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As the life expectancy of the population continues to increase, more facial-rejuvenating procedures are sought. As the number of facelift procedures increases, it is mandatory to acknowledge, and most importantly prevent, any possible associated complications. One of the complications after rhytidectomy, and a sign of facelift, is the so-called "pixie ear deformity" or "bat ear." This is regarded as a telltale sign of a facelift procedure and appears to be identified in 5% of earlobe inset cases. The ear's location is a crucial hallmark of an aesthetically pleasing face, not only by itself but also in relation with other aesthetic units. When performing a facelift procedure, tension vectors of the rhytidectomy flap could cause alterations in ear's position and appearance: the ear loses its great mobility and becomes more fixed in its acquired position, resulting in a "stuck-on" appearance. The auricle is displaced following an anteroinferior direction, with the otobasion inferius (the most caudal anterior attachment of the earlobe to the cheek) being dislocated from its original more posterior and upper position to a new more anterior and caudal location. The displacement of the auricle is usually accompanied by distortion of the earlobe rotating forward and becoming more anterior than the rest of the ear. In recent decades, many techniques and procedures have been described to prevent and correct the pixie ear; in this review, we aim to analyze and describe them comprehensively., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have nothing to disclose.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a postoperative complication experienced in all branches of surgery, including plastic surgery. Its occurrence can be lowered with adequate prophylaxis in the light of the patient's risk category and the type of surgery that will be performed. Nevertheless, thromboembolic prophylaxis is not routinely administered in plastic surgery. The prevention of VTE has gained significant attention in the past 5 years due to increased knowledge about the disease process and the alarming incidence rates. This literature review is specifically aimed at carrying out a synopsis of VTE prophylaxis trials conducted on plastic surgery patients. Antithrombotic agents have generally been avoided by plastic surgeons due to the increased risk of bleeding or hematomas; however, the prevalence of clinically important bleeding has not been found to increase with their use, as it emerges from numerous studies. VTE events can lead to increased morbidity and mortality rates, as well as a rise in healthcare costs. As it emerges from multiple studies, as a preventive measure against VTE, it is strongly advised to use mechanical prophylaxis along with low-molecular-weight heparin as the primary treatment option for plastic surgery patients who are at a greater risk. Up to date though, this practice is not commonly embraced by physicians. Preventing VTE is crucial, and measures to do so are necessary. However, there is no clear evidence to support the use of anticoagulation for plastic surgery patients, and some surgeons are hesitant to use it due to potential bleeding in extensive dissection areas.Level of Evidence III This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 ., (© 2023. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature and International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.)

Purpose: In modern breast cancer treatment, a growing role has been observed for breast reconstruction together with an increase in clinical indications for postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT). Choosing the optimum type of reconstructive technique is a clinical challenge. We therefore conducted a national multicenter study to analyze the impact of PMRT on breast reconstruction., Methods: We conducted a retrospective case-control multicenter study on women undergoing breast reconstruction. Data were collected from 18 Italian Breast Centres and stored in a cumulative database which included the following: autologous reconstruction, direct-to-implant (DTI), and tissue expander/immediate (TE/I). For all patients, we described complications and surgical endpoints to complications such as reconstruction failure, explant, change in type of reconstruction, and reintervention., Results: From 2001 to April 2020, 3116 patients were evaluated. The risk for any complication was significantly increased in patients receiving PMRT (aOR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.33-2.24; p < 0.001). PMRT was associated with a significant increase in the risk of capsular contracture in the DTI and TE/I groups (aOR, 2.24; 95% CI, 1.57-3.20; p < 0.001). Comparing type of procedures, the risk of failure (aOR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.06-3.12, p =0.030), explant (aOR, 3.34; 95% CI, 3.85-7.83, p < 0.001), and severe complications (aOR, 2.54; 95% CI, 1.88-3.43, p < 0.001) were significantly higher in the group undergoing DTI reconstruction as compared to TE/I reconstruction., Conclusion: Our study confirms that autologous reconstruction is the procedure least impacted by PMRT, while DTI appears to be the most impacted by PMRT, when compared with TE/I which shows a lower rate of explant and reconstruction failure. The trial is registered with NCT04783818, and the date of registration is 1 March, 2021, retrospectively registered., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Andrea Vittorio Emanuele Lisa et al.)