Primary hydatid cyst of the retroperitoneum

Retroperitoneal contamination may occur during the natural history of hydatid disease. Primary hydatid cyst of the retroperitoneum is extremely rare. The authors report a case of a giant retroperitoneal hydatid cyst. Clinicians and surgeons must be aware of this possibility and follow a policy of nonsystematic puncture of an abdominal cyst and avoid spillage during surgery. Symptoms are related to the size, location, or ensuing complications of a cyst. Its occurrence should be strongly suspected ahead of any abdominal cyst, especially in an endemic area, where it may act as a parasite. Total and careful surgical excision is the gold-standard therapy.     

Outcome of laparoscopic nephron sparing surgery using a Satinsky clamp for hilar control: a trusted tool (SKIMS experience)

Background:Nephron sparing surgery is a well-established surgical procedure for patients with small/bilateral renal masses. During the procedure, hilar control can be achieved by using bulldog clamps individually on the renal vessels, the renal artery alone without clamping the vein, or a laparoscopic Satinsky clamp for en bloc hilar clamping. In our series, we described the outcome of laparoscopic nephron sparing surgery using a Satinsky clamp for hilar control.Materials and methods:All eligible cases with confirmed diagnosis of a renal mass were advised of nephron sparing surgery. The short-term outcomes were evaluated by warm ischemia time (using a Satinsky clamp especially when CT renal angiography was not available), average blood loss, and length of postoperative hospital stay. The oncological outcome was evaluated by noting the surgical margins of histopathological specimen, local recurrence, and distant metastasis.Results:Of 30 cases 20 were male. The mean age was 54.25 years. On preoperative evaluation, 24 cases were T1a stage and the rest were 6 T1b stage. Four tumors were located in the upper pole, 4 in the posterior midpole, and 22 in the lower pole. Twenty-six patients had a low complexity score on RENAL scoring (ie, 4–6) and 4 patients a medium complexity score (ie, 7–9). Three patients were converted to open partial nephrectomy because of technical difficulty in intracorporeal suturing and difficulty in achieving hemostasis. Among these 3 patients, 2 patients had posterior base tumors and 1 had a lower polar tumor. Average blood loss was 350 ml, warm ischemia time was 28.46 minutes, and postoperative stay was 4.55 days. Of 30 specimens for histopathology, 23 (76%) were clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC), 4 (13%) were papillary RCC, 1 (3.3%) was chromophobe RCC, whereas 2 (6.6%) were benign (oncocytoma). Margins were free of tumors in all the patients with no recurrence in 2 years of follow-up.Conclusion:Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy by using a Satinsky clamp as a tool for en bloc hilar clamping in the proper axis at the hilum takes care of multiple vessels irrespective of size and number, particularly when renal angiography is not available. This technique of en bloc hilar clamping is quite useful especially in developing countries where robotic facilities are not available. The Satinsky clamp decreases blood loss and intraoperative time.     

Relationship between body habitus and joint leptin levels in a knee osteoarthritis population

Synovial fluid (SF) leptin has been shown to have an association with cartilage degeneration. Our objective was to examine the relationship between different measures of body habitus and SF leptin levels in an end‐stage knee osteoarthritis (OA) population. Sixty consecutive patients with knee OA were surveyed prior to surgery for demographic data. Body habitus was assessed with the body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist–hip ratio (WHR). SF and serum samples were analyzed for leptin and adiponectin using specific ELISA. Nonparametric correlations and linear regression modeling was used to identify the relationship between the measures of body habitus and SF leptin levels. Females had greater levels of leptin than males in both the serum and SF. Significant correlations were found between SF leptin levels and BMI and WC (R² 0.44 and 0.38, respectively; p < 0.05). Regression modeling showed that female gender and WC were independent predictors of a greater SF leptin level independent of age, BMI, and presence of diabetes (p < 0.05). WC may be a more accurate measure of body habitus than BMI in the relationship between the metabolic effects of adipose tissue and OA. © 2009 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 28:329–333, 2010     

Technical refinements of composite thoracodorsal system free flaps for 1-stage lower extremity reconstruction resulting in reduced donor-site morbidity

A multitude of local flaps has been suggested for lower extremity reconstruction. However, the gold standard for defect coverage remains free tissue transfer. In this regard, the scapular vascular axis is a well-established source of expendable skin, fascia, muscle, and bone for use in free flap reconstruction of defects requiring bone and soft tissue in complex 3-dimensional relationships.Composite bone and soft-tissue flaps derived from the subscapular vascular axis include the osteocutaneous scapular flap, the "latissimus/bone flap," and the thoracodorsal artery perforator-scapular osteocutaneous flap.Patient outcome following reconstruction of lower extremity defects with composite free flaps from the thoracodorsal system were analyzed. Here, we demonstrate the execution of technical refinements on free composite flap transfers based on the thoracodorsal vascular axis, thus resulting in a stepwise reduction of donor-site morbidity.     

Paediatric palliative care at home: a single centre’s experience

INTRODUCTION

There is increased awareness of paediatric palliative care in Malaysia, but no local published data on home care services. We aimed to describe the paediatric experience at Hospis Malaysia, a community-based palliative care provider in Malaysia.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective case note review of patients aged up to 21 years who were referred to Hospis Malaysia from 2009 to 2013.

RESULTS

A total of 137 patients (92 male, 45 female) with a median age of 140 (3–250) months were included in this study. The majority (71.5%) had malignancies. At referral, 62 patients were still in hospital and 17 died prior to discharge. A total of 108 patients received home visits. At the first home visit, 89.8% of patients had at least one physical symptom. Pain was the most common (52.5%) symptom. Patients had various supportive devices: 39 were on feeding tubes, ten had tracheostomies, five were on bilevel positive airway pressure and ten had urinary catheters. 66 families discussed the preferred location of care at end-of-life. Among those who died, 78.9% died at home, as they preferred (p < 0.001). Regression analysis showed no statistically significant association between a home death and age, diagnosis and number of home visits. Bereavement follow-up occurred for 93.3% of families.

CONCLUSION

Community care referrals tend to occur late, with 25.5% of patients dying within two weeks of referral. At referral, patients often had untreated physical symptoms. The majority of families preferred and had a home death.     

Long-stay patients in pediatric intensive care units: Five-years, 2-points,cross-sectional study

Objectives:To explore the changing patterns of long-stay patients (LSP) to improve the utilization of pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) resources.Methods:This is a 2-points cross-sectional study (5 years apart; 2014-2019) conducted among PICUs and SCICUs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Children who have stayed in PICU for more than 21 days were included.Results:Out of the 11 units approached, 10 (90%) agreed to participate. The prevalence of LSP in all these hospitals decreased from 32% (48/150) in 2014 to 23.4% (35/149) in 2019. The length of stay ranged from 22 days to 13.5 years. The majority of LSP had a neuromuscular or cardiac disease and were admitted with respiratory compromise. Ventilator-associated pneumonia was the most prevalent complication (37.5%). The most commonly used resources were mechanical ventilation (93.8%), antibiotics (60.4%), and blood-products transfusions (35.4%). The most common reason for the extended stay was medical reasons (51.1%), followed by a lack of family resources (26.5%) or lack of referral to long-term care facilities (22.4%).Conclusion:A long-stay is associated with significant critical care bed occupancy, complications, and utilization of resources that could be otherwise utilized as surge capacity for critical care services. Decreasing occupancy in this multicenter study deserves further engagement of the healthcare leaders and families to maximize the utilization of resources.     

Dermatological aspects of cerebrovascular diseases

Neurological symptoms are sometimes triggered by the same mechanisms as are skin manifestations. They include genetic conditions like the epidermal nevus syndrome, the Sneddon syndrome, Fabry disease and others, as well as certain inflammatory disorders like erythematous lupus, Bechet disease. Basically all conditions giving rise to anticoagulation processes may cause simultaneously neurological and cutaneous manifestations. Cerebrovascular stroke is the third most common condition of death in the developed world after cancer and ischemic heart disease. The mechanisms responsible for development of skin manifestations in patients afflicted by stroke are shortly reviewed. Stroke may also influence the already existent skin diseases.     

Inferior glenohumeral joint dislocation with greater tuberosity avulsion

Inferior glenohumeral dislocation is the least common type of glenohumeral dislocations. It may be associated with fractures of the adjacent bones and neurovascular compromise. It should be treated immediately by close reduction. The associated neuropraxia usually recovers with time. Traction-counter traction method is commonly used for reduction followed by immobilization of the shoulder for three weeks. Here, we report a case of inferior glenohumeral joint dislocation with greater tuberosity fracture with transient neurovascular compromise and present a brief review of the literature.