Evaluation of Palatal Thickness for the Placement of MARPE Device among a Cohort of Iraqi-Kurdish Population: A Retrospective CBCT Study.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate and compare palatal thickness in adults for the placement of mini-implants for miniscrew-assisted rapid palatal expansion (MARPE) appliances using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) in a sample of Iraqi-Kurdish people.

Materials And Methods: CBCT scans from 68 Kurdish patients, aged between 18 and 30 years, were assessed retrospectively. Of these, 37 were males and 31 were females.

The impact of pediatric congenital heart disease on primary teeth structure: a histological study.

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is an abnormality in the structure or function of the cardio-circulatory system present at birth and the ventricular septal defect (VSD) is the most common CHD in children. This study aimed to determine any differences in the histological structure of primary teeth between both healthy children and those children with ventricular septal defects in Erbil City. Methods enrolled children were divided into two groups.

Recurrence and outcome after complete tumour removal and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in 512 patients with pseudomyxoma peritonei from perforated appendiceal mucinous tumours.

Background: Pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) usually originates from perforated mucinous appendiceal tumours and may present unexpectedly at surgery, or be suspected at cross sectional imaging. The optimal treatment involves macroscopic tumour removal by cytoreductive surgery (CRS) combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). The 10-year Kaplan-Meier predicted disease-free survival is 61%.

A pictorial description of extralevator abdominoperineal excision for low rectal cancer.

Aim: Extralevator abdominoperineal excision in the prone position has been reported as a method to improve the poor outcome sometimes observed after abdominoperineal excision (APE) for low rectal cancer. In this paper a pictorial guide is presented describing the key anatomical steps and landmarks of the operation.

Method: Intraoperative footage of five APE operations filmed in high definition was reviewed and key stages of the operation were identified.

Relevance of magnetic resonance imaging-detected pelvic sidewall lymph node involvement in rectal cancer.

Background: The significance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-suspected pelvic sidewall (PSW) lymph node involvement in rectal cancer is uncertain.

Methods: Magnetic resonance images were reviewed retrospectively by specialist gastrointestinal radiologists for the presence of suspicious PSW nodes. Scans and outcome data were from patients with biopsy-proven rectal cancer and a minimum of 5 years' follow-up in the Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Rectal Cancer European Equivalence Study.

Can a novel MRI staging system for low rectal cancer aid surgical planning?

Background: Low rectal cancers are associated with worse outcomes in comparison with mid and upper rectal tumors.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the predictive accuracy of MRI in identifying the correct surgical approach based on the mesorectal and extralevator planes.

Design: This study involved the retrospective analysis of MRI and histopathology data of 33 patients with low rectal cancer, with the use of an anatomically based staging system.

A systematic review of cancer related patient outcomes after anterior resection and abdominoperineal excision for rectal cancer in the total mesorectal excision era.

Purpose: It is a widely held view that anterior resection (AR) for rectal cancer is an oncologically superior operation to abdominoperineal excision (APE). However, some centres have demonstrated better outcomes with APE. We conducted a systematic review of high-quality studies within the total mesorectal excision (TME) era comparing outcomes of AR and APE.

MRI predictive factors for long-term outcomes of low rectal tumours.

Background: Low rectal cancers have poor outcomes. It has been suggested that low tumours are biologically more aggressive and tend to be more locally advanced at presentation. Pre-operative identification of prognostic factors will enable use of selective neoadjuvant therapies and possibly increase sphincter-sparing rates where oncologically safe.

Magnetic resonance imaging-detected lymph nodes close to the mesorectal fascia are rarely a cause of margin involvement after total mesorectal excision.

Background: In rectal cancer the management of suspicious magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-detected lymph nodes lying close to the mesorectal fascia poses an ongoing dilemma. Key decisions in treatment planning are commonly based on the prediction of margin status. However, it is unclear whether a lymph node that appears to contain tumour close to the mesorectal fascia will result in a positive margin.

Patients with low rectal cancer treated by abdominoperineal excision have worse tumors and higher involved margin rates compared with patients treated by anterior resection.

Purpose: Patients with low rectal cancer have worse outcomes compared to those with upper rectal cancer. Reports suggest that low anterior resection may be oncologically superior to abdominoperineal excision, although no good evidence exists to support this. We looked at a recent series of patients with low rectal cancer to explore some of the issues.

Defining the surgical planes on MRI improves surgery for cancer of the low rectum.

Cancer of the low rectum provides a challenge for both preoperative staging and optimum operative management. Current outcomes for patients with low rectal cancer are poor, particularly for those treated by abdominoperineal excision. It has been suggested that this poor outcome is due to an inherent oncological inferiority of the traditional abdominoperineal excision procedure, which might be explained by the unique anatomical features of the low rectum and the lack of clearly defined anatomical excision planes.

MRI for detection of extramural vascular invasion in rectal cancer.

Objective: Extramural vascular invasion is a pathologic feature predictive of distant relapse and poor survival among patients with colorectal cancer. This article illustrates the use of high-spatial-resolution MRI to identify extramural vascular invasion.

Conclusion: Objective MRI features that correlate with histopathologic findings can be identified and used to evaluate extramural vascular invasion on preoperative images.

MRI staging of low rectal cancer.

Low rectal tumours, especially those treated by abdominoperineal excision (APE), have a high rate of margin involvement when compared with tumours elsewhere in the rectum. Correct surgical management to minimise this rate of margin involvement is reliant on highly accurate imaging, which can be used to plan the planes of excision. In this article we describe the techniques for accurate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessment and a novel staging system for low rectal tumours.