In the clinic, I had the opportunity to observe a variety of
interesting cases. The most dramatic operation involved a patient with fasciitis
throughout the groin and legs, which was exasperated by a botch surgery at a
different hospital which had even damaged her rectum. Needless to say, it was a
very large injury and an impressive closure. We also observed a tumor resection
from a patient’s face, which extended all the way to the bone. This patient had
previously received several rounds of radiation to remove the cancer, but it
had returned every time. The case was a potent example of the demand for artificial
free flaps, which would have saved several hours in the operating room and
significant amounts of trauma from donor sites. Finally, I watched two
craniotomies, including the patient that we had seen in office visit for
several weeks with a large tissue expander on his scalp. It will be nice to see
him with a normal shaped head again!
This week was filled with the adventure of scientific
discovery: I continued to make the micropatterned acellular graft constructs,
and we implanted them in mice on Wednesday. I am nervous and excited to see how
they turn out in the next two weeks! I also made significant progress in the
flap study. Noteably, I adapted a steady-state, gravity-driven perfusion
bioreactor to generate flow through our constructs, and I successfully loaded
cells into the channel. This week I will culture GFP HUVECs in the channel and see
if they generate a patent endothelium. Meanwhile, I will attempt to fabricate
microvascular networks/capillary beds that integrate with the larger inlet and
outlet vessels. This is an exciting step in our efforts to design functional,
tissue engineered free flaps. Finally, I picked up the beginning of a new
project last week investigating the role of embryonic stem-derived and adult
endothelial cells in wound healing. We will use the collagen scaffolds to
implant these cells in excision wounds in mice in the next weeks. I am excited to
be part of this project, which is in collaboration with Dr. Shahin Rafii’s
group.
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