Case report: Varicosity of the communicating vein between the left renal vein and the left ascending lumbar vein mimicking a renal artery aneurysm: Report of an unusual site of varicose veins and a novel hypothesis to explain its association with abdominal pain.

A communicating vein between the left renal vein and the left ascending lumbar vein has only rarely been reported in the imaging literature. There are very few reports of varicosity of this communicating vein. Nonetheless, awareness about this communicating vein is of utmost importance for surgeons performing aortoiliac surgeries and nephrectomies as it may pose technical difficulties during surgery or cause life-threatening retroperitoneal hemorrhage.

Hirayama's disease: the importance of flexion magnetic resonance imaging.

Hirayama's disease is a form of juvenile muscular atrophy affecting young individulas in their second to third decade. The underlying pathogenetic mechanism is believed to be an imbalanced growth between the individuals' vertebral column and the spinal canal contents, which causes abutment of the anterior spinal cord against the vertebral column and detachment of the posterior dura, leading to microcirculatory disturbances and ischemic changes in the cord. This mechanism is exiquisitely demonstrated on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but requires additional imaging, with the neck in the flexed position.

Membranous variety of rectal atresia - primary management in a neonate.

Rectal atresia is a rare form of anorectal malformation, with reported incidence of 1 to 2% and membranous variety of rectal atresia is even rarer. Most reported cases have been dealt with a staged procedure which includes sigmoid colostomy. We diagnosed and classified the variety of rectal atresia by performing an X-Ray (invertogram along with the red rubber catheter in situ.

Eosinophillic myocarditis and coronary arteritis in a fatal case of asthma.

Mortality is very unusual in the case of asthma. We recently came across a fatal case of asthma which showed a rare combination of unusual complications like eosinophilic myocarditis, coronary arteritis, biventricular cardiac hypertrophy, eosinophilic pneumonitis and pulmonary hypertension.

Traumatic optic neuropathy - our experience.

A great deal of controversy surrounds the physiology and management of traumatic optic neuropathy. Needless to say, it has formed the topic of much debate in the past, especially with regard to its surgical management. With the advances in sinus endoscopic procedures, and their extended applications to the orbit and optic nerve, endoscopic optic nerve decompression offers a very good chance for salvaging vision in patients with traumatic optic neuropathy.

Choledocholithiasis: endotherapy versus surgery.

When multiple treatment options are available, debate invariably persists regarding the optimal option. Confusion and controversy must then be resolved based on scientific evidence, but one needs to be practical because options depend on the available expertise. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of endotherapy vis-à-vis surgery in patients with choledocholithiasis.

Vitreous humor: biochemical constituents in estimation of postmortem interval.

Analysis of biochemical constituents of the vitreous humor can be useful in determining the postmortem interval as there is proportionate postmortem rise of potassium and fall in sodium concentration. We studied 120 autopsy cases to determine the utility of potassium, sodium, calcium, and chloride levels, and sodium/potassium ratio in estimating the postmortem interval. There was a linear relationship between vitreous potassium concentration and postmortem interval, whereas an inverse relationship between vitreous sodium/potassium ratio and postmortem interval was noted.

Intracranial presentation of teratocarcinosarcoma.

Teratocarcinosarcoma (TCS), an aggressive and extremely rare neoplasm, usually presents as a nasal or paranasal mass. TCS can have intracranial or dural extension from a nasal mass. We found only two instances in the literature that described this lesion as primarily manifesting as an intracranial mass while arising from a primary nasal focus.

Sexual variation in India: A view from the west.

Sexual variation has been reported across cultures for millennia. Sexual variation deals with those facets of sexual behavior which are not necessarily pathological. It is any given culture that defines what is abnormal and what is deviant.

A rare case of primary pancreatic Burkitt lymphoma in a young Indian male. Case report and review of the literature.

Context: Lymphomas of the gastrointestinal system are usually of a non-Hodgkin's type. Primary lymphomas of the pancreas are uncommon and Burkitt lymphoma involving the pancreas is very rare. It is important to recognize this entity because it can mimic adenocarcinoma but its management is entirely different.

Hepatic changes in fatal malaria: an emerging problem.

Over the last few years there has been a rise in the incidence of fatal malaria in urban areas of India, and this worrying trend is a major cause of concern for the national health authorities. The spectrum of histopathological changes that occur in the livers of Indian subjects with fatal malaria has recently been investigated, in a retrospective autopsy-based study. This investigation involved the 151 fatal cases of malaria seen at a tertiary-care hospital in Mumbai between January 2001 and December 2007.

Solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas.

Solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas is considered to be a rare pancreatic tumor. These tumors are typically present in women in their third decade of life. The tumors have a low malignant potential.

Safety and efficacy of percutaneous nephrolithotomy in the pediatric population.

Purpose: We reviewed our experience with percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) in patients in the pediatric age group and compared its efficacy and safety over a 5-year period.

Patients And Methods: We studied retrospectively and prospectively 31 patients who were treated with PCNL for renal stones larger than 1.5 cm.

Depression in geriatric population in urban slums of Mumbai.

A community based study was conducted in an urban slum of Mumbai to assess the epidemiological factors associated with geriatric population and depression. A sample size of 196 was taken according to Lots quality technique, including all elderly above 60 years of age in the study area. Depressed elderly (using Geriatric Depression Scale) constituted 45.

A study-screening of blood donors for blood transmissible diseases.

Aims: Blood donors are of voluntary and replacement type. All donors, especially voluntary, are considered as slow risk for seropositive status for Hepatitis B and C, HIV and syphilis. The present study endeavors to screen blood donors-a slow risk group and evaluate the resultant data.

Canal wall down tympanomastoidectomy: the 'on-disease' approach for retraction pockets and cholesteatoma.

It is well known that cholesteatoma is three-dimensional; hence, we feel that its surgical management requires a three-dimensional approach in order to achieve the best curative and functional results. Retraction pockets are undeniably caused by chronic and recurrent eustachian tube obstruction. However, we found that the presence of a large mastoid antrum was an important, additional aetiological factor in the formation of a retraction pocket and its progression to cholesteatoma formation, with bone destruction and subsequent complications.

Sleep apnea.

Objective: To study clinical presentation of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in children, their causative factors and response to treatment.

Methods: A retrospective study of clinical data nd results of overnight polysomnography done at baseline and after therapy were reviewed in 56 patients under 18 years of age.

Results: Of the 56 patients included in the study 23(41%) cases were positive for SDB.

Primary anaplastic large cell lymphoma of central nervous system--a case report.

Central nervous system (CNS) involvement is extremely rare in anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). Primary ALCL of CNS on radiology is often misdiagnosed as tuberculosis. We report a fatal case of primary ALCL of CNS in a 17 year old male.

Scimitar syndrome.

Scimitar syndrome, a rare anomaly of partial pulmonary venous drainage into the hepatic portion of the inferior vena cava, detected in a ten-day-old neonate who presented clinically with respiratory distress and diagnosed on ultrasound of the thorax is being reported here.

Familial type IV hypertriglyceridemia presenting as hemiparesis with cerebellar signs.

Stroke in pediatric patients is distinctive as compare to adults. The authors report a rare case of familial hypertriglyceridemia type IV who had left hemiparesis with cerebellar signs. There was no history of oral trauma, head injury, convulsions, acute gastroenteritis, meningitis or otitis media.

Haemophagocytosis in tuberculosis--a case report.

Reactive histiocytosis with hemophagocytosis is most commonly associated with viral infections. Appearance of hemophagocytosis in the tissues is associated with a rapid progression of the underlying disease, and therefore it is important to diagnose and treat the etiological factor at the earliest. Hemophagocytosis is uncommonly associated with tuberculosis and we report one such case.