Transorbital penetrating cerebral injury with a ceramic stone: report of an interesting case.

Penetrating cranial injury is a potentially life-threatening condition. The majority of war injuries are high-velocity penetrating cranial injuries; but in civilian cases, most penetrating cranial wounds are low-velocity type. We report an interesting case of transorbital penetrating cranial injury with a knife-sharpening stone made up of ceramic in a 28-year-old male. The pertinent literature is reviewed and management of such cases is discussed.

Hydrocephalic holoprosencephaly: An oxymoron? Insights into etiology and management.

Holoprosencephaly is usually associated with microcephaly, although macrocephaly is not uncommonly seen. However, the cause of hydrocephalus in holoprosencephaly remains ill-defined. Here, the authors report a case of CSF ascites following ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement in a five month-old child with alobar holoprosencephaly, and hypothesize that the excessive CSF production which occurs in this condition may be responsible for the formation of CSF ascites. Further research is required to assess whether the gene responsible for holoprosencephaly is also responsible for upregulating CSF production in patients with concomitant hydrocephalus.

Frontal mucocele presenting with forehead subcutaneous mass: an unusual presentation.

Frontal mucocele usually presents with visual complaints like diplopia, diminution of vision, visual field defect, ptosis, orbital swelling, retro-orbital pain, displacement of eye-globe and proptosis. Very rarely it can present as a subcutaneous swelling. To the best of the authors' knowledge, only two cases of frontal mucocele presenting with a forehead mass have been reported in the western literature. Authors report an unusual case of frontal mucocele in a 53-year- old female who presented with painless slowly progressive subcutaneous swelling of five-year duration on the forehead. The case is discussed and the pertinent literature is reviewed.

Augmentation gastroplasty using a segment of transverse colon for corrosive gastric stricture.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Diffuse corrosive gastric stricture is a relatively rare entity, and gastric ablative procedures are traditionally recommended for it. We emphasize the importance of preservation of a cicatrized stomach and describe its augmentation using a segment of transverse colon. CASE REPORT AND PROCEDURE: A young female with a history of corrosive acid ingestion presented to our surgical unit with nonbilious vomiting following meals, consistent weight loss and features of gastric outlet obstruction. A barium study revealed a small-capacity stomach with pyloric stricture. We planned to augment the stomach capacity by using a segment of transverse colon. After documentation of a normal colon by barium examination, a 15-cm segment of transverse colon was harvested based on middle colic artery. This vascularized patch of bowel was united with the stomach that was opened up by a longitudinal incision made along the body. RESULT AND FINDING: A barium study on the tenth postoperative day revealed a good capacity and contour of the stomach and free entry of Barium into the small intestine. The patient is tolerating a normal meal and has no vomiting. At 3 months follow-up, the patient had a normal stomach radiologically and endoscopically, with a weight gain of 7 kg. CONCLUSIONS: Augmentation of corrosive gastric stricture by a segment of transverse colon is an innovative, practical, and useful procedure, although long-term results are awaited.

Pain in acute and chronic wounds: a descriptive study.

The significance of pain in wound healing is much neglected because of biases against pain management in general, a lack of knowledge of available analgesics, and difficulties associated with pain measurement. To assess pain in patients suffering from acute and chronic wounds, a 1-day descriptive study was conducted involving 50 patients, 26 with acute wounds and 24 with chronic wounds, served by the wound clinic of a university hospital. Patients responded to questions regarding onset, location, type, and intensity of pain using the Visual Analog and Visual Reporting Scales and to statements about aggravating and relieving factors and overall impact on their quality of life using a 5-point scale where 5 = totally agree and 1 = completely disagree. Results showed pain was commonly mild to moderate (41 patients, 88%), located in and around wound (43 patients, 93.5%), occurred most frequently during dressing change (30 patients, 65%), and was relieved by medications (39 patients, 84.8%) and positioning (17 patients, 37%). The most commonly affected quality of life variables were physical activity (40 patients, 87% of patients) and social functioning (23 patients, 50%). Controlling wound pain can play a major role in improving patient quality of life.