Grants Funded
Grant applicants for the 2024 cycle requested a total of nearly $3 million dollars. The PSF Study Section Subcommittees of Basic & Translational Research and Clinical Research evaluated more than 100 grant applications on the following topics:
The PSF awarded research grants totaling over $650,000 dollars to support more than 20 plastic surgery research proposals.
ASPS/PSF leadership is committed to continuing to provide high levels of investigator-initiated research support to ensure that plastic surgeons have the needed research resources to be pioneers and innovators in advancing the practice of medicine.
Research Abstracts
Search The PSF database to have easy access to full-text grant abstracts from past PSF-funded research projects 2003 to present. All abstracts are the work of the Principal Investigators and were retrieved from their PSF grant applications. Several different filters may be applied to locate abstracts specific to a particular focus area or PSF funding mechanism.
EX-VIVO NORMOTHERMIC HUMAN UPPER EXTREMITY PERFUSION
Principal Investigator
Bahar Bassiri Gharb MD, PhD
Bahar Bassiri Gharb MD, PhD
Year
2016
2016
Institution
Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Funding Mechanism
National Endowment for Plastic Surgery Grant
National Endowment for Plastic Surgery Grant
Focus Area
Hand or Upper Extremity, Composite Tissue Allotransplantation
Hand or Upper Extremity, Composite Tissue Allotransplantation
Abstract
An estimated 1.6 million persons were living with the loss of a limb in the year 2005. Limb loss secondary to trauma accounts for an additional 45% of the prevalent cases (704,000). From 2000 to 2004 there were 8910 amputation patients (1.0% of all trauma patients). Of these, 6855 (76.9%) had digit and 2055 (23.1%) had limb amputations. Of those with limb amputations, 92.7 % had a single limb amputation [1].
Currently, cooling is the only available preservation method for amputated limbs. Cooling can directly damage cells, causing swelling and cell death. These effects are compounded after reattachment and reperfusion of the limb because of production of reactive oxygen species and inflammation (a phenomenon called ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI)) [2-6].
In order to optimize limb preservation and to prevent consequences of IRI, we propose a normothermic ex-vivo perfusion system. This system will provide several advantages over cold preservation: 1) the ability to maintain oxygenation and temperature of the limb close to physiological values; 2) a perfusion solution providing all necessary nutrients at optimal concentrations; 3) the ability to maintain and monitor physiological pH and electrolyte range to preserve function. In the clinical setting these will translate into an increased number of limbs available for replantation and transplantation because of improved preservation and therefore function. In the event of transplantation the perfusion would allow adequate preparation time of the donor limb as well as the transplantation site and could decrease the number and severity of rejection episodes.
The proposed perfusion system was tested in the Plastic Surgery Research Laboratory of the Cleveland Clinic using animal model. Promising preliminary data from perfused porcine limbs demonstrated the high potential of success. Based on the collected data we hypothesize that a normothermic ex-vivo perfusion system will improve long term tissue preservation allowing for successful human limb replantation and transplantation. Long term perfusion will permit for 12 hours of limb preservation increasing the chance of successful limb transplantation after re-vascularization.
An estimated 1.6 million persons were living with the loss of a limb in the year 2005. Limb loss secondary to trauma accounts for an additional 45% of the prevalent cases (704,000). From 2000 to 2004 there were 8910 amputation patients (1.0% of all trauma patients). Of these, 6855 (76.9%) had digit and 2055 (23.1%) had limb amputations. Of those with limb amputations, 92.7 % had a single limb amputation [1].
Currently, cooling is the only available preservation method for amputated limbs. Cooling can directly damage cells, causing swelling and cell death. These effects are compounded after reattachment and reperfusion of the limb because of production of reactive oxygen species and inflammation (a phenomenon called ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI)) [2-6].
In order to optimize limb preservation and to prevent consequences of IRI, we propose a normothermic ex-vivo perfusion system. This system will provide several advantages over cold preservation: 1) the ability to maintain oxygenation and temperature of the limb close to physiological values; 2) a perfusion solution providing all necessary nutrients at optimal concentrations; 3) the ability to maintain and monitor physiological pH and electrolyte range to preserve function. In the clinical setting these will translate into an increased number of limbs available for replantation and transplantation because of improved preservation and therefore function. In the event of transplantation the perfusion would allow adequate preparation time of the donor limb as well as the transplantation site and could decrease the number and severity of rejection episodes.
The proposed perfusion system was tested in the Plastic Surgery Research Laboratory of the Cleveland Clinic using animal model. Promising preliminary data from perfused porcine limbs demonstrated the high potential of success. Based on the collected data we hypothesize that a normothermic ex-vivo perfusion system will improve long term tissue preservation allowing for successful human limb replantation and transplantation. Long term perfusion will permit for 12 hours of limb preservation increasing the chance of successful limb transplantation after re-vascularization.
Biography
In the past ten years I have accumulated extensive experience in clinical and experimental reconstructive microsurgery as well as in hand and craniofacial surgery. This background allowed me to focus toward vascularized composite allotransplantation. The highlights of my career include:
1. Participation in 2 hand transplant procedures at Christine Marie Kleinert Institute (Louisville, KY). I was directly involved in the care of the hand transplant recipient.
2. Follow up of the first face transplant performed at Cleveland Clinic. In December 2008, Cleveland Clinic performed first, near-total face transplant in the United States. At the time, it was considered the largest and most complex face transplant in the world. The second face transplant was performed in September 2014. My role involved preparation of the donor and recipient and follow up of the recipient postoperatively. This great opportunity resulted in the authorship of several peer–reviewed publications and book chapters.
3. 2015 Kawamoto Award for the best paper presented at the 71 Annual Meeting of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association. I received this highly competitive award for a paper entitled: Retrieval of a full facial allograft based on the maxillary artery: indications and technique.
4. My overall research experience includes: 44 peer-reviewed publications, 8 book chapters, and over 80 conference presentations.
In the past ten years I have accumulated extensive experience in clinical and experimental reconstructive microsurgery as well as in hand and craniofacial surgery. This background allowed me to focus toward vascularized composite allotransplantation. The highlights of my career include:
1. Participation in 2 hand transplant procedures at Christine Marie Kleinert Institute (Louisville, KY). I was directly involved in the care of the hand transplant recipient.
2. Follow up of the first face transplant performed at Cleveland Clinic. In December 2008, Cleveland Clinic performed first, near-total face transplant in the United States. At the time, it was considered the largest and most complex face transplant in the world. The second face transplant was performed in September 2014. My role involved preparation of the donor and recipient and follow up of the recipient postoperatively. This great opportunity resulted in the authorship of several peer–reviewed publications and book chapters.
3. 2015 Kawamoto Award for the best paper presented at the 71 Annual Meeting of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association. I received this highly competitive award for a paper entitled: Retrieval of a full facial allograft based on the maxillary artery: indications and technique.
4. My overall research experience includes: 44 peer-reviewed publications, 8 book chapters, and over 80 conference presentations.