The effect of age and hair colour on human hairbulb tyrosinase activity.

We studied tyrosinase activity from human hairbulbs from 51 subjects, aged 5-72 years. We used anagen hairbulbs and grouped the subjects according to hair colour. We did not observe an age-dependent fall in hairbulb tyrosinase activity.

Cutaneous myiasis.

Although cutaneous myiasis remains uncommon in North America, any traveler to the tropics may return with this ailment. A history of travel to a tropical country, a persistent pruritic lesion resembling a boil but having a dark central punctum with seropurulent or serosanguineous drainage, and complaints of a crawling sensation in the area of the lesion should lead the physician to consider myiasis. Treatment is directed at prompt removal of the fly maggot by incision and extraction.

Cleft palate, brachygnathia inferior, and mandibular oligodontia in a Holstein calf.

A case of cleft palate, brachygnathia inferior and mandibular oligodontia is described in a calf. Otitis media may be a complication of cleft palate in the calf as it is in man. Cleft palate in the calf may be further classified into at least 4 major groups and some of the cases might be suitable models for a study of cleft palate in man.

Elimination of lymphangioma circumscriptum by suction-assisted lipectomy.

Lymphangioma circumscriptum presents as cutaneous vesicles or skin tags that drain lymphatic fluid. Deep, sequestered lymphatic cisterns encircled by smooth muscle are thought to be the cause of the skin manifestations, and selective resection of the deep cisterns, not the involved overlying skin, has been suggested as the treatment of choice. We report a successful treatment of lymphangioma circumscriptum using suction-assisted lipectomy to obliterate the deep lymphatic cisterns and their vertical channels communicating to the skin.

Reconstruction by expansion in the patient with cancer of the head and neck.

Soft-tissue expansion has undergone wide application in reconstructive surgery. The technique has been used about the head and neck, for breast reconstruction, and for reconstruction in the extremities. Scalp reconstruction, total nasal reconstruction, and the movement of flaps of bearded skin using soft-tissue expansion offer selected patients improved results as compared with what could be achieved by using other methods.

Labeled leukocyte scans for detection of retained polyurethane foam.

Complete removal of an infected polyurethane-covered breast prosthesis is difficult, and retained tissue-embedded foam can form a nidus for persistent infection. Scanning the chest wall after administration of indium-111 oxine-labeled autogenous leukocytes will locate areas of infection around retained fragments of foam, thereby facilitating their removal and allowing eventual successful reconstruction. This technique may deserve wider application for locating infected foreign bodies in a variety of patient problems.

Growth of cavernous hemangioma with puberty.

There is a clinical impression among physicians that puberty may prompt growth of hemangiomas. We observed significant growth of a large cavernous hemangioma in a patient at the onset of puberty despite absent estrogen and progesterone receptors in the hemangioma tissue.

Technical note: the use of nitroglycerin ointment after precarious neurosurgical wound closure.

It is suggested that the application of nitroglycerin ointment to neurosurgical wound closure exhibiting skin pallor or cyanosis can minimize necrosis and dehiscence. Examples of the use of this agent in patients undergoing myelomeningocele closure as well as in a premature infant undergoing ventriculoperitoneal shunting are described.

Alopecia reduction by scalp expansion.

Areas of alopecia may be eliminated by scalp expanders. This is accomplished by subgaleal placement of soft tissue expanders under normal scalp adjacent to defect. Subsequent inflation and advancement of the expanded scalp resurfaces the defect with an excellent aesthetic result.

Soft-tissue expansion: concepts and complications.

Soft-tissue expansion complements existing reconstructive techniques and provides new vistas for the plastic surgeon. The technique finds use for overcoming a shortage of tissue, for obtaining skin with special desirable qualities, for creation of flaps otherwise not possible because of the resultant donor site or limited vascularity, for creation of flaps with functioning muscle and overlying soft tissue, and for minimizing flap donor-site problems. Careful planning should include patient counseling, optimum incision placement, and time for a leisurely, complete expansion.

Sleep apnea precipitated by pharyngeal surgery in a patient with myotonic dystrophy.

A patient was seen for evaluation of excessive daytime sleepiness, which was exacerbated following complications secondary to surgical reconstruction of the pharynx for a submucous cleft palate. She underwent recordings in the sleep laboratory and was found to have sleep apnea. Also, a thorough clinical and laboratory assessment established the diagnosis of myotonic dystrophy.

The permanence of otoplasty in the rabbit ear: a comparison of techniques.

Otoplasty should restructure the cartilage framework of the ear with permanent results. Major techniques include the placement of permanent sutures, with or without concomitant cartilage scoring, and cartilage abrasion alone. Our study evaluates the durability of the results of each method.

Spontaneous occurrence of synergistic bacterial gangrene following external pelvic irradiation.

A case of spontaneous synergistic bacterial gangrene occurring after external pelvic irradiation is presented in a 25-year-old woman with invasive cervical cancer. Treatment consisted of aggressive antibiotic therapy and extensive excision and debridement followed by split-thickness skin grafting. Both recovery and cosmetic results were satisfactory.

Skin expansion to eliminate large scalp defects.

In three children aged 3 to 8 years with large scalp defects temporary expanders of silicone elastomer were inserted under the scalp above the pericranium and under the galea through an incision at the junction of the defect and the normal scalp. Over the following six to eight weeks, the expanders were inflated weekly or semiweekly with injections of saline. During expansion, hair growth continued.

The possible effects of conductive hearing loss on language development.

Recently some attention has been paid to the possibility that chronic serous otitis could adversely affect language development. Up to ten or fifteen years ago the hearing loss resulting from the disease was considered neglectable. In this contribution some arguments will be given as to prove that the latter might not always be true.

Mitomycin C extravasation injuries.

Mitomycin C extravasation produces a chronic painful ulceration similar to that of adriamycin. Pain marks the extravasation of this chemotherapeutic agent when it occurs. A complaint of pain during mitomycin administration should prompt immediate cessation of infusion and regular frequent follow-up.

Immunosuppressive activity of a subline of the mouse EL-4 lymphoma. Evidence for minute virus of mice causing the inhibition.

Filtered culture fluids from the early in vitro passages of a subline of the C57BL/6 mouse EL-4 lymphoma, EL-4(G-), were strongly inhibitory for BABL/c vs. C57BL/6 mixed lymphocyte cultures (MLC). The inhibitory activity could be preserved by storage at -75 degrees C or 4 degrees C, thus allowing its further characterization.

Ribonucleic acid synthesis of vesicular stomatitis virus. IV. Transcription by standard virus in the presence of defective interfering particles.

Exposure of vesicular stomatitis virus-infected Chinese hamster ovary cells to cycloheximide results in the complete transcription of virion ribonucleic acid (RNA) into only 28S and 13 to 15S viral-specific RNA species. These RNA are identical to viral messenger RNA by the following criteria: size, single-strandedness, complementarity to virion RNA, and formation of messenger ribonucleoproteins. This transcription represents the intracellular enzymatic activity of the virion-associated polymerase and is shown to be dependent on input multiplicity.