Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis: a 5-year retrospective review of cases in a tertiary centre in Dublin, Ireland.

AIMS: Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) is a rare, benign, inflammatory breast disorder of unknown aetiology usually affecting women of reproductive age. It classically presents as a unilateral painful breast mass. It is frequently mistaken for carcinoma or other inflammatory breast diseases. Diagnostic investigations include clinical examination, appropriate imaging and tissue sampling. A link between IGM and infection with the Corynebacterium species in particular Corynebacterium kroppenstedtii has been described. METHODS: A retrospective single-centre cohort study was conducted over a 5-year period (2017-2022); all cases of IGM were identified. RESULTS: Forty-one patients were diagnosed with IGM. Breast lump was the most common presenting complaint (n=29). The average age was 45 years. Eighteen patients had samples sent for culture and sensitivity, 11 of which had positive microbiology results indicative of Corynebacterium spp infection.An 82% resolution rate (27 of 33) was recorded in those who received either a short-antibiotic course or none at all. Eight patients reported persistent disease at 3 months, five of which had evidence of Corynebacterium spp. DISCUSSION: This 5-year review highlights the impact of IGM in a tertiary centre in Dublin, Ireland. Although no treatment guidelines exist, options include antibiotics, immunomodulators and surgery. Due to risk of fistulae and unfavourable cosmetic outcomes, surgery should be reserved for refractory IGM. We suspect that there may be a subset of patients where prolonged antibiotic therapy should be considered. Defining this subgroup requires further study, but likely includes those with cystic neutrophilic granulomatous mastitis, relapsing disease and in whom Corynebacterium spp is recovered.

Management of "torus" or "buckle" fractures of the distal radius: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Torus fractures, also known as buckle fractures, of the distal radius are a very common reason for presentation to emergency departments. Traditional approaches to their management involved immobilisation in a circumferential cast but the evidence now supports the use of removable splints with or without radiological and clinical follow-up. Unfortunately current practice conflicts with the evidence base and there is no guideline which highlights all the evidence as one clear, concise management protocol. METHODS: An online review of Pubmed, EMBASE, Biomed, and the Cochrane library using keyword searches combining "radius", "torus", "buckle" and "fracture" was performed. All prospective, retrospective or randomised trials involving the management of distal radius torus fractures in patients aged 0-18 years were included. Our outcomes focused on 5 aspects of patient care: immobilisation method and duration, clinical follow-up, radiological follow-up and the use of diagnostic ultrasound. RESULTS: The initial search identified 143 papers which following application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria 21 articles were deemed eligible. A Cochrane review and 8 systematic reviews were also identified and manually searched for missed articles and this yielded a further 3 articles. CONCLUSIONS: Current research indicates that torus fractures should be managed with a removable splint supplied in A&E and worn for 3 weeks. There is no need for fracture clinic follow-up or repeat radiological imaging once patients are given adequate information at the time of diagnosis. This would represent both an economical and resource saving for patients, parents and the health service.

Umbilical hernia repair and recurrence: need for a clinical trial?

INTRODUCTION: Umbilical hernia repair, despite its perceived simplicity, is associated with recurrence between 2.7 and 27%, in mesh repair and non mesh repair respectively. Many factors are recognized contributors to recurrence however multiple defects in the linea alba, known to occur in up to 30% of patients, appear to have been overlooked by surgeons. AIMS: This systematic review assessed reporting of second or multiple linea alba defects in patients undergoing umbilical hernia repair to establish if these anatomical variations could contribute to recurrence along with other potential factors. METHODS: A systematic review of all published English language articles was undertaken using databases PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Cochrane Library from January 2014 to 2019. The search terms 'Umbilical hernia' AND 'repair' AND 'recurrence' were used across all databases. Analysis was specified in advance to avoid selection bias, was registered with PROSPERO (154173) and adhered to PRISMA statement. RESULTS: Six hundred and forty-six initial papers were refined to 10 following article review and grading. The presence of multiple linea alba defects as a contributor to recurrence was not reported in the literature. One paper mentioned the exclusion of six participants from their study due multiple defects. In all 11 factors were significantly associated with umbilical hernia recurrence. These included: large defect, primary closure without mesh, high BMI in 5/10 publications; smoking, diabetes mellitus, surgical site Infection (SSI) and concurrent hernia in 3/10. In addition, the type of mesh, advanced age, liver disease and non-closure of the defect were identified in individual papers. CONCLUSION: This study identified many factors already known to contribute to umbilical hernia recurrence in adults, but the existence of multiple defects in the linea, despite it prevalence, has evaded investigators. Surgeons need to be consider documentation of this potential confounder which may contribute to recurrence.

In vivo assessment of cervical movement in surgeons-results from open and laparoscopic procedures.

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal pain is commonly described in surgeons. Research suggests that 21-60% of at-risk physicians may experience significant work-related pain in their back, shoulders, neck or upper extremity and the consequences of this may impact negatively on patient care. Laparoscopic surgery in particular has become increasingly associated with musculoskeletal pain, especially in the cervical spine. Due to a number of constraints, however, it is difficult to evaluate musculoskeletal movement (particularly cervical spine motion) in the operating room environment. STUDY DESIGN: Three consultant general surgeons were fitted with an ambulatory strain gauge in an attempt to accurately measure and compare cervical motility during open and laparoscopic surgeries. Intraoperative figures pertaining to neck flexion, extension and rotation during forty surgical procedures were collected. The completed data consisted of twenty open and twenty laparoscopic procedures, and the results were compared. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant reduction (21.38%) in measured neck movement in laparoscopic surgery when compared with open surgery p = 0.004 (Table 2). A standard deviation of 18.97 was computed for open surgery indicating a larger variability in results deviation from the mean when compared with a value of 8.92 for laparoscopic surgery. Mean rotational neck movement was also reduced during laparoscopic procedures (23.5%) when compared with open procedures (87.9%). CONCLUSION: Based on our results, we believe that laparoscopic surgery requires more prolonged periods of static neck posture when compared with open surgery. This difference may assist in understanding the contributing factors for musculoskeletal (in particular cervical) pain encountered in minimally invasive surgeons. Further investigation of static posture in the operating surgeon is warranted.