An incremental step in patient safety: reducing the risks of retained foreign bodies by the use of an integrated laparotomy pad/retractor.

Retained foreign body is a recognized complication of abdominal, pelvic, and thoracic surgery and a cause of medical malpractice. Efforts to reduce its incidence include safe exposure and the use of fewer laparotomy pads. The EZ DASH is an absorbent 12-thickness laparotomy pad covering a malleable stainless steel mesh, providing both the needed retraction and a reduction in the use of individual pads.

Adenocarcinoma of the cervix. Expression and clinical significance of estrogen and progesterone receptors.

Background: Although hormone receptor status is an important prognostic indicator in adenocarcinoma of the breast and the endometrium, few studies have investigated the expression and clinical significance of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) in adenocarcinoma of the cervix.

Methods: ER and PgR expression were determined using an immunohistochemical method in 84 cervical adenocarcinomas. Clinical features and outcome were determined by chart review.

Measuring cervical ectopy: direct visual assessment versus computerized planimetry.

Objective: Cervical ectopy has been identified as a possible risk factor for heterosexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus. To accurately assess the importance of cervical ectopy, methods for measuring ectopy with precision need to be developed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability of two methods of measuring cervical ectopy: direct visual assessment and computerized planimetry.

Invasive vulvar carcinoma in two women infected with human immunodeficiency virus.

This report presents two HIV-infected women who developed invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva. One patient was diagnosed with Stage II vulvar cancer 4 years after surgical excision of VIN. This patient underwent a hemivulvectomy and external-beam radiation therapy, but has subsequently developed recurrent vulvar cancer.