Endoscopic transthoracic sympathectomy for hyperhidrosis

Thirty-two consecutive patients with palmar and/or axillary hyperhidrosis were submitted for endoscopic transthoracic sympathectomy. Twenty-eight patients underwent bilateral surgery. There were 24 females and 8 males with a mean age 24.2 years [range 17 - 32 years]. The hands alone were affected in 6 patients, the axillae alone in 4 patients [12.5%] and both areas in 16 patients [50%]. There were 4 patients with recurrent palmar hyperhidrosis [2 unilateral and 2 bilateral], and 2 patients with recurrent unilateral axillary hyperhidrosis. The procedure was successful in curing the symptoms of hyperhidrosis in all patients. The commonest side effects were compensatory sweating [43.75%] and gustatory sweating [31%], there was a high level of patient satisfaction

Bacterial translocation in burn injury

This experimental study was carried on 20 guinea pigs with burn injury involving 40% of their body surface areas. Animals were classified into four groups, five animals in each: Group [I]: with thermal injury perse, Group [II]: Burn wound was immediately contaminated with pathogenic staphylococci and Pseudomonas pyocyaneus, Group [III]: intestinal decontamination was achieved by giving oral combination of penicillin, Streptomycin and Metronidazol and Group [IV]: Intestinal decontamination was achieved and then animals were orally contaminated with E. coli of known serotype [078 K 80 B-] obtained from a case of haemorrhagic gastroenteritis in Mansoura University Hospital. In all groups animals were killed 48 hours after induction of burn injury. The study showed that bacterial translocation occurred maximammly [100%] in group [IV], which were orally contaminated with E. coli. The same species of E. coli was harvested from the mesentric lymph nodes. In group [III] in which the intestine was decontaminate, only 20% showed bacterial translocation and at the same time the histopathological changes were minimal where there was no mucosal erosion or disintegration of lamina propria