Odontomas: review of the literature and case reports.

Odontomas are one of the most common Odontogenic Tumors of the jaw. The exact etiology of odontomas is unknown. Histologically they are composed of various formations of dental tissue (enamel, dentin, cementum and sometimes pulp). In the WHO classification, they are divided into complex odontoma and compound odontoma. Clinically, odontomas are generally asymptomatic and only in rare cases cause swelling, pain, suppuration or bony expansion. Radiologically, the tumor is initially lucent, but with time, it develops small calcifications, which eventually coalesce to form a radiodense lesion with a lucent rim. Surgical resection is the treatment of choice and there is no recurrence. The aim of this paper is to define the principal characteristics and the treatment of these lesions, based on literature and personal experience.

Tension-free hernia repair is associated with an increase in inflammatory response markers against the mesh.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the involvement of inflammatory mediators in patients undergoing Lichtenstein tension-free hernioplasty (LH) using polypropylene prosthetic materials or conventional Bassini hernia repair (BH). METHODS: Thirty patients male with unilateral inguinal hernia without complications or recurrence were included in this study. Randomly, patients underwent LH or BH. Peripheral venous bloods samples were collected 24 hours prior to surgery and then 6, 24, 48 and 168 hours postoperatively. RESULTS: We present evidences that LH patients showed a higher increased serum level of fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, alpha-1-antitrypsin, and interleukin-6 than BH patients. Postoperative visual analogue scales for pain were reduced on mobilization for patients undergoing LH compared with BH. Neutrophils were significantly increased only in LH compared with baseline. Ceruloplasmin, transferrin, and albumin levels were unmodified after BH or LH. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion our data show that although LH induces less pain and more rapid postoperative recovery, it is associated with an higher inflammatory response compared with BH, likely due to polypropylene mesh.

Meconium passage in very-low-birth-weight infants.

The timing of the first meconium stool has been considered a marker for proper gastrointestinal functioning in the term infant. There is limited information on the meconium passage patterns of very-low-birth-weight infants of less than 32 weeks' gestation. It is unknown whether feeding practices influence the timing of the first stool in these infants. We retrospectively studied 47 very-low-birth-weight infants with birth weights of 1250 g or less who were previously enrolled in a study of gastrointestinal (GI) priming. Infants whose mothers desired to breast feed (n = 7) were given GI priming with their own mother's milk. The remaining infants had been randomly assigned to receive total parenteral nutrition alone (n = 21) or GI priming with infant formula (n = 19) during the first 14 days of life. We attempted to advance all infants to full enteral nutrition by 21 days of age. There was no statistically significant difference in timing of the first stool among the three groups. The overall median age at first stool was 43 hours, and the 75th percentile was 10 days. The range was 1/2 hour to 27 days. There was no concordance between time of first stool and birth weight within the range studied. There was no concordance between time of first stool and necrotizing enterocolitis, although there was little statistical power to detect this. There was also very little concordance with feeding tolerance. Other than necrotizing enterocolitis, no significant GI disease developed in any of the infants studied.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)