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Tracheostomy is one of the more commonly performed procedures in critically ill patients under mechanical ventilation. Postoperative scarring is one of the bothersome sequelae of tracheostomies. Scars distort physical appearance, especially when found on the head and neck, which could have a negative impact on quality of life. The aim of this study was to evaluate and assess the impact of post‐tracheostomy scars on quality of life according to the tracheostomy method. A prospective, single‐center, observational, case‐control study was conducted. One hundred fifty‐six persons with a post‐tracheostomy surgical scar for more than four months were observed using the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale and Dermatology Life Quality Index questionnaire. Persons were divided into two groups depending on the method of tracheostomy, and the duration of the cannulated period was considered in both groups. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS ver. 16.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA), and P values of <0.05 were considered significant. The patients who had a tracheostomic tube cannulation period of fewer than 15 days had better cosmetic results than those who had tracheostomic tubes for more than 15 days, regardless of the tracheostomy method: 6.64 ± 0.082 versus 16.15 ± 0.096 (P < 0.001) in the surgical tracheostomy group and 7.26 ± 0.211 versus 14.17 ± 0.379 (P < 0.05) in the percutaneous dilatational group. The Dermatology Life Quality Index scores had a mean value of 0.6 ± 0.01, which means that post‐tracheostomy scarring in the present study had no effect on the person's quality of life. The aesthetic outcomes of post‐tracheostomy scars after the open surgical tracheostomy technique did not significantly differ from those of the percutaneous dilatational technique in the present study. Persons with a long duration of tracheostomic tube ventilation showed worse aesthetic outcomes than those with short‐term tracheostomic cannulation, which was not dependent on the tracheostomy technique. The Dermatology Life Quality Index showed that post‐ttracheostomy scarring in the present study had no effect on the person's quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Connecting implants with teeth is sometimes considered for the support of prostheses in partial edentulism, especially in periodontally compromised and surgical treated patients. The aim of this study is the presentation of a model of tooth–implant nonrigid fixation in comparison with implant–implant and implant–tooth rigid fixation by three-dimensional (3D) finite element analysis. As a model, a situation with a mandibular second premolar and two molars edentulism was selected. Two implantation options with three prosthetics designs were considered. The comparative analysis of stress and strain distribution values under vertical 100 and 200 N loading was performed. The highest peri-implant crestal bone stress distribution was observed in the model with the implant–tooth rigid fixation with 200 N vertical loading with results of 136.56 MPa. In the model with implant–tooth nonrigid fixation, the maximum strain value was observed in the tooth–connector zone and the stress distribution was higher in the connectors and the prosthesis pontic zone, with a maximal value of 27.77 MPa. The design of a tooth–implant fixed denture could be suggested as a method of choice for rehabilitation of the posterior edentulous segment in cases when only one distal implant could be installed. Further clinical research is required to obtain reliable validation data for the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]