1/148. Immunoadsorption--a new therapeutic possibility for multiple sclerosis?A 46 year old woman suffers from chronic progressive multiple sclerosis. She was diagnosed in 1993. Because of many complications seen in conservative treatment, plasma exchange was started. The expanded disability status scale by Kurtzke could be improved but the interval between the treatments became shorter and shorter. It was therefore decided to commence protein A immunoadsorption treatment. With this treatment the patient shows good and stable improvement in neurological and functional status with an acceptable treatment frequency of once every 3 weeks.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = stable (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/148. Extensive chorioretinal atrophy in Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease.PURPOSE: To report extensive chorioretinal atrophy during the long-term course of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease not treated properly in the initial phase. CASES: Four patients with VKH disease were examined more than 10 years after onset of the disease. OBSERVATIONS: They presented initially with classic features of VKH disease, except 1 patient who had developed bilateral, acute angle-closure glaucoma as the initial sign. Two patients received systemic corticosteroid therapy at the acute phase of the disease. During the follow-up of 13-34 years subsequent to onset, these patients had chronic recurrent anterior uveitis with apparently stable depigmented fundus. Eventually, they developed diffuse, extensive chorioretinal atrophy that resulted in severe visual loss. One patient had an unusual familial occurrence of the disease. CONCLUSIONS: Failure to prescribe proper corticosteroid therapy in the initial phase of VKH disease may lead to chronic recurrent uveitis. Long-standing uveitic reactions may eventually result in severe visual loss due to extensive chorioretinal degeneration.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = stable (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/148. Stable engraftment after megadose blood stem cell transplantation across the HLA barrier: the case for natural killer cells as graft-facilitating cells.BACKGROUND: The case of a patient with chronic myelogenous leukemia who underwent transplantation with highly purified CD34 peripheral blood stem cells from his two-antigen-mismatched mother is reported. No graft-versus-host disease has been observed so far and stable engraftment has been documented until day 100. methods: Weekly analysis of chimerism in different cellular subsets was performed using a quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay for nine short tandem repeat markers in leukocytes sorted by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. RESULTS: No donor CD4 or CD8 T cells have been detected up to 3 months after transplantation, whereas a rapid increase of donor CD56 natural killer (NK) cells was observed in parallel with circulating donor CD34 progenitors and myeloid cells. CONCLUSIONS: Because the graft contained virtually no T and NK cells, we believe the rapid in vivo generation of NK cells supported stable engraftment across the HLA barrier. The differentiation of CD34 progenitors into NK cells might be a distinct feature of megadose stem cell transplants.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = stable (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/148. Chronic/subacute total occlusion of the left main coronary artery--a case report and review of literature.Total occlusion of the left main coronary artery is rare. Acute occlusion is invariably fatal; however, survival is possible if the patient reaches the hospital in time. patients usually present with acute myocardial infarction, cardiogenic shock, and sudden cardiac death. Chronic total occlusion presents with angina, myocardial infarction, or congestive heart failure. The authors describe complete occlusion of the left main coronary artery in a patient who presented with recent-onset angina. They review the clinical and angiographic features of 60 cases described in the literature.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 6.3453611777535keywords = angina (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/148. Five-centimeter superior mesenteric artery aneurysm. A case report.An unusual large mesenteric artery aneurysm presented as "angina abdominis" and abdominal mass is described. Endoaneurismectomy with reverse end-to-end saphenous vein graft was performed. The incidence, pathogenesis and diagnosis are reviewed and the treatment is discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3.1726805888768keywords = angina (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/148. Two-stage extensor tendon reconstruction after composite tissue loss from the dorsum of the hand.Restoration of digital extension after chronic extensor loss has not been detailed extensively in the literature. The present report details an unusual case of composite tissue loss from the dorsum of the hand after a chronic burn wound. After debridement for chronic carpal osteomyelitis and free-tissue transfer were performed, staged wrist fusion and two-stage extensor tendon reconstruction resulted in a stable, pain-free wrist and functional digital extension. The present case illustrates that two-stage extensor tendon reconstruction, when necessary, is indeed feasible.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = stable (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/148. Acute adrenal insufficiency after cardiac surgery.adrenal insufficiency after cardiac surgery can easily be confused during the course of an immediate unstable postoperative period. If unrecognized, this condition may cause serious morbidity and can be fatal. We report on a 43-yr-old female patient with chronic known adrenal insufficiency, who, despite her adequate preoperative replacement therapy, presented with one episode of acute hypoadrenal crisis after elective open heart surgery, which could serve as a model to illustrate the salient clinical features and possible problems in this setting for diagnosing this problem to patients in whom chronic adrenal insufficiency remains unknown.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = stable (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/148. Filleted toe flap for chronic forefoot ulcer reconstruction.Chronic plantar and dorsal forefoot ulcer may result from injury, structural deformity, and abnormal sensation or circulation. It is not uncommon that the distal portion of the affected toes is deficient functionally in these patients. A filleted toe flap from the expendable functionless toe can provide a durable, stable, and sensate skin flap of 4 to 5.5 cm for coverage of the forefoot defect. In this report, five cases of dorsal forefoot defects and four cases of plantar forefoot defects due to ischemia (N = 3), trophic change (N = 2), and diabetes (N = 4) were treated with filleted toe flaps. One flap failed due to postoperative deep infection. The other eight filleted toe flaps survived but 2 patients underwent secondary amputations 7 months and 2 two years later because of secondary diabetic foot infections.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = stable (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/148. Hemosuccus pancreaticus complicating chronic pancreatitis: an obscure cause of upper gastrointestinal bleeding.BACKGROUND: Hemosuccus pancreaticus, a rare form of upper gastrointestinal bleeding, may complicate chronic pancreatitis and pose a significant diagnostic and therapeutic dilemma. AIM: To present our experience with this potentially life-threatening complication of chronic pancreatitis. methods: We reviewed our experience with management (both operative as well as angiographic embolization) of patients with hemosuccus pancreaticus complicating histologically documented chronic pancreatitis between 1976 and 1997. diagnosis of hemosuccus pancreaticus was based on clinical presentation, preoperative endoscopic and radiographic imaging, operative findings, and pathologic evaluation. RESULTS: During the period, we managed eight patients with hemosuccus pancreaticus (1.5% of all patients with chronic pancreatitis treated surgically). Gastrointestinal bleeding presented as hematemesis in three and hematochezia in three, but all had recent melena and were anemic; three of these patients were hemodynamically unstable. abdominal pain was present in six. When performed, angiography (n=6) was diagnostic of a pseudoaneurysm; computed tomography (n=7) showed a pseudoaneurysm in two and a pseudocyst in five. endoscopy (n=8) revealed blood issuing from the ampullary papilla in two patients. Operative management (n=6) involved distal pancreatectomy, pancreatoduodenectomy, or total pancreatectomy in two patients each. Angiographic embolization was successful in one patient, but the other died from uncontrollable hemorrhage. CONCLUSIONS: Hemosuccus pancreaticus is rare, but should be considered in patients with chronic pancreatitis and gastrointestinal bleeding. In the absence of pancreatitis-related indications for surgery, angiographic embolization can be definitive treatment. If there are pancreatitis-related indications for operation, angiographic embolization may allow an elective operative procedure based on structural changes of the pancreas. If embolization fails, pancreatic resection is usually required, often on an emergent basis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = stable (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/148. Ptosis surgery on chronic myasthenia gravis.We report three cases of long-standing, early onset myasthenia gravis. The eyes of all three patients eventually became disabled, and the patients were almost unable to move their eyes in any direction. We termed this condition as "frozen eyes" appearance. We discuss the unique clinical condition and follow the electromyographic and neuro-ophthalmological characteristics. The patients all suffered from ptosis, mild to moderate exotropia, and facial and oropharyngeal weakness. All of the patients responded to the neostigmine test positively at the early stage. Two of them were seropositive. The results of electromyography for two of these three cases were abnormal. The average duration of follow-up was 5 years. The treatments included conventional recession and resection procedures with adjustable sutures for strabismus and frontalis suspension for blepharoptosis. The patients achieved stable satisfactory results in over one-and-a-half years of postoperative follow up.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = stable (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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