Research

The Department of Plastic Surgery at UT Southwestern, one of the premier clinical research programs in the country, is a robust department of clinical translational research. Headed by Larry Lavery, DPM, MPH and Kathryn Davis, PhD, and with a budget of more than 2 million dollars, plastic surgery research is diversified in all areas, from basic and translational clinical research in wound healing, lasers, skin care, to anatomic research and peripheral nerve bioengineering.

The two guiding principles of UT Southwestern’s Department of Plastic Surgery research program are that all research projects are faculty driven and that there is a strong emphasis on clinical translational research. More than 100 pre-clinical and clinical studies examine various devices, drugs, and techniques. Highlights of these investigations and examples of ongoing research projects in the following areas are below:

• Anatomical Studies
• Composite Tissue Allotransplantation
• Emerging Technologies
• Nerve Biology
• Wound Healing

Funding for plastic surgery research comes from a variety of organizations and resources, including:

• Grants
• Society and foundations (ADA, OREF, AHA)
• Federal (NIH, VA, DOD)
• Industry (investigator-initiated and Phase 3 clinical trials)

Completed and ongoing research efforts have led to discoveries, advanced techniques, and various innovations that improve clinical outcomes.

Anatomical Studies

Since 2005, researchers in the Department of Plastic Surgery have investigated more than 300 flaps as part of an effort to better define the blood supply and vascular territory of commonly used perforator flaps in reconstruction. This volume has allowed the researchers to provide a thorough analysis of the intrinsic blood supply. The team has investigated a wide variety of perforator flaps (ex: DIEP, ALT, TDAP, SGAP/IGAP, etc.) and conventional flaps by performing injection studies of individual flap perforators, in order to determine their vascular territories.

Each perforator flap’s single perforator has its own unique vascular territory, which the researchers have termed a “perforasome,” and the team continues to determine and investigate the perforasomes of various flaps, in order to provide better information on the nature of their blood flow and to help improve the design and application of perforator flaps in the clinical setting. The experience and research at the Department of Plastic Surgery has led to the development of new flaps and reconstructive strategies that have been translated into clinical use.

Ongoing research at the Department of Plastic Surgery in the area of anatomical studies includes:

Anatomic Studies of Body and Face

• Joel E. Pessa, MD, FACS
• Michael Saint-Cyr, MD, FRCS(C)
• Rod J. Rohrich, MD, FACS

Anatomic Study of Facial Aging

• Joel Pessa, MD, FACS
• Rod J. Rohrich, MD, FACS
• Kathryn Davis, PhD

Characterization and New Classification of Soft Tissue Vascular Territories Using 3D and 4D CT

• Michael Saint-Cyr, MD, FRCS(C)

Muscle Belly Repair

• Tae Chong, MD
• Douglas Sammer, MD 

Composite Tissue Allotransplantation

CTA Research

• Tae Chong, MD
• Sumeet S. Teotia, MD
• Michael Saint-Cyr, MD, FRCS(C)
• Douglas Sammer, MD

Emerging Technologies

Nerve Biology

Although clinical application of peripheral nerve reconstruction has expanded greatly in application and technique over the last 30 years, the basic science of nerve healing remains largely undefined. The basic science laboratory of Jonathan Cheng, MD, is focused on investigating strategies for improvement of peripheral nerve regeneration. He and his team are seeking tissue-engineered strategies for the reconstruction of long nerve gap peripheral defects (those that measure greater than 3 cm in length).

Because evidence, clinical and otherwise, has shown that hollow tubular structures are not able to conduct axons beyond this distance, research at the Department of Plastic Surgery is seeking to provide the necessary microarchitecture, molecular cues, and cellular content in order to overcome this ubiquitous clinical challenge.

Other ongoing research at the Department of Plastic Surgery in the area of nerve biology includes:

Clinical/Anatomic Studies on Migraine Headache, Ideology, and Treatment

• Jeffrey E. Janis, MD, FACS

Management of Pain Neuropathies Highlighted by Innovative Double-Blinded Prospective Study

• Shai M. Rozen, MD

Nerve Biology Using Nanomaterials and Stem Cells

• Jonathan J. Cheng, MD

Innovative Upper Extremity Wound Healing Research

• Jonathan J. Cheng, MD

Wound Healing

The use of adipose as stem cell source for tissue engineering provides a rich portfolio of research experiences for the Department of Plastic Surgery. For instance, the current research interests of Kathryn Davis, PhD, include an exploration of the use of adipose and respective-derived stem cells as a tool for soft tissue reconstruction. An important aspect of ongoing studies is to investigate the adipose depot-specific characteristics of whole lipoaspirate, adipocytes and adipose derived stem cells.

Moreover, current investigations into how different types of delivery systems (no scaffolding, natural fat scaffolding, stem cells alone, etc) for adipose tissue derived cells can effect outcome measure, such as repair of soft tissue loss, thermal injuries, diabetic injuries. These studies are underway to ultimately develop new wound care strategies.

Other ongoing research at the Department of Plastic Surgery in the area of wound healing includes:

Lidocaine Safety Studies

• Jeffrey M. Kenkel, MD, FACS

Adipocyte-Derived Stem Cells in Irradiated Wounds

• Chris Derderian, MD
• Kathryn Davis, PhD

Biomechanical Assessment of SMAS and Soft Tissues

• Andrew P. Trussler, MD

Differential Role of Adipocytes and Adipose-Derived Stem Cells from Select Depots and the Role of Sex Steroids in Wound Healing

• Kathryn Davis, PhD

Clinical Studies on Innovations in the Management of Facial Skin Cancers

• James F. Thornton, MD, FACS

Clinical Database Outcome Analyses

• Andrew P. Trussler, MD

Abdominal Wall Reconstruction

• Ronald E. Hoxworth, MD
• Andrew P. Trussler, MD

Diabetic Foot Ulcers (NIH Studies)

• Larry Lavery, DPM, MPH