Comparison of effectiveness of electrocautery and phenol application in partial matricectomy after partial nail extraction in the treatment of ingrown nails.

UNLABELLED: Ingrowing nail also known as onychocryptosis is a common health problem. This disease mostly affects young people, often carrying a considerable amount of socio-economic implications. It's foot problem that usually manifests as inflammation of tissue along the side of a toenail. The aim of the study was to asses and to compare effectiveness of electrocautery and phenol application in partial matrixectomy after partial nail extraction in the treatment of ingrown toenails. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The group of 60 patients with ingrowing toenail which was randomized into two groups underwent partial matrixectomy in surgical outpatient clinic between 2009-2013. This group of patients was under surgical observation for 100 days in outpatient clinic. RESULTS: In all operated patients we obtained surgical success however we had 13 recurrences during the follow up period, 5 in the phenolization group and 8 in the electrocoagulation group. CONCLUSIONS: There was statistically significant difference between these two techniques, which indicated that matrix phenolization is connected with shortened healing time vs the matrix electrocoagulation.

Evaluation of the impact of radical tumor resection in lung cancer patients on the activity of selected antioxidant enzymes.

INTRODUCTION: Oxidative stress appears to play an essential role as a secondary messenger in such physiological processes as apoptosis and survival as well as in proliferative signaling pathways. Oxidative damage is also considered to play a pivotal role in ageing, several degenerative diseases, and carcinogenesis. Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer, resulting in over 1.3 million deaths each year worldwide. AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the activity of selected antioxidative enzymes in patients with lung cancer before and after radical surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 20 patients in the study group and 10 healthy volunteers in the control group. In the study group, blood samples were collected twice: one day before and one day after the operation. In the control group, blood samples were collected once. We estimated the activity of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in erythrocytes. The total antioxidant status in blood plasma was also determined. RESULTS: The activity of the selected antioxidative enzymes was greater in the case of GPX and CAT after surgery; the results were statistically significant in the study group. The activity of SOD remained at a comparable level. The total antioxidant status also increased after surgery in the study group in comparison to its preoperative level.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of thoracic sympathectomy in the treatment of primary hyperhidrosis of hands and armpits using the measurement of skin resistance.

INTRODUCTION: Hyperhidrosis is excessive sweating beyond the needs of thermoregulation. It is disease which mostly affects young people, often carrying a considerable amount of socio-economic implications. Thoracic sympathectomy is now considered to be the "gold standard" in the treatment of idiopathic hyperhidrosis of hands and armpits. AIM: Assessment of early effectiveness of thoracic sympathectomy using skin resistance measurements performed before surgery and in the postoperative period. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A group of 20 patients with idiopathic excessive sweating of hands and the armpit was enrolled in the study. Patients underwent two-stage thoracic sympathectomy with resection of Th2-Th4 ganglions. The skin resistance measurements were made at six previously designated points on the day of surgery and the first day after the operation. RESULTS: In all operated patients we obtained complete remission of symptoms on the first day after the surgery. Inhibition of sweating was confirmed using the standard starch iodine (Minor) test. At all measurement points we obtained a statistically significant increase of skin resistance, assuming p < 0.05. To check whether there is a statistically significant difference in the results before and after surgery we used sequence pairs Wilcoxon test. CONCLUSIONS: Thoracic sympathectomy is an effective curative treatment for primary hyperhidrosis of hands and armpits. Statistically significant increase of skin resistance in all cases is a good method of assessing the effectiveness of the above surgery in the early postoperative period.