Grants We Funded
Grant applicants for the 2023 cycle requested a total of nearly $4 million dollars. The PSF Study Section Subcommittees of Basic & Translational Research and Clinical Research evaluated nearly 140 grant applications on the following topics:
The PSF awarded research grants totaling over $1 million dollars to support nearly 30 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.
Recovery from Mastectomy:Qualifying Survivorship through Patient-CenteredOutcomes
Kasandra Dassoulas MD
2016
University of Virginia
ASRM/PSF Research Grant
Breast (Cosmetic / Reconstructive), Microsurgery
It is estimated that there were more than 230,000 women diagnosed with new invasive breast cancer in 2014 and mastectomy was recommended in over a third of early stage breast cancers. Those women who elect to undergo breast reconstruction are counseled on surgical risks and benefits of implant-based and autologous reconstruction. Currently, there is limited patient-centered information about course of recovery which is a major consideration when deciding between types of reconstruction.
Patient recovery estimates are often anecdotally related to the length or invasiveness of the surgical procedure rather than patient-centered evidence-based data on implant-based recovery versus autologous surgical recovery. This deficit in information on patient recovery comes at a time when real-time digital devices are used to track vitals, sleep-wake cycles and steps taken for their personal convenience without being used to guide treatment. We intend to use this technology to inform advice on patient recovery after mastectomy and breast reconstruction.
At this time, physicians are unable to give accurate, detailed information on when women may expect to resume these types of activities based on their personal characteristics, and furthermore, we are uncertain which aspects of recovery are most important to them. In this pilot study, we hope to understand what outcome variables are important to women, and whether actigraphy devices can feasibly be used to track activity postoperatively. We intend to perform a parallel cohort study model of women undergoing mastectomy alone, mastectomy and implant-based reconstruction and mastectomy and autologous reconstruction over 1 year with 15 women in each group. We would then seek additional future funding to study outcomes in 300 women.
Kasandra Hanna is a fifth year integrated Plastic Surgery Resident at University of Virginia. Originally from Bethesda, Maryland, she completed her undergraduate work at University of Maryland. She attended medical school at University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. She has been involved in research with the plastic surgery department for over six years and has previously published on patient satisfaction in breast reconstruction. Her research interests include evidence-based methods for decreasing complications after breast reconstruction and patient centered outcomes after breast reconstruction. She is also conducting translational research to develop an animal model for irradiated tissue expansion based breast reconstruction. Professionally, she aims to further specialize in breast reconstruction and is planning to start a microsurgery fellowship in 2017 with a breast reconstruction focus.