Acute ischemia of an arm manifesting Buerger's disease. Predisposing role of anorexia nervosa]

Peripheral vasomotor disorders, notably acrocyanosis, are frequent in anorexia nervosa, but ischaemic accidents are unknown. We report the case of a 32-year-old woman with a 10-year history of anorexia nervosa, who developed acute ischaemia in one of her upper limbs. In this particular case several aetiological factors may be considered: Buerger's disease, of course, as the patient smoked and had an abnormal arteriography, but also hypercholesterolaemia, thrombocytosis and disorders of platelet aggregation.     

Trapped popliteal arteries. Incidence, epidemiology, therapeutic considerations

The trapped popliteal artery syndrome is an extrinsic dynamic compression of the vascular structures in the popliteal fossa by the surrounding fibromuscular structures. The condition mainly affects the popliteal artery resulting in atypical intermittent claudication because it often occurs in young and active patients. The arterial lesions are initially purely extrinsic and dynamic; sometimes they progress to thrombosis, embolism or aneurysm due to jet lesions. The diagnosis is obtained by radiology in the uncomplicated forms by showing compression or complete occlusion of the artery during contraction of the gastrocnemius and quadriceps muscles. Doppler studies of the posterior tibial artery may also demonstrate the condition during these manoeuvres. The epidemiological study was performed in 199 medical students and 80 athletes. A positional abolition of the posterior tibial artery was demonstrated in 39 students (19%) and 12 athletes (15%). The entrapment was commoner in females (24%) than males (13%). It was observed more frequently in dancers, cyclists and basket ball players: 12 control digitised intravenous angiographies were performed; the diagnosis was confirmed in 11 cases. Several anatomical anomalies of the popliteal fossa may give rise to this condition. The commonest is a deviation of the artery within the internal head of the gastronemius muscle; compression by the soleus or fibro muscular bands arising from the semi-tendinous or semi-membranous have been described. The treatment is surgical in very symptomatic or complicated cases; uncrossing the artery associated with venous grafting in cases of thrombosis are the procedures of choice.     

Traumatic ventricular septal defect with tricuspid incompetence. Surgical treatment

The authors report a case of traumatic ventricular septal defect associated with tricuspid incompetence after blunt injury of the chest. This case is the third one described in the literature. This case includes several unusual features: (1) the patient was a 52 year old man. Wounds of the heart usually happen to younger people; (2) clinical manifestations were immediately important; (3) there was a left bundle branch block on the electrocardiogram; (4) surgical treatment was performed as an emergency (less than a fortnight after the accident).     

5th Rib Osteo-pectoralis Major Myocutaneous Flap—Still a Viable Option for Mandibular Defect Reconstruction

Reconstruction of mandible is of paramount importance following ablative surgery for oral cancer. Though osteocutaneous micro-vascular free flap is generally accepted to be the mainstay of mandibular reconstruction, other reconstructive options are also done for mandibular reconstruction with good results. Seventeen patients of oral cavity cancer involving the alveolus who had underwent hemi-mandibulectomy were reconstructed using 5th rib osteo-pectoralis major myocutaneous flap. Procedure related pleural tear occurred in 3 patients during harvesting of the rib which were repaired intra-operatively with no post-operative complications. There were 2 failures in our series, in the rest 15 patients the flap had taken up; have good oral continence taking semi-solid diet and have satisfactory cosmetic appearance. This study shows that 5th rib osteo-pectoralis major myocutaneous flap is a quick, easy to learn, one stage reconstructive procedure with a good predictable cosmetic and functional outcomes.     

In-depth analysis of delays to patient discharge: a metropolitan teaching hospital experience

Delayed patient discharge will likely exacerbate bed shortages. This study prospectively determined the frequency, causes and potential cost implications of delays for 83 consecutive patients, who were inpatients for a total of 888 days. 65% of patients experienced delay whilst awaiting a service. 48% of patients experienced delays that extended their discharge date. Discharge delays accounted for 21% of the cohort's inpatient stay, at an estimated cost of 565 sterling pounds per patient; 77% of these hold-ups resulted from delays in the provision of social and therapy requirements. Discharge delays are costly for hospitals and depressing for patients. Investment is required to enable health and social-care professionals to work more closely to improve the patient journey.     

Extraskeletal Ewing sarcoma in children and adolescents: impact of narrow but negative surgical margin

Purpose

The aim of the study was to determine the impact of negative but close resection margins on local recurrence in children with extraskeletal Ewing sarcoma (EES).

Method

We reviewed records of 32 patients with EES treated between March 2005 and March 2013. All patients except one underwent surgical excision either upfront or after induction chemotherapy. Patients with viable tumor and negative surgical margins, which were categorized as less than or greater than 1 cm, were selected. Local control and survival analysis were performed for patients in both the groups.

Results

The 5-year event-free and overall survival rates of entire cohort is 68 and 77 %, respectively. Surgical margins were negative in 23/26 (90.3 %) patients. There were no local recurrences in any of the patients with margins of less than 1 cm. Only one patient with a margin greater than 1 cm had a local recurrence along with distant metastases. A tumor-free margin of more than 1 cm did not affect overall or event-free survival (p = NS).

Conclusion

Optimal local control is feasible in children with EES regardless of the quantitative extent of negative margins. Achieving a three-dimensional tumor-free margin should be the goal of surgical resection.