A novel technique to measure severity of pediatric pectus excavatum using white light scanning.

Background/purpose

Computed tomography (CT) derived Haller Index (HI) remains the standard for quantifying severity in patient with pectus excavatum (PE). Optical scanning described in literature reports optimistic results and new indices that correlate with HI. This study assessed the feasibility of a handheld White Light Scanner (WLS) to obtain 3D measurements and indices of PE deformity.

Pseudoathetosis: report of three patients.

We report on 3 patients with pseudoathetosis, which are involuntary, slow, writhing movements due to loss of proprioception.     

Familial occurrence of testicular cancer

A case of testicular cancer in 2 brothers is reported and a review of the literature about testicular malignancies and etiologic factors in closely related family members is given. The familial incidence of testicular tumor is found to be 3% in twins and 0.6-2.1% in less closely related men. Tumors were of the same histology in 70-77% of the twins, whereas in brothers and in other degrees of relationship tumors of different histology mostly occur. Following the diagnosis of the tumor in the first man, the average interval to presentation of the tumor in the relative was 3.7 years in twins, 7.7 years in nontwin brothers and 13.5 years for less closely related men. The need for a thorough checkup of other family members is advised.