1/520. paraplegia after thoracotomy--not caused by the epidural catheter.BACKGROUND: paraplegia and peripheral nerve injuries may arise after general anaesthesia from many causes but are easily ascribed to central block if the latter has been used. CASE REPORT: A 56-yr-old woman, with Bechterev disease but otherwise healthy, was operated with left-sided thoracotomy to remove a tumour in the left lower lobe. She had an epidural catheter inserted in the mid-thoracic area before general anaesthesia was started. bupivacaine 0.5% 5 ml was injected once and the infusion of bupivacaine 0.1% with 2 micrograms/ml fentanyl and 2 micrograms/ml adrenaline (5 ml/h) started at the end of surgery. The patient woke up with total paralysis in the lower limb and sensory analgesia at the level of T8, which remained unchanged at several observations. laminectomy, performed 17 h after the primary operation, showed a large piece of a haemostatic sponge (Surgicel) compressing the spinal cord, which was then decompressed but the motor and sensory deficit remained virtually unchanged both then and a year later. CONCLUSIONS: This case shows--once again--that although central blocks may cause serious neurological complications and paraplegia, other causes are possible and have to be considered. However, all patients with an epidural catheter must be monitored for early signs and symptoms of an intraspinal process and the appropriate treatment has to be instituted instantly.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = process (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/520. Alveolar soft part sarcoma involving the ilium. A case report.A report of alveolar soft part sarcoma of the hip region with extension to the ilium is presented to highlight an unusual presentation for this sarcoma and to discuss the treatment options for limb salvage for large malignant neoplasma involving the periacetabular region of the pelvis. A review of the literature for reports of alveolar soft part sarcoma extending to bone is presented.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 8.0815442944977keywords = alveolar (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/520. Subacute ischaemic proctitis: a rare condition requiring extensive rectal surgery.Subacute ischaemic proctitis is a rare condition. We describe the case of a 60-year-old male patient who developed, after aortic aneurysm repair, a transient ischaemic colitis that totally healed without sequelae. He eventually developed symptoms of severe proctitis. Investigations identified a stenosis of the mid rectum, while the upper rectum was inflammatory. On angiogram, there was a poor blood flow through the Riolan's arcade and a stenosis of the proximal aorto-graft anastomosis. diagnosis of subacute ischaemic proctitis due to poor blood supply through the internal iliac arteries was made. Anti-inflammatory drugs and dilations were inefficient. A subtotal proctectomy with low colorectal anastomosis was required. On pathological specimen, the lesions were strongly suggestive of an ischaemic process. The patient had an excellent recovery and was asymptomatic 8 months after the operation.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = process (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/520. A new, safer lasing technique for laser-facilitated coronary angioplasty.in vitro studies during cold pulsed-wave laser angioplasty have demonstrated production of gas bubbles within the target tissue, creation of shock wave and formation of multi-layer dissections accompanied by an increase in the plaque and vessel wall temperature. These processes account for certain complications of coronary lasing, including acute vessel closure, dissections, spasm, and even perforation. The traditional lasing technique in which a large number of pulses is continually emitted across the lesion, may in fact contribute to the development and acceleration of the above mentioned processes. To overcome the shortcomings we have developed a new, safe lasing technique that consists of multiple trains of a small number of pulses each. Between laser sessions the laser catheter is retracted into the guiding catheter and nitroglycerin is injected intracoronary, thus providing time for dispersion of produced gas bubbles, cooling of the target artery, and adequate coronary vasodilatation. This new technique results in a significant reduction of laser associated complications.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = process (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/520. Transient mutism resolving into cerebellar speech after brain stem infarction following a traumatic injury of the vertebral artery in a child.A 3.7-year-old girl presented with an anterior neck injury followed by progressive subcutaneous emphysema and loss of consciousness. After resuscitation, a laceration on the first tracheal cartilage was closed surgically. As she was extubated one week later, she was found to have right hemiplegia and muteness. MRI showed a T2-bright lesion on the tegmentum of the left midbrain down to the upper pons. Right vertebral angiography disclosed an intimal flap with stenosis at the C3 vertebral level presumably caused by a fracture of the right C3 transverse process later confirmed in a cervical 3D-CT scan. Her muteness lasted for 10 days, after which she began to utter some comprehensible words in a dysarthric fashion. Her neurological deficits showed improvement within 3 months of her admission. Transient mutism after brain stem infarction has not been reported previously. We discuss the anatomical bases for this unusual reversible disorder in the light of previous observations and conclude that bilateral damage to the dentatothalamocortical fibers at the decussation of the superior cerebellar peduncle may have been responsible for her transient mutism.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = process (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/520. ARDS in a patient with homozygous beta-thalassemia due to yersiniosis.We report a case of yersinia enterocolitica sepsis syndrome and the acute respiratory distress syndrome in a chronically transfused adolescent with beta-thalassemia. This manifestation of serious Y. enterocolitica infection has not previously been reported. dyspnea, hypoxia, and fever were the principal features of the clinical presentation. The acute onset of respiratory symptoms occurred after appendectomy. Chest radiographs revealed frontal bilateral infiltrates and alveolar consolidation to three quadrants. Y. enterocolitica was identified from blood and intraoperative appendix cultures. Although there was no need for mechanical ventilation, a remarkable persistence of clinical and X-ray findings was noted. Therapy with high levels of oxygen, and intravenous amikacin and piperacillin/tazobactam led to a favorable outcome.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 4.0407721472489keywords = alveolar (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/520. Negative pressure pulmonary hemorrhage.Negative pressure pulmonary edema, a well-recognized phenomenon, is the formation of pulmonary edema following an acute upper airway obstruction (UAO). To our knowledge, diffuse alveolar hemorrhage has not been reported previously as a complication of an UAO. We describe a case of negative pressure pulmonary hemorrhage, and we propose that its etiology is stress failure, the mechanical disruption of the alveolar-capillary membrane.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 8.0815442944977keywords = alveolar (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/520. Postoperative acute pulmonary thromboembolism in patients with acute necrotizing pancreatitis with special reference to apheresis therapy.Eight patients with pancreatic abscesses secondary to acute necrotizing pancreatitis underwent drainage of their abscesses under laparotomy. Two of them died of acute pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) within 1 week. autopsy revealed a large thrombus at the main trunk of the pulmonary artery and in the left common iliac vein. Femoral catheter insertion/indwelling, immobilization, surgery, increased trypsin/kinin/kallikrein, increased endotoxin, and decreased antithrombin-III (AT-III) were present following drainage of the pancreatic abscesses. With respect to the bedside diagnosis of acute PTE, alveolar-arterial oxygen gradients obtained by blood gas analysis and mean pulmonary artery pressure estimated by pulsed Doppler echocardiography are very useful. In terms of the treatment, attention should be paid to the following to prevent deep venous thrombosis: prophylactic administration of low molecular weight heparin and administration of AT-III (AT-III > or = 80%), use of the subclavian vein whenever possible as blood access for apheresis therapy, as short a compression time as possible after removing the blood access catheter (< or =6 h), and application of intermittent pneumatic compression devices or elastic compression stockings on the lower extremities.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 4.0407721472489keywords = alveolar (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/520. Possible development of idiopathic sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis.We report a rare case of idiopathic sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis (SEP). During a laparotomy before undergoing a distal gastrectomy with Billroth II reconstruction for early gastric cancer, the patient was found to have a membranous encapsulation wrapping each small bowel loop, unlike peritoneal encapsulation or typical SEP. He had complained of persistent heartburn, distension and diarrhea for 2 months in the post-operative course. The second laparotomy, which was performed to improve prolonged transit, revealed typical SEP with a thick and fibrotic membrane that encased the small bowel entirely. Stripping of the sclerosing encasing membrane, separation of the adherent loops of the proximal small bowel, and Braun's anastomosis were performed. The patient complained of epigastric fullness and diarrhea after he was relieved from the complete bowel obstruction for 45 days post-operatively. trimebutine maleate was administrated 5 months after the second operation and this markedly improved his symptoms. This case might reflect the developmental process of idiopathic SEP. In addition, the use of a motility regulator may improve symptoms related to the abnormal intestinal motility by this disease.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = process (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/520. Migration of the abdominal catheter of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt into the scrotum--case report.A 3-day-old male neonate presented with migration of the ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt tip through the patent processus vaginalis resulting in scrotal hydrocele. The association of myelomeningocele with hydrocephalus may have been a predisposing factor in this rare complication. Development of scrotal swelling or hydrocele in a child with VP shunt should be recognized as a possible shunt complication.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = process (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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