Spontaneous late carotid-cutaneous fistula following radical neck dissection: a case report.

The authors present an unusual case of a spontaneous carotid-cutaneous fistula occurring as a late complication 4 years after radical neck dissection and postoperative radiation therapy for tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma in a 50-year-old patient. The etiologic factors predisposing patients to carotid artery rupture following radical neck dissection and a surgical option for carotid artery reconstruction instead of ligation are discussed.

Emergency laparotomy in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.

Peritonitis is the most common complication of chronic ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). It is often a diagnostic challenge to differentiate those patients with CAPD-associated infections from those who have unrelated gastrointestinal pathology as the cause of peritonitis and would benefit from surgical exploration. A retrospective chart review was performed on all patients at a single institution who were on CAPD between the years 1990 and 1998 and who underwent laparotomy for peritonitis.

Parathyroid crisis in a 20 year old--an unusual cause of hypercalcaemic crisis.

Since the advent of automated serum analysis, patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) are often asymptomatic at presentation or have mild symptoms attributable to the disease. Parathyroid crisis is a rare and potentially fatal complication of PHPT in which patients develop severe hypercalcaemia with signs and symptoms of multiple organ dysfunction. A case of parathyroid crisis in a 20 year old man who presented with brown tumours and renal stones is described.

Visceral artery aneurysms as seen in a community hospital.

Background: Visceral artery aneurysm (VAA) is a rare but important form of vascular pathology.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed for all patients treated for VAAs from 1980 to 1998 at the Northern California Kaiser Hospitals.

Results: Thirty-one patients with VAAs were treated, 11 men and 20 women with an average age of 60 years.