[Small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the vulva]. / Carcinome neuroendocrine à petites cellules de la vulve.

Neuroendocrine small cell carcinoma of the vulva is a rare and aggressive cancer with a pejorative behavior. Because it is rare, there is no consensus to date. We report the fourteenth case of a 52-year-old woman with neuroendocrine small cell carcinoma of the vulva, treated by surgery and combined chemoradiotherapy 46 Gy and cisplatinum-étoposide and adjuvant chemotherapy. Twelve months after the diagnosis, she is alive with no evidence of disease recurrence. A review of the literature on this topic is also presented.

Total Knee Replacement: 12 Years Retrospective Review and Experience

This retrospective study was undertaken to evaluate the outcome of primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) performed from January 1986 to December 1997 at this institution. Case review included Knee Society scores and functional knee score. The records of 94 patients (128 knees) were available for analysis with the sample comprised of 76 females (80.9%) and 18 males (19.1%) and a mean age was 61.4 years. TKA was performed for osteoarthritis (OA) in 96 knees (75%) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in 32 knees (25

[Neoadjuvant chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer: current state and future]. / La chimiothérapie néoadjuvante dans les cancers pulmonaires non à petites cellules : état des lieux et perspectives d'avenir.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) continues to be the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the world. The combination of chemotherapy and surgery is a standard of care for resectable NSCLC. If the adjuvant chemotherapy is a standard, the role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy is still debated. Most trials of neoadjuvant chemotherapy were closed when the positive studies of adjuvant chemotherapy were published. Only the Spanish trial NATCH, designed to compare the neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the adjuvant chemotherapy, was fully completed. Therefore, the trials of preoperative chemotherapy lack strength to become proof of concept. Confirmation will come from meta-analyses. Two of them are positive. Others are in progress. The current research is to select the patients according to predictive factors to chemotherapy response.

[Phyllodes tumors of the breast: analysis of 53 patients]. / Tumeurs phyllodes du sein à propos de 53 cas.

PURPOSE: Phyllode tumors of the breast are fibroepithelial tumors similar to fibroadenomas but with a predominant conjunctive tissue component. These are composed of a connective tissue stroma and epithelial elements. They are rare with an incidence of 0.3-0.9% of all breast neoplasms. The present study demonstrates the recent experiences in diagnosis, therapeutical management and clinical follow-up of this disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective study of the experience of the Institut National d'Oncologie (INO, Rabat) from 1998 to 2006. RESULTS: We included 53 patients. Median age was 37.2 years (15-67), tumor size was 1-30cm (median 10.25cm). The histological diagnosis was based on the biopsy in (7.8%) cases and extemporany in 22% cases, distant metastasis occurred in two patients; the treatment consisted of a surgery. The median follow-up was three years. Local recurrence occurred in ten patients. Distant metastasis occurred in two patients and five patients have died. CONCLUSION: The confrontation of our results to the data of the international literature shows that the diagnosis of the phyllodes tumours is histological. The basis of the treatment is surgery. The adjuvant radiotherapy is very important in patients at high risk for local recurrence; chemotherapy has a badly defined place. The prognostic is based on the histological characters of the tissue conjunctive component of these tumours.

Antimicrobial properties of erythromycin and colistin impregnated bone cement. An in vitro analysis.

Deep surgical site infection is a devastating consequence of total joint arthroplasty. The use of antibiotic impregnated bone cement is a well-accepted adjunct for treatment of established infection and prevention of deep orthopaedic infection. It allows local delivery of the antibiotic at the cement-bone interface and sustained release of antibiotic provides adequate antibiotic coverage after the wound closure. Preclinical testing, randomised and clinical trials indicate that the use of antibiotic-impregnated bone cement is a potentially effective strategy in reducing the risk of deep surgical site infection following total joint arthroplasty. The purpose of this study was to assess antibacterial activity of erythromycin and colistin impregnated bone cement against strains of organisms' representative of orthopaedic infections including Gram-positive and Gram-negative aerobic organisms: Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase-negative Staphylococci, Enterococcus sp., Proteus sp., Klebsiella sp., Pseudomonas sp., and Escherichia coli. Pre-blended Simplex P bone cement with the addition of erythromycin and colistin (Howemedica Inc) was mixed thoroughly with 20ml liquid under sterile conditions to produce uniform cylindrical discs with a diameter of 14mm and thickness of 2mm. 24-48 hour agar cultures of Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase-negative Staphylococci, Enterococcus sp.,Proteus sp., Klebsiella sp.,Pseudomonas sp., and Escherichia coli were used for the agar diffusion tests. The agar plates were streaked for confluent growth followed by application of erythromycin and colistin impregnated bone cement disc to each agar plate. The plates were incubated at 30 degrees C and examined at 24, 48, 72 hours, and four and five days after the preparation of the impregnated cement. The susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus to the control discs was most clearly demonstrated showing a distinct zone of inhibition. The zone observed around coagulase-negative Staphylococci, Klebsiella sp., Pseudomonas sp., and Escherichia coli were also significant. However, there was no zone of inhibition or signs of antibacterial activity at the cemented surface were detected around discs with Enterococcus sp. and Proteus sp. The results showed that Simplex P bone cement with the addition of erythromycin and colistin was effective against most of the broad spectrum organisms encountered during total joint arthroplasty. The activity of Simplex P bone cement impregnated with erythromycin and colistin is mainly during the first 72 hours.

Biomechanical properties of bone cement with addition of cefuroxime antibiotic.

Antibiotic-loaded bone cement has been used as prophylaxis against infection in total joint replacement surgery. Its effect on the mechanical strength of cement is a major concern as high dose of antibiotic was associated with a significant reduction in mechanical strength of bone cement. However, the cut-off antibiotic that weakens the mechanical strength of cement remains to be determined. This study was undertaken to observe the changes in the mechanical properties of bone cement with gradual increments of Cefuroxime antibiotic. Cefuroxime at different doses: 0, 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5gm were added to a packet of 40gm bone cement (Simplex P) and study samples were prepared by using third generation cementing technique. Mechanical impact, flexural and tensile strength were tested on each sample. Significant impact and tensile strength reduction were observed after addition of 4.5 gm of Cefuroxime. However, flexural strength was significantly reduced at a lower dose of 3.0 gm. The maximum dose of Cefuroxime to be safely added to 40mg Surgical Simplex P is 1.5gm when third generation cementing technique is used. Further study is needed to determine whether it is an effective dose as regards to microbiological parameters.

Radiation exposure to operating theatre personnel during fluoroscopic-assisted orthopaedic surgery.

Orthopaedic procedures especially dynamic hip screw (DHS) fixation, interlocking nailing (ILN) of the tibia and femur require fluoroscopic assistance. Frequent exposure to radiation is a major concern to members of the orthopaedic surgical team. This study was undertaken to measure shallow (skin) dose to the operating team personnel and deep (whole body) dose to the surgeon during such procedures in view to provide guidelines to the operating team members regarding the number of procedures allowable for them to perform or assist annually. Skin dose for the operating personnel and whole body dose for the operating surgeon during 25 procedures; ten cases of DHS, seven and six cases of ILN of the tibia and femur respectively, was measured using Thermoluminescent Dosimeter (TLD) chips. The shallow radiation dose for theatre personnel ranged from 0.19 mSy to 0.61 per case while the deep dose for the surgeon was 0.28, 0.55 and 0.81 mSy for seven cases of tibial ILN, ten cases of DHS and six cases of femur ILN respectively. The surgeon has the highest radiation exposure than other theatre personnel and the whole body exposure for DHS was higher than that of for ILN. However, the estimated cumulative dose was still far below the permissible annual dose limit.

An unusual radiographic presentation of posterior cruciate ligament avulsion fracture.

A case of traumatic posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) avulsion fracture presenting with unusual radiographic findings is described. CT scan of the right knee showed features suggestive of combined ACL and PCL avulsion fractures. Arthroscopic findings showed that the injury was in fact a PCL avulsion fracture that was displaced anteriorly so as to mimic an ACL avulsion fracture on CT scan.

Intraarticular fractures of the distal radius in young adults--a review of the outcome of treatment.

A retrospective review of 30 intraarticular fractures of the distal radius in 27 patients was done. Only young adults aged between 18 and 40 were included. Road traffic accidents accounted for 25 of the cases (23 motorcyclists). Fourteen fractures were treated by closed reduction and a plaster cast. Sixteen fractures were treated by open reduction with internal fixation using a buttress plate or multiple Kirschner wires. At a mean follow-up of 17 months, 63% of the wrists had a satisfactory result and 37% unsatisfactory result. The main adverse factor was intraarticular congruity. The grip strength on the injured side averaged 56% of that of the uninjured side and the pinch strength averaged 73%. Most of the patients were able to return to their former occupation in an average of four months.

Late reconstruction of the patellar tendon.

A case of late reconstruction of the patellar tendon is reported. Besides partial loss of the tendon, the patient also had loss of the distal third of the patella. A rolled strip of fascia lata was used to reconstruct the tendon with tunnels through the patella. At the tenth month of follow-up, the result was deemed successful.

Total hip arthroplasty in Malaysia--the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Hospital Kuala Lumpur experience.

The results of 109 primary total hip arthroplasties in 92 patients performed in Hospital Kuala Lumpur from January 1987 to December 1996 were reviewed after a mean follow-up of 30.8 months. There were 22 males and 70 females with the average age of 49.9 years (range 19 to 94 years). Chinese females comprised the largest group of patients (52.2%). Avascular necrosis was the most common diagnosis (33.1%) followed by hip dysplasia and primary osteoarthritis (17.4%). The procedure was performed more on the right hip (64.2%) compared to the left (35.8%). All patients received prophylactic antibiotics but none were given deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis. The Charnley prosthesis was most commonly used and the majority of the arthroplasties were cemented (60.5%). About 80% of the THA were performed via the lateral approach. The functional hip score improved from an average of 8.9 to 15.0 with 66.3% of the patients categorized as good and excellent results. There were 16 patients (17.4%) with poor outcome. The most common complications encountered were dislocation (10.1%), aseptic loosening (9.2%) and periprosthetic fracture (5.5%). Other complications were deep infection (1.8%), deep vein thrombosis (0.9%), trochanteric osteotomy complications (1.8%), superficial infection (7.3%), urinary tract infection (5.5%), pressure sore (3.7%) and respiratory complication (1.8%). Fifteen hips (13.8%) required revision. The causes for revision were aseptic loosening, dislocation and infection. Technical anomalies were recognized as one of the factors contributing to poor results. Five-year survival rate was 87.3%. Better results can be expected with increasing experience and technical skulls.

Rare combination of seven fractures in the same forearm and wrist.

A rare combination of a segmental ulnar fracture with fracture dislocation of the head of the radius and intraarticular fracture of the distal radius concomitant with an ipsilateral scaphoid, lunate and coronoid process fractures is presented. The mechanism of injury could possibly be a tremendous impact on the outstretched hand with a dorsiflexed wrist, fracturing the carpal bones and the distal radius. Transmitted axial forces on the ulna in a pronating forearm resulted in the other fractures. To the best of our knowledge, no such case has been reported. Open reduction with screw fixation of the scaphoid, plating of the proximal ulna and Kirschner wiring of the distal radius and radial head dislocation were done.

Synchronous glomus tumors in a distal digit: a case report.

Glomus tumors occurring synchronously in the subungual region and the pulp of a fingertip are extremely uncommon. Awareness of this will lead to early diagnosis and treatment.

A report of the first 20 cases using a simple external fixator.

The results of treatment using a locally-designed external fixator in 20 patients are presented. Open fractures were the main indications for external fixation. Pin tract infection occurred in 8 patients. Only 2 patients had unstable fixation which required removal of the device. One third of patients developed malunion exceeding 15 degrees and two thirds had joint stiffness after conversion to plaster cast. This external fixator is adequate in the treatment of most open fractures of the tibia. However, improved techniques of pin insertion and cast application upon removal of the external fixator may help to reduce the incidence of pin tract infections and malunion.