Aetiology and treatment of a previously denervated "tennis" elbow.

The aetiology of the "tennis" elbow is still disputed and treated by numerous different operations. We report 24 patients with treatment-resistant, previously denervated epicondylitis. The revision consisted of complete decompression of the radial nerve from the lateral intermuscular septum to beyond the arcade of Frohse in 24 patients using an anterolateral access. There was a mean period of 31 (10) months between the onset of the condition and the revision. Compared with the preoperative findings, there were improvements in 19 of the 24 patients, with four patients remaining unchanged, and one patient deteriorating. If the condition has been resistant to treatment for some time, complete decompression of the radial nerve is an effective option with few complications compared with further operation on the epicondyle.

Surgical treatment of angiosarcoma of the scalp: less is more.

Angiosarcomas (AS) of the scalp are rare tumors with an extremely poor prognosis mostly affecting elderly patients. Given the special anatomic nature of the blood supply to the scalp, it must be presumed that the tumor has already spread at the time of the initial presentation. We report a simple and fast surgical procedure, which places only a minimum burden on the patient. In 19 patients, we performed a resection of the external table with the defect being covered immediately by a split skin graft. The average stay in hospital amounted to 12.2 days. The postoperative period free of recurrences was 2.7 months on average. The average survival period after resection was 17.5 months. In view of the difficult diagnosis, an often delayed therapy and the rapid formation of metastases, a time-saving procedure with a low rate of complications should be given preference over other reconstructive methods.

Specific C-reactive protein measurements in plastic surgery.

The early detection of postoperative signs of infection can help to obviate serious consequences. C-reactive protein (CRP) is a highly sensitive measure of inflammatory changes. Concise knowledge of standard concentrations of CRP after various operations would allow the differentiation between a physiological rise and the interpretation of CRP as a warning sign. The aim of this study was to establish standard curves for CRP reactivity for common operations in plastic surgery and to assess the validity of CRP as a prognostic indicator of infective complications. Four groups of 30 patients each had either breast reduction, abdominoplasty, submuscular breast augmentation or exchange of breast implants. CRP concentrations were measured once preoperatively and on eight consecutive days postoperatively. CRP peak values were found throughout postoperative days 3 to 5. Concentrations on days 2 and 7 were significantly different from day 4 (p<0.04). Patients who had no sharp decline in CRP after its peak developed complications in their future postoperative course. There was significant correlation between the amount of resected tissue and CRP concentrations (r=0.78, p<0.005). Our results suggest that knowledge of standard alterations in postoperative CRP concentrations increases the early detection of complications. No sharp decline in CRP after day 5 is a warning sign. The use of specific standard curves allows a comparative assessment of actual, individual concentrations of CRP.

The carboxyl termini of K(ATP) channels bind nucleotides.

ATP-sensitive potassium (K(ATP)) channels are expressed in many excitable, as well as epithelial, cells and couple metabolic changes to modulation of cell activity. ATP regulation of K(ATP) channel activity may involve direct binding of this nucleotide to the pore-forming inward rectifier (Kir) subunit despite the lack of known nucleotide-binding motifs. To examine this possibility, we assessed the binding of the fluorescent ATP analogue, 2',3'-O-(2,4,6-trinitrophenylcyclo-hexadienylidene)adenosine 5'-triphosphate (TNP-ATP) to maltose-binding fusion proteins of the NH(2)- and COOH-terminal cytosolic regions of the three known K(ATP) channels (Kir1.1, Kir6.1, and Kir6.2) as well as to the COOH-terminal region of an ATP-insensitive inward rectifier K(+) channel (Kir2.1). We show direct binding of TNP-ATP to the COOH termini of all three known K(ATP) channels but not to the COOH terminus of the ATP-insensitive channel, Kir2.1. TNP-ATP binding was specific for the COOH termini of K(ATP) channels because this nucleotide did not bind to the NH(2) termini of Kir1.1 or Kir6.1. The affinities for TNP-ATP binding to K(ATP) COOH termini of Kir1.1, Kir6.1, and Kir6.2 were similar. Binding was abolished by denaturing with 4 m urea or SDS and enhanced by reduction in pH. TNP-ATP to protein stoichiometries were similar for all K(ATP) COOH-terminal proteins with 1 mol of TNP-ATP binding/mole of protein. Competition of TNP-ATP binding to the Kir1.1 COOH terminus by MgATP was complex with both Mg(2+) and MgATP effects. Glutaraldehyde cross-linking demonstrated the multimerization potential of these COOH termini, suggesting that these cytosolic segments may directly interact in intact tetrameric channels. Thus, the COOH termini of K(ATP) tetrameric channels contain the nucleotide-binding pockets of these metabolically regulated channels with four potential nucleotide-binding sites/channel tetramer.