[How to manage disasters: learning from recent experiences in the Emergency Department of a University Teaching Hospital, Italy].

The medical approach to disasters has been always a problematic issue for emergency departments. The authors of this paper reflect on possible efficient solutions for managing a massive influx of casualties in an Emergency Department, by analysing the responses to previous local catastrophic events, such as the collision of 'Segesta Jet', the great fire of Patti, the floods of Giampilieri/Scaletta and Saponara. The authors' point to a need for providing more extensive training of medical students in clinical aspects of disaster medicine.

[Management of maxillofacial injuries in an emergency unit: our experience].

Maxillofacial injuries are relatively frequent. These may be complicated by cranioencephalic injuries or large facial wounds. We report our experience with the initial management of these lesions in an emergency unit setting.

[Major emergency management in ship collusion].

Aim Of The Study: To prove that a correct management of a major emergency allowed a quick triage, trauma team, appropriate treatment, discharge and treatment of many patients injured patients when, in January 2007, a crush between a merchant ship and an hydrofoil happened in the Messina strait, that separate Sicily and Calabria.

Materials And Method: Four deaths and 105 injuries were observed. Our experience in the emergency care refers to 25 patients of them.

[Personal experience using radioimmunoguided surgery (RIGS)].

Radio Immuno Guided Surgery (RIGS) is a technique that has numerous uses in oncology. It is characterised by a multidisciplinary approach by nuclear physician and surgeon for diagnosis and treatment; it uses colloid radiotracers, monoclonal antibodies or non-immunological tracers. We adopted this technique in 281 patients: 256 (91.

[Breast abnormalities: a retrospective study of 208 patients].

Ectopic breast tissue occurs in 0.4-6% of the general population. Usually, these tissues develop along the embryonic milk line but other sites are reported in the literature.

[Gunshot wounds. Our experience].

Abdominal gunshot wounds may result in elevated morbidity and mortality. The optimal management is still controversial. The authors report on their experience with treatment of 49 patients.

[Non-lactational mastitis: our experience].

The most frequent breast inflammatory diseases are lactational and non-lactational mastitis. The diagnosis of these lesions is always difficult, as they often mimic breast cancer. The Authors report on their experience about 830 clinical cases of non-lactational mastitis, 804 were superficial abscesses and 24 were phlegmons.

Quality of life and predictors of long-term outcome in patients undergoing open Nissen fundoplication for chronic gastroesophageal reflux.

Background: Long-term outcome of antireflux operations as well as pre- and postoperative parameters able to predict their clinical results are still controversial. The aim of the present study was to evaluate long-term quality of life of patients undergoing open fundoplication for chronic GERD and to investigate pre- and early postoperative functional parameters possibly related to persistence or recurrence of symptoms.

Methods: A cohort of 25 patients who underwent open Nissen fundoplications was reviewed for an evaluation of long-term residual symptoms and quality of life at an average follow-up of more than 10 years.

Breast vasculitis presenting as a tumor-like lesion. A case report.

Breast vasculitis presenting as a tumor-like lesion is rare. The differential diagnosis in these cases can be extremely difficult but is very important for treatment and follow-up. We report the case of a 80-year-old woman who was admitted to our service with a lesion resembling an inflammatory carcinoma of the breast.

[Evaluation of complications and long-term results after surgery for gynaecomastia].

In an attempt to evaluate ten years of surgical treatment of gynaecomastia, we analysed the incidence of complications and the quality of the results in a group of patients classified according to Simon. Over the decade 1992-2002, 107 patients with gynaecomastia aged from 17 to 79 years were treated. The prevalent surgical approach was subcutaneous mastectomy.

[Sentinel lymph-node biopsy in breast cancer: five years' experience].

The authors report on their experience with sentinel lymph-node biopsy in breast cancer. Sentinel lymph-node biopsy was performed in 91 patients with T1-T2 N0 M0 breast cancer using radiocolloid (99mTC radiolabelled colloidal human albumin microaggregate) injected perilesionally in 56 cases and by Blu Patent V alone in 35 cases. The sentinel lymph nodes identified were located in the axilla in 88 cases, in the internal mammary nodes in 2 cases and in a subclavicular site in 1 case.

Laparoscopic palliative gastrojejunostomy for advanced recurrent gastric cancer after Billroth I resection.

Palliative surgery for advanced gastric cancer has equivocal results. Laparoscopy is likely to provide some advantage compared to open procedures. We present a case of laparoscopic gastrojejunostomy for advanced gastric cancer, which recurred after Billroth I resection.

[Nipple discharge: personal experience with 2,818 cases].

After mastodynia, nipple discharge is the second most frequent condition that brings women to the attention of breast clinics. Seven types of nipple discharge exist: milky, multicolored, purulent, clear-watery, serous, pink or serosanguineous, brown or reddish-brown. From January 1982 to January 2003 we observed 2818 patients with nipple discharge (range: 16-83 years).

[Surgical treatment of breast cancer after neoadjuvant therapy].

Primary chemotherapy represents a new therapeutic strategy that allows the implementation of conservative surgical treatment in locally advanced breast cancer or in cancers measuring > 3 cm. Of 127 patients with breast cancers measuring > 2.5 cm, 86 were treated with primary chemotherapy.

[Radioimmunoguided surgery (R.I.G.S.) in colorectal cancer. Preliminary results].

The authors describe their experience in utilizing 'ArcitumoMab' and radioimmunoguided surgery in a group of patients with localized and advanced colorectal cancer. Twenty-one patients were studied who were found to be positive to 'ArcitumoMab'. Immunoscintigraphy was obtained in 95% of cases.