Use of CO2 to move structures as an aid to percutaneous procedures

By injecting small amounts of CO2 through a needle, one can move bowel or bladder from the intended path of instruments during interventional procedures. The technique worked well in six of seven cases in the pelvis and retroperitoneum; it was not effective in the mediastinum or midabdomen (n = 6).     

Anaphylaxis to isosulfan blue and cross-reactivity to patent blue V: case report and review of the nomenclature of vital blue dyes.

BACKGROUND: Blue dyes used for lymphatic mapping in sentinel lymph node biopsy cause intraoperative anaphylactic reactions in up to 2.7% of patients. With increasing implementation of this technique, the incidence of anaphylaxis to these dyes can be expected to increase. In the literature, the chemically often unrelated and inconsistently designated dyes have been confused, adding to other inconsistencies in the nomenclature. OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the nomenclature, chemical and physiologic differences, and allergenicity of the various blue dyes used in a medical context. METHODS: We describe a patient with an intraoperative grade IV anaphylactic reaction to isosulfan blue. Immediate-type hypersensitivity was proved by positive skin test reactions and CD63 expression to isosulfan blue and cross-reactivity to patent blue V. RESULTS: A review of the literature clarified the exact nomenclature of the blue dyes and the possible pitfalls of confusing nomenclature in the context of structurally closely related dyes with different allergenic properties. For the detection of type I hypersensitivity, intracutaneous tests are valuable tools. An IgE-mediated mechanism has been shown recently. In most cases, sensitization exists without known previous exposure in a medical context. This may be due to the widespread use of such dyes in objects of everyday life. Preoperative antiallergic medication use does not prevent anaphylactic reactions but apparently reduces their severity. CONCLUSION: For better comparison and precision, the Chemical Abstracts Service number of the respective dye should always be given.     

Antibodies to cultured tumor cells detected in sera of renal cell carcinoma patients by a quantitative avidin-biotin method

Antibodies reacting with the tumor cell line RC-Pa were measured by a quantitative avidin-biotin complex method. Sera of renal cell carcinoma patients, patients with other types of cancer and healthy donors were analyzed. Of 71 sera from renal cell carcinoma patients 67 (94 per cent) were classified as showing renal cell carcinoma, while 32 of 36 sera (89 per cent) from healthy subjects were classified as showing no renal cell carcinoma. Four of 21 serum specimens (19 per cent) from individuals with other than renal cancer were misclassified. Furthermore, sera from renal carcinoma patients immunized with a mixture of autologous tumor cells and Corynebacterium parvum showed a marked increase in reactivity compared to those from patients receiving progesterone. The results indicate that this assay might become useful to detect or monitor renal cell carcinoma.     

外科手术中产生的烟气:仅仅是大量的热空气吗?

外科医生和手术室人员经常接触手术设备产生的烟气,病人也会暴露于烟气中,特别是腹腔镜手术中产生的烟气滞留于腹腔内这一密闭空间并被吸收.这些烟气是一种与香烟烟气相似的毒性物质,然而对这种毒性物质的影响还未引起足够重视.应该采取必要措施尽可能减少手术中烟气的不良影响.     

Use of the right gastroepiploic artery as a coronary bypass graft. Indications, technique and early results]

435 isolated coronary artery procedures have been performed between January and December 1989 at the HerzZentrum Hirslanden. In 93% of the cases, one or two internal mammary arteries (IMA) and in 7%, saphenous vein grafts only were used as a bypass conduit. In 12 patients, the right gastroepiploic artery (RGE) was used as a free (3) or pedicled (9) graft to the posterior surface of the heart. This group of 12 patients was analyzed in a retrospective study. Postoperative complications in this group included one myocardial infarction and reexploration for intraabdominal bleeding in the same patient. All patients were discharged from hospital after an average of 9.7 days. After a mean follow-up time of 5 months, all patients are in NYHA-functional class I without antiischemic drugs. Postoperative angiography in 7 patients (mean postoperative interval 4 months) showed all 13 IMA-grafts and 5 RGE-grafts patent, 1 RGE-conduit is occluded, 1 RGE-graft could not been assessed for technical reasons. The RGE is an viable additional arterial bypass conduit and an alternative to other grafts. Indications for use of the RGE are lack of sufficient other conduits, calcified ascending aorta, coronary reoperation after vein graft failure and probably young patients with severe hyperlipidemia.