Malignant mesothelioma in construction workers: the Apulia regional mesothelioma register, Southern Italy.

OBJECTIVE: Asbestos was widely used in construction in both a friable and a compact form until the 1990s, before its use was banned. Today, many of these materials are still in situ and represent a source of risk for construction workers. The objective of the study was to analyse the cases of mesothelioma arising among construction workers registered in the Apulia regional register of mesothelioma. RESULTS: For the period 1993-2018, there were 178 male cases, and 10.2% of the cases were present in the regional register. The average age at diagnosis was 64.7 years. The site was pleural in 96.06% of cases, with a diagnosis of certainty in 86.5% of the total cases and 61.8% of cases with epithelial histology. The average latency is 43.9 years. In 75.2% of cases, the exposure began between 1941 and 1970, with an average duration of 24.3 years. The age at the start of exposure in 68.5% of cases is between 8 and 20 years. The ORs were 2.5 (C.I. 95% 1.01-6.17) for the epithelioid histotype and the high duration of exposure. The data underline the need for prevention and information on all activities involving construction workers in which asbestos-containing materials are still used.

Health impact of exposure to asbestos in polluted area of Southern Italy.

The three main sources of asbestos pollution in the city of Bari, Puglia, the former Fibronit asbestos factory, the Torre Quetta beach, the former Rossani barracks and the history of their reclamation are described. The results of cohort studies on factory workers and case-control studies on asbestos exposure to the resident population and the onset of mesothelioma are also reported. Finally, the data of the regional register of mesothelioma related to residents in the city of Bari and four new cases with environmental exposure due to the former Rossani barracks are presented.

Observations on orbitofrontal rhytidectomy.

We describe a combined procedure of mobilization of the orbitofrontal flap, which involves passing through a subgaleal plane in the posterior region, corresponding to a portion of the scalp, and subcutaneously in the anterior frontal and orbital region. The galea, in the shape of an albatross wing, is irrigated via the distal parts of the temporal vessels. The flap lies free of the frontal muscle and the suprazygomatic aponeurotic sheath, thus allowing a broad shifting space for the replacement of each part in a manner that is both anatomically and artistically satisfactory. This technique avoids lesions of the frontal and orbicularis branches as well as alopecia, both the surgical kind and that caused by traction.

Plastic incisions for facial and neck tumors.

We review various incisions for treatment of tumors of the face and parotid and submaxillary regions, as well as for radical neck surgery. A contribution to this field is made in the form of facial and cervical incisions that not only provide broad exposure of the region affected by the tumor, but also involve incision traces based on plastic surgery criteria. In this respect, we describe plastic modeling of the facial, submaxillary, and neck contours, resorting to the sternocleidomastoid and trapezius muscles.