A rare involvement of Romberg’s disease: frontal region

Progressive hemifacial atrophy is characterized by slow progressive atrophy of the subcutaneous tissue. Although, in the majority of sufferers, half of the face and the chin are the most severely-affected areas, we present the case of a patient with a 2-year history of local atrophy in the forehead, a very rare involvement. Reconstruction was done using bilateral subcutaneous flaps. There was no recurrence of the atrophy at the 12th-month postoperative check.     

Sarcoidosis Presenting as Cold Thyroid Nodules: Report of Two Cases

Sarcoidosis is a systemic disease characterized by noncaseating granulomas. Thyroid involvement is rare in sarcoidosis. In this paper, two sarcoidosis patients who demonstrated cold thyroid nodules are presented. A 42-year-old woman presented with multinodular goiter and was diagnosed as having sarcoidosis when noncaseating granulomas were observed during the pathological examination of the thyroidectomy specimen. Enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes were observed in the routine preoperative chest X-ray in another 53-year-old woman, while she was being prepared to undergo a thyroidectomy. The pathological examination of the thyroid specimens showed noncaseating granulomas in both patients, and the diagnosis was confirmed by either hepatic biopsy or chest X-ray findings. In conclusion, thyroid involvement should be suspected in sarcoidosis patients who present with cold nodules in the thyroid. Furthermore, if noncaseating granulomas are observed in thyroid specimens after a thyroidectomy in an otherwise healthy person, the patient should be evaluated further for sarcoidosis.     

An Assessment of the Effects of Two Types of Bioresorbable Barriers to Prevent Postoperative Intra-Abdominal Adhesions in Rats

Purpose This study assessed and compared the efficacy of two types of bioresorbable membranes in the prevention of postoperative adhesion under clean contaminated and bacterial peritonitis conditions using a cecal ligation and puncture model in rats. Methods Wistar albino rats (n = 72) were divided into six groups. Bacterial peritonitis was induced using a cecal ligation and puncture model in groups 2, 4, and 6. Groups 1, 3, and 5 served as controls for clean contaminated procedures in the absence of bacterial peritonitis. Groups 1 and 2 were the untreated clean contaminated and bacterial peritonitis groups and served as controls for the effect of the bioresorbable membranes in each condition. In groups 3 and 4, a 1.5 × 3 cm USP glycerol/sodium hyaluronate/carboxymethylcellulose membrane was wrapped around the cecal resection area and a 2 × 4 cm membrane was left under the incision. The oxidized regenerated cellulose membrane was similarly applied in groups 5 and 6. Four weeks later, the adhesions were evaluated. In addition, fibrosis and inflammation were observed histopathologically. Results Adhesion development (P = .008), fibrosis (P = .008), and inflammation (P = .0001) differed among the groups. Both materials increased adhesion formation in the bacterial peritonitis condition. Increased fibrotic activity was detected in all material-applied groups under both conditions. In addition, more inflammation was detected in the groups that received the application of a material, especially in the presence of bacterial peritonitis. Conclusion Neither material prevented adhesions in clean contaminated conditions. Moreover, they increased adhesion formation in bacterial peritonitis.     

Open surgical treatment of recurrent anterior instability of the shoulder

Recurrent anterior gleonohumeral instability is the most frequent joint instability of the body. Because of the complex stability mechanisms and diverse instability patterns of the glenohumeral joint, most cases present with more than one anatomic cause. Thus, the treatment of recurrent anterior instability of the shoulder should be designed to treat these pathologies. Although arthroscopic repair has outweighed the use of open surgical methods especially for the first dislocations, recurrent dislocations still require open repair techniques to overcome capsular laxity accompanying a Bankart lesion.     

Anatomy, biomechanics, and pathophysiology of instability of the glenohumeral joint

The stability of the shoulder is dependent on both static and dynamic anatomic restraints. In most cases, there must be insufficiency of more than one restraint for the shoulder joint to become instable. Although the role of these restraints is largely known in maintaining shoulder stability, our information on their interactions is insufficient. This article reviews the anatomy and biomechanics of the shoulder and conditions causing instability of the glenohumeral joint.     

Delaying the reverse sural flap provides predictable results for complicated wounds in diabetic foot

Defective wounds in diabetic foot are difficult to manage. Several studies reported the use of reverse sural flap in a small number of patients with varying success. We presented our experience with the reverse sural island flap (RSIF) in a series of 37 patients associated with diabetic foot using the delay procedure. The ages of the patients ranged between 36 and 73 years. We did not perform angiographic evaluation to determine the existence of vascular connections between the branches of the peroneal and posterior tibial artery; however, Doppler ultrasound evaluation was done to determine the patency of anterior and posterior tibial arteries, as well as lesser saphenous vein before the operation. The flaps were transferred using a 3-step delay procedure. While all the first and second steps of the operations were done under local anesthesia, the third steps were performed using general anesthesia in 12 and spinal anesthesia in 25 patients. All flaps survived except 4 showing partial necrosis due to venous insufficiency. Delaying the RSIF is a reliable procedure for diabetic foot skin defects.     

Valve replacement surgery in patients with end-stage renal disease: long-term results

BACKGROUND: The life expectancy of patients with chronic renal failure who are dependent on dialysis is very poor. This study was undertaken to determine time-related outcomes in dialysis patients requiring cardiac valve replacement. METHODS: From 1994 to 2001, 29 end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on hemodialysis (HD) program underwent 30 valve replacement operations: 29 received mechanical valves (97%), and one received bioprosthetic valves. The sites of valve replacement were 11 aortic (36.7%), 18 mitral (60%), and one both aortic and mitral (3.3%). Mean age was 42.46 +/- 14.26 years (range 17-75 years). Follow-up was completed in 28 patients (96.5%). RESULTS: Early postoperative mortality (in the first 30 days) was 3.4% (n = 1). The overall estimated Kaplan-Meier survival was 56.7% at 36 months, 46.7% at 60 months, and 43.3% at 96 months. HD program was discontinued for two patients after renal transplantation in the follow-up period. All patients, except the one with bioprosthesis, used warfarin sodium for anticoagulation and none of them had bleeding. One of the patients had a major cerebrovascular accident (CVA) and another one had a minor CVA at the follow-up (6.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Life quality is better and life expectancy is longer after valve replacement in ESRD patients who have valvular disease. Also, longer life expectancy increases the probability for finding donors for kidney transplantation.     

The effects of mitomycin C and 5-fluorouracil/triamcinolone on fibrosis/scar tissue formation secondary to subglottic trauma (experimental study)

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to compare the effects of mitomycin-C (MMC) and 5-fluorouracil/triamcinolone acetonide (5-FU/TA) on the development of fibrosis/scar tissue formation of rabbit subglottic area, which is injured acutely. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After standardized trauma to subglottic area the rabbits were divided into those that received treatment and those that did not (controls). The subjects were treated with either topical 0.4 mg/mL MMC or 5 mg 5-FU/TA injection. Those groups were further divided into subgroups depending on the time of examination: at 2 or 6 weeks. Each subgroup had 4 rabbits. The specimens were examined histopathologically and the measurements were performed using a software. RESULTS: The fibrosis indices (FIs) of the treated subgroups were significantly less than the FIs of their corresponding control subgroups (P<.05). The difference in FIs of the MMC-treated and 5-FU/TA-treated groups was not statistically significant (P>.05). MMC and 5-FU/TA did not interfere with regeneration of the epithelium although in 2 cases treated with 5-FU/TA the regenerated epithelium showed squamous metaplasia. CONCLUSIONS: Both MMC and 5-FU/TA decrease fibrosis/scar tissue formation secondary to experimentally induced acute subglottic trauma. There is no significant difference between the effects of the 2 drugs.     

Effects of erythropoietin on hyperoxic lung injury in neonatal rats

Pulmonary oxygen toxicity is believed to play a prominent role in the lung injury that leads to the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). To determine whether human recombinant erythropoietin (rhEPO) treatment reduces the risk of developing BPD, we investigated the effect of rhEPO treatment on the histopathologic changes seen in hyperoxia-induced lung injury of BPD. Twenty-five rat pups were divided into four groups: air-exposed control group (n = 5), hyperoxia-exposed placebo group (n = 7), hyperoxia-exposed rhEPO-treated group (n = 6), and air-exposed rhEPO-treated group (n = 7). Measurement of alveolar surface area, quantification of secondary crest formation, microvessel count, evaluation of alveolar septal fibrosis, and smooth muscle actin immunostaining were performed to assess hyperoxia-induced changes in lung morphology. Treatment of hyperoxia-exposed animals with rhEPO resulted in a significant increase in the mean alveolar area, number of secondary crests formed, and the microvessel count in comparison with hyperoxia-exposed placebo-treated animals. There was significantly less fibrosis in rhEPO-treated animals. However, treatment of hyperoxia-exposed animals with rhEPO did not result in a significant change in smooth muscle content compared with hyperoxia-exposed placebo treated animals. Our results suggest treatment with rhEPO during hyperoxia exposure is associated with improved alveolar structure, enhanced vascularity, and decreased fibrosis. Therefore, we conclude that treatment of preterm infants with EPO might reduce the risk of developing BPD.