Corrective rhinoplasty: medical and legal aspects.

Preoperative planning of any surgical procedure, especially rhinoplasty, is crucial in order to achieve an optimal outcome which will satisfy both the surgeon and patient. Use of imaging and the possibility of virtually displaying the changes planned by the surgeon definitely lead to a better understanding between doctor and patient. Although these new technologies have led to undeniable advantages, they have also generated unprecedented medical and legal problems. The Authors discuss a number of reflections on the legal consequences of image digital processing, the problems related to the storage of such images, and the appropriate way to draft an informed consent.

[Post-traumatic anosmia: description of a clinical case, proposal of a standardized protocol and medico-legal comments]. / Anosmia post-traumatica: descrizione di un caso clinico, proposta di un iter valutativo standardizzato e considerazioni medico-legali.

Man's olfactory perception is considerably limited compared to that of other animals; this sense is, however, extremely important in our social lives: it helps us to "savour" our food, it enables us to appreciate perfumes and, even more important, to pick up smells that signal a danger, such as a gas leak or a fire. We describe the clinical case of a patient with anosmia and hypogeusia that appeared immediately after suffering a concussive head injury. We go through the diagnostic protocol for medico-legal assessment of hypoanosmias previously described in the literature, which includes a clinical and an imaging section. In 9% of all anosmic patients, a traumatic event precedes the onset of the disorder, with repercussions on the olfactory channels and centres of the peripherical and/or central nervous system. The overall rate of anosmia following head injury is estimated to be around 7.5%. Among the principal causes of anosmia, those of medico-legal interest constitute 35% of the total. On the basis of our personal experience and of clinical studies conducted by other Authors, we propose that a bioptic investigation of the olfactory mucosa be added to the existing protocol. The olfactory neuroepithelium of patients suffering from post-traumatic anosmia, in fact, evidences some characteristic degenerative aspects. In conclusion, we report several comments regarding the quantification of the reduction of the olfactory function in different areas of medico-legal interest.

Fevers and mouth ulcers.

Mouth ulcers are commonly caused by infection but may be due to neutropenia. The most common form of hyper-IgM syndrome is of X-linked inheritance and caused by CD40 ligand gene mutations. Consider hyper-IgM syndrome in a male child with recurrent bacterial or opportunistic infections, neutropenia, hypogammaglobulinaemia (IgG and IgA) and normal T- and B-cell counts. In X-linked hyper-IgM syndrome: - the serum IgM concentration is normal in about 50% of cases. - transient or persistent neutropenia occurs in 70% of cases. First-line therapeutic options for hyper-IgM syndrome include regular intravenous immunoglobulin and prophylactic trimethoprimsulphamethoxazole.