Computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in petrous apex lesions: a clinico-radiologic study

Lesions affecting the petrous apex are rare, and radiological evaluation is of paramount importance in the diagnosis of these cases. The aim of this study is to report on the radiological characteristics of a series of petrous apex lesions with particular emphasis on the role of magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] and computerized tomography [CT] in establishing the correct diagnosis and delineating the lesion relations and extensions. Forty eight patients with radiological diagnosis of petrous apex lesions were included in this study. The lesions were managed in the ENT department, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, in Hai Al-Jamea Hospital, Jeddah, and in the Gruppo Otologico, piacenza, Italy. There were 13 cases of primary and 35 cases of secondary petrous apex lesions. Cholesterol granuloma, cholesteatoma, osteomyelitis of the skull base, asymmetric fatty marrow, and petrous apex effusion were the most common inflammatory lesions encountered. Meningioma, chordoma, neurinoma, malignancies and glomus tumors were the most common neoplastic lesions seen. Both CT and MRI played a complementary role in establishing the diagnosis and in evaluating the relations between the lesions and the nearby structures

Radiofrequency ablation of unresectable liver malignancies: evaluation of the laparoscopic approach

In this study, 12 consecutive patients with unresectable hepatic malignancies were treated with laparoscopic RFA. A total of 28 tumors with median tumor volume of 35 mm [8-58] were detected in the 12 patients. The group included seven patients with hepatoma arising on a background of cirrhosis and five patients with multiple deposits from primary colorectal cancer. Total ablation was performed in seven patients with hepatoma and five patients with secondary deposits. Total ablation with a minimum of 0.5 cm margin was achieved in 26 lesions [92%]. No complications were encountered postoperatively and all patients were discharged within two days of the intervention. After a median follow-up of 11.8 months, local recurrence occurred in one patient [8%] and new hepatic tumors developed in two patients [16%]. This study confirmed the safety and therapeutic potential of laparoscopic ultrasound-guided RFA in patients with inoperable hepatic tumors

Ultrasound evaluation of respiratory function of abdominal muscles in normal subjects and chronic obstructive lung disease patients

Ultrasonography has been widely used to evaluate diaphragmatic motion and thickness. Little work has been done to evaluate abdominal muscles thickness and function either in normal or disease state using ultrasonography. This work is conducted to evaluate abdominal muscles function in normal and chronic obstructive lung disease patients using ultrasound. We investigated ten COPD patients and ten healthy male control subjects using 7.5 MHz Bmode ultrasound. Thickness of external oblique [EO], Internal oblique [I0], transversus abdominis [TA] and rectus abdominis [RA] was assessed at functional residual capacity [FRC], at residual volume [RV], at total lung capacity [TLC], during maximal expiratory effort [MEE] and progressive expiratory effort [PEE]. In both healthy subjects and COPD, at RV the thickness of I0. TA, RA were increased in thickness compared to FRC. During MEE, the thickness was increased in I0, TA, RA, while there was no change in E0. During PEE, thickness of TA and RA were increased in COPD and control subjects. In all our data the changes in TA were evident with a lesser extent RA and I0. We conclude that transversus abdominis seems to be the major contributor of abdominal muscle function and the use of ultrasound is a useful tool in investigating abdominal muscles

Hiatus Hernia: follow-up after nissen's fundoplication

A prospective evaluation of the results of Nissen's repair of hiatus hernia a few years after its performance was done to define the incidence of recurrence and analyzing the factors related to it. The material employed for this study included 22 patients operated upon during the period 1981 - 1986. Patients ranged in age from 25 to 72 years with a mean age of 48.5 years. Seventeen patients were males and five were females. The overall recurrence rate was 27.3%. Diagnosis of recurrence was based on clinical, radiological and endoscopic criteria. Results were discussed with reference to similar studies reported in the literature