RETRACTED: Bone graft substitutes: What are the options?

Currently, a number of bone grafting materials are available in the clinical setting to enhance bone regeneration, varying from autologous bone to several bone graft substitutes. Although autologous bone remains the "gold standard" for stimulating bone repair and regeneration, the morbidity from its harvesting and its restricted availability generated the need for the development of other materials or strategies either to substitute autologous bone graft or expand its limited supply. Bone graft substitutes can possess one or more components: an osteoconductive matrix, acting as a scaffold; osteoinductive proteins and other growth factors to induce differentiation and proliferation of bone-forming cells; and osteogenic cells for bone formation. Based on their distinct properties, all these bone grafting alternatives have specific indications, and can be used either alone or in combination. In this review, we summarise the available bone grafting materials, focussing mainly on the various bone substitutes and their characteristics, in an effort to specify the indications for their use.     

What are the treatment options for blister-like aneurysms?

Treatment of blood blister-like aneurysms (BBAs) of the supraclinoidal internal carotid artery (ICA) is challenging and the optimal treatment is yet to be defined. The treatment options for ICA BBAS are microsurgery, endovascular therapy, or a combination of the two. The microsurgical armamentarium consists mainly of direct aneurysm clipping with or without protective EC-IC bypass, clip-wrapping, or trap ligation with ICA sacrifice with or without EC-IC bypass. The endovascular treatment options are mainly endovascular ICA ligation, multiple overlapping stents (≥ 3) with or without coiling, covered stents, or flow diverters. In four recent meta-analyses of BBAs, neither microsurgical nor endovascular therapy had an impact on clinical outcome in multivariate analysis. Microsurgery offered aneurysm obliteration rates superior to endovascular techniques, but came at a higher risk of intraoperative bleeding. Endovascular therapy increased the likelihood of a second treatment, conversion to another treatment modality, and incomplete aneurysm obliteration. In this review, we discuss pros and cons of the above approaches while adding our own viewpoints to the discussion.     

Pregnancy and cardiac interventions: What are the optimal management options?

Cardiac disease is the leading cause of maternal mortality in the United Kingdom. Major causes of cardiac death in pregnant women include cardiomyopathies, myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease, and aortic dissection. Uncorrected congenital heart disease and women who have had corrective or palliative surgery may have complicated pregnancies as well. Some women with significant cardiac disease are unable to meet the increased physiological demands of pregnancy. Of these, those who do not respond to medical treatment may require surgical correction such as coronary artery bypass grafting. The risk of cardiac operations for pregnant women is similar to that for nonpregnant women but the fetal mortality rate remains high. Contributing factors to high fetal mortality rates include timing, urgency of operation, and the fetal/fetoplacental response to cardiopulmonary bypass. The aim of this review is to summarize current evidence in utilizing the different management approaches of cardiac issues during pregnancy.     

Brief review: The LMA Supreme? supraglottic airway

Purpose

This article is a review of the efficacy and safety of the Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA) Supreme? as a stand-alone supraglottic airway during general anesthesia and as a conduit for tracheal intubation. Relevant articles were obtained using MEDLINE (1948-July 2011) and EMBASE (1980-July 2011). Only original studies with adult human patients and published in English were selected.

Principal findings

The LMA Supreme was found to be comparable with the LMA Proseal? with regard to success rate, insertion time, and complications. However, in three studies, oropharyngeal leak pressure was higher with the LMA Proseal than with the LMA Supreme. The LMA Supreme was superior to the LMA Classic? with regard to insertion time and oropharyngeal seal pressure. The LMA Supreme was also used successfully in two difficult airway cases, and it has been used as a conduit for tracheal intubation by utilizing an intubation introducer (gum elastic bougie) and subsequently railroading an endotracheal tube over the bougie into the trachea. Techniques for achieving tracheal intubation include the use of the Aintree Intubation Catheter?, a guidewire-exchange catheter, a gum elastic bougie, and a small (<6.0?mm internal diameter) endotracheal tube.

Conclusion

The LMA Supreme has been shown to be a safe and efficacious device as a stand-alone supraglottic airway and may also be used as a conduit for tracheal intubation. Further trials are needed to determine the efficacy of the LMA Supreme compared with other supraglottic airways in both elective and emergent airway management situations.     

Diagnosis and treatment of non-metastatic esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma: What are the current options?

While the prevalence of distal gastric cancer is decreasing in the western world, there has been an alarming rise in the incidence of esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma (EGJA) during recent decades. Current reports show that the prognosis of EGJA remains poor. Therapy strategies are complex due to the anatomical location of the junction between the esophagus and stomach. Surgery, based on Siewert's classification and associated with regional lymphadenectomy, is the mainstay of treatment. Transthoracic esophagectomy is recommended for type I EGJA, while total gastrectomy is recommended for type III EGJA; both approaches can be considered for type II EGJA. Surgery alone can be indicated only for stage I and IIa tumors. Perioperative chemotherapy should be considered for stage IIb, III and non-metastatic stage IV tumors. Adjuvant chemoradiation can be proposed for tumors with high-risk of recurrence in the absence of neoadjuvant therapy. Neoadjuvant chemoradiation can be proposed for predominantly esophageal EGJA, and might well become a standard treatment for all EGJA tumors in the near future. A multidisciplinary approach is essential for optimal diagnosis and management.     

Heart transplantation: how to select patients? What are the alternatives?

The gap between the number of potential recipients of a cardiac graft and the availability of donor hearts is still growing. A proper selection of heart transplant candidates is mandatory to ensure that patients in critical need, who are likely to benefit from this procedure, are identified. The work-up of a patient with terminal chronic heart failure includes a comprehensive cardiac and systemic evaluation. Critical in the decision is the exclusion of irreversible pulmonary hypertension. Furthermore, underlying diseases that could compromise short- and long-term prognosis after transplantation should be carefully assessed. The mortality on the waiting list and the growing pool of patients with chronic heart failure that is excluded from transplantation has stimulated the search for alternative treatment modalities. Besides a pharmacologic approach, the last few years have witnessed a tremendous evolution in so-called mechanical devices, designed to improve both morbidity and mortality of these patients. Although several of these devices have only just entered the clinical phase, internal cardioverter defibrillators, left ventricular assist devices and biventricular pacemakers can no longer be viewed as experimental tools.     

What are the risk factors of anal incontinence after vaginal delivery?

Fecal incontinence is one of the most feared complications of vaginal delivery. It may be the consequence of sphincter tears, of pudendal neuropathy, or of a combination of the two. Fecal incontinence occurs immediately following 13-54% of vaginal deliveries but its persistence in the mid and long term is poorly known. The incidence of perineal tear with anal sphincteric defect varies from 1-9% and the incidence of unrecognized sphincter injury may be as high as 18-35%. Half the women who undergo primary anal sphincter repair have short or long term continence problems. Pudendal neuropathy is caused by nerve stretch during pushing in the second stage of labor and descent of the fetal head; it may occur even with the first delivery. Risk factors for sphincter injury and pudendal neuropathy include forceps delivery, large neonatal size, and prolonged second stage of labor. The risk of fecal incontinence must be considered even during the first pregnancy. Routine episiotomy does not prevent sphincter injury and may even predispose to it. Pudendal neuropathy following delivery may lead to delayed fecal incontinence abetted by postmenopausal hormonal deficiency and tissue senescence. The possible benefit of early episiotomy for women at high risk of sphincter injury must be evaluated by prospective studies.     

Augmentation cystoplasty: What are the indications?

Augmentation cystoplasty has been studied and performed by urologists for more than 100 years. Although specific indications, techniques, and materials used have undergone major changes and revisions during this period, the general concepts have remained the same. Bladder augmentation increases the bladder’s storage capacity. Specific indications include structurally diminished bladder capacity, neurogenically incapacitated bladder, special circumstances of overactive bladder, and interstitial cystitis. This article briefly reviews techniques including laparoscopic and extraperitoneal approaches. Most common long-term consequences of bladder augmentation including chronic infections, bladder stones, perforation, and malignancy are described. Overall, we demonstrate that in appropriately selected patients, bladder augmentation presents an excellent treatment option to improve bladder capacity, achieve socially acceptable continence, and stabilize renal function.