A Standardized Dissection Protocol to Generate Aortic Valvular Scaffolds from Porcine Hearts.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a particular harvesting procedure for isolating intact porcine aortic heart valve roots as potential sources for biologic scaffolds. METHODS: Fresh porcine hearts were brought to the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Targu Mures. The aortic roots were extracted from the porcine hearts by anatomical dissection. For this purpose, we used a basic surgical instrument kit. This initial phase was the first step in obtaining acellular extracellular matrix as a biologic scaffold material. RESULTS: Aortic roots were isolated with preservation of the ascending aorta as well as the intact aortic sinus and coronaries together with the adjacent myocardial tissue and anterior leaflet of the mitral valve. This approach allowed for safe mounting of roots into mounting rings for perfusion decellularization. CONCLUSIONS: The described procedure is a feasible protocol for obtaining intact biological valvular scaffolds from porcine hearts. Reduced requirements regarding tools and personnel underline the easiness of aortic root harvesting using this particular procedure.

Significant Shrinkage of Multifocal Liver Metastases and Long-Term Survival in a Patient With Rectal Cancer, After Trans-Arterial Chemoembolization (TACE): A Case Report.

In this paper, we present the successful therapeutic approach of unresectable liver metastases in a patient with rectal cancer.A 63-year-old male underwent endoscopic polypectomy followed by rectosigmoid resection for an adenocarcinoma of the rectum diagnosed in pT2N0 stage. The angio-computed tomography (CT) revealed four metastatic hepatic nodules ranging from 12 to 130 mm in diameter. After one cure of trans-arterial chemoembolization (TACE) with lipiodol and 5-fluorouracil, combined with FOLFOX4 + capecitabine systemic chemotherapy, the diameter of all hepatic nodules decreased to half size, at 6 months after TACE. Further curative surgical hepatic metastasectomy was done and complete pathologic response was obtained. The patient is free of recurrences and metastases after 26 months of follow-up.This representative case shows that an efficient trans-disciplinary approach could lead to successful therapeutic management even in patients with advanced-staged colorectal carcinomas.

Functional Heart Valve Scaffolds Obtained by Complete Decellularization of Porcine Aortic Roots in a Novel Differential Pressure Gradient Perfusion System.

There is a great need for living valve replacements for patients of all ages. Such constructs could be built by tissue engineering, with perspective of the unique structure and biology of the aortic root. The aortic valve root is composed of several different tissues, and careful structural and functional consideration has to be given to each segment and component. Previous work has shown that immersion techniques are inadequate for whole-root decellularization, with the aortic wall segment being particularly resistant to decellularization. The aim of this study was to develop a differential pressure gradient perfusion system capable of being rigorous enough to decellularize the aortic root wall while gentle enough to preserve the integrity of the cusps. Fresh porcine aortic roots have been subjected to various regimens of perfusion decellularization using detergents and enzymes and results compared to immersion decellularized roots. Success criteria for evaluation of each root segment (cusp, muscle, sinus, wall) for decellularization completeness, tissue integrity, and valve functionality were defined using complementary methods of cell analysis (histology with nuclear and matrix stains and DNA analysis), biomechanics (biaxial and bending tests), and physiologic heart valve bioreactor testing (with advanced image analysis of open-close cycles and geometric orifice area measurement). Fully acellular porcine roots treated with the optimized method exhibited preserved macroscopic structures and microscopic matrix components, which translated into conserved anisotropic mechanical properties, including bending and excellent valve functionality when tested in aortic flow and pressure conditions. This study highlighted the importance of (1) adapting decellularization methods to specific target tissues, (2) combining several methods of cell analysis compared to relying solely on histology, (3) developing relevant valve-specific mechanical tests, and (4) in vitro testing of valve functionality.

The surmountable effect of FSCPX, an irreversible A(1) adenosine receptor antagonist, on the negative inotropic action of A(1) adenosine receptor full agonists in isolated guinea pig left atria.

A1 adenosine receptors (A1 receptors) are widely expressed in mammalian tissues; therefore attaining proper tissue selectivity is a cornerstone of drug development. The fact that partial agonists chiefly act on tissues with great receptor reserve can be exploited to achieve an appropriate degree of tissue selectivity. To the best of our knowledge, the A1 receptor reserve has not been yet quantified for the atrial contractility. A1 receptor reserve was determined for the direct negative inotropic effect of three A1 receptor full agonists (NECA, CPA and CHA) in isolated, paced guinea pig left atria, with the use of FSCPX, an irreversible A1 receptor antagonist. FSCPX caused an apparently pure dextral displacement of the concentration-response curves of A1 receptor agonists. Accordingly, the atrial A1 receptor function converging to inotropy showed a considerably great, approximately 80-92 % of receptor reserve for a near maximal (about 91-96 %) effect, which is greater than historical atrial A1 receptor reserve data for any effects other than inotropy. Consequently, the guinea pig atrial contractility is very sensitive to A1 receptor stimulation. Thus, it is worthwhile considering that even partial A1 receptor agonists, given in any indication, might decrease the atrial contractile force, as an undesirable side effect, in humans.

Thyroid hormones decrease the affinity of 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (CPX), a competitive antagonist, for the guinea pig atrial A(1) adenosine receptor.

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether or not thyroxine (T(4)) treatment affects K(B), the equilibrium dissociation constant of the antagonist-receptor complex, for the interaction between CPX, a selective and competitive orthosteric antagonist, and the guinea pig atrial A1 adenosine receptor A1 receptor). The inotropic response to adenosine, a nonselective adenosine receptor agonist, or CPA, a selective A1 receptor agonist, was investigated in the absence or presence of CPX in paced left atria isolated from 8-day solvent- or T(4)-treated guinea pigs. To obtain K(B) values, adenosine and CPA concentration-response curves were evaluated by Schild analysis. CPA but not adenosine obeyed the requirements of the Schild analysis to provide correct K(B) values for CPX. According to the CPA concentration-response curves, affinity of CPX for the hyperthyroid guinea pig atrial A1 receptor (K(B) = 44.16 nM) was lower than that for the euthyroid one (K(B) = 16.63 nM). Regarding the intense reduction in the negative inotropic effect of adenosine and CPA in hyperthyroid atria, it is reasonable to assume that the moderate decrease in affinity of the guinea pig atrial A1 receptor is only in part responsible for the diminished A1 receptor-mediated effect in hyperthyroidism.

Morphological assessments on the arteries of the superior renal segment.

The study was performed on 461 renal arteries in order to assess some morphological aspects regarding the arteries that supply the superior renal segment using as study methods: dissection, injection of contrast medium, injection of plastic followed by corrosion together with the examination of MRI and renal angiographies (simple and angio CT). The posterior arteries of the superior renal segment originate mostly from the posterior terminal branch of the renal artery as 1-3 arterial branches. In only 42 cases, we found posterior branches that do not participate in the supply of the superior renal pole. In 190 cases, the anterior arteries of the superior segment originated from the anterior division of the renal artery and in 73 cases directly from the trunk of the renal artery. 34 cases were assessed as a terminal division of the renal artery, while the origin from the posterior division of the renal artery was encountered in 18 cases. In 138 cases, the artery of the superior segment originated from a supplementary renal artery, double (118 cases) or triple (20 cases); in this situation, from the polar artery started the inferior suprarenal artery, except five cases where it originated from the aorta. Of the total of 461 samples, in 244 cases the renal approach was performed above the renal hilum, as proper superior polar arteries and in 217 cases the artery entered through the upper part of the hilum as an apical artery. The morphology of the arteries of the superior renal segment shows a significant degree of variability mostly in what concerns the anterior ones. Frequently we encountered a clear delimitation of the superior renal segment (in 61% of the cases), a situation that allows a relatively facile nephrectomy.

The prognosis of posterior urethral valves, associated to vesicoureteral reflux in children.

Posterior urethral valves represent a congenital barrier at the level of the posterior urethra, which opposes miction. They are located near the prostatic urethra, originating at the verumontanum level, affecting male patients. The ureters are inconstantly dilated; vesicoureteral reflux is met in 2/3 of the cases. The reflux can be secondary to the sub-bladder barrier, but it can also be considered primitive, determined by the intra bladder ectopy of the ureter. The presence of the reflux is interpreted as a severe associated factor. Semiology is rather unusual, positive diagnosis is based on early discovery or antenatally of the impairment, by fetal echography starting from the 28th week of pregnancy, postnatal echography followed by miction cystography, retrograde urethrography and creatinine dosage complete the diagnosis. The treatment is surgical: endoscopic ablation of the valves (in the absence of renal failure), percutaneous pyelostomy, high lateral ureterostomy, and in severe cases vesicostomy and renal transplant. Prognosis depends on how early the impairment is detected, on the degree of pulmonary hypoplasia, on the presence of the vesicoureteral reflux and the possibility of recovering renal function; 1/3 of the newborns develop in time Chronic Renal Failure which requires renal transplant. The studied group comprised male children diagnosed with vesicoureteral reflux their ages ranking between 0 -18 years, admitted to the Pediatric Clinic, Tg. Mures during the last 10 years and children diagnosed and operated with posterior urethra valves at the Surgical Clinic of the "M. S. Curie" Hospital, Bucharest during the last 20 years. Our results show that out of the total number of studied children 25 presented posterior urethra valves and 9 children presented vesicoureteral reflux. We can conclude that the presence of the vesicoureteral reflux is an unfavorable prognosis regarding the degree of renal failure.

The role of real-time elastography in the evaluation of post chemotherapy hepatotoxicity in children with cancer.

The drugs hepatotoxicity represents a major problem of the iatrogenic pathology, with various manifestations, directly through the hepatotoxic effect or through idiosycrasy reactions. The hepatic affection induced by chemotherapy appears in children in cases of prolonged therapy, chronic diseases, or other associated conditions. Hepatotoxicity clinically develops through hepatic disorder, cholestatic or mixed hepato-cholestatic manifestations and systematic affection. There are no specific hystological or biochemical characteristics for diagnostic of hepatotoxicity. The international criteria for asessing the hepatotoxicity includes the bilirubin, the transaminasis, GGT, FA, albumin and the flow on the vein. It has been noticed that these parameters are not enough for the right assesssment of the chemotherapics' hepatotoxicity. Thus it is required the abdominal ultrasonography and computerised tomography for the identification of billiary tract, vascularisation, associated conditions and the degree of fibrosis; also, the hepatic biopsy may be necessary. The ultrasound elastography is a method which can give information related to the elasticity/stiffness of the examined tissue and degree of fibrosis. Acustic radiation force imaging(ARFI) is an elastographic method which allows valid, accurate and flexible evaluation of liver stiffness, a quantification with a strong correlation with the fibrosis stage, not influenced by steatosis. In conclusion, the hepatic toxicity showed by alterated hepatic biochemical tests and by symptomes of hepatopathy needs a proper appreciation of the hepatic modifications, which can be obtained through hepatic biopsy or by assessing the hepatic elasticity through elastography. Thus, real-time elastography is an useful tool in assessing the chemotherapics hepatotoxicity in children with cancer.

Factors affecting early morbidity and mortality in non-small cell lung cancer surgery, the experience of Surgical Clinic No. 1, Tg. Mures.

INTRODUCTION: The incidence of lung cancer has increased alarmingly. Lung cancer represents the first cause of death in men. Thoracic surgery is engraved with increased morbidity and mortality. Therefore, a rigorous selection of patients undergoing such surgery is imposed. In order to establish the correct therapeutic attitude,paraclinical explorations are of the ulmost importance. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective observational study over a period of six years. We used the casuistry of Surgical Clinic no. 1, Mures County Emergency Hospital. We studied the observation sheets of all the patients admitted in the Surgical Clinic no. 1 over a period of six years (1th of January 2005 to the 31th of December 2010). We studied 197 patients admitted to surgery in our clinic for lung cancer. RESULTS: In the group studied, the majority of patients were in the 5th and 6th decade of life. The average age was 59.48 years. In our study group, most patients were in an advanced stage of the disease, probably due to the late stage diagnosis of lung cancer in general. The majority of the patients were in the stage IIB and IIIA of disease. The overall postoperative morbidity rate was 21.82% (43 cases), In the study group we registered 8 deaths (4.06%)--it should be noted that we considered in-hospital mortality within the first 30 days postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: The main risk factors for postoperative complications are: late age, male gender, pneumonectomy, low FEV1 value. Certain risk factors are predictive of postoperative mortality. The most important of them are: late age, male gender, type of surgery, FEV value, associated diseases (especially cardiovascular and diabetes).

Elastography, progression factor in liver ultrasound.

Elastography is a method which, using ultrasound, obtains images and measurements of tissue elasticity when applying a force on it. As an imaging method it was developed to quantify objectively the pathological changes related to the presence of an abnormal tissue, compared to the surrounding tissues, giving information about the elasticity/stiffness of the examined tissue, the degree of fibrosis, the degree of stiffness compared to tumor free tissue. The tissue analysis can be done through a compression technology "eSie touch elasticity imaging" (with applications for the surface elastography) or ARFI technology--"acoustic radiation force imaging" (the diffusion impulse of the acoustic force). The ARFI method allows valid, accurate and flexible evaluation of liver stiffness and it is correlates with the fibrosis stage. The liver elastosonography, through new technologies available, has reached the level of the fibro-elastoscanner and magnetic resonance imaging. The ultrasound elastography application quickly advances, starting with the researches in this field. At present, it has analised the most various fields of application, from the breast, prostate, thyroid, pancreas imaging to the study of abdominal lymphnodes and peripheral vessels, gastrointestinal stromal tumors, primary and secondary liver tumors, the evaluation of uterine cervix, from cardiology to gastroenterology and urology, both in adults and in pediatrics.

[Role of fibula in replacement of mandible]. / A fibula szerepe a mandibula pótlásában.

The mandible and the fibula are two totally different bones of the human skeleton. The fibula is a long straight bone of the lower leg playing secondary role compared with the tibia. The mandible, or jaw bone, is the only facial bone that moves and has complex spatial structure. The blood supply of the mandible is mainly endosteal, the inferior mandibular artery, which is one of the more important branch of the maxillary artery is responsible for its arterial supply. The fibula shows the uniform pattern of periosteal blood supply receiving many small branches from the peroneal artery, and having only weak endosteal supply. The mandible articulates with the two temporal bone, and the fibula articulates with the tibia at the tibio-fibular syndesmosis and distally has a role in the formation of the lateral talocrural joint. The demand for mandibular replacement was approved simultaneously with the appearance of ablative surgery for head and neck cancer. As knowledge of physiology and pharmacology expanded in the twentieth century, major developments in the field of anesthesiology and surgery opened new windows of ablative cancer surgery that were previously unimaginable. Soldiers were badly wounded with extensive soft-tissue defects during World Wars and in certain countries, high gun ownership rates show substantial correlations with gun-related injuries. Health care development and the invention and wide-spread use of antibiotics revolutionized medical treatment and improved recovery rates and reduced mortality following trauma. Total or partial loss of the mandible without reconstruction incurs serious functional and psychological morbidity for patients. Prior to the development of advanced reconstruction options for mandibular defects, they were left with terrible cosmetic deformities. Throughout the second half of the twentieth century, various attempts were made to replace the mandible but the major breakthrough was the appearance of the microvascular technique at the end of the seventies and the beginning of the eighties.

Looking for the best management of myasthenia gravis at the Tg.Mures Clinic of Anesthesia and Intensive Care.

Thymectomy is one of the current management strategies for myasthenia gravis. This is observational study focused on the evolution of the surgical and anesthesiological strategies applied to the patients submitted to thymectomy initially by maximal sternotomy (in the years 1994-1998), followed by unconditioned reorientation towards thymectomy by VATS. A number of 103 patients are included, 51 thymectomy by left VATS. All the thoracoscopic thymectomy were performed in general anesthesia, the lungs were separated by left selective intubation, and the left lung was deflated during the surgical procedure. The surgical complications appeared mainly in the VATS group: one pericardial and one myocardial lesion leading to sternotomy (minimal blood loss, uneventful recovery), contralateral pleural lesion with pneumothorax. The classical approach accounted for one hemothorax. The postoperative mortality was zero in the VATS group vs. 6 out of 52 pts in the sternotomy group. The postoperative evolution confronted the anesthesiologist with the classical crises of myasthenia. Death occurred within the first three weeks following surgery. The demise in 3 cases was due to cardiac complications (preexisting cardiomyopathy complicated by ventricular arrhythmia) and respiratory failure plus sepsis (for the remaining cases that we lost). The treatment options in the ICU are discussed: plasmapheresis, immunosuppression, ventilatory support. VATS is appropriate for almost all thymectomy, but the outcome is heavily based on a team approach: neurologist, surgeon and anesthetist.

Complete blindness after optic neuropathy induced by short-term linezolid treatment in a patient suffering from muscle dystrophy.

We present a case of severe optic neuropathy following linezolid treatment, which led to complete irreversible blindness, in a patient with progressive muscular dystrophy, treated with linezolid for 16 days for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) pneumonia. Interruption of antibiotic therapy did not lead to remission of ocular symptoms. Administration of linezolid may lead to severe neuropathy even in the case of short-term treatment.