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Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is a salivary gland tumor commonly arising from the parotid gland. MEC has various presenting symptoms, including a painless, slow-growing mass below or anterior to the ear lobule. However, an unusual presentation can also be in the form of post-auricular swelling. Other more common benign differentials for post-auricular swelling include lymphadenopathy, epidermoid cysts, and lipomas. Thus, diagnosing a postauricular swelling as MEC solely based on clinical presentation is challenging, and a high suspicion, as well as a multidisciplinary approach with various radiological investigations such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are required in collaboration with histopathological assessment for an accurate diagnosis of this malignancy. Prognosis depends on various factors, including the grade of the tumor, the patient's age, and comorbidities, as well as the stage at the time of diagnosis. Early diagnosis and surgical intervention are the mainstays of treatment, which can be followed by adjuvant radiotherapy based on the stage of the malignancy. This is a report of a patient who presented with post-auricular swelling, which was initially misdiagnosed as a benign necrotic lymph node. After further evaluation, it was found to be a mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the parotid gland, which was managed by surgical excision and radiotherapy.
RESUMO
Background Liver abscess is a disease known to mankind since ancient times and has been treated by various means. The introduction of radiology-guided interventional drainage procedures has reduced the mortality rate, which forms a significant part of management. However, there is still a dilemma regarding the procedure of choice in medium-sized liver abscesses mainly in resource-limited developing countries. Methods The study was conducted on 60 patients with moderate-sized (5-10 cm) liver abscess/abscesses, liquified, drainable and divided randomly into two groups with 30 patients each and subjected to either Ultrasound-guided needle aspiration or catheter drainage with identical medical treatment. Outcomes were compared within both groups concerning the need for analgesics, total duration of hospital stay, total days of leave from work and recurrence or residual collection. Results Both groups were comparable in age, gender, type of abscess and maximal diameter. The success rate was equal (80% and 84%). However, the need for analgesics, total duration of hospital stay and total days of leave from work showed a significant (p<0.05) decrease in the needle aspiration group with a mean stay of 9.3 ± 3.18 days and mean leave of 18.9 ± 5.13 days as compared to catheter drainage group with the mean of 14.8 ±5.95 days and 32.5 ±11.4 days respectively. Conclusion Based on our study's results, we conclude that percutaneous needle aspiration is a primary interventional treatment in moderate-sized (5-10 cm) liver abscesses. More multicentric and randomised trials should be done to confirm the inference of this study.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Component separation techniques have recently gained popularity for the repair of complex ventral hernias. Anterior and posterior component separation techniques offer similar myofascial medialization, with a differing complication profile. The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy, patient morbidity and post-operative complications between anterior component separation (ACST) and transversus abdominis release (TAR) for large ventral hernias. METHODS: Between December 2017 and September 2019, data was collected and analysed for patients undergoing ACST and TAR, in terms of demographics, peri-operative events, adverse events and hernia recurrence. RESULTS: 25 patients each underwent ACST and TAR during our study period. Mean age was 53.5 and 52.8 years and mean BMI was 31.4 and 29.5 respectively. The mean defect area was 120.8 cm2 and 131.9 cm2, and average mesh size was 741.8 cm2 and 1429.04 cm2 respectively in the ACST and TAR groups. Four patients undergoing TAR had intra-operative complications with none in the ACST group. In the ACST group, 8 patients had an SSI, of which 5 patients needed operative intervention, while 3 patients in the TAR group had an SSI, all of whom were managed with bedside procedures. One patient in the ACST group had a recurrence. None of the patients in the TAR group had a recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Component separation techniques are gaining popularity in treatment of large ventral hernias. While they have comparable outcomes with respect to recurrence, wound morbidity is more frequent and severe in the ACST group.