Publications by authors named "Abela C"

Purpose: This work aimed to investigate the validity of wearable activity monitors (WAMs) as an objective tool to measure the return toward normal functional mobility following abdominal wall surgery. This was achieved by quantifying and comparing pre- and postoperative physical activity (PA).

Methods: A multicenter, prospective, observational cohort study was designed.

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There is a vast number of wound dressings to choose from, which can make selecting the most suitable dressing for a wound a daunting prospect. This article highlights how the wound can guide the doctor's decision. Although all wound dressings are intended to achieve optimal wound healing and protection from contamination, they do so to varying degrees depending on the qualities of the dressing and the wound itself.

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The access of non-resident patients to the deceased donor waiting list (DDWL) poses different challenges. The European Committee on Organ Transplantation of the Council of Europe (CD-P-TO) has studied this phenomenon in the European setting. A questionnaire was circulated among the Council of Europe member states to inquire about the criteria applied for non-residents to access their DDWL.

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These European Board of Anaesthesiology (EBA) recommendations for safe medication practice replace the first edition of the EBA recommendations published in 2011. They were updated because evidence from critical incident reporting systems continues to show that medication errors remain a major safety issue in anaesthesia, intensive care, emergency medicine and pain medicine, and there is an ongoing need for relevant up-to-date clinical guidance for practising anaesthesiologists. The recommendations are based on evidence wherever possible, with a focus on patient safety, and are primarily aimed at anaesthesiologists practising in Europe, although many will be applicable elsewhere.

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Purpose: Head and neck rhabdomyosarcoma (HNRMS) survivors are at increased risk of developing pituitary dysfunction as an adverse event of radiotherapy. Our aim was to investigate the frequency and risk factors for pituitary dysfunction in these survivors. Secondly, we aimed to compare the prevalence of pituitary dysfunction between survivors treated with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and survivors treated with the ablative surgery, moulage technique after loading brachytherapy, and surgical reconstruction (AMORE) procedure.

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Background: Radiotherapy is a well-known cause of adverse events (AEs). To reduce AEs, an innovative local treatment was developed in Amsterdam: Ablative surgery, MOuld brachytherapy and surgical REconstruction (AMORE).

Aims: (1) to determine the prevalence of AEs in HNRMS survivors and (2) to compare AEs between survivors treated with the international standard: external beam radiotherapy (EBRT-based: London) and survivors treated with AMORE if feasible, otherwise EBRT (AMORE-based: Amsterdam).

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Objective: Hypertelorism may be corrected by either transcranial box osteotomy or facial bipartition. Despite radical bony resection, the associated soft tissue translation often seems disproportionate. The purpose of this study was to review bony and soft tissue movements in a series of 15 consecutive hypertelorism correction cases.

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The techniques of frontofacial surgery are most valuable in the clinical management of complex craniofacial deformity to achieve a range of functional and aesthetic gains in children from infancy to maturity. A variety of complex craniofacial osteotomies that can be used to separate the orbits from the skull base have been described. In addition, the combination of circumorbital release and pterygomaxillary disjunction allows advancement of the orbitomaxillary segment for powerful clinical benefit.

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Toxic epidermal necrolysis syndrome (TEN) is a potentially catastrophic exfoliative muco-cutaneous disorder first described by Lyell in 1956. It represents the most extensive form of Steven-Johnson syndrome. TEN is defined varyingly around the globe, but in the United Kingdom the consensus opinion describes the process as involving >30% of the total body surface area.

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Background: Pain at split skin graft donor sites is common. Fibrin sealant has been demonstrated to reduce time to hemostasis at wound sites, and patients receiving this treatment were incidentally noted to report less pain. This study aimed to evaluate pain and incapacity in split skin graft donor sites treated with and without fibrin sealant.

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Background: Bipartition distraction is a novel procedure combining frontofacial bipartition and monobloc distraction. Apert syndrome and other syndromic craniofacial dysostoses are often characterized by hypertelorism, with a negative canthal axis and counterrotated orbits. Central midface hypoplasia can result in a biconcave face in both midsagittal and axial planes.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to document the early and late complications associated with frontofacial distraction.

Method: A systematic review of the literature on complications in craniofacial surgery and a review of records of patients undergoing frontofacial distraction at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children over a 10-year period were conducted.

Results: Complications arising from frontofacial advancement are common.

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Social changes over the last 100 years, but predominantly since the invention of 'fast food' have led to an explosion in obesity. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence advise referral of patients with body mass indices >40 for bariatric surgery. One third of post-bariatric surgery patients achieve massive weight loss necessitating reconstructive body contour surgery.

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We discuss an extremely unusual presentation of a 19-month-old child with cor triatriatum and an intact interatrial septum, who presented for the first time at the age of 16 months with wheezing and repeated lower respiratory tract infections. At surgery, a thick fibromuscular membrane with a 2-3 mm eccentrically placed orifice was identified, and following surgical resection of the membrane the child made an uneventful recovery. This case demonstrates the need for investigating children with "asthma" who do not respond to conventional medical management.

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Article Synopsis
  • A 34-year-old woman with ulcerative colitis also developed atypical pyoderma gangrenosum.
  • The condition pyoderma gangrenosum is characterized by painful skin ulcers.
  • Fortunately, the pyoderma gangrenosum responded well to conservative treatment methods.
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Purpose: To document in detail the surgical management challenges over the wide spectrum of persistent fetal vasculature syndrome (PFVS).

Setting: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Vienna, Medical School, Vienna, Austria.

Methods: As part of an ongoing prospective clinical trial of the treatment and etiology of pediatric cataract, a subgroup of 31 children with unilateral cataract was defined.

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Ischaemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is a complex interplay between biochemical, cellular, and vascular endothelial factors. The clinical sequelae are organ specific, and may also involve systemic inflammatory responses. In this article, we outline an overview of the pathophysiology of IRI, with direct reference to histological and physiological changes seen in individual organs, and present the data on experimental methods of prevention.

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Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence and severity of posterior capsule opacification (PCO) in pediatric eyes with a foldable acrylic AcrySof (Alcon) intraocular lens (IOL) and age-related surgical methods.

Setting: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Vienna, Medical School, Vienna, Austria.

Methods: This prospective randomized study comprised 50 eyes of 34 children aged between 2 and 16 years.

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