Nerve transfer to biceps muscle using a part of ulnar nerve for C5-C6 avulsion of the brachial plexus: anatomical study and report of four cases.

Four patients with C5-C6 root avulsion after brachial plexus injury were treated with a transfer of part of a normal functioning nerve in the arm to the motor nerve of the biceps. Ten percent of the bulk of the ulnar nerve was harvested for a suture directly to the motor nerve of the biceps with no significant impairment of hand function.

The infrapyloric artery and cephalic pancreatoduodenectomy with pylorus preservation: preliminary study.

Cephalic pancreatoduodenectomy (CPD) with pylorus preservation has been suggested to improve the functional and nutritional result of surgery. At operation, the first two centimeters of the duodenum are preserved, the vascular arch of the lesser gastric curvature is saved and the right gastroepiploic artery is resected at its origin. The aim of this study on 15 fresh cadavers was to determine the origin of the vascularization of the remaining duodenum and also the possibilities of preserving an optimal vascularization after CPD and pylorus preservation. All of the arteries supplying the remaining duodenum and arising either from the right gastric artery or the right gastroepiploic artery were identified. The distances between the origin of the infrapyloric artery and the termination of the gastroduodenal artery on the cranial and ventral pancreaticoduodenal artery and the left gastroepiploic artery were measured. At CPD with pylorus preservation, the study demonstrated that: 1) the cranial side of the remaining duodenum remains vascularized in 80% of the cases by one or two supraduodenal branches coming from the right gastric artery; 2) ligation of the right gastroepiploic artery eliminates all vascular supply to the caudal side of the remaining duodenum in almost half of the cases; 3) in these cases, the dissection of the bifurcation of the gastroduodenal artery and the vascular section beyond the origin of the infrapyloric artery allowed a direct vascular supply to the remaining duodenum to be preserved.

Three-dimensional reconstruction of the carpus and its vasculature: an anatomic study.

Three-dimensional reconstructions of the carpus have been assembled from tomographic data of anatomic specimens after vascular injection with resin polymer of a density similar to that of bone. We have been able to produce three-dimensional reconstruction of the relationship between carpal bones and their vasculature. Fine tomographic slicing, on the order of 1 mm, has yielded sharp definition of bone structure, particularly of the entry points of nutrient vessels. The use of a very fluid synthetic resin has made possible the definition of vessels of fine caliber. A computerized program of three-dimensional reconstruction was used to obtain a series of views spaced at 10 to 20 degrees at predetermined right-angled axes. This has provided a precise matching of vessels with their corresponding points of bony penetration. This new method of imaging has enabled us to describe the entire vasculature of the bones of the carpus. The technique enjoys a number of advantages over conventional methods of study of carpal vasculature. In practice, the various known methods of arteriographic and digital angiographic examination do not have the same high definition and are unable to eliminate the effect of superimposition of views. In addition, the dissections are difficult and are likely to produce significant artifact. Corrosion techniques are elegant, but they are time-consuming, delicate procedures if selective isolation of bone and vasculature is required.

[High-resolution MRI of the carpal tunnel. Anatomical correlations]. / IRM en haute résolution du canal carpien. Corrélations anatomiques.

This anatomical study of the carpal tunnel compares magnetic resonance imaging sections and adult and fetal anatomical sections. The MRI studies were carried out in 12 normal controls. The use of an experimental high resolution module allows achieving as high a degree of spatial resolution as 0.13 mm2. The comparison of MR images with anatomical sections allows a very accurate analysis of the contents of the carpal tunnel, especially of the median nerve, of the flexor tendons and of the flexor retinaculum.

Anatomic and radiologic bases of surgery of the thoracic aorta.

Lesions of the thoracic aorta create problems related to their site and relations with the main aortic branches. The aim of surgery must be to treat the lesion while ensuring perfusion of the tissues excluded by clamping during the operation. Anatomic study of the aortic lesions is based on imaging. Angiography is still often the basic examination though it shows only the lumen and course of the aorta. However, CT and MRI visualise the aortic wall and especially the relations of the aorta to the mediastinal structures. A comparison of anatomic and imaging studies was made on 10 fresh subjects coming from the anatomy department of the Saints-Pères and from the school of surgery of Fer à Moulin. Sections were made every 3 to 5 mm in 3 planes (sagittal, coronal and axial) after CT localisation of the plane of section. This anatomic study was correlated with CT and MR images made on healthy volunteers. The choice of surgical management of a lesion of the thoracic aorta is based on preoperative anatomic assessment by imaging applied not only to the aorta but also to its branches and the territory supplied.

The thoracic esophagus: sectional anatomy and radiosurgical applications.

The relationships of a tumor of the thoracic esophagus to the adjacent mediastinal structures are currently studied by means of computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and, more recently, by echoendoscopy. However, the assessment of axial mediastinal CT and of MRI in the coronal and sagittal planes calls for some degree of experience. To further this training a sectional anatomy is proposed in correlation with imaging of the thoracic esophagus and the posterior mediastinum. Ten fresh subjects whose vascular networks had been previously injected with colored resin were sectioned along the three planes of space after positioning under CT monitoring. The axial sections were compared with the CT images made with a GE 9800 Quick scanner. Three frontal and sagittal sections were compared with the MRI images made with a GE Signa apparatus using a high magnetic field. The relations of the esophagus were studied at three levels: the supra-azygo-aortic segment, where it is related to the left subclavian artery; the inter-azygo-aortic segment, where access to the esophagus is barred on the left by the aortic arch and on the right by the arch of the azygos vein, section of which provides ample access; and the sub-azygo-aortic segment, where the esophagus passes behind the left main bronchus and to the right of the descending aorta, two organs whose invasion contraindicates excision of a tumor of the esophagus but is difficult to assess by current thoracic imaging techniques. The esophagus then descends behind the left atrium; the investigation of the kinetics of the heart cavities by transesophageal echocardiography is an application of this anatomic relationship.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Vascularization of a pedicled flap intended for the urethra]. / Etude de la vascularisation des lambeaux pédiculés à destinée urétrale.

One stage urethroplasties using a cutaneous island pedicle flap have been described by Quartey, Orandi, Marberger, Gattegno and Blandy. Anatomical study after colored injection and dissection shows, for each of them, a good blood supply from large anastomoses between the internal and external pudendal arteries. The pedicle is very well individualized on Quartey's flap.