A large scale prospective clinical and psychometric validation of the EORTC colorectal (QLQ-CR29) module in Polish patients with colorectal cancer.

The purpose of our study was to assess if the Polish translation of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Colorectal Cancer (CRC)-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-CR29) is an acceptable and psychometrically valid measure to collect quality of life (QoL) data in Polish patients with CRC for use in clinical trials and clinical practice. A total of 150 patients undergoing treatment for CRC were prospectively enrolled in the study. Psychometric assessment of the translated QLQ-CR29 structure, reliability, convergent and divergent validity, and clinical validity was subsequently performed. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient ranged from 0.70-0.89, indicating acceptable internal consistency. For test-retest reliability, the ICCs for each item ranged from 0.59-0.91, with exceptions for urinary incontinence and dysuria, indicating good to excellent reproducibility. In multi-trait scaling analyses, the criterion for item convergent and divergent validity was satisfied. The correlations between the EORTC QLQ-CR29 and QLQ-C30 scales were mostly low (r < .40), with a few items demonstrating higher correlations. The known group comparisons analyses demonstrated the ability of the questionnaire to distinguish between patients' differing age, stoma status, and treatment intent. The Polish translation of the QLQ-CR29 is a psychometrically reliable and valid tool. The results of this study are congruent with that of EORTC validation.

Nasolabial appearance after two palatoplasty types in cleft lip and palate.

BACKGROUND: Facial appearance is important for normal psychosocial development in children with cleft lip and palate (CLP). There is conflicting evidence on how deficient maxillary growth may affect nasolabial esthetics. METHODS: We retrospectively investigated nasolabial appearance in two groups, the Langenback (35 children; mean age 11.1 years; range: 7.9-13.6) and Vomerplasty (58 children; mean age 10.8 years; range: 7.8-14), who received unilateral CLP surgery by the same surgeon. The hard palate repair technique differed between the two groups. In the Langenback group, palatal bone on the non-cleft side only was left denuded, inducing scar formation and inhibiting maxillary growth. In the Vomerplasty group, a vomerplasty with tight closure of the soft tissues on the palate was applied. Thirteen lay judges rated nasolabial esthetics on photographs using a modified Asher-McDade's index. RESULTS: Nasolabial esthetics in both groups was comparable (p > 0.1 for each nasolabial component). Inferior view was judged as the least esthetic component and demonstrated mean scores 3.18 (SD = 0.63) and 3.13 (SD = 0.47) in the Langenback and Vomerplasty groups, respectively. Mean scores for other components were from 2.52 (SD = 0.63) to 2.81 (SD = 0.62). Regression analysis showed that vomerplasty is related with slight improvement in the nasal profile only (coefficient B = -0.287; p = 0.043; R(2 ) = 0.096). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that the use of vomerplasty instead of the Langenbeck technique is weakly associated with the nasolabial appearance among pre-adolescent patients with UCLP.

Facial esthetics in children with unilateral cleft lip and palate 3 years after alveolar bonegrafting combined with rhinoplasty between 2 and 4 years of age.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate facial esthetics in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) after alveolar bone grafting combined with rhinoplasty between 2 and 4 years of age. DESIGN: Retrospective case-control study. SETTING: The Department of Pediatric Surgery, Institute of Mother and Child, Warsaw, Poland. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Photographs of full faces and cropped images of five nasolabial components: nasal deviation, nasal form, nasal profile, vermillion border, and inferior view were assessed by 5 professional and 14 layraters in 29 children (23 boys and 6 girls; mean age = 5.3 years, SD 0.5; Early-grafted group) and 30 children (20 boys and 10 girls; mean age = 5.5 years, SD 1.0; Non-grafted group) with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate repaired with a one-stage closure. The groups differed regarding the timing of alveolar bone grafting: in the Early-grafted group, alveolar bone grafting in combination with rhinoplasty (ABG-R) was performed between 2 and 4 years of age (mean age = 2.3 years; SD 0.6); in the Non-grafted group, the alveolar defect was grafted after 9 years of age. No primary nose correction was carried out in any group. To rate esthetics, a modified five-grade esthetic index of Asher-McDade was used, where grade 1 means the most esthetic and grade 5 - the least esthetic outcome. RESULTS: Esthetics of full faces and of all nasolabial elements in the Early-grafted group was significantly better than in Non-grafted group. The scores in the Early-grafted group ranged from 2.30 to 2.66 points, whereas in the Non-grafted group ranged from 2.66 to 3.17 points. All intergroup differences were statistically significant (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Three years post-operatively, early alveolar bone grafting combined with rhinoplasty is favorable for facial esthetics in children with UCLP, but a longer follow-up is needed to assess whether the improvement was permanent.

Dental arch relationships following palatoplasty for cleft lip and palate repair.

Palatal scarring is assumed to be a primary cause of facial growth derangement in cleft lip and palate. Evidence supporting this hypothesis is confounded by the clinical involvement of various surgeons, and therefore definitive conclusions are not possible. In this study, we investigated the dental arch relationship in two groups, Exposed (47 children; 11.2 yrs) and Unexposed (61 children; 11.2 yrs), with a unilateral cleft lip and palate operated on by the same surgeon. The technique of hard palate repair differed between the two groups. In the Exposed group, palatal bone of the non-cleft side only was left denuded, inducing scar formation. In the Unexposed group, a vomerplasty with tight closure of the soft tissues was applied. Three raters graded the dental arch relationship and palatal morphology using the EUROCRAN Index. The dental arch relationship in the Exposed group was less favorable than in the Unexposed group (p = 0.009). Palatal morphology in both groups was comparable (p = 0.323). This study demonstrates that reduction of denuded bony areas on the palate after palatal repair with a vomer flap had a favorable effect on the dental arch relationship. For palatal morphology, no effect of the type of palatal repair was found.

Craniofacial morphological outcome following treatment with three different surgical protocols for complete unilateral cleft lip and palate: a premilinary study.

This study compared craniofacial morphology between three groups of children with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate, treated with different surgical protocols. The study included 66 10-year-old children (42 boys and 20 girls) with a complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (22 patients in each of the three groups). Children aged 7 months underwent one-stage surgery, performed by a single surgeon. During surgery, the soft and hard palate and the lip underwent correction. The difference between the groups depended on the hard palate closure. Group I patients had the mucoperiosteal flap elevated on both sides of the cleft. Group II patients had the mucoperiosteal flap elevated on the non-cleft side, and had only a minimal 2-3mm mucoperiosteal flap elevated on the cleft side. Group III patients had mucoperiostium elevated from the septum vomer to create a single-layered caudally pedicled flap, and had only a minimal 2-3mm palatal flap elevated on the cleft side. Craniofacial morphology was defined using lateral cephalometric analysis. Significant craniofacial morphological differences were identified between groups I, II and III. Group III demonstrated the most favourable morphology. This indicates that the technique of hard palate closure has significant influence on craniofacial growth and development.

Relation between the concentration of zinc in maternal whole blood and the risk of an infant being born with an orofacial cleft.

We investigated the relation between concentrations of maternal zinc and copper and the risk of an infant being born with an orofacial cleft. We did a case-control study using 116 mothers of children with isolated cleft lip with or without cleft palate (cleft group), and 64 mothers of unaffected children (control group). Mothers with a whole blood zinc concentration of 47.1 micromol/L or less had a risk 2.5 times higher of having a child with an orofacial cleft than those with a higher concentration (or level) (95% CI 1.03-6.23; p<0.05). A low zinc concentration combined with a high copper concentration was seen only in the cleft group. This evidence suggests an association between concentrations of maternal zinc and the risk of orofacial clefts in offspring.

[Palatophanyngeal mechanism of Gastroesophageal reflux in Pierre-Robin sequence]. / Mechanizm podniebienno-gardlowy odplywu zoladkowo-przelykowego w sekwencji robina.

During the period between 1993 and 1998 thirty-one children with symptoms of Pierre-Robin sequence were treated. Since gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is known to occur in patients with Pierre - Robin sequence, each child before surgery was checked for GER. In 28 cases GER was confirmed. We obtained rapid clinical improvement and possibility of early discharge from hospital after surgical treatment (palatoplasty, SRFM - subperiosteal release of the floor of the mouth, repair of the palato-pharyngeal ring). Follow up investigations few months after surgery showed no clinical symptoms of GER. The authors find evidence of " palatal mechanism" of GER in Pierre-Robin sequence and in their opinion early closure of the impaired palto-pharyngeal ring and elimination of mechanism causing posterior rotation of the tonque can reduce indications for such surgical procedures as glossopexy, gastrostomy, tracheostomy and Nissen fundoplication.

Gastroesophageal reflux in Pierre Robin sequence--early surgical treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux (GER) in patients with Pierre Robin sequence and to assess whether early palatoplasty with subperiosteal release of the floor of the mouth eliminates upper respiratory tract infections and gastroesophageal reflux. METHODS: In the period from 1993 to 1997, 24 children with Pierre Robin sequence were treated. Because GER is known to occur in patients with this syndrome, we screened for GER in each child for whom an early palatoplasty was to be performed at 3 months of age. In 21 cases, the presence of GER was confirmed. Within the past 2 years, palatoplasty has been combined with subperiosteal release of the floor of the mouth (SRFM). Prompt clinical improvement and shortened hospital stays have resulted. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Follow-up studies performed several months after the surgery showed no evidence of GER. The authors conclude that an early closure of the impaired palatopharyngeal ring and the elimination of the mechanism that causes the posterior rotation of the tongue can reduce the need for such surgical procedures as glossopexy, gastrostomy, tracheostomy, and Nissen's fundoplication.

[Cleft lip and palate--surgical treatment. Personal and other authors' opinions]. / Rozszczep wargi i podniebienia--leczenie chirurgiczne. Poglady wlasne i innych autorów.

The author describes and motivates her own strategy in the surgical treatment of the cleft lip and palate in children. She also presents a short historical review of the opinions and the motives of the timing and the modes of surgical treatment of this congenital malformation.

Back closure with a latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap.

A method of back closure with the use of latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap in cases of myelomeningocele is reported. A three-layer cover consisting of the skin, subcutaneous fat, and the muscle with proper innervation and blood supply of the flap permits successful closure of large defects. Well-vascularized coverage prevents common complications such as partial necrosis of the flap or wound breakdown and consequent infection of the central nervous system. This report is based on 30 cases of newborns with large thoracolumbar myelomeningocele.

[Osteogenesis of the rat mandible during development]. / Osteogeneza zuchwy szczura w okresie rozwoju.

The author studied the mandibular osteogenesis process in Wistar rats during extrauterine development using macroscopic and microscopic investigations. Macroscopic investigations were carried out on rats aged 1, 5, 10, 20, 30 and 70 days, for establishing changes in the structure of the mandible and its elements, and autoradiographic determination of the sites of increased osteogenetic activity using Cr-51 chromium was obtained. Microscopic investigations were carried out in rats aged 1 and 5 days. The purpose of these investigations was a study of the morphological structure of the mandible, autoradiographic demonstration of the sites of increased cellular proliferation using 3H thymidine in rats aged 1 day, and osseous matrix formation in rats aged 1 and 5 days using 3H proline. The reported investigations showed that the periosteum and perichondrium were the source of mandibular bone formation. Proliferation of the cartilage of the condylar process and coronoid process occurs from the side of the perichondrium covering both these processes. This type of cartilage growth differs from the growth of the cartilage on the anterior part of mandibular corpus which showed additionally evidence of enchondral proliferation of cells. The process of osteogenesis was most active in the mandibular processes, anterior part of the mandibular corpus and the sites of attachments of muscles. This finding is explained as a result of function influence on the growing mandible. The results of macroscopic autoradiography performed with Cr-51 were confirmed by microscopic examinations.