Repair of distal biceps brachii tendon rupture: a case report

The rupture of the distal tendon of the biceps brachii muscle is a rarely encountered injury, causing flexion and supination losses. There are literature reports giving good results with the use of two-incision technique that fixes the distal biceps brachii tendon to the radial tuberosity. We used this technique in a 49-year-old male patient who had had left distal tendinous rupture of the biceps brachii muscle caused by lifting heavy weight. Functional evaluation at the end of 16 months with the use of the Cybex 350 test machine showed normal range of motions for flexion and extension in the left elbow. There was a 25 percent loss of strength and 5 percent loss of endurance in flexion, and 11 percent loss of endurance in pronation. No complications were observed and a very good functional result was achieved.     

Ethmomaxillary sinus

Ethmomaxillary sinus is a variation of the posterior ethmoid cells. It is formed by the extension of the posterior ethmoid cells into the maxillary sinus and drains into superior nasal meatus. It is incidentally seen on paranasal sinus computerized tomography (CT) scans. Its prevalence has been reported as 0.7 and 2% in two studies. In this study, paranasal CT scans of 466 patients were investigated for the presence of ethmomaxillary sinus. The patients had paranasal CT with the preliminary diagnoses of septal deviation, chronic inflammatory paranasal sinus disease and nasal turbinate disorders. The ethmomaxillary sinus was present in nine of those patients (1.93%). It was septated in one of them. The CTs were further investigated for other anatomical variations and co-existent mucosal disease of the paranasal sinuses.     

Spontaneous small bowel perforations due to intestinal tuberculosis should not be repaired by simple closure

Intestinal tuberculosis is a major problem in many regions of the world. The incidence of it is rising in Western countries due to immigration from Third World countries and human immunodeficiency virus infection. The difference between the simple closure and resection and anastomosis was evaluated in this study. Retrospectively, 12 patients with intestinal tuberculosis diagnosed histopathologically among 50 patients with free intestinal perforations operated on between 1995 and 2003 at Turgut Ozal Medical Center were evaluated. Each patient underwent routine laboratory tests and radiologic studies. The most common symptoms of patients were abdominal pain, night sweats, and weight loss. Sites of perforation were ileum in 10 patients (multiple perforation in 4) and jejunum in 2 patients (both had multiple perforations). The perforation was closed by primary closure in 7 patients. Resection-anastomosis was performed in 5 patients. Leaks occurred in overall 3 of 7 patients with primary closure. Three of the 7 patients with leaks due to septicemia died. The mortality rate among all patients was 25%. Intestinal tuberculosis should be kept in mind as a cause in free intestinal perforations. Because of high mortality rate, the resection of the affected area and anastomosis may be the treatment of choice rather than primary closure.     

Surgical treatment of subaortic obstruction in adolescent and adults: long-term follow-up

Subaortic stenosis (SAS) is a wide spectrum of anatomical derangements ranging from a discrete fibrous membrane to tortuous fibrous tunnel with or without aortic annulus hypoplasia. We have reviewed 88 patients undergoing surgery for SAS over a 15-year period. There were 47 male and 41 female patients with a mean age of 19.8 +/- 10.6 years (range 11 to 39). Fifty-eight patients had discrete subaortic membrane, and 30 patients had diffuse tunnel subvalvular stenosis. The mean systolic pressure gradients were found to be 86.5 +/- 31.4 mmHg (range 48 to 145 mmHg). Ten patients had mild and 13 patients had moderate-to-severe aortic insufficiency (AI) preoperatively. Nine patients had bicuspid aortic valve. Forty patients (45.4%) had associated cardiac lesions. Isolated membranectomy was performed in six patients. Membranectomy associated with septal myectomy was done in 52 patients. Fifteen patients of them associated hypoplasia of the aortic orifice necessitated aortic valve replacement (AVR) using the Konno-Rastan procedure. Fifteen patients with tunnel SAS and normal aortic valves underwent a combined approach for valve sparing, a modified Konno procedure with patch septoplasty. Also eight patients required AVR because of the severity of AI and five patients aortic reconstruction procedures. Aortic commissurotomy was performed to relief of stenosis in four patients. There were three early deaths (3.4%) and one late death (1.1%) all after the Konno-Rastan procedure. Eight patients (9.1%) had permanent conduction abnormalities. Postoperative left ventricle-aorta gradient was significantly decreased at early postoperative period (p < 0.001) and ranged from 10 to 25 mmHg (mean 14.1 +/- 4.3). Fourteen patients (16.5%) were reoperated for recurrent obstruction or progression of AI. The mean reoperation interval was 4.4 +/- 1.7 years (range 2 to 8 years). Five-year reoperation-free survival was 88.0 +/- 3.6% and 12.5-year reoperation-free survival was 75.5 +/- 7.0%. Our results of aggressive surgical approach of subvalvular aortic stenosis produces relief of obstruction and frees the valve leaflets, significantly reducing associated AI with long-term survival and long-term adequate relief of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction.     

Coronary bypass procedures in patients with renal artery stenosis

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY: We present our experience on patients with renal artery stenosis undergoing myocardial revascularization procedures. METHODS: Eighteen patients with varying degrees of renal artery stenosis were operated for coronary artery bypass grafting between 1996 and 2003. The overall incidence was 0.15%. There were nine male and nine female patients with a mean age of 62 +/- 8.2 (40-72 years). Four had bilateral and eight had significant unilateral (>50%) renal artery stenoses. Preoperatively, three patients had renal arterial intervention (stenting), and one patient was on hemodialysis. The mean preoperative creatinine value was 2.6 +/- 2.7 mg/dL (range 0.7 to 9.3). The patients were followed medically: two patients underwent off-pump coronary bypass grafting and the others were operated on-pump. RESULTS: There was only one mortality and two patients required hemodialysis postoperatively. The postoperative mean creatinine values were 3.4 +/- 4.9 mg/dL (range 1.0 to 12.5). No electrolyte imbalances were noted except that one case revealed a transient metabolic acidosis. Five patients required inotropic support with dopamine and two needed diuretic infusions. Only five patients demonstrated a refractory hyper tensive period postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: The concomitant correction of renal artery stenosis with CABG is usually not necessary, but the principles for renovascular diseases must be kept in mind and individually oriented strategies must be planned.     

Protective effect of resveratrol against renal oxidative stress in cholestasis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This experimental study was designed to evaluate histological changes of the kidney and renal tissue levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH), and nitric oxide (NO) and the effect of resveratrol on these metabolites after bile duct ligation in rats. METHODS: Secondary biliary cirrhosis was induced by bile duct ligation for 28 days. Swiss albino rats were divided into three groups. Group 1: Sham (n=7), Group 2: Bile duct ligation (n=7), Group 3: Bile duct ligation plus resveratrol (n=7). Bile duct ligation (BDL) plus resveratrol group received 10 mgr/kg dose of resveratrol intraperitoneally daily throughout 28 days. Kidney tissues were harvested to determine the tissue levels of MDA, GSH, and NO activity. Liver and kidney tissues were removed for light microscopic evaluation. RESULTS: Cholestasis was determined by biochemical and pathologic examination. In the resveratrol-treated rats, levels of MDA were significantly lower than those of the BDL group (p < 0.04). The levels of GSH in the resveratrol-treated rats were significantly higher than those in the BDL group (p < 0.01). The levels of NO in the resveratrol group were significantly lower than those in the BDL group (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates that intraperitoneal administration of resveratrol in bile duct ligated rats maintains antioxidant defenses and reduces kidney oxidative damage. This effect of resveratrol may be useful in the preservation of renal oxidative stress in cholestasis.     

Thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor in Behçet's disease

INTRODUCTION: Thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) is a procarboxypeptidase downregulating plasmin formation, thereby causing a tendency for thrombosis development. Since, Beh?et's disease (BD) is a systemic vasculitis, which is commonly complicated by arterial and venous thrombosis, we aimed to find out plasma TAFI levels in BD, compared with healthy controls. We also searched whether plasma TAFI levels were significantly different between Beh?et's subgroups with and without thrombosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, 105 BD patients (M/F: 64/41; mean age 36+/-1 years), followed up by Ege University Rheumatology Department were enrolled. The exclusion criteria were hemophilia, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, hepatic diseases renal failure, antiphospholipid positivity, oral contraceptive use and pregnancy. Age-and sex-matched healthy controls (n=53) were also included. Plasma TAFI levels were measured by ELISA. Since TAFI is also an acute-phase reactant, we also measured other inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP). RESULTS: Plasma TAFI levels were significantly higher in Beh?et's patients (91.1+/-7.4 ng/ml) compared with healthy controls (14.3+/-4.5 ng/ml) (P<0.001), but there were no significant difference between the subgroups with and without thrombosis. In BD, there was no correlation between plasma TAFI levels and CRP. CONCLUSIONS: Regardless of manifest thrombosis, plasma TAFI levels in BD were significantly higher than in healthy controls. High TAFI levels might possibly contribute to the thrombotic tendency in BD. Future studies investigating TAFI gene polymorphism and functional activity are clearly needed, to clarify the exact role of TAFI in Beh?et's thrombosis.