Amniotic membrane transplantation for ocular surface reconstruction.

OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy of amniotic membrane transplantation in various indications for ocular surface reconstruction. METHOD: Amniotic membrane transplantations were performed in 140 eyes (130 patients) for ocular surface reconstruction. The indications for the corneal group were limbal stem cell deficiency, bullous keratopathy, persistent epithelial defect, band keratopathy, prosthesis, corneal ulcer and acute chemical burn. The indications for the conjunctival group were grafts for pterygium, conjunctival tumors, symblepharon, and covering the scleral graft. RESULTS: Success was noted in 75.7 per cent (106/140) eyes, partial success in 17.9 per cent (25/140) eyes, and failure in 6.4 per cent (9/140) eyes for a mean follow-up of 6.6 months (1-19 months). The success and partial success rate were 80.6 per cent (54/67), 14.9 per cent (10/67) in the corneal group and 71.2 per cent (52/73), 20.6 per cent (15/73) in the conjunctival group. CONCLUSION: Amniotic membrane transplantation can solve some difficult ocular surface problems, and can be used to promote epithelial healing, reduce inflammation and scarring.

Massive allograft implantation for limb salvage: a clinical study of 20 cases.

From January 1986 to October 1991, the resection of tumorous bone conditions and large allograft implantations were performed in 20 patients at the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand. The allografts were provided by Bangkok Biomaterial Center at Siriraj Hospital. There were 3 basic groups of grafts: osteoarticular 14, intercalary 3, and allograft-prosthetic composite 3. The diagnosis included 11 osteosarcomas, 1 secondary chondrosarcoma, 1 primary lymphoma, 5 giant cell tumors and 2 metastatic tumors. The average age of the patients was 23.5 years. The average length of the grafts was 14.9 cms. The average follow-up period was 36 months. At the time of evaluation, 70 per cent of the patients had excellent or good results. The complication rate was about 35 per cent but only 15 per cent needed amputation. Rejection of the graft was detected in only 1 patient. The use of large fresh frozen allografts is still necessary in this country because it provides a simple, inexpensive and effective technique of limb salvage in Thailand.

Amount of particles suspending in the cirulating air in operating theatres.

By using particle-counting machine, we studied the amount of particles suspending in the circulating air in 6 of our operating theatres, 5 at Siriraj Hospital and one at the Taksin Hospital. Particles of 0.5-5 µmin diameter were identified by the machine. The amount of the measured particles was 200,000-800,000 particles per cubic foot. The study showed that our figures were exceeding that of the standard and therefore better clean-room technology should be introduced.

Results of using lyophilized fascia lata for frontalis sling.

This is the first study and report on the effect of lyophilized allogenic fascia lata as the suspension material in the frontalis sling operation. The total cases were 17 eyes. The follow up period from 6 months to 18 months revealed that there were no infection, nor evidence of tissue rejection or granuloma. Post failure due to slippage in two cases was noted within the first few months. All the remaining cases achieved satisfactory cosmetic and functional results.

Survey of traditional doctors treating diseases of bones and joints in Thailand.

The purpose of this study was to survey the traditional healers in Thailand who treated individuals with diseases of bones and joints with regard to sex, age, category, distribution and managing techniques of treatment in order to plan further research into the details of the techniques of treatment by such various methods. The above mentioned information was obtained by sending a questionnaire to the officials who responsible for the development of all 5,627 localities in Thailand. This study was carried cut during March 1-June 14, 1982 and altogether 1,867 localities (33.18 percent) from 66 provinces completed the questionnaire and returned it to us. There were altogether 5,926 traditional doctors, 97.18 percent were male and only 2.82 percent were female. They could be sorted into monks, magicians, self-styled doctors, and Chinese doctors at the proportion of 3.75, 34.24, 61.27 and 0.15 percent respectively.