Publications by authors named "Wessner S"

Penetrating rebar injuries are extremely rare occurrences, but they are very life-threatening, particularly when involving the thoracic and abdominal cavities. The surgical approach to these traumatic injuries depends upon the length and diameter of the rebar as well as the path of penetration into the abdominal and thoracic regions. Due to the highly uncommon occurrence of penetrating rebar injuries, there is very limited information and studies pertaining to this topic in the literature.

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Mesothelioma is a disease process that can present in a variety of locations including the pleural, peritoneum and pericardium. Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma has been known to be a particularly aggressive type of tumor. We report a case of a patient who presented with a small bowel obstruction whose pathology revealed peritoneal malignant mesothelioma.

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Goblet cell carcinoid (GCC) tumor is a rare appendiceal carcinoma that has had several names throughout its history. Often found incidentally on pathology following an appendectomy, treatment includes a right hemicolectomy and possible adjuvant chemotherapy. Survival rate has been shown to be correlated with the histological features.

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We report the case of a 33-year-old man who had received multiple gunshot wounds to the abdomen; consequently, he was diagnosed with a traumatic dissection of the abdominal aorta at the level of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) extending to just below the renal arteries with a posterior pseudoaneurysm of the aorta. He had wounds in the right upper quadrant and in the left lower back. He demonstrated signs of peritonitis for which he was taken to the operating room for exploratory laparotomy.

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Background: Senior surgical residents are of paramount importance in directing further therapeutic modalities based on their interpretation of critical diagnostic imaging. We propose that senior surgical residents are proficient with interpreting radiologic imaging studies in the trauma patient.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was performed comparing surgery resident interpretations of computed tomography (CT) scans of the head, maxillofacial bones, spine (cervical, thoracic, lumbar), chest, abdomen, pelvis, and chest X-rays versus final radiologists' reports at a Level II trauma center from September 2014 to May 2015.

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Introduction: Malnourished adult patients who undergo surgical procedures tend to have worse clinical outcomes compared to well-nourished patients. In the pediatric surgical patient, nutritional assessment is considered a critical aspect of the initial evaluation, but a correlation between preoperative malnutrition and poor surgical outcomes is not clear. We hypothesized that an evidence-based review would reveal that measures of nutritional assessment in children would not correlate pre-operative malnutrition with poor surgical outcomes.

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Background: Whole genome microarray gene expression profiling is the 'gold standard' for the discovery of prognostic and predictive genetic markers for human cancers. However, suitable research material is lacking as most diagnostic samples are preserved as formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue (FFPET). We tested a new workflow and data analysis method optimized for use with FFPET samples.

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Objective: To describe three patients who presented to a single institution within four years of each other with isolated granuloma annulare of the penis. Granuloma annulare is an inflammatory disease of the dermis that can affect men of any age including childhood. Granuloma annulare of the penis is a remarkably uncommon presentation with only 12 cases previously reported.

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Experiments were performed to determine the cause of "acid crash", a phenomenon which occasionally occurs in pH-uncontrolled batch fermentations resulting in premature cessation of ABE (acetone butanol) production. The results indicate that "acid crash" occurs when the concentration of undissociated acids in the broth exceeds 57 - 60 mmol/l. Prevention can be achieved by introducing some limited pH control to minimize the concentration of undissociated acids or by slowing the metabolic rate, and thus the rate of acid production, by, for example, lowering the fermentation temperature.

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