Clinico-roentgenological and physiological evaluation of the spine in patients with juvenile kyphosis

203 patients with juvenile kyphosis, aged 11-16 years, have been subjected to the complex examination, including ++clinico-roentgenologic and physiologic methods. Along with the cardinal signs, common for juvenile kyphosis diagnosis and characteristic of the dystrophic process (wedge distortion, osteoporosis of vertebra bodies and fragmentation of their apophyses, dedifferentiation of the bone structure, height reduction and pathologic restructuring of intervertebral disks following the pattern of fibrosis, presence of discal hernia), the signs of bone ++ dysplasia of spine and skeleton in general should be singled out of the roentgenologic characteristic of disease which determine the variants of pathologic process course and treatment tactics. The presence of dysontogenesis signs in patients with juvenile kyphosis is suggested.     

Relation of the outcome of disk epiphysectomy in dysplastic scoliosis and the biochemical composition of the vertebral body

Pronounced changes in the content of collagen, non-collagen proteins and the activity of a number of lysosomic enzymes have been established in the bone tissue of the vertebral bodies obtained on diskepiphysectomy in the patients with dysplastic scoliosis. Numerous correlation links between the metabolic parameters and the spinal deformation a year after diskepiphysectomy have been determined.     

Brain metastasis from malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the heart: case report

This is the second reported case of a malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the heart that metastasized to the brain. A 33-year-old woman developed headache, nausea, and ataxic gait 9 months after removal of the tumor from the left atrium of the heart. Computed tomographic and magnetic resonance imaging scans disclosed multiple metastatic tumors in the brain. Although dramatic improvement in her symptoms and signs followed the removal of the brain tumors, she died of tumor recurrence in the left atrium 3 months after the removal of the metastatic brain tumors.     

The clinico-statistical characteristics of the testicular generative function in male subfertility following mumps

The paper emphasized the role of mumps complicated by orchitis in the etiology of male subfertility with allowances for a possible development of testicular degeneration in the course of epidemic parotiditis alone, i.e. without clinically evident orchitis. To distinguish the impact of mumps sustained in childhood on the infertility development clinical and laboratory investigations would be advisable in the majority of subfertile males. The results of clinical and statistical study of 865 infertile males aged between 20 and 36 yrs whose marital life varied from 8 mos to 12 yrs were reported. Anamnestic evidence of epidemic parotiditis sustained at the age of 5-13 yrs was found in 174 examinees (20.1 per cent). Spermographic data on subfertile males with a history of mumps were exposed to statistical computation and correlated with the data on 200 subfertile males who avoided the disease and the data on 22 healthy fertile males. The authors noted significantly low (p less than 0.05) contents of ejaculate spermatozoa in subfertile males with a history of mumps and a significantly low number of morphologically normal spermatozoa (p less than 0.001) in comparison to those values in subfertile males without a history of epidemic parotiditis.     

The effectiveness of G. A. Ilizarov's method in treating patients with III- and IV-stage chronic ischemia of the lower extremities

The method of treatment after Ilizarov was used in 28 patients with occlusion of lower extremity arteries, mainly of distal localization, with the III and IV degrees of ischemia. Osteotomy of mainly the tibial bone and distraction of the free osseous split was performed during 31-36 days. Two patients had fractures of the bone during operative interventions, after operation four patients had purulent complications or necrosis of the skin around the wire. The immediate positive result was noted in 20 patients. Their fate was followed-up in remote periods from 2 to 19 months, good results were observed in 18 patients. The use of the Ilizarov method was most justified in patients with the III and IV degrees of ischemia when other methods of treatment failed to give any effect and surgical reconstruction of the vessels is impossible. When treating patients with the IV degree, it is necessary to take into consideration the late appearance of revascularization and possibility of temporary deterioration. The use of the Ilizarov method foresees provision of the joint work of an angiosurgeon and a traumatologist-orthopedist.     

Percutaneous removal of renal and upper ureteral stones: clinical results and complications of 103 cases

We report the results and complications of 103 consecutive patients who underwent percutaneous removal of renal and ureteral stones. The overall clinical success rate was 80.6%. For the recent 33 cases in which UL-arm fluoroscopy was used, however, the success rate was as high as 87.9%, which was considered to be due to easier establishment of percutaneous direct access. The most common complications were bleeding (18.5%), extravasation (15.5%) and fever (9.7%). Four cases with significant bleeding required arteriography, but there were no sign of arteriovenous fistula nor pseudoaneurysms in any cases. To study renal parenchymal damage in the percutaneous procedures, plasma renin activities (PRA) were compared in 54 cases after six months. However, significant elevation of PRA did not occur in any case.