Imaging in secondary tumors of the ovary

Abdominal Radiology - Metastatic involvement of the ovaries is not rare. The most common tumor types metastasizing to the ovaries, from non-gynecological organs, are breast, colorectal, gastric,...     

Alternative impression technique for a speech-aid prosthesis.

OBJECTIVE: Prosthetic treatment for speech disorders attributable to surgically acquired soft palate defects are introduced. CASE: A patient who underwent soft palate resection for cancer is presented. The resected portion of the soft palate was confined to the posterior segments. A prosthesis with a speech bulb was adapted to the patient. CONCLUSION: Excellent restoration of speech and improvement of velopharyngeal function was achieved following placement of the special prosthesis.     

Reinforcement of the suture line with an ePTFE graft attached with histoacryl glue in duodenal trauma.

BACKGROUND: Most duodenal injuries are managed with primary repair, but the degree of duodenal-wall injury may threaten the integrity of the primary repair. Therefore, we evaluated whether the primary repair site could be reinforced with histoacryl glue (HAG) or HAG with an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) mesh. METHODS: Grade 3 duodenal injury in the second portion of the rat duodenum was chosen as a standard trauma model. Thirty-three male rats were divided into sham (n = 3), 2-layer primary repair (n = 10), 1-layer primary repair plus HAG application (n = 10) and ePTFE attached with HAG over the 1-layer primary repair site (n = 10) groups. Ten-day survival, adhesion grades and histological assessment were taken as outcome measures. RESULTS: A significant survival advantage was identified in the group that had an ePTFE graft attached with HAG over a 1-layer repair when compared with the group that had a 2-layer primary repair. Adhesion grades were found to be particularly increased in the group that had an ePTFE graft attached with HAG over the primary repair site, moderately increased in the primary repair plus HAG application group and lower in the 2-layer primary repair group. ePTFE graft application was found to be beneficial to coverage of the HAG-dependent empty spaces in the serosal layer. CONCLUSIONS: A primary repair site after duodenal trauma or a difficult duodenal stump can be reinforced with the application of HAG or ePTFE graft implantation with HAG.     

Effect of venom from Cerastes cerastes (Egyptian sand viper) on luminol-dependent chemiluminescence of human blood phagocyte cells

Cerastes cerastes venom added in vitro to human whole blood caused a marked inhibitory effect on the luminol-dependent chemiluminescence induced by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) or opsonized zymosan on phagocyte cells. The inhibitory effect produced by the venom was both dose- and time-dependent when PMA was used as the stimulant of the oxidative burst. Similarly, the venom produced a significant inhibitory effect when added to isolated polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs). Incubation of the isolated PMNs with the highest concentration of the venom used (1000 micrograms/ml), however, did not result in any significant disruption of the membranes of these cells. The effect of the venom on the isolated PMNs was also reversible following washing of the venom-treated cells with phosphate-buffered saline. The scavenger of reactive oxygen species such as superoxide dismutase, catalase and dimethyl sulphoxide potentiated the effect of the venom on the luminol-dependent chemiluminescence of human phagocyte cells. Sodium azide, the myeloperoxidase inhibitor, and sodium benzoate produced a similar potentiating effect. The results suggest that some of the toxicity of the venom may be mediated by an action on the phagocytic immune system.