Bronchial foreign body presenting as an accidental radiological finding.

The aspiration of a foreign body in an airway is usually associated with respiratory distress, wheeze and persistent cough. The highest incidence of foreign body inhalation occurs between the age of 1 and 3 years [Ann. Otol. Rhinol. Laryngol. 89 (1980) 434: Med. J. Aust. 2 (1983) 322]. Asymptomatic and long standing foreign bodies may lead to complications such as recurrent pneumonia, bronchiectasis, atelectasis and even death. We present here a case of a metallic bronchial foreign body, which was discovered only as an accidental radiological finding on a chest X-ray, which was done for a mild lower respiratory tract infection, presumably 4 months after such an aspiration.

Endoscopic sinus surgery in children with chronic sinus disease failed on medical management.

This pilot study assessed the safety and efficacy of Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (ESS) in children with chronic sinus disease. A total of 150 patients were carefully evaluated for intractable signs and symptoms of chronic sinus disease and 40 children were deemed appropriate candidates for ESS. All patients were medical management failures. Thirty percent of these children had bronchial asthma and fifteen percent had allergies. All patients were followed for atleast one year after surgery. Overall success rate as assessed at one year was 85.3%. The success was evaluated by a scoring system evolved out of this study for the subjective relief of symptoms. The commonest surgical complication observed was synechiae between the middle turbinate and the lateral nasal wall, that developed in 10% cases. The revision surgery was required in only 5 children who had associated systemic illness like bronchial asthma or allergies.

Open pedicle grafts of ileum for the repair of large duodenal defects: an experimental study.

An experimental study of open pedicle grafts of ileum for the repair of large duodenal defects is presented. All the grafts survived and functioned well. No shrinkage occurred. The results are extremely encouraging for the clinical application of this technique.