Use of CO2 to move structures as an aid to percutaneous procedures

By injecting small amounts of CO2 through a needle, one can move bowel or bladder from the intended path of instruments during interventional procedures. The technique worked well in six of seven cases in the pelvis and retroperitoneum; it was not effective in the mediastinum or midabdomen (n = 6).     

Invasion of the intracranial space by a malignant odontogenic mixed tumor: Report of a case

A case of an odontogenic tumor which invaded the intracranial space from the mandible is reported. Judging from the radiographic images it was similar to a malignant tumor. The patient died 17 years after the first visit. According to the final pathological diagnosis, it was malignant odontogenic mixed tumor of low grade which did not belong to any of the WHO classification.     

外科手术中产生的烟气:仅仅是大量的热空气吗?

外科医生和手术室人员经常接触手术设备产生的烟气,病人也会暴露于烟气中,特别是腹腔镜手术中产生的烟气滞留于腹腔内这一密闭空间并被吸收.这些烟气是一种与香烟烟气相似的毒性物质,然而对这种毒性物质的影响还未引起足够重视.应该采取必要措施尽可能减少手术中烟气的不良影响.     

Evaluation of preoperative radiation therapy in operable colorectal cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with operable colorectal cancer in the ascending colon, descending colon, and rectum were randomized to 500 cGy before definitive surgery. Patients with stage A and B1 lesions received no further treatment. All patients with stage B2, B3, C1, C2, and C3 received a minimum of 4500 cGy postoperatively. RESULTS: Three hundred fifty-three patients were registered for the study. Three hundred one patients were available for analyses. Follow-up was a minimum of 5 years on all study patients. The majority of patients had rectal cancer. Complications of treatment were acceptable. Two hundred thirty-one patients had stage B2, B3, C1, C2, or C3 tumors. Estimated 5-year rates for no preoperative therapy versus preoperative therapy were as follows: local recurrence 29% versus 26%; metastasis 41% versus 43%; and survival 54% versus 54%. No statistical benefit was observed for preoperative treatment. CONCLUSIONS: In a prospective randomized trial designed to test the value of low-dose preoperative irradiation followed by surgery and postoperative irradiation, the authors were unable to observe any benefit to low-dose preoperative therapy in patients with unfavorable stages.