An innovative single-stage repair of severe asymmetric pectus excavatum defects using substernal mesh bands.

An internally supported technique employing selective subperichondral cartilage resection and wedge sternal osteotomy reinforced with multiple transverse nonabsorbable mesh bands was performed in 52 patients undergoing surgical repair of severe asymmetric pectus excavatum chest wall deformity. The short-term structural and cosmetic results were excellent, the length of hospital stay was short (3.1 days), and complications were few. The long-term results were also excellent at 5 to 161 months (mean, 79 months) after repair. The procedure is well accepted by patients and families as a treatment for the severe variants of this chest wall lesion and as such is recommended as a satisfactory alternative to current techniques.

Shear bond strengths for composite and autopolymerized acrylic resins bonded to acrylic resin denture teeth.

Statement of problem. Composite has been used to modify acrylic resin denture teeth. Purpose. This in vitro investigation examined the shear bond strengths between composite and autopolymerized acrylic resin bonded to acrylic resin denture teeth. Material and methods. The surface treatments used for the denture teeth included wetting with methyl methacrylate (MMA), vinylethyl methacrylate monomer (VEMA), unfilled liquid resin, composite bonding agent, and composite color modifier. Nonhydrated and hydrated denture tooth groups were included. A commercial composite was bonded to the denture teeth. The control group consisted of autopolymerized PMMA resin bonded to the acrylic resin denture teeth, and another group consisted of polyvinylethyl methacrylate bonded to acrylic resin denture teeth. The samples were thermocycled and tested in shear. Results. Acrylic resin denture teeth prewetted with MMA and treated with unfilled resin or a bonding agent had bond strength values comparable to the control group. VEMA was not as effective in promoting the bond. Composite color modifier did not produce a significantly weaker bond between the acrylic resin teeth and added composite. No prewetting of the teeth with MMA resulted in the lowest bond strength. Mean shear bond strengths for corresponding hydrated and non-hydrated groups were not significantly different. Conclusion. Bond strength of composite-to-acrylic resin denture teeth was comparable to the bond strength of autopolymerized acrylic resin.

The influence of morphological variation on Candida albicans adhesion to denture acrylic in vitro.

Using denture acrylic pieces coated with either whole human stimulated saliva or oral streptococci, the binding ability of three different Candida albicans strains was investigated. The C. albicans strains include a clinical isolate with the commonly observed, smooth, round colonial morphology (strain 613p), a morphological variant spontaneously derived from the clinical isolate strain 613p (strain 613m1BK) and a clinical isolate from an oral lesion that was also a morphological variant upon primary isolation (strain 228). Levels of adhesion to the acrylic pieces were determined radiometrically using C. albicans cells metabolically labelled with [35S]-methionine. Whole stimulated saliva significantly increased the binding of all strains compared to uncoated acrylic. However, the level of binding of strain 613p to saliva-coated acrylic was significantly greater than the levels observed for the morphological variant strain 613m1BK. Coating acrylic pieces with either Streptococcus sanguis NCTC 10904, Strep. mutans GS-5 or Strep. sobrinus ATCC 27352 instead of saliva resulted in significantly greater binding by strain 613p compared to uncoated acrylic. Pre-coating the acrylic with the oral streptococci did not significantly increase the binding of morphological variant strains 613m1BK and 228 compared to uncoated acrylic. In general, preincubation of adherent streptococci with sucrose to induce the synthesis of extracellular carbohydrate polymers did not significantly increase the binding levels of the C. albicans strains above those observed using streptococci in buffer alone. Compared to its parental strain 613p, morphological variant strain 613m1BK adhered poorly to denture acrylic coated with either salivary constituents or oral streptococci, while strain 228 adhered to the same substrates at an intermediate level. Furthermore, physical disaggregation of clusters of the morphological variant strain 613m1BK did not appear to increase its binding capacity to saliva-coated denture acrylic. The effect of whole stimulated saliva on the adherence of C. albicans 613p to a variety of plastic substrates in addition to denture acrylic was examined. Overall, saliva pre-coating of the various plastics promoted C. albicans 613p adhesion. The adhesion of strain 613p to denture acrylic coated with whole stimulated saliva from each of five different donors or with parotid and submandibular/sublingual saliva from each of two donors was also examined. Regardless of donor, a coating of whole stimulated saliva significantly increased the binding of strain 613p to denture acrylic compared to uncoated acrylic. In addition, a coating of parotid saliva significantly increased the binding of strain 613p to denture acrylic compared to submandibular/sublingual saliva.

[Calcifying epithelioma of Malherbe. Case report]. / Enasbestiomeno epithelioma tou Malherbe. Parousiase periptoses.

Calcifying epithelioma of Malherbe of pilomatrixoma is a rare benign tumor of the skin. The whites are mainly affected. There appears to be a 3:2 female- to male incidence ratio. 40 percent of pilomatrixomas present before the age of 10 and more than 60 percent arise in the first two decades of life. The most common site of location of calcifying epithelioma is the head and neck region and the lower extremity. The prognosis is good and the treatment is surgical removal. A rare case of pilomatrixoma in a man 62 years old with an intraoral location is presented. The lesion treated successfully.

Bone scanning in the detection of occult fractures.

The potential role of bone scanning in the early detection of occult fractures following acute trauma was investigated. Technetium 99m pyrophosphate bone scans were obtained in patients with major clinical findings (e.g., pain, swelling, tenderness) and negative or equivocal roentgenograms following trauma. Bone scanning facilitated the prompt diagnosis of occult fractures in the hip, knee, wrist, ribs and costochondral junctions, sternum, vertebrae, sacrum, and coccyx. Several illustrative cases are presented. Roentgenographic confirmation occurred following a delay of days to weeks and, in some instances, the roentgenographic findings were subtle and could be easily overlooked. This study demonstrates bone scanning to be invaluable and definitive in the prompt detection of occult fractures.

Spontaneous regression of disseminated gastric leiomyoblastoma: a 29-year follow-up.

Spontaneous regression of tumor metastases is a rare phenomenon. We report a patient with gastric leiomyoblastoma with extensive peritoneal metastases who had an incomplete excision of the primary. He has survived 29 years since the diagnosis was first documented. He received no adjuvant therapy.