The Maltese cross technique: umbilical reconstruction after dermolipectomy.

A simple and easy technique for reconstruction of the umbilicus was devised, with emphasis on forming walls of the umbilicus and a depression in a caudal direction. A quite satisfactory result was obtained. A permanent and sufficient depression for the umbilicus can be expected as a result of three-dimensional formation of walls. We also obtained a natural-looking neo-umbilicus.

Obese and nonobese patients: complications of abdominoplasty.

We analyzed 80 patients who underwent abdominoplasty at the University of Tor Vergata "Policlinico Casilino", Rome to determine the effect of obesity on the incidence of complications after this surgery. The study patients were divided into 3 groups, obese, overweight, and normal weight, based on the degree to which their preoperative weights varied from their ideal body weight. A history of previous bariatric surgery was also analyzed to determine what impact that might have on subsequent abdominoplasty. Results showed that the records of 80 patients who underwent an abdominoplasty at University of Tor Vergata Policlinico indicated that 76% of obese patients had complications compared with the overweight and normal-weight patients, who had complication rates of 35% and 33%, respectively. Previous gastric bypass surgery had no significant effect on the incidence of postabdominoplasty complications. Based on these findings, the authors conclude that obesity at the time of abdominoplasty has a profound influence on the wound complication rate following surgery, regardless of any previous weight-reduction surgery.

Smokers: risks and complications in abdominal dermolipectomy.

Cigarette smoke has many detrimental effects on health, with consequences such as cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, and tumors. In plastic surgery, these effects appear during the wound healing process. This retrospective study showed wound healing in 57 patients who had undergone abdominal dermolipectomy surgery. The patients were divided into two groups: smokers and nonsmokers. According to the results, smokers face a great complication risk for surgical wounds, which cause aesthetically more undesirable scars than observed in nonsmokers. The authors hypothesize that abstinence from smoking for 4 to 12 weeks before surgery would improve the quality of the scars.

Differential effects of recombinant interferon-alpha and 5-fluorouracil against colon cancer cells or against peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Comparative studies on the suppressive effects of recombinant interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), or IFN-alpha + 5-FU have been performed in vitro on colon carcinoma cells (HT-29 cell line) and PHA-stimulated mononuclear cells (MNC) of peripheral blood obtained from healthy donors. IFN-alpha was used at 500 U/ml against HT-29 cells and at 1000 U/ml against MNC on day 1 of culture; 5-FU was used at 250 microM against HT-29 and at 1400 microM against MNC on day 2 of culture. The results show that: (a) IFN-alpha inhibited MNC and HT-29 cells by 13.4% and 32.9%, respectively; (b) 5-FU inhibited MNC and HT-29 cells by 54.7% and 87.0%, respectively; (c) IFN-alpha + 5-FU resulted in a stronger inhibition of HT-29 cells (i.e., 96.1%). In contrast, that combination was significantly less suppressive than 5-FU alone when MNC were used as targets (i.e., 35.9% inhibition). Natural cell-mediated cytotoxic activity relative to 10(6) MNC was not markedly altered by all agents alone or in combination. Moreover, treatment with IFN-alpha, 5-FU or IFN-alpha + 5-FU resulted in a marked increase in the number of HT-29 cells positive for the CEA surface antigen. These data seem to provide further rational support of the clinical use of IFN-alpha + 5-FU in colorectal cancer, based on the differential toxicity of this drug combination on tumor versus normal immunocompetent cells.

Iatrogenic contact dermatitis to proparacaine: an ophthalmic topical anesthetic.

Allergic contact dermatitis to a topical ophthalmic anesthetic, proparacaine, is reported in a patient with refractory glaucoma. His ophthalmologist routinely used a preparation containing this anesthetic, which is an uncommon sensitizer, for measuring the patient's intraocular pressure. That the patient did not apply the medication himself resulted in added difficulty in discovering the iatrogenically induced contact allergy. Avoidance of this anesthetic resulted in resolution of the patient's recurrent bouts of periocular dermatitis and conjunctivitis. The importance of testing patients suspected of having contact allergy to all medications to which they are exposed is emphasized.

Role of vincristine in immunochemotherapy of leukemia in mouse or human models.

Synergistic antitumor effects between Vincristine (VCR) and allograft responses have been found in mice bearing allogeneic retrovirus-induced leukemia. In this model VCR depressed weakly allograft reactivity if given before but not after antigen administration. In a parallel human tumor model in vitro using HTLV-1 induced MT-2 leukemia, additive but not synergistic immuno-chemotherapeutic effects were obtained with allogeneic mononuclear cells (MNC) combined with VCR at 0.1 but not at 1 micrograms/ml. In this case natural immunity (NI) rather than antigen-dependent immunity (ADI) was involved in the combined effects of VCR + MNC. In the in vitro model pretreatment of effector cells with 1 or 0.1 micrograms/ml of VCR depressed natural cell-mediated cytotoxicity (NCMC). However when the drug was added to the effector + target cells during the 4 h cytotoxicity assay, 1 but not 0.1 micrograms/ml of the drug was capable of depressing NCMC function. These results would provide valuable information for developing in vitro immuno-chemotherapy studies in human tumor systems, including those characterized by the presence of tumor-associated oncogenic retroviruses, capable of depressing both NI and ADI functions.

[Further observations on human infection by Listeria monocytogenes]. / Ulteriori osservazioni sull'infezione umana da Listeria monocytogenes.

Two cases of isolation of Listeria monocytogenes type 1 from vaginal mucus of two pregnant women who underwent premature deliveries with death of foetuses are described.