Percutaneous Extraction of an Abandoned Coiled Pacing Lead

Abandoning redundant pacing leads has been an accepted practice in most cases. Late migration of a lead is a rare, unpredictable, and potentially lethal complication of this approach and requires immediate removal. We report the case of an atrial pacing lead that had migrated and was found coiled in the right atrium. It was removed by a snare catheter via a femoral approach.     

Congenital absence of the testis in human fetuses and in cryptorchid patients

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study is to make a comparative study in human fetuses and in patients with cryptorchidism, analyzing the incidence of a number anomalies of the testes for both populations. METHODS: We studied 326 testes from 163 human fetuses ranging in age from 10 to 35 weeks postconception (WPC) and 133 testes from 101 cryptorchid patients aged from 1 to 15 years old (mean, 6.4 years). The Fisher's exact test was used for comparison. RESULTS: Among 326 fetal testes, 224 (68.7%) were abdominal, 45 (13.8%) were inguinal and 55 (16.8%) were scrotal. In one fetus at 23 WPC, both testes (0.6%) were absent. Of the 133 cryptorchid testes, 17 (12.78%) were abdominal, 92 (69.1%) were inguinal and 24 (18%) were high scrotal. Of the 17 abdominal testes, three (17.6%) were atrophic and two were vanished (11.7%). Of the 92 inguinal testes, one (1.08%) was vanished. Twenty-eight (21%) of the cryptorchid testes were impalpable and among these, 17 were located in the abdomen (60.7%) and 11 (38.2%) in the inguinal region (internal ring). CONCLUSIONS: Testicular agenesis is a very rare anomaly, both in fetuses and patients with cryptorchidism.     

CUTANEOUS MYIASIS CAUSED BY LARVAE OE CORDYLOBIA ANTHROPOPHAGA (BLANCHARD)

Background. Cordylobia anthropophaga (Blanchard) is a nonhematophagous dipteron belonging to the Calliphoridae family. It produces a mylasis called “tumbu fly” or “ver de Cayor” or “mango fly” or “skin maggot fly.” Case Reports. We describe two women, 24 and 23 years of age, affected by cutaneous myiasis caused by the larva of Cordylobia anthropophaga. In both cases the myiasis was contracted in Senegal and was characterized by a single lesion localized to the flank and the thigh respectively. From each of these lesions a single larva was extracted. Discussion. This myiasis represents a typical example of tropical disease that In the past was unknown to Western dermatologists.