Category Archives: Case Series

Radial Nerve Injury After Brachial Nerve Block- Case Series

DOI: 10.1515/amma-2015-0088

Adding epinephrine to local anesthetics is recommended to extend the duration of peripheral nerve blocks. We describe in this article two cases of radial nerve injury possible due to coadministration of epinephrine during brachial plexus block.

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Surgical treatment of anogenital hemangiomas of infancy

DOI: 10.2478/amma-2014-0046

Introduction Infantile hemangiomas (IHs) are the most common benign tumors of the soft tissue in infants and children and they often represent a serious challenge for the treating physician. Hemangiomas located in the anogenital region represent only about 1% of all IHs, but raise special concerns as they have the propensity to ulcerate. This condition may appear spontaneously, or could result from therapeutic procedures. Ulceration is extremely painful and takes many weeks of conservative therapy to heal.
Material and Methods. The aim of this study is to present the surgical approach of the IHs located in the anogenital area and the outcomes of this treatment option.
Results. During a period of 36 months, 11 children (nine girls, two boys) were referred to our plastic surgery department with hemangiomas involving the anogenital, groin and perineum areas. The average follow-up period was of 8 months, during which 82% of cases experienced complications, especially ulceration. All the target hemangiomas were removed through a lenticular excision and the wound closed with a linear suture.
Conclusions. Our study has shown that surgical excision of a complicated anogenital hemangioma or of a “healthy” hemangioma at high risk for ulceration in the anogenital region is an effective treatment, with fast healing and complete resolution of the pathogenic condition. Lenticular excision and linear closure represent a convenient surgical technique that can be performed as early surgery, during the proliferative stage, or at any time later, when the patient needs treatment, in safety conditions and with good results.

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Meyer’s Loop Anatomy Demonstrated Using Diffusion Tensor MR Imaging and Fiber Tractography at 3T

DOI: 10.2478/amma-2014-0045

Objective: The ultimate anatomy of the Meyer’s loop continues to elude us. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) may be able to demonstrate, in vivo, the anatomy of the complex network of white matter fibers surrounding the Meyer’s loop and the optic radiations. This study aims at exploring the anatomy of the Meyer’s loop by using DTI and fiber tractography.
Methods: Ten healthy subjects underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with DTI at 3 T. Using a region-of-interest (ROI) based diffusion tensor imaging and fiber tracking software (Release 2.6, Achieva, Philips), sequential ROI were placed to reconstruct visual fibers and neighboring projection fibers involved in the formation of Meyer’s loop. The 3-dimensional (3D) reconstructed fibers were visualized by superimposition on 3-planar MRI brain images to enhance their precise anatomical localization and relationship with other anatomical structures.
Results: Several projection fiber including the optic radiation, occipitopontine/parietopontine fibers and posterior thalamic peduncle participated in the formation of Meyer’s loop. Two patterns of angulation of the Meyer’s loop were found.
Conclusions: DTI with DTT provides a complimentary, in vivo, method to study the details of the anatomy of the Meyer’s loop.

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Surgical Management of Renal Hyperparathyroidism: Case Series and Review of the Literature

DOI: 10.1515/amma-2015-0083

Secondary hyperparathyroidism (sHPT) occurs most commonly in the setting of chronic renal failure (CRF) being frequently referred to as “renal” hyperparathyroidism The “classical” medical treatment with oral calcium and vitamin D supplementation is generally sufficient to lower parathyroid hormone levels in the majority of these patients. However, we frequently encounter cases of severe refractory sHPT, a state in which even recently available therapeutic agents, i.e. calcimimetics, new phosphate binders, vitamin D analogues, remain inefficient, thus parathyroidectomy and/ or renal transplant becoming necessary. Three types of surgeries have been proposed in sHPT: two of them are grouped as remnant-conserving techniques, i.e. subtotal parathyroidectomy (sPtx) and total parathyroidectomy with autotransplantation (tPtx+AT), the third one being total parathyroidectomy without autotransplantation (tPtx). There was a continuous debate concerning the best surgical approach in renal hyperparathyroidism, starting very soon after those techniques were described; without pretending to solve these controversies, this paper aims to review the surgical treatment options in sHPT, based on our 5-year experience in dealing with the disease.

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Imaging Findings of Bisphosphonates-Associated Osteonecrosis of Jaw: Literature Review and Report of 3 Cases

DOI: 10.1515/amma-2015-0081

Purpose: The present study aims radiological aspects of the occurrence of osteonecrosis of the jaw age groups both in receiving i.v bisphosphonates tratment Imaging assessment of bisphosphonates therapy-induced osteonecrosis of the jaw it is important to differentiate neoplastic invasion, osteomyelitis, osteoradionecrosis induced by radiation or bone related pathology of general diseases.
Material and method: We conducted a retrospective clinical study including 22 patients (8 men and 14 women) with various stages of osteonecrosis of the jaw.
Results: Radiological examinations using CBCT are required in all therapeutic approach of osteonecrosis of jaw cases providing accurate informations of position, dimension and the link with anatomical structures.Our study showed that the prevalence of osteonecrosis of mandibular growth is higher in women than in men and the risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw in appearance is depending on age factor witch occurs more often between age 52-59 and 73-80 years old.
Conclusion: The multitude of complications due to treatment with bisphosphonates bind to an early and specialized therapeutic approach. Radiological examinations is a first choice in the detection and early diagnosis of osteonecrosis of the jaw, patients requiring a permanent supervision by the physician and dentist.

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Anaesthesia and Postoperative Analgesia Performed by Insertion of a Perineural Catheter at the Brachial Plexus Site – Case Series

DOI: 10.1515/amma-2015-0055

Postoperative pain management is of major importance and the existence of a device that ensures a good analgesia in the immediate postoperative period and also removes the side effects of the systemic drugs, is becoming a necessity.
Objectives: The goal was to obtain a good quality anaesthesia and also a good postoperative analgesia by inserting a perineural catheter at the brachial plexus site.
Material and method: This study included adult patients who underwent brachial plexus anaesthesia through a perineural catheter inserted at the brachial plexus site. The perineural catheter was introduced by ultrasound guidance with neurostimulation control. After insertion, a quantity of a anaesthetic admixture of 0.4mg/kg is administered. The anaesthetic admixture contained Ropivacaine and Lidocaine, equimolar concentration of 0.5% In the postoperative period, the analgesia was ensured trough the already installed catheter. The analgesic mixture contained Ropivacaine and Lidocaine, equivalent concentrations of 0, 25%. The administration rate was 5 ml every 4 hours, starting 6 hours postoperatively.
Results: The anaesthesia, obtained through the perineural catheter, was a good quality anaesthesia ensuring both, good sensory and motor block. The feedback regarding postoperative analgesia was positive, this type of pain management being efficient and without the systemic drug side effects. This approach of brachial plexus block was accepted easily by the patients and was rated as a very satisfactory method.
Conclusions: The insertion of a perineural catheter for anaesthesia and postoperative analgesia represents a safe and efficient method of achieving both analgesia and anaesthesia.

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Laparoscopic Greater Curvature Plication for Morbid Obesity: Indications, Results, Perspectives

DOI: 10.1515/amma-2015-0041

Morbid obesity is an important health problem of our century. It is managed by diet, lifestyle changes and medication and surgery. Weight-loss surgery is the most effective treatment for morbid obesity, producing durable weight loss, improvement or remission of comorbid conditions and longer life. Bariatric surgery provides the best results in up to 75% of cases of severe obesity and obesity comorbidities. In the United States, over 200 000 patients benefit every year from bariatric procedures. That means there is a continuous evolving of the bariatric surgery. Bariatric surgery is metabolic surgery because it resolves or alleviates Type2 Diabetes, hyperlipidemia and hypertension. The most employed bariatric operations are Roux -en- Y gastric by-pass, adjustable gastric banding, biliopancreatic diversion and sleeve gastrectomy, each of them having shortage of long term results and safety. In the last eight years was introduced a new bariatric procedure, the gastric plication, in an effort to obtain similar weight loss with lesser complications and costs. We present our initial experience with 30 morbid obese patients who undergone laparoscopic gastric plication in our institution. The mean % Excess Weight Loss was 50% at 6 month and 65% at 12 month with important alleviation of comorbidities. The complications rate was 6.6% for major complications (but only in the first 6 cases) and 10% for minor complications.

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A Novel Disease Caused by Increase of the Lifespan: Chronic Cutaneous Insufficiency Syndrome or Dermatoporosis

DOI: 10.1515/amma-2015-0020

Nowadays we are witnessing an increase in the medium lifespan caused by improved living conditions. The main factor in skin ageing is represented by the chronic exposure to ultraviolet radiation, however long term use of systemic or topical corticosteroids could produce similar effects on the skin. Chronic cutaneous insufficiency syndrome or dermatoporosis was described in 2007, being caused by a decreased activity of the hyaluronic acid, the main component of the extracellular matrix. This mechanism translates clinically through atrophy in the forearms or calves. Other injuries develop on this background including skin dissecting hematoma, which is a medical emergency. Therapeutic attitude consists of local application of preparations containing hyaluronic acid and retinaldehyde and discerning use of corticosteroid therapy. Photoprotection has a certain role in preventing the disease. While today dermatoporosis is a little known dermatosis even among dermatologists, in the future we will see a significant increase in the incidence of the disease and its gravity.

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Continuous Local Analgesia in Postoperative Treatment of Large Incisional Hernias – Preliminary Results

DOI: 10.1515/amma-2015-0019

Background: The incisional hernias are frequent complications after laparotomy. Extended subcutaneous tissue dissection is often necessary for the treatment of large incisional hernias, and this procedure is frequently followed by a high intensity pain in the postoperative period. The aim of this study was to assess the postoperative patient comfort without using major analgesics.
Material and method: we present the preliminary results of an ongoing study from Surgery Clinic 1 of Emergency Clinical County Hospital of Târgu Mures, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Târgu Mures. The study comprises in the intraoperative insertion of a subcutaneous catheter (Pajunk InfiltraLong) placed on lay, through which we administered continuously Ropivacaine 0,5%.
Results: Ten patients have been included in the study by now. For 5 of the patients the wound infiltration was started with 7 ml/h in the first 6 postoperative hours, after which the rate decreased to 5 ml/h until the end of the 72 hours, when the catheter was removed. For 2 patients the wound infiltration was started with 10ml/h in the first 6 postoperative hours, after which the rate decreased to 7 ml/h in the first day, followed by 5 ml/h for the next two days. Two patients needed a minor analgesic in the immediate postoperative period and one patient needed major analgesia in the first 24 hours.
Conclusions: By using this method, postoperative analgesia can be achieved without using major systemic analgesics and a superior patient comfort can be achieved simply by adjusting the infusion rate

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