Halsted revisited: internal mammary sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of internal mammary sentinel lymph node biopsy as a method to refine and thereby improve nodal staging in breast cancer.

Summary Background Data: The internal mammary lymph node status is a major prognostic factor in breast cancer. If positive, prognosis is less favorable.

No-touch isolation technique in colon cancer: a controlled prospective trial.

In order to assess the effect of the no-touch isolation technique, in the treatment of large bowel cancers, on the site of first recurrence and disease-free and overall survival, 236 patients were prospectively and randomly assigned to either the no-touch isolation technique (117 patients) or to a conventional resection technique (119 patients). No patient with distant metastases or unresectable disease entered the study. The two treatment groups were comparable with regard to patient characteristics.

[Olecranon fractures. A retrospective examination of surgically treated fractures (author's transl)].

Retrospective examination of 27 patients with olecranon fractures who had undergone surgical treatment showed that--in agreement with theoretical considerations--osteosynthesis via tension wiring, although suitable for proximal fractures, is unsuitable for fractures of a more distal nature. A different method must be employed for distal fractures. Additional plaster immobilisation does not exercise any influence on consolidation, nor does it affect functional rehabilitation.

[Mechanical force exercised on the elbow joint in olecranon fractures (author's transl)].

Opinion is fairly unanimous on the need for surgical treatment of disclocated olecranon fractures. However, opinions differ regarding the mechanical backgrounds and practical application of the presently widely used tension wiring. The article attempts to clarify the picture of the forces involved in the humero-ulnar joint.