Multifocal bone tuberculosis presenting as a breast mass: CT and MRI findings

Chest wall involvement is an uncommon manifestation of musculoskeletal tuberculosis. We present computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings in a case with multifocal musculoskeletal tuberculosis presenting as a breast mass. These radiological modalities are not diagnostic without histopathological confirmation, but they are valuable guides to surgery in defining the extent of disease involvement. Received: 1 July 1998; Revision received: 8 October 1998; Accepted: 12 October 1998     

A reliable surface landmark for localizing supratrochlear artery: medial canthus.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the reliability of medial canthus as a surface landmark to locate supratrochlear vascular pedicle. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: The distance from medial canthal line to supratrochlear vascular pedicle was measured in 57 healthy volunteers (Doppler imaging study) and also in 15 fresh cadavers. RESULTS: In the Doppler study, the pedicle was found at most 3 mm lateral or medial to medial canthus (mean +/- SD, 0.8 +/- 0.7 mm). SVP mark tended to be medial to the medial canthus mark in females (males, 6; females, 42), whereas it was lateral to it in males (males, 20; females, 5). In the cadaver study, the pedicle was found 0.7 mm away from medial canthus on average. CONCLUSION: Medial canthus can be used as a reliable landmark for paramedian forehead flaps. When Doppler examination fails, pedicle may be found at most 3 mm away from medial canthus. SVP is more commonly located lateral to medial canthus in males and medial to it in females.     

The role of free radicals and nitric oxide in the ischemia–reperfusion injury mediated by acute bladder outlet obstruction

Free-radical generation and nitric oxide (NO) generation were detected in the rat bladder following acute bladder outlet obstruction (BOO), and the results were compared with those for vascular ischemia and reperfusion (I-R). Forty male Sprague Dawley rats were used. In the acute BOO plus I-R group (group 1), rats were catheterized with a 3-Fr catheter and an inflated balloon was positioned at the bladder neck. The bladder was overdistended after administration of Ringer solution and furosemide (12 mg/kg, each) for 60 min, and was then drained to allow reperfusion for 30 min. In the acute BOO plus nerve stimulation group (group 2), the pelvic nerve was stimulated in the distended bladder for 60 min (5 s every 5 min, 10 V/0.1 ms, 20 Hz). Pelvic nerve stimulation was performed in nonobstructed animals in group 3. In the I-R group (group 4), the distal aorta was occluded for 60 min followed by reperfusion for 30 min. Sham-operated animals served as the control group (group 5). At the end of the protocols, the levels of hydroxyl and superoxide radicals and NO levels were measured in the bladder tissues with luminol- and lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence methods. The results were compared by a one-way analysis of variance test. The levels of hydroxyl radicals were not significantly different between the study groups. In contrast, superoxide radicals and NO levels were significantly increased in both group 1 and group 4 compared with those in control animals (P < 0.05 for all comparisons). Superoxide radical generation in group 2 was comparable to the levels in group 1 (P > 0.05), whereas NO levels were substantially lower than in group 1 (P = 0.06). In summary, vascular I-R causes significant oxidative damage to the bladder. Acute BOO with overdistension of the bladder mimics the effects of true vascular I-R injury. The NO pathway has possibly a major role in I-R-induced bladder damage. Prolonged BOO may therefore significantly enhance the oxidative damage to the bladder and further accentuate the effects of generalized atherosclerotic processes in the elderly adult.     

Specimen Radiography: An Assessment Method for Reduction Mammaplasty Materials

Although, one out of every eight women has a risk of developing breast cancer, the reported incidence of breast carcinoma detection in reduction mammaplasty materials is rather low. To our knowledge, specimen radiography, which is used for breast biopsies has not been used for the assessment of breast reduction materials. We investigated the applicability of specimen radiography and its potential benefits in detection of the breast pathologies, especially malignancies in reduction mammaplasty materials. Forty patients scheduled for reduction mammaplasty operation were included. In all cases an inferior pedicle reduction technique was preferred and the radiographs of the resected breast tissues were taken immediately. The radiographs were evaluated for any possible pathologic appearance and all abnormal findings were marked. For the histopathologic evaluation, in addition to the random sampling of the pathologist, any marked areas were also microscopically examined. In two cases fibrocystic changes were found in radiographs and the same results were obtained in the histological examination. No false negative mammogram was seen. Specimen radiography, which is applicable for breast reduction materials is an easy and cheap method and does not cause any patient discomfort. It seems that the radiographs of reduction mammaplasty materials are useful to provide guidance to the pathologist during tissue sampling for microscopic examination especially when large amounts of breast tissue is excised.     

Multicentral clinical evaluation of the aetiology of erectile dysfunction: A survey report

Patients with erectile dysfunction, who admitted to 4 different urological centres in Turkey were evaluated in terms of aetiological factors to establish the aetiology of erectile dysfunction in our population and compare it with the data derived from Western communities. After the history, physical examination, psychological evaluation and laboratory testing, a clinical diagnosis was established as primarily psychogenic, organic, or mixed aetiology. Mean patient age was 43.5 years (range 17 to 69), and 9 of the patients were unmarried. Of the patients 53 had vascular risk factors, and 10 reported a history of alcohol abuse. Eleven patients were using drugs that might interfere with the disorder. In this multicentral study of 115 impotent men, an organic cause was found in 43%, psychogenic in 47%, and mixed in 19%. Mean age of the overall patients was 43.48. When the ages of the patients with organic erectile dysfunction and those with psychogenic erectile dysfunction were compared, it was clearly seen that those with organic erectile dysfunction were much older (52.73 versus 33.02). This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Management of Esophageal Perforation

Despite recent advances in thoracic surgery, the management of esophageal perforation remains problematical and controversial. Thirty-one patients were treated for an esophageal perforation between 1986 and 1998. The esophageal perforation was iatrogenic in 25 cases, spontaneous in 2, traumatic in 2, and caused by a tumor and tuberculous lymphadenitis in 2 patients. There were 10 cervical, 19 thoracic, and 2 abdominal perforations. The interval from perforation to operation was less than 24 h in 12 patients and more than 24 h in 19 patients. The surgical procedures included a primary repair in 12 patients, a resection in 8, and conservative treatment with minor surgical approaches in 11. The mortality rate was 20% (4/20 patients) in the surgical treatment group and 45.5% (5/11 patients) in the conservative treatment with minor surgery group. The overall mortality was 29% (9/31 patients). The prognosis is thus concluded to depend on the cause and location of the perforation, the presence of underlying esophageal diseases, and the surgical procedure chosen. Received: October 12, 1999 / Accepted: May 30, 2000     

The effect of vitamin A on the course of renal ablation nephropathy

Renal scarring due to pyelonephritis was shown to improve in rats given vitamin A. We evaluated the effect of vitamin A in a renal ablation nephropathy model. Four groups, each including 7 rats with 5/6 nephrectomy, were formed: group I (no vitamin A), group II (60 kIU vitamin A), group III (120 kIU vitamin A), and group IV (180 kIU vitamin A). Four sham-operated rats comprised the control group. After 6 weeks of 5/6 nephrectomy, the rats were sacrificed and serum creatinine, vitamin A, and β-carotene levels were determined in addition to histopathological evaluation of the remnant kidneys. The tubulointerstitial and glomerular changes were graded as ”0–3” and ”0–5” respectively, in accordance with the severity of the lesions. Tubulointerstitial score (TIS), mean glomerulosclerosis score (MGS, arithmetical mean of the sclerosis scores of 100 glomeruli), and severity of glomerulosclerosis index (SGI, ratio of the number of glomeruli with grade ≥3 sclerosis to the total number of glomeruli examined) were calculated for each rat. Serum creatinine levels were higher in the study groups than the control rats (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the study groups (although the levels increased as the dose of vitamin A increased). Serum vitamin A levels were significantly higher in the groups given vitamin A than the control rats and group I (P<0.05). In addition, serum vitamin A levels increased significantly in parallel to increasing doses of vitamin A (P<0.05). Serum β-carotene levels did not differ between the groups, except for group II, which had lower levels than controls (P=0.01). MGS and SGI were significantly higher in the study groups than control rats (P<0.05), but did not differ between the study groups. Study and control rats were not different with respect to TIS, but there was a difference between the control group and group III (P=0.04). Group II had the lowest MGS, SGI, and TIS scores among the study groups. When all the rats were considered together, vitamin A levels did not correlate with the MGS and SGI, but correlated positively with the TIS (r=0.391, P=0.027). β-Carotene levels also did not correlate with the MGS, SGI, and TIS. In conclusion, vitamin A administration did not significantly affect the clinical and pathological course of renal ablation nephropathy in rats. Furthermore, higher doses of vitamin A might even damage renal tissue. Received: 14 June 1999 / Revised: 2 December 1999 / Accepted: 2 December 1999     

Prognostic Factors Affecting Locoregional Recurrence in Patients with Stage IIIB Noninflammatory Breast Cancer

Background The aim of the present study was to identify the clinicopathological factors affecting locoregional recurrence (LRR) in patients with clinical stage IIIB noninflammatory breast cancer (NIBC). Methods The records of 120 stage IIIB NIBC patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and then modified radical mastectomy followed by radiotherapy were evaluated. In this retrospective cohort, the effects of age, menopausal status, clinical tumor size, clinical response to NAC, pathological axillary status, number of positive axillary lymph nodes, pathological response to NAC, grade, lymphovascular invasion, estrogen receptor status, progesterone receptor status, Her-2-neu status, and p53 status on LRR were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses. Results The clinical response rate of 120 patients was 79.2% (17.5% complete and 61.7% partial), with a complete pathological response rate of 12.5%. The median follow-up was 28 months (range: 10–74 months). The LRR rate was 13.3%. Based on the univariate analysis, the clinical tumor size, clinical response rate, pathological axillary status, four or more positive axillary lymph nodes, lymphovascular invasion, and estrogen receptor status were factors that significantly affected LRR. In the multivariate analysis, however, only the clinical response rate and the number of positive axillary lymph nodes were found to be statistically significant independent factors. Conclusions Effective local control of disease can be achieved in patients with stage IIIB NIBC using a combination of NAC, surgery, and radiotherapy. However, a worse clinical response after chemotherapy and four or more positive axillary lymph nodes affect LRR negatively in these patients.     

Do hydronephrosis and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy affect carbohydrate antigens?

Objectives

To investigate carbohydrate antigen (CA 19-9, CA 15-3, and CA 125) levels in the patients who had hydronephrosis with renal stones and in whom Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) was performed.

Materials and Methods

This prospective study included 20 people with no known disease for control group and 30 patients who had hydronephrosis with renal stones and in whom ESWL was performed between January 2005 and January 2006. None of patients had urinary infection and malignancy. The blood for carbohydrate antigens was taken pre-ESWL and 30 min after ESWL in both groups. CA 19-9, CA 15-3, and CA 125 in the serum were tested with the electro-immunoassay method on the Roche^® E-170 apparatus with the original Roche^® kit.

Results

The CA 19-9 and CA 125 values in the patients group were found to be statistically significant when compared with the control group but the CA 15-3 was not found to be significant. However, CA 19-9, CA 15-3, and CA 125 values of post-ESWL were not statistically significant when compared with pre-ESWL group (P > 0.05).

Conclusions

The average serum values of CA 125 and CA 19-9 in patients were found to be significantly high. However, serum values of CA 19-9, CA 15-3, and CA 125 were not affected by ESWL.