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Tissue expansion of free flaps before transfer have been used to increase the size of the transferred tissue and to allow primary closure of the donor site. This is especially important in burns when there is a lack of healthy tissue, and in children when there is a relative lack of tissue. In this study the authors present their 17-year experience with tissue-expanded free flaps. Between 1985 and 2002, 14 cases of tissue expansion of free flaps before transfer were performed at the authors' institution. The indications for vascularized tissue were 9 facial defects (8 severe burns and 1 neurofibromatosis), 3 large lumbosacral ulcers resulting from spina bifida, 1 large vulvoperineal defect resulting from resection for Chron disease, and 1 large circumferential tissue defect at the lower extremity resulting from tumor extirpation. The flaps were 6 radial forearm, 4 parascapular, and 4 lateral arm free flaps. Tissue expanders were placed under the subcutaneous plane between the deep fascia and the muscle layer, preserving the pedicle architecture and integrity. The size of the tissue expander ranged from 250 to 700 mL and expansions were done either weekly or biweekly for a 10- to 20-week period. The patients were followed for 1 to 17 years. The outcome of the study was based on donor and recipient site morbidity, rate of complications, patient satisfaction, and long-term outcome of the donor and recipient sites. There was no failure in any of the transferred tissue at the recipient site and no tissue loss. Three patients had transient congestion of the free flaps, which resolved without any intervention. In all patients the donor area was closed primarily. One black patient had hypertrophic scar formation at the radial forearm donor site requiring reexpansion and primary closure. In other patients the scar was acceptable. One patient had an infection at the tissue expander site that was treated with removal of the implant and transfer of the free flap to the recipient defect the following day. In 4 patients with facial burns, posttransfer tissue expansion of the free flap at the recipient site was performed for minor revisions at later dates. All patients had good outcomes and were satisfied with the procedure. Preexpansion of free flaps is an effective but underused method. It is safe in terms of complications, results in a better appearing donor site scar, and allows transfer of larger amounts of tissue in patients with tissue deficiency.

In late November 1917, Lord Lansdowne, one of the most senior of British Unionist politicians, wrote a letter to the editor of the Daily Telegraph. The letter asked for the war aims of the Entente and the USA to be “coordinated” and suggested that a moderate revision of war aims might bring a negotiated peace nearer. The letter appeared to ally Lansdowne with the British Radicals, who had been close to President Wilson (until April 1917), and had argued for a negotiated peace to end the war since the autumn of 1916. The letter was ferociously denounced by the Northcliffe press, and by many of Lansdowne's Unionist colleagues. It was supposedly a “plea for surrender” and “a national misfortune”. Nevertheless, it touched off a series of new departures in the search for a negotiated settlement: House's visit to the inter Allied Conference in December, the Labour War Aims Memorandum, Lloyd George's Caxton Hall speech, Wilson's Fourteen Points Address, and the beginning of a public parley with the Central Powers in the replies of Hertling and Czernin in January 1918. The paper examines the possibilities for a negotiated peace during the winter of 1917–1918, that is, in the period between the publication of Lansdowne's famous letter and the sudden Versailles “Knockout Blow” Declaration of February 1918 which rejected out of hand any prospect of negotiation. The paper examines Wilson's ambiguous position in this debate, and in particular the evolution of moderate opinion inside Germany in reaction to these events. The paper suggests the unfortunate enfeeblement of moderate opinion in Germany in the face of the apparent triumph of “knockout blow” opinion in the Entente camp.

We describe an unusual case of sarcoidosis in which the patient presented with a discrete solitary parotid mass and no other manifestation of the disease. The diagnosis was based on the unexpected pathologic findings during examination of a superficial parotidectomy specimen. To the best of our knowledge, no such presentation has been previously reported in the English-language literature.

We describe an unusual case of sarcoidosis in which the patient presented with a discrete solitary parotid mass and no other manifestation of the disease. The diagnosis was based on the unexpected pathologic findings during examination of a superficial parotidectomy specimen. To the best of our knowledge, no such presentation has been previously reported in the English-language literature.

A retrospective review of 36 cases of lymphoma presenting as a salivary gland mass was conducted over a 34-year period. A significant increase in the occurrence of lymphoma was noted in proportion to other salivary gland tumors (P less than 0.01, chi 2 analysis: 1954-1972, 11 of 714 (1.5%); 1973-1979, 9 of 201 (4.5%); 1980-1987, 16 of 265 (6.0%). The mean age was 61 years, sex distribution was equal, and 75% occurred in the parotid. Only 42% presented with signs or symptoms other than a painless mass. Glandular excision was done in early stages of the disease while biopsy was done at later stages. Frozen section analysis was accurate in all but one case and was useful in determining if biopsy were adequate. All patients were definitively treated with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Several instructive points are apparent. Any patient presenting with an isolated salivary gland mass can have a lymphoma. There has, in fact, been a significantly increasing proportion of salivary gland lymphoma among the various salivary gland tumors in our patient population. In contrast to other salivary gland tumors, surgery is reserved for diagnosis and not for treatment. A lymph node biopsy may be sufficient to establish a diagnosis, in which case, glandular excision is unnecessary. Most of the patients presented with an asymptomatic isolated salivary gland mass. The presence of adjacent adenopathy, a rubbery feel to the mass, and the intraoperative appearance were the most suggestive signs of lymphoma. Frozen section analysis is helpful in determining the appropriate extent of surgery and is recommended.

From March, 1979 to March, 1983, 26 orthotopic liver transplantations and 1 retransplantation were performed in our center. Sixteen patients are alive, 5 beyond 2 years and 1 longer than 4 years after transplantation. The actuarial 1- and 2-year survival is 60%. Factors contributing to this result are patient selection and biliary anastomosis. In cirrhotic patients, the degree of deterioration of liver function correlated with survival; in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, extrahepatic spread of tumor was the most frequent limiting factor. Choledochocholedochostomy with a widening plasty had a low complication rate providing that the arterial blood supply was undisturbed. Until now, HLA-matching has not contributed to the result of liver transplantation, although the effect for long-term survival is still unknown. The high survival rate and excellent quality of life of long-term survivors justify liver transplantation as treatment for otherwise noncurable liver diseases.