Umbilical cord prolapse. A contemporary look.

The true impact of medical intervention for umbilical cord prolapse is unknown. We reviewed all cases of the condition over a nine-year period at Women's Hospital, Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center, in an attempt to answer this question. The perinatal mortality rate associated with umbilical cord prolapse increased significantly with decreasing levels of medical intervention. No fetal deaths occurred in the hospital.

Invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the conjunctiva presenting as necrotizing scleritis with scleral perforation and uveal prolapse.

A 64-year-old white man presented with necrotizing scleritis with scleral perforation and uveal prolapse. Pathologic examination revealed squamous cell carcinoma of the conjunctiva invading adjacent corneal stroma and ciliary body. Invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the conjunctiva is uncommon, and intraocular invasion has rarely been reported in the literature.

Evaluation of aortic valve prolapse in ventricular septal defect.

Angiographic criteria for the recognition of aortic valve prolapse in isolated ventricular septal defect were based on the degree of aortic cusp deformity and the presence or absence of aortic regurgitation. Ninety eight consecutive patients with isolated perimembranous or infundibular ventricular septal defects who were catheterised and had aortography performed were reviewed. They included five with postoperative ventricular septal defects and three with additional mild right ventricular outflow tract obstruction. Eighteen were found to have aortic valve prolapse. Although eight of the 18 were noted to have aortic regurgitation angiographically, only three had an early diastolic murmur. Only eight of the 18 patients had cross sectional echocardiographic findings suggestive of prolapse. All of these had at least moderate prolapse angiographically. Cross sectional echocardiography was found to be insensitive in diagnosing mild degrees of aortic valve prolapse. A trend towards a decreasing left to right shunt was noted as the degree of aortic valve prolapse increased. Spontaneous decrease in the size of a ventricular septal defect may be due to unrecognised aortic valve prolapse without clinical evidence of aortic regurgitation.

Significance of pulmonary valve prolapse. A cross sectional echocardiographic study.

Many patients with congenital heart disease now undergo cardiac surgery based solely on clinical and echocardiographic findings, but those with intracardiac shunts still frequently require cardiac catheterisation because there is no reliable non-invasive method of measuring the pulmonary artery pressure. Blinded to the haemodynamic results two independent observers retrospectively studied the cross sectional echocardiograms of 59 patients with uncomplicated ventricular septal defect to assess whether diastolic backward bowing of the pulmonary valve leaflets towards the right ventricular outflow tract (pulmonary valve prolapse) was associated with pulmonary hypertension. There was considerable interobserver variation in the diagnosis of pulmonary valve prolapse, but concordance was achieved in 27 cases. Mean pulmonary artery systolic and mean and diastolic pressures and the ratios of aortic to pulmonary artery mean pressures were all significantly higher for the group with pulmonary valve prolapse diagnosed by both observers than for the group without, thus showing an association between pulmonary valve prolapse and pulmonary hypertension. Further studies are warranted to determine the usefulness of this cross sectional echocardiographic sign in routine clinical practice.

Medical treatment of urethral prolapse in children.

Urethral prolapse denotes the complete circular eversion of the urethral mucosa through the external meatus. Two different entities exist: premenarcheal and menopausal urethral prolapse. Premenarcheal prolapse is predominantly asymptomatic and is usually brought to medical attention by vaginal bleeding. Trauma and medical conditions predisposing a patient to increased abdominal pressure are associated with prolapse in children. The menopausal group seeks medical attention primary because of the severity of urinary symptoms, ie, nocturia, urgency, tenesmus, dysuria, and frequency. Therapy for both groups has been traditionally accomplished by surgical manipulation-excision, surgical ligation, cautery, fulguration, and cryosurgery. The authors treated 5 premenarcheal female children with antibiotics, estrogen cream, and sitz baths for 2 weeks. In all the patients prolapse was resolved. The results, with follow-up for 4 to 12 months without recurrence, suggest that urethral prolapse in children can be managed without surgical intervention.

Urethral obstruction in boys caused by prolapse of simple ureterocele.

Four boys, each with urethral obstruction caused by a prolapsed simple ureterocele (from a non-duplicated collecting system) are reported. This is an unusual complication of an uncommon anomaly.

Prolapse of the laryngeal ventricle.

Many varied lesions may protrude into the laryngeal lumen from between the true and false vocal cords. These protrusions can be precisely diagnosed only by biopsy. Prolapse of the laryngeal ventricle is one of these lesions; it is a distinct clinicopathologic entity, a primary lesion unrelated to other laryngeal or systemic disease. Eversion of the ventricle (or saccule) is a similar protrusion that is secondary to pulsion or traction by an associated laryngeal lesion. Other lesions that may produce similar clinical findings and gross appearance include benign tumors, cysts, and, rarely, squamous cell carcinoma. Biopsy is therefore mandatory to plan rational treatment. A review of 26 patients who had been diagnosed as having prolapse resulted in the reclassification of 20 cases of prolapse and six cases of eversion. Prolapse is possibly unrelated etiologically to cough, or chronic laryngeal or respiratory tract infection. The histopathologic data suggest further that prolapse is a result of fatty infiltration, edema, and inflammation of the periventricular tissue above the ventricle, which cause the tissue to enlarge and protrude into the laryngeal lumen from between the true and false vocal cords.

Tricuspid valve prolapse: two-dimensional echocardiographic aspects.

Three patients with prolapse of the mitral and tricuspid valve are presented. The tricuspid valve prolapse was revealed by two-dimensional echocardiography and simultaneous M-mode echocardiogram.

Strokes: A complication of mitral-leaflet prolapse?

During a prospective trial of platelet-inhibiting drugs in patients with transient ischaemic attacks (T.I.A.s), 14 patients had serious neurological dysfunction and normal cerebral angiograms. The patients (mean age 37 years) had neurological episodes over a period of 1-4 years consisting of acute non-progressive strokes with residual symptoms. In 3 patients, the two cerebral hemispheres were involved on different occasions. Cerebral angiograms showed no significant atheromatous disease in the intracranial or extracranial vessels. 3 patients had mid-systolic clicks, 5 had systolic murmurs, and 2 patients had both a click and a murmur. Holter electrocardiographic monitoring revealed atrial, junctional, or ventricular extrasystoles (5 patients), paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (3), and paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia (1). Left ventricular angiography confirmed mitral-leaflet prolapse in all the patients. The focal nature of the T.I.A.s suggests an embolic event, the embolus arising from the abnormal mitral valve. In a patient not included in this series, a small antemortem left atrial thrombus was found at necropsy.

Vegetative bacterial endocarditis on the prolapsing mitral valve. Echocardiographic evaluation.

Vegetative endocarditis on the prolapsing mitral valve can be diagnosed with an echocardiogram and the response to therapy can be followed with this technique. A dense mass of fuzzy echoes was noted on the prolapsing posterior leaflet of an echocardiogram from a patient with endocarditis. Three months after the initiation of antibiotic therapy, the mass of echoes had disappeared and was replaced by a dense linear echo, suggesting fibrosis of the part of the mitral valve that had been infected previously. Persistence of the echocardiographic evidence of endocarditis, despite negative blood cultures, may indicate persistence of the risk of peripheral embolization.