better cosmetic results on the basis of outpatient service without increasing the financial burden for our patients.

N Fanous, I Salem, C Tawilé, AE Bassas. Absence of capsular contracture in 319 consecutive augmentation mammaplasties: Dependent drains as a possible factor. Can J Plast Surg 2004;12(4):193-197. Capsular contracture is one of the major complications of augmentation mammaplasty. A review of 638 augmented breasts in 319 consecutive patients who underwent primary augmentation, with an average follow-up of 17.2 months and without a single case of capsular contracture of any degree to date, is presented, along with a discussion of the surgical technique and complications, and an analysis of measures used to prevent capsular contraction. Each patient received a pair of smooth saline-filled implants (Mentor, USA) placed in the submuscular space through an inframammary incision. In all operated breasts, many of the known measures commonly used for capsular contracture prevention were implemented. As well, a dependent drain was used as the final hemostatic step to prevent blood accumulation in the pocket. Leaving a dependent drain in the dissected pocket overnight, as one of the sequence of measures aimed at eliminating blood accumulation, is believed to be a contributing factor in capsular contracture prevention.Key Words: Augmentation mammaplasty; Drains; Prevention of capsular contractionAbsence de contracture capsulaire dans 319 augmentations mammaires consécutives : Rôle possible des drains chirurgicaux La contracture capsulaire est l'une des importantes complications de l'augmentation mammaire. On présente ici une revue de 638 augmentations mammaires chez 319 patientes consécutives ayant subi une première augmentation, avec suivi moyen de 17,2 mois, sans un seul cas de contracture capsulaire quel qu'il soit à ce jour; la présentation s'accompagne d'une description de la technique chirurgicale, de ses complications et d'une analyse des mesures utilisées pour prévenir la contracture capsulaire. Chaque patiente a reçu une paire d'implants lisses de sérum physiologique (Mentor, U.S.A.), placés dans l'espace sous-musculaire au moyen d'une incision inframammaire. Dans tous les seins opérés, les mesures connues et couramment utilisées pour prévenir la contracture capsulaire ont été appliquées. De même, un drain chirurgical a été installé comme étape hémostatique finale pour prévenir l'accumulation de sang dans la poche. Parmi les mesures visant à éliminer l'accumulation de sang dans la poche disséquée, l'installation d'un drain chirurgical jusqu'au lendemain serait un facteur propice à la prévention de la contracture capsulaire. C apsular contracture is a particularly frustrating problem for everyone concerned with breast augmentation: the surgeon, the patient and the manufacturer. It is virtually the single major complication of prosthetic use, yet has stubbornly resisted solutions despite more than 25 years of persistent clinical and laboratory investigation (1,2).Because sound etiological evidence has been lacking, many different theories have been advanced to explain capsular contracture: blood accumulation in the...

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