Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to F P Franz.
Use of rigid fixation systems in craniomaxillofacial surgery has significantly improved clinical results. We describe the technical application of utilizing rigid fixation systems in the actual process of reshaping bone flaps and grafts. We call the use of this technique form-fitting fixation, and describe its application in a wide variety of craniofacial reconstructions.
Liquid silicone injection for soft-tissue augmentation remains a controversial procedure despite 30 years of clinical use which has demonstrated exceptional results in patients with severe facial atrophies. This article describes a case in which massive silicone injection was used to treat hemifacial atrophy. Over a 9-year period, 11 injections totaling 97 ml of liquid silicone were administered to the patient, representing the largest volume of silicone ever injected into the face. In the 16 years following the first injection, there have been no major complications and the patient has experienced a greatly enhanced body image and improved self-esteem. Although liquid silicone for injection remains under investigation, its use in patients with hemifacial atrophy may produce dramatic results with minimal complications.
Home parenteral nutrition (HPN) provides long-term nutritional support for persons whose absorptive capacity is compromised by a variety of intestinal malabsorption problems. However, the presence of vitamin and mineral deficiency syndromes that normally would not have time to develop in the hospitalized patient receiving total parenteral nutrition has been reported in patients receiving HPN. This study entails a longitudinal survey of plasma concentrations of vitamins A, E, and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, as well as the minerals zinc, copper, and selenium, in patients receiving HPN. Plasma samples from eight patients who had been on HPN for 1-92 months before the study began were obtained once a month over a 12-month period. The blood was drawn immediately before their evening infusion of TPN in order to approximate fasting plasma nutrient concentrations. Patient values were compared to fasting control values and to published norms. Values for vitamin A, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, and zinc all were within the normal range, and there was no evidence of metabolic bone disease. Plasma vitamin E and copper concentrations exceeded the normal range for most of the 12-month period. Of all of the nutrients studied, only plasma selenium concentrations were consistently in the low-normal to below-normal range. Selenium levels in patients on HPN should be monitored regularly, and supplementation may be necessary if clinical conditions warrant.