Is hysterectomy needed in ovarian cancer.

Context: Hysterectomy is an integral part of ovarian cancer surgery. The authors have evaluated the uterine involvement in ovarian cancer in this study. Aims : Conventionally, removal of the uterus is considered an essential part of ovarian cancer surgery, but rationale for same in absence of its gross involvement is questionable. Aim of this study was to evaluate the microscopic involvement of uterus in ovarian cancer and whether there are any predictors of uterine involvement. Settings and Design: Retrospective study. Materials and Methods: The authors analyzed 128 patients of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) operated from 2004 January to 2008 June, who had not undergone hysterectomy previously. Data regarding their demographic, clinical, and pathological findings was collected and analyzed. Statistical analysis used: Chi-square test. Results: Most of our patients (n=111) presented with stage III or above. Serous carcinoma was the most common histology encountered (86.7%). Uterus was grossly involved in only 19 patients and microscopic involvement was noted in 20 patients. Only one patient with absence of gross involvement had microscopic disease in the uterus. Involvement of the uterus was found to be independent of stage, type of tumor, laterality, and preoperative chemotherapy. The grade of tumor and gross uterine involvement were only factors that showed statistically significant correlation with microscopic uterine involvement. Only one patient had synchronous endometrial cancer. Conclusions: Uterine involvement in EOC is not common. Absence of gross uterine involvement reliably predicts absence of microscopic disease.

Incontinentia pigmentii acromians with seizure disorder: a case report.

Incontinentia pigmentii acromians (IPA) is a bizarre, irregularly shaped leukoderma of the trunk and extremities, characterized by marble cake-like whorls or streaks of hypopigmentation whose distribution can be unilateral or bilateral. Mode of inheritance is most consistent with an autosomal dominant type and in majority of the cases, one or more anomalies are present involving dermatological, dental and ocular disorders. A case of a female child, aged 2 1/2 yrs, referred from Pediatric neurology department, Medical College, Trivandrum with Incontinentia pigmentii acromians and seizure disorder is reported. Hamartomatous dental cusps and single maxillary central incisors have been associated with Incontinentia pigmentii acromians. A case of Incontinentia pigmentii acromians with hypoplastic teeth and tongue abnormalities is presented.

Salivary calculus: an insight into its pathogenesis--a case report of parotid sialolith in a 9 year old child.

The occurrence of sialolithiasis in children is uncommon, while parotid sialoliths are rare. A case of parotid sialolith in a 9 year old child is reported.

Caries prevalence and its relation to socio-economic status and oral hygiene practices in 600 pre-school children of Kerala-India.

This Study was undertaken to determine the caries status of pre-school children in Ulloor Panchayat of Trivandrum, Kerala and to determine the relation if any, between their caries and socio-economic status and oral practices. 200 children each from the low, middle arid higher socio-economic group were visually examined for caries by the same examiner in natural daylight. Caries was recorded according to the WHO criteria. Information regarding the childrens' oral hygiene practices were obtained through structured questionnaires to the care takers of the children. Computer analysis of the data collected showed that 43% of the study sample were caries free. Socio-economic level was found to have a negative association with caries status. The mode of tooth brushing was found to be significantly related to caries severity while the frequency of tooth brushing was found to have no association with caries prevalence and severity.

Comparison of sealing ability of three different root canal sealers--an in vitro study.

The main objective of endodontic therapy is complete obturation of the root canal system after it has been adequately prepared and sterilised. A wide variety of root canal sealers are available for obturation of the root canal system. A number of different invitro methods have been used to evaluate the sealing ability of endodontic filling materials. By combining one or two tests it may be possible to obtain information about sealing ability of the test material. Therefore, the present invitro study compared the sealing ability of three different root canal sealers, namely Sealapex, AH-26 and ZnOE by two different methods, bacterial leakage and dye penetration. The results showed that AH-26 has the maximum sealing ability followed by Sealapex and ZnOE.

Doomed angels--a case report.

A three year old female child was brought to the Department of Pedodontics, Dental College, Thiruvananthapuram with a greyish white papillomatous lesion involving a large area on the buccal mucosa. VDRL was positive for the little girl as well as her father and was positive in low concentrations for her one-month-old sister as well as her mother.

Surface treatment of enamel with laser--a potential alternative for acid etching--an in vitro study.

An in-vitro study was carried out on 80 human premolars to study the use of Nd:YAG laser as a potential alternative for acid etching in the surface treatment of enamel prior to sealant application. The determination of bond strength using Universal Testing Machine, Model 1011 and marginal leakage using the spectrophotometric dye recovery method showed no statistically significant difference between the groups with laser and acid surface treatments. But, there was a significantly lower bond strength and increased dye penetration in the group with no surface treatment. Scanning electron microscopic study of the interface between sealant and enamel surface of the acid and laser treated specimens was also carried out.

Effect of 4-META adhesive on bond strength and marginal seal of amalgam restorations and repairs--an in vitro study.

Amalgam remains unchallenged as a posterior restorative material. But its inability to bond to the teeth leads to some amount of microleakage at the restoration-tooth interface with associated problems such as post operative sensitivity, pulpal complications etc. Also a broken amalgam restoration requires replacement which will further weaken the tooth structure. Recently, 4-META has been introduced which can graft amalgam and composite to enamel, dentin and old amalgam restorations. In this study, the bonding and marginal sealing abilities of 4-META was assessed both at the tooth-amalgam interface and old amalgam fresh amalgam interface.