Reversed dorsal metatarsal artery flap for reconstruction of a soft tissue defect of the big toe.

Soft tissue defects of the great toe that include exposed tendon and bone present a reconstructive challenge for plastic surgeons. A distally based dorsalis pedis island flap based on the first dorsal metatarsal artery, which has been successfully used to cover the soft tissue defect following wide excision of melanoma of the big toe, is reported.

Benefits of mock oral examinations in a multi-institutional consortium for board certification in general surgery training.

The Southeast Michigan Center for Medical Education (SEMCME) is a consortium of teaching hospitals in the Greater Detroit metropolitan area. SEMCME pools its resources for several educational means, including mock oral board examinations. The educational and cost benefits to mock oral examinations on a multi-institutional basis in preparation for the American Board of Surgery (ABS) certifying examination were analyzed.

Expression of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and vascular endothelial growth factor-A in thyroid cancer.

Thyroid cancer is three times more prevalent in females but the role of sex hormones in its pathogenesis is unknown. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is crucial for angiogenesis. Its expression correlates with tumor aggressiveness and metastatic potential.

Oral vitamin A enhances the effectiveness of formalin 8% in treating chronic hemorrhagic radiation proctopathy.

Purpose: Chronic radiation proctopathy occurs in 5 to 20% of patients receiving radiation therapy, with rectal bleeding as its most common presentation. Although formalin treatment for rectal bleeding is promising, improvement is possible. Given the success of vitamin A in other radiation-induced treatments, we studied the efficacy of combining formalin with vitamin A in controlling bleeding symptoms of chronic radiation proctopathy.

Hepato-pancreato-biliary training in general surgery residency: is it enough for the real world?

Background: Advanced training in hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) surgery is available at select centers. No approved fellowships have yet been established.

Objective: To determine the level of training in HPB surgery during general surgery residency and to assess the need for additional training.

Prevalence and management of gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

The prevalence and characteristics of patients with confirmed gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) in a community hospital over a 6-year period are described. Our objective was to communicate our experience managing this rare tumor of the gastrointestinal tract. A retrospective chart review was performed.

Use of buccal myomucosal flap in secondary cleft palate repair.

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the buccal myomucosal flap in secondary repairs of cleft palate.

Methods: Twenty-two patients who underwent secondary palatoplasty between 1989 and 2004 in which a buccal myomucosal flap was used were reviewed retrospectively. All patients had undergone at least one previous attempted repair at other institutions.

Nora's lesion: Case report and literature review of a bizarre parosteal osteochondromatous proliferation of a small finger.

A case of a left small finger tumour that was diagnosed on histopathological review as Nora's lesion (bizarre parosteal osteochondromatous proliferation) is reported. There have been fewer than 150 cases reported in the literature to date and its pathophysiology is yet to be defined. Due to its rare presentation, Nora's lesion can easily go unrecognized and therefore inappropriately managed.

Correlation between clinical and histological findings in parathyroid tumors suspicious for carcinoma.

Carcinoma of the parathyroid is a rare malignancy that can be cured surgically if the proper diagnosis and treatment is given initially. Arriving to the clinical suspicion of a malignancy preoperatively is by far the most important step for a good prognosis. Our goal is to review the correlation between clinical and final histopathological findings that can arouse the suspicion of such malignancy and their true predictive value in the diagnosis.