Endometrial ablation in the women's Hospital, HMC, Doha, Qatar: a retrospective cohort

To study the outcome of various methods of endometrial ablation as a treatment of heavy vaginal bleeding, the records and post-operative histories were reviewed of 122 women with a mean age of 47 years who attended the Women's Hospital, Doha, Qatar, between January 2002 and December2005. Post-operative amenorrhea, oligomenorrhea, or a normal flow plus a satisfied patient were considered evidence of success; a need for further medical or surgical intervention was considered failure. Fifty-eight women [47.5%] had Thermachoice Balloon Ablation with a success rate of 83%; 37[30%] had Microwave Endometrial Ablation [MEA] with 71% success; and 27[22%] had Transcervical Resection of Endometrium [TCRE] with 74% success. Apart from the duration of the procedures there were no statistically significant differences in age, parity, pre-operative haemoglobin and platelets, presence of fibroids, pre-operative endometrial preparation by hormones, or final satisfaction level. It is concluded that Balloon Thermal Ablation, MEA and TCRE are equally effective for the treatment of abnormal vaginal bleeding

Clinical presentations, diagnosis and pattern of intestinal tuberculosis our experience, Nishtar hospital Multan, Pakistan

To discuss clinical presentations, diagnosis and pattern of intestinal tuberculosis of the patients presenting in surgical department. Design. Retrospective study. Place and duration of study. Nishtar Hospital Multan, Pakistan during the period of January 2002 to August 2004. Patients and methods. 109 diagnosed cases of intestinal tuberculosis were included in this study. Patients with intercurrent illness and patients proved to have other diagnosis after full work up were excluded from the study. A detailed history and full physical examination of all patients was recorded. Later on various investigations, operative findings were also noted. Results. The ages of patients were in range of 12-54 years. Male to female ratio was approximately 1:2. Clinical presentation was quite variable ranging from abdominal pain present in 100 patients [91.74%] to weight loss noted in 54 patients [49.54%]. Endoscopic biopsy and PCR analysis were most useful in diagnosing intestinal tuberculosis in elective ca ses. Strictures of the small bowel were commonest pattern noted. Past history of pulmonary tuberculosis was present in 8 patients [7.33%] while 18 patients [16.51%] had previous history of intestinal tuberculosis. 35 patients [32.11%] had positive family history of tuberculosis. 18.34% of the patients had secondary tuberculosis. Conclusion. Intestinal tuberculosis is a common disease in third decade in the developing countries. Females are more affected than males. Primary tuberculosis is more common than secondary tuberculosis. Intestinal tuberculosis may present with a variety of abdominal symptoms and signs. Endoscopy and PCR analysis can be considered as reliable investigation in elective cases. Strictures, mass abdomen and intestinal perforation are the most common pattern observed

Tension free vaginal tape [TVT] procedure for female stress incontinence: Qatar experience

A retrospective study was conducted on the records of 44 women who had received tension-free vaginal tape as a primary or secondary procedure for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence. Intra-operative complications were uncommon, operative time and hospital stays were short and late postoperative complications were few. 36 [81.8%] women became dry, six cases [13.6%] are satisfied and two patients [4.5%] are still complaining of stress incontinence. The tension free vaginal tape procedure appeared to be an effective, minimally invasive method for treating female stress urinary incontinence

Oil of garlic and hyperactivity of atheroscelerosed arteries

Atherosclerosis was induced in Albino - Wistar rats by feeding them atherogenic diet for ten weeks. Hyperactivity of atherosclerosed arterial beds to noradrenaline and to periarterial electrical stimulation was confirmed by AI-Jubouri and A-bayati [1981]. In the present experiment the isoated perfussed renal arterial beds of three groups of rats were used. The first group received ordinary diet, the second group was given atherogenic diet, while the third group had atherogenic diet plus 0.2 mg/Kg pure oil of garlic daily throughout the experiment. Treatment with oil of garlic reduced the increased vasoconstrictor responses to noradrenaline and to periarterial stimulation of the renal arterial bed which was caused by atherosclerosis. The results indicate that oil of garlic did restore the arterial activity possibly by delaying or preventing the development of atherosclerosis in the arterial bed used. Therefore the daily use of oil garlic would prevent the development of atherosclerosis