Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty: the treatment of choice for renovascular hypertension due to fibromuscular dysplasia

Twenty-three renal artery stenoses in 21 hypertensive patients, caused by fibromuscular dysplasia, were treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA). Follow-up over a period of 1 to 30 months, including angiography, renal vein renin assay, and radionuclide flow studies, was performed in 8 patients, each with one stenosis. Dilatation was initially successful in all cases and was successfully repeated in 1 case. The mean systolic pressure decreased by 61.81 mm Hg and the mean diastolic pressure by 36.28 mm Hg in response to treatment. Thirteen patients were cured, 8 were felt to have better control of blood pressure on medication, and there was no failures. This study demonstrates that PTA is a clinically effective method of treating renovascular hypertension due to fibromuscular dysplasia.     

Skill performance in open videoscopic surgery

Introduction Application of minimally invasive surgery represents the future of modern surgical care. Previous studies by our group provided a novel way for viewing open surgery using a rigid endoscope attached to charged coupled device (CCD) camera in proximity to the surgical field using a robotic arm (AESOP) and a stabilizing fulcrum (Alpha port). Materials and methods This study is a follow-up to investigate the technical feasibility, advantages, and disadvantages of relying only on video images displayed on standard monitors in performing open surgical procedures instead of direct binocular eye vision. This study used two surgeons as participants with training in basic surgical skill and previous experience in performing an intestinal anastomosis in an ordinary fashion. The standard task consisted of anastomosing porcine intestine in two layers with digital viewing of the operative field. A total of 40 anastomoses (20 by each surgeon) were compared with 10 control performances using direct vision of the field. Results All the resulting anastomoses were accurate, well coapted, and fully patent with no leakage. Time for task performance was approximately twice as long (p < 0.05) with videoscopic vision as with direct vision. Discussion These findings suggest it is technically feasible to conduct open surgeries with visualization of the open surgical field limited to video display on standard monitors.     

Micronucleus test in mussels Perna perna fed with the toxic dinoflagellate Prorocentrum lima

Micronucleus (MN) and other nuclear abnormalities have been measured in the hemocytes of mussels Perna perna to verify whether feeding mussels with different concentrations of Prorocentrum lima results in accumulation of levels of okadaic acid (OA) capable of inducing genotoxic effects at the chromosome level, as evidenced by micronuclei and nuclear abnormalities. Four groups of 12 mussels housed individually in aquaria containing filtered seawater were fed with different concentrations of P. lima. Another group collected directly from the production area served as outdoor control. A significantly higher frequency of MN and nuclear lesions was observed in hemocytes from the groups fed P. lima.     

Limited value of haptics in virtual reality laparoscopic cholecystectomy training

Background  

Haptics is an expensive addition to virtual reality (VR) simulators, and the added value to training has not been proven. This study evaluated the benefit of haptics in VR laparoscopic surgery training for novices.