ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Elastic scattering spectroscopy (ESS) has been shown to be accurate in the identification of abnormalities of soft tissue. These include ischemia and inflammation, pre-cancer and cancer. The aim of this study was to compare findings of ESS with gold standard histopathology in patients with various skin lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-three patients with clinically suspicious facial skin lesions were included. Those lesions with the surrounding innocuous skin were interrogated by ESS, biopsies were taken and examined histopathologically; the results were then compared. RESULTS: The preliminary analysis showed obvious spectral differences between normal and pathological skin. Spectral differences were identified when comparing benign skin conditions to malignant ones. Spectral differences were identified between basal cell carcinomas and other skin lesions. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study shows that ESS can distinguish between normal, benign and malignant skin conditions.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Basal Cell/diagnosis , Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted/methods , Photometry/methods , Skin Neoplasms/diagnosis , Spectrum Analysis/methods , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Reproducibility of Results , Scattering, Radiation , Sensitivity and Specificity , Ultraviolet RaysABSTRACT
There is a paucity of publications detailing how to deal with the difficult thyroid cancer. When compared to other cancers, it is relatively rare with several histopathological subtypes which run differing clinical courses and respond to different therapies. It is a condition predominately treated by specifically trained General and now ENT surgeons who already have a thorough knowledge of vocal fold assessment and rehabilitation as well as emergency airways management both to avoid and treat common complications should they occur.Good surgery involves a team effort to produce good results consistently. All members of the team are essential to quality service delivery. Communication with the team and the patient is paramount. We describe our approach to the difficult thyroid.