Evaluation of the lateral orbital approach in management of zygomatic bone fractures.

Zygomatic maxillary fractures, also known as tripod fractures, are usually the result of a direct blow to the body of the zygoma. Tripod fracture consists of (a) zygomatic arch fracture, (b) fracture of the lateral orbital wall, and (c) fracture of the inferior orbital floor. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the functional and esthetic outcome following this lateral orbital approach in the management of zygoma fracture. This study was carried out in VMS Dental College, Salem, and in a private hospital. This study was based on the experience gained from a retrospective study of the 30 lateral orbital approaches that were used in 30 patients with fractures of the zygomatic complex, which were conducted for a period of 8 years between January 2003 and January 2011. In the retrospective study, all the 30 patients were able to open the mouth completely; eyeball movements were normal; esthetically, all patients appeared normal. There were no sinusitis or visual problems in any of the studied patients. We conclude that the lateral orbital approach is an ideal option in reduction and treatment of zygomatic bone and arch fractures.

The clinical differentiation of bacterial and fungal keratitis: a photographic survey.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether clinical signs of infectious keratitis can be used to identify the causative organism. METHODS: Eighty photographs of eyes with culture-proven bacterial keratitis or smear-proven fungal keratitis were randomly selected from 2 clinical trials. Fifteen cornea specialists from the F. I. Proctor Foundation and the Aravind Eye Care System assessed the photographs for prespecified clinical signs of keratitis, and they identified the most likely causative organism. RESULTS: Clinicians were able to correctly distinguish bacterial from fungal etiology 66% of the time (P < 0.001). The Gram stain, genus, and species were accurately predicted 46%, 25%, and 10% of the time, respectively. The presence of an irregular/feathery border was associated with fungal keratitis, whereas a wreath infiltrate or an epithelial plaque was associated with bacterial keratitis. CONCLUSIONS: Cornea specialists correctly differentiated bacterial from fungal keratitis more often than chance, but in fewer than 70% of cases. More specific categorization led to less successful clinical distinction. Although certain clinical signs of infectious keratitis may be associated with a bacterial or fungal etiology, this study highlights the importance of obtaining appropriate microbiological testing during the initial clinical encounter.

Simple and safe posterior superior alveolar nerve block.

BACKGROUND: The posterior superior alveolar nerve (PSAN) block is a dental nerve block used for profound anesthesia of the maxillary molars. Although it is being written in texts as a commonly used technique, but in dentistry it is rarely followed due to its nonreliable landmarks, variation in depth of insertion and frequent complications. The aim and objective are to find a technically simple method of the PSAN block without any complications. STUDY AND DESIGN: This study was based on the experience gained from 200 patients of 125 males and 75 female in age group of 20 to 65 years in University of Vinayaka and department of oral and maxillofacial surgery of VMS Dental College and hospital, Salem, Tamil Nadu. RESULTS: In 200 patients' positive anesthesia obtained within a period of 5 to 10 min. No visual complications reported in this study. There was no pain during and after extraction. CONCLUSION: This study shows this PSA nerve block using curved needle would avoid all complications reported in the literature. Therefore, the technique described in this study is an ideal option to anesthetize PSA nerve.