A case of refractory perforation at the floor of the mouth with ectopic bone formation

Although most fistulae are not problematic, surgeons occasionally encounter recurrent and/or refractory fistulae in the field of oral and maxillofacial surgery. In this case report, the authors describe a case in which a patient experienced a recurrent and refractory fistula or perforation at his oral floor through the submandible, with heterotopic bone formation arising on both sides of the mylohyoid line. These heterotopic bones were connected to each other, forming a bone bridge at the center of the oral floor. A fistulectomy and wound closure with a tongue flap was successful. The perforation has not recurred after over four years of follow-up, and the bone bridge is still present.     

Sigmoid colon carcinoma that developed from a sessile-type cancer in a short period of time

We report a case of sigmoid colon carcinoma that developed from a sessile-type cancer in a short period of time. An 83-year-old man was found to have a round sessile polyp, about 2 cm in diameter, in the sigmoid colon. Because he had taken anticoagulants, immediate endoscopic mucosal resection and biopsy were not performed. Forty-three days later, the apical surface of the sessile polyp had become depressed and ulcerated, and we judged that an endoscopic resection was not indicated for this lesion. The histologic diagnosis of the biopsy specimens was a well-differentiated adenocarcinoma. We recommended surgical treatment; however, the patient was not in favor of surgical treatment and would not consent to surgery. Two more examinations were performed and the tumor was found to have developed into an invasive cancer with ulcerated, nodular margins involving 3/4 of the colonic lumen. At 271 days after the initial examination, the patient finally consented to surgery and a partial resection of the sigmoid colon was performed. The tumor was classified as stage I (T2N0M0). The several examinations performed from presentation within a short time span provide evidence of the morphologic changes that occur when a sessile-type cancer develops into an ulcerating invasive cancer. We hypothesize that remarkable configuration changes and development take place when a tumor becomes invasive in the muscularis propria from massive submucosal invasion. Our findings suggest that among the tumors discovered as typical ulcerating invasive type colon cancers are those that developed from protuberant tumors in a short period of time.     

Body surface area index predicts outcome in orthotopic liver transplantation

Background/Purpose

In living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), matching of liver volume between donor and recipient is critical to the success of the procedure; mismatch can result in ??small- or large-for-size syndrome??. In orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), matching criteria are less stringent and non-uniform. We sought to determine whether a new parameter, the ratio of donor to recipient body surface area (BSAi), is predictive of size mismatch and/or post-transplant morbidity or mortality.

Methods

We reviewed data on 1228 OLT recipients and stratified this data according to three categories: small-for-size (BSAi <0.6), control (BSAi?=?0.6?C1.4), and large-for-size (BSAi >1.4) donors.

Results

We found that: (1) matching of grafts at the upper and lower extremes of BSAi had significantly reduced graft survival; (2) matches with lower BSAi sustained a less severe form of intraoperative post-reperfusion syndrome, and the incidence of hepatic artery thrombosis was high postoperatively in these grafts; (3) BSAi and donor age correlated well with the severity of intraoperative post-reperfusion hypotension; and (4) small-for-size (BSAi <0.6) and large-for-size (BSAi >1.4) grafts, as well as preoperative total bilirubin, were significant risk factors for decreased graft survival.

Conclusion

We conclude that the BSAi can predict clinically significant size mismatch and adverse outcomes in cadaveric whole OLT.     

Idiopathic Carotid and Coronary Vasospasm: A New Syndrome?

We present the first case of cerebral infarction due to idiopathic reversible vasospasm of the extracranial internal carotid artery without headache or identifiable cause in a patient who subsequently suffered acute myocardial infarction due to vasospasm of the coronary artery.     

Is the new potent acid-inhibitory drug vonoprazan effective for healing idiopathic peptic ulcers? A multicenter observational study in Akita Prefecture,Japan

Journal of Gastroenterology - The incidence of peptic ulcers unrelated to H. pylori infection and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), termed idiopathic peptic ulcers (IPUs), has...     

Determination of cut-off levels for on-clopidogrel platelet aggregation based on functional CYP2C19 gene variants in patients undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention

Introduction

Carriers of reduced-function CYP2C19 allele on antiplatelet therapy show diminished platelet inhibition and higher rate of clinical risk. The purpose of this study was to determine cut-off levels of VerifyNow P2Y12 system associated with effective inhibition of on-clopidogrel platelet aggregation to predict carriers of CYP2C19 reduced-function allele among patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Materials and Methods

We enrolled 202 consecutive patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing PCI and treated with clopidogrel. All patients underwent CYP2C19 genotyping and measurement of residual platelet aggregation by VerifyNow system.

Results

Carriers of CYP2C19 reduced-function allele constituted 131 (65%) of 202 CAD patients. Platelet inhibition measured by P2Y12 reaction units (PRU) and %inhibition was diminished in carriers compared with noncarriers (PRU: 290.0 ± 81.2 vs 217.6 ± 82.4, p < 0.001, %inhibition: 17.9 ± 17.8 vs 35.5 ± 22.8, p < 0.001, respectively). Multiple logistic regression analysis identified PRU and %inhibition as significant predictors of carrier state [odds ratio (OR) 4.95; 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 2.49 to 9.85; p < 0.001, OR 5.55; 95%CI: 2.80 to 10.99; p < 0.001, respectively]. Receiver-operating characteristic analysis showed that PRU and %inhibition were significant predictors of carrier state [area under the curve (AUC) 0.736 (95%CI: 0.664 to 0.808; p < 0.001), AUC 0.727 (95%CI: 0.651 to 0.803; p < 0.001), respectively]. The cut-off levels of PRU and %inhibition were 256 and 26.5% for the identification of carriers.

Conclusions

Our results suggested that the cut-off levels of PRU and %inhibition to discriminate carriers of CYP2C19 reduced-function allele from noncarriers are potentially useful clinically to provide optimal clopidogrel therapy in patients with stable CAD undergoing PCI.