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Maxillo-facial and neck surgery in Iraq and Afghanistan

Over the past 150 years, military personnel wounded in action had a survival rate of approximately 80% [1]. During the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, those servicemen wounded in action have a 90.4% survival rate [2]. During the past...

Teaching students head and neck anatomy through the art of drawing

The link, both historical and contemporary, between art and anatomy is apparent. A recent British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) documentary The Beauty of Anatomy showcased the impressive contributions of artists towards the deeper understanding of anatomy and, by default, surgical practice....

Laser tattoo removal: results and issues

The term tattoo indicates both the technique for pictorial decoration on a person’s body [1], and the decoration produced by such a technique. Studies show that in the United States around 5-6% of the general population, 13% of adolescents, 19-35%...

The First World War and the Development of Facial Surgery

Facial surgery has a history stretching to antiquity, but its success depended on luck until medical science had advanced enough to deal with three major issues – infection, surgical shock from blood loss and good anaesthesia. It was not until...

The importance of teamwork and leadership in the management of patients in burns centres

The authors discuss the vital part teamwork, leadership and communication play in the complex management of burns patients. Teamwork is a group of individuals collaboratively working together in the most efficient and effective manner to achieve a common goal [1,2]....

Mercy Mission: all aboard with Mercy Ships off the coast of West Africa

Countries along the coast of West Africa are amongst the poorest in the world. Extreme levels of poverty often lead to poor outcomes or fatalities in many medical conditions that would be eminently treatable, with good outcomes in more developed...

Factors influencing a career choice in plastic surgery as a UK medical student

The medical school curriculum is increasingly focusing on the role of a general practitioner, which has resulted in medical students having reduced exposure to surgical specialties. There has been a longstanding concern that plastic surgery teaching and exposure in the...

The medial gastrocnemius flap

This classic muscle flap is now being used with increasing frequency following revision knee joint surgery. Following the Nahai and Mathes classification, the gastrocnemius muscle is a Type I muscle with a single dominant vascular pedicle (Figure 1). The gastrocnemius...

Thread lifting – the fundamentals

"Thread lifting” is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure that is becoming increasingly popular internationally [1-3]. Threads are surgical sutures that can be utilised for facial and body contouring and rejuvenation. These sutures can be used for skin rejuvenation as bio-stimulators...

In conversation with Firas Al-Niaimi

We were delighted to catch up with Dr Firas Al-Niaimi about his career. You are internationally recognised in the fields of Mohs surgery, lasers and dermatology – can you tell us a little bit about your background? I grew up...