Long-term effect of estradiol implants on the female urinary tract during the climacteric

The incidence of lower urinary tract dysfunction increases during the climacteric, and there is embryological, biochemical and epidemiologic evidence to suggest that depleted estrogen status is at least partially responsible. Twelve climacteric women underwent full assessment before and 1 year after treatment with a 50 mg subcutaneous estradiol implant +5 mg norethisterone for 7 days per month. Assessment consisted of a symptoms questionnaire, midstream urine sample, uroflowmetry, videocystourethrography with pressure flow studies, and urethral pressure profilometry. Subjectively, only the symptom of nocturia significantly improved. There was no change in flow variables but there was a significant decrease in residual urine and the degree of bladder base descent. Cystometric capacity was slightly but significantly decreased, and two patients developed genuine stress incontinence whilst on treatment. Nonetheless, there was a significant improvement in urethral pressures at rest but not under stress. This effect was predominantly in the proximal urethra. These data do not support the contention that estrogen replacement therapy is beneficial for lower urinary tract dysfunction during the climacteric.     

Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: State of the Art

Abstract The rupture of the Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) belongs to the most common ligament injuries of the human knee joint. ACL rupture results in an increased anterior translation and internal rotation of the tibia. Untreated knee instability causes a disintegration of the roll and sliding movement and a high incidence of secondary meniscus and chondral damages with consecutive or advanced arthritic changes. For deciding on a conservative or operative therapy, it is necessary to develop a high-risk profile. Elderly, inactive patients without instability symptoms can be treated conservatively; younger, active people and complex ligament injuries should receive an ACL replacement. The goal is to eliminate instability by maintaining the physiological kinematics of the knee. Anterior cruciate ligament may be reconstructed arthroscopically assisted by autologous tendons. Predominantly, hamstring- and bone-patellar-tendon grafts are used. No significant differences in knee laxity, clinically and functionally, were observed between both grafts. Various reconstruction techniques, single- or double-bundle techniques, were described. Successful replacement depends on a correct tunnel placement and reconstruction of the physiological band tension, a sufficient mechanical stability of fixation, an impingement-free range of motion and an adequate rehabilitation. A high degree of patient satisfaction in clinical and functional outcome could be evaluated.     

Disc replacement using Pro-Disc C versus fusion: a prospective randomised and controlled radiographic and clinical study

Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) may be considered to be the gold standard for treatment of symptomatic degenerative disc disease within the cervical spine. However, fusion of the segment may result in progressive degeneration of the adjacent segments. Therefore, dynamic stabilization procedures have been introduced. Among these, artificial disc replacement by disc prosthesis seems to be promising. However, to be so, segmental motion must be preserved. This, again, is very difficult to judge and has not yet been proven. The aim of the current study was to first analyse the segmental motion following artificial disc replacement using a disc prosthesis. A second aim was to compare both segmental motion as well as clinical result to the current gold standard (ACDF). This is a prospective controlled study. Twenty-five patients with cervical disc herniation were enrolled and assigned to either study group (receiving a disc prosthesis) or control group (receiving ACDF, using a cage with bone graft and an anterior plate.) Radiostereometric analysis was used to quantify intervertebral motion immediately as well as 3, 6, 12 and 24 weeks postoperatively. Further, clinical results were judged using visual analogue scale and neuro-examination. Cervical spine segmental motion decreased over time in the presence of disc prosthesis or ACDF. However, the loss of segmental motion is significantly higher in the ACDF group, when looked at 3, 6, 12 and 24 weeks after surgery. We observed significant pain reduction in neck and arm postoperatively, without significant difference between both groups (P > 0.05). Cervical spine disc prosthesis preserves cervical spine segmental motion within the first 6 months after surgery. The clinical results are the same when compared to the early results following ACDF.     

MycroMesh网片无张力腹股沟疝修补术30例报告

目的研究MycroMesh网片无张力疝修补术治疗腹股沟疝的临床效果。方法对我院收治的29例斜疝(1例双侧斜疝)、1例直疝选用MycroMesh生物性植入网片行无张力疝修利、术。结果30例患者经MycroMesh网片无张力疝修利-术后恢复快．无疼痛及异物感，随访至今，未见复发病例。结论MycroMesh网片无张力疝修补术治疗腹股沟疝效果满意，恢复快，患者痛苦少，为腹股沟疝较理想的治疗方法。     

Custom Ocular Prosthesis: A Palliative Approach

The goal of palliative care is the achievement of the best quality of life for patients and their families. Eyes are generally the first features of the face to be noticed. Loss of an eye is a traumatic event which has a crippling effect on the psychology of the patient. Several ocular and orbital disorders require surgical intervention that may result in ocular defects. An ocular prosthesis is fabricated to restore the structure, function, and cosmetics of the defects created by such conditions. Although an implant eye prosthesis has a superior outcome, due to economic factors it may not be a feasible option for all patients. Therefore, a custom-made ocular prosthesis is a good alternative. This case report presents a palliative treatment for a patient with an enucleated eye by fabricating a custom ocular prosthesis which improved his psychological, physical, social, functional, emotional and spiritual needs.     

Effect of leukocyte and platelet rich fibrin (L-PRF) on stability of dental implants. A systematic review and meta-analysis

The aim of this study was to assess the impact, if any, of L-PRF application in an implant bed prior to implant placement, focusing on stability by means of implant stability quotient (ISQ) values. The literature was searched in a systematic way by means of the main databases and hand searching of the most relevant journals. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were used to determine the eligible studies included in this review. Only randomised controlled trials (RCT) and controlled clinical trials (CCT) were included. A total of four RCTs were included for data extraction. The risk of bias was deemed moderate to unclear. Meta-analysis was performed to assess the effect of L-PRF, on implant stability, immediately post-insertion in three studies, after one week from the implant placement in three studies and after four weeks for all the included studies. The fixed effects model has shown Hedges g statistic for the one week varying from 0.380 to 1.401 with a pooled figure of 0.764 (95% CI 0.443 to 1.085) and for four weeks varying between 0.74 and 1.1 with a combined effect of 0.888 (95% CI 0.598 to 1.177). The results for both intervals were in favour of the use of L-PRF while the statistical difference immediately post-insertion was not statistically significant. The present systematic review, though acknowledging its limitations, suggests that L-PRF has a positive effect on secondary implant stability and that needs to be correlated to the clinical practice to measure the actual clinical effect by means of reducing treatment times.     

Dimensions of hard and soft tissue around adjacent,compared with single-tooth,zirconia implants

Preservation or regeneration of the papilla has always been a challenge around consecutive implants or with implants next to teeth, and many studies have evaluated the papilla’s behaviour and patterns based on surgical technique and prosthetic design, though evidence about its behaviour around zirconia implants is scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate papilla behaviour between implants and teeth (tooth-implant group) and between consecutive implants (implant–implant group). Ninety patients with 122 zirconia implants (Straumann^® PURE Ceramic Implant) were examined at the one-year follow up. We measured the effect of the distance: first from the base of the contact point of the crowns to the contact with bone at the implant site (D1); secondly, to the contact with the bone at the neighbouring tooth or implant site (D2); and thirdly on the papillary deficit (D3). In both the tooth-implant group and the implant–implant group, D1 and D2 correlated significantly with the papillary deficit (D3), whereas D2 was the major determinant factor (Spearman’s rho = 0.60). In both groups, when D1 and D2 were <6 mm, the papilla was present every time. The papillary deficit was significantly greater in the tooth-implant group than in the implant–implant group (p = 0.048). We conclude that the ideal distance from the base of the contact point to the bone contact at the implant and to the bone contact at the adjacent tooth in both groups is <6 mm. The height of the bone on the teeth adjacent to implants has a significant impact on that of the papilla.