Cranial fasciitis presenting as an external auditory canal mass.

Cranial fasciitis is a rare benign lesion that develops in childhood. It is considered a subset of nodular fasciitis but occurs selectively in the scalp of children. A review of the world literature revealed only 22 other published cases and no previous reports of a lesion involving the petrous portion of the temporal bone or presenting as a mass in the external auditory canal. We report a rare case of cranial fasciitis in the petrous portion of the temporal bone of a neonate and present a review of the literature.

Laser-drilled cardiovascular surgical needles.

Surgical sutures that are directly attached to the surgical needle ends are called swaged sutures. A forming tool has been used to split one-half of the wire diameter of cardiovascular needles that forms a channel or receptacle for the suture. With the advent of lasers, uniform holes can now be produced in the ends of small-diameter cardiovascular needles. An advantage of the laser-produced hole is that its outer circumference is smooth; the channel swage has a linear slit that interrupts its smooth outer circumference. A standardized reproducible test has been developed that quantitates the force required to pull the needle end through a synthetic membrane that simulates vascular tissue. A swage produced by a laser encountered significantly less drag forces than that noted with a comparable size channel swage of cardiovascular needles.

Congenital giant hairy nevus: implications for treatment.

Congenital giant hairy nevi represent a special group of melanocytic lesions which generally cover large areas of the body surface. Giant hairy nevi assume special significance because of their predisposition to malignant transformation. Adequate treatment of this lesion involves complete surgical excision as early in the child's life as possible.