The British journal of surgery
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Pre-operative Doppler ultrasonography was performed on 41 patients who underwent an emergency scrotal exploration because of the clinical suspicion of a testicular torsion. The final diagnoses were testicular torsion in 18 patients, epididymitis in 15 patients and torsion of a testicular appendage in 8 patients. ⋯ The sensitivity and specificity of the investigation for the diagnosis of testicular torsion were 67 per cent and 83 per cent respectively, and the predictive value of either a positive or negative result was 100 per cent. Our results suggest that the use of Doppler ultrasonography could reduce the incidence of unnecessary operations without incurring the risk of reduced testicular salvage.
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The clinical course of 328 patients with Buerger's disease (thromboangiitis obliterans: TAO) was followed. Neither ischaemic ulcers nor gangrene occurred in 26 per cent of the patients. Almost all of the ulcers occurred in patients between 20 and 50 years of age, with a peak incidence between 40 and 45 years. ⋯ The rate of major amputation was low (3.9 per cent) although minor digital amputations were sometimes required. The survival rate of patients with TAO was higher than that of patients with arteriosclerosis obliterans. The aim of treatment in patients with TAO is to make patients abstain from smoking to prevent ulceration and to shorten the period of healing of trophic lesions without major amputation, as ulceration and gangrene in T AO are limited to the most distal part of the limbs, and seems to have healing potential.
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A retrospective analysis of 47 patients with pancreatic trauma is presented. A total of 43 patients presented with acute pancreatic injury, 32 after blunt abdominal trauma. Isolated blunt pancreatic injuries were a considerable diagnostic problem with a mean delay from trauma to operation of 9.4 days. ⋯ The overall complication rate was 63 per cent and the pancreatic complication rate was 33 per cent. Four patients presented with chronic pancreatitis resulting from previously untreated blunt abdominal trauma 0.5-21 years earlier. Clinically, they did not differ from the manifestations of chronic pancreatitis of other aetiological origins.
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Forty patients with a diagnosis of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease established by 24-h ambulatory pH monitoring were treated by a short 360 degrees fundoplication. Results of postoperative evaluation at 6 months were compared with those from 50 normal volunteers. The amount of gastro-oesophageal reflux at pH monitoring decreased significantly and was less than the reflux in the normal subjects. ⋯ The pressure was similar to that in the normal subjects while a significantly longer intra-abdominal part of the high-pressure zone was created. The clinical results of the operation were evaluated in 38 patients by an independent gastro-enterologist, and were considered to be excellent in 22 patients, good in 13, fair in 2 and poor in 1 patient. The antireflux procedure provided good control of the gastro-oesophageal reflux in our patients by restoring the major components of the antireflux mechanism.