Distribution and Expression of the Adhesion Molecule CD44 on Human Corneal Grafts Is Not Altered by Chemotherapy.

Background/aim: Acceptance of corneas from donors with a malignancy remains controversial, especially for donors with hematological malignancy. The aim of our study was to examine, for the first time in literature, any structural differences in the integrity of the corneal grafts from donors who have received and from those who have not received chemotherapy.

Materials And Methods: The immunohistochemical expression of CD44 was examined in 12 corneal grafts obtained from 8 donors.

The Choice of Drainage Device in Complicated Glaucomas: Comparing Ahmed and Baerveldt Implants.

Background/aim: Glaucoma is a chronic and progressive optic neuropathy which leads to deterioration of visual function. It is estimated to be the second leading cause of severe vision loss and blindness worldwide. Failure of anti-glaucoma medication to sufficiently reduce intraocular pressure (IOP) and poor compliance with medication are indications for glaucoma surgery, for example using glaucoma drainage devices.

Association of serum inflammatory markers and diabetic retinopathy: a review of literature.

Objective: Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the western world, among the working-age people. Its exact pathogenesis, however, remains obscure. Systemic inflammation is regarded to play a significant role in diabetes by contributing, among others, to the development of diabetic retinopathy.

Optic disk melanocytoma associated with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy lesions, after combination treatment of photodynamic therapy and intavitreal aflibercept (Eylea), a case report.

Background: We report a rare case of a woman with optic disk melanocytoma (ODMC) in conjunction with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). We also present, for the first time in literature, the clinical and morphological outcomes of the applied treatment, consisting of a session of photodynamic therapy (PDT) and three monthly intravitreal aflibercept injections.

Case Presentation: An 83-year-old Greek woman, complaining for visual decline at her left eye, referred to our department and was diagnosed with ODMC associated with PCV.

Comparison of ultrasound turbinate reduction, radiofrequency tissue ablation and submucosal cauterization in inferior turbinate hypertrophy.

Chronic nasal obstruction owed to chronic hypertrophic rhinitis is a common cause of nasal airway obstruction. In cases unresponsive to conservative treatment, various surgical techniques are commonly performed, but the issue of the optimal surgical procedure is still controversial. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of ultrasound treatment of the hypertrophied inferior turbinates, which is a technique recently applied in rhinologic surgery.

Can low doses of simvastatin enhance fracture healing? An experimental study in rabbits.

Several observational and experimental studies have investigated the potential anabolic effects of statins on undisturbed bone but only a few recent studies have examined the effect of statins on skeletal repair. The goal of the study is to investigate any potential early anabolic effect of the systemic administration of simvastatin in low doses (based on earlier safety and efficacy studies on undisturbed bone) on fracture healing. Fifty-four skeletally mature male New Zealand White rabbits were used for the study.

Pancreatic leak related hemorrhage following pancreaticoduodenectomy. A case series.

Context: Delayed arterial hemorrhage, secondary to pancreaticojejunal leakage, is an infrequent complication (2-4%) of pancreaticoduodenectomy but it carries a high mortality rate with more than half of the patients dying from overwhelming sepsis and/or bleeding. Its ideal management remains unclear.

Case Reports: We hereby present our experience with respect to the presentation and management of this severe post-pancreaticoduodenectomy complication which occurred in 3/149 patients (2.

Awake tracheal intubation using the Airtraq laryngoscope: a case series.

The Airtraq laryngoscope (AL) is a new single use indirect laryngoscope designed to facilitate tracheal intubation in anaesthetised patients either with normal or difficult airway anatomy. It is designed to provide a view of the glottis without alignment of the oral, pharyngeal and tracheal axes. We report four cases of successful awake tracheal intubation using the AL.

Mucosal changes in chronic hypertrophic rhinitis after surgical turbinate reduction.

Chronic nasal obstruction owed to chronic hypertrophic rhinitis is one of the most common problems encountered in rhinology. Various forms of conservative therapy have been used, but these are often ineffective and surgical reduction techniques have been successfully applied. However, the issue of postoperative histological changes in the nasal mucosa has not been adequately addressed.

Management of inner nasal valve insufficiency.

Objective: To determine the efficacy of the upper lateral caudal edge management in treating patients with inner nasal valve insufficiency and collapse.

Design: This was a prospective study in a group of patients suffering from nasal obstruction owing to nasal valve insufficiency. Forty-three patients, who had undergone septoplasty and inferior turbinectomy, were included.

Aesthetic reconstruction of a crooked nose via extracorporeal septoplasty.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness, indications, and contraindications of the extracorporeal approach in treating a severely deviated nose.

Methods: Sixty-four patients operated on for aesthetic correction of a severely deviated nose were studied. Forty-six of them were first operations and 18 were revision cases.

The influence of laryngopharyngeal reflux in the healing of laryngeal trauma.

The aim of this clinical study was to evaluate the effect of laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) on the healing process of surgical laryngeal trauma. A total of 112 consecutive patients, who suffered from LPR and were scheduled for operation of Reinke edema or laryngeal polyps/nodules (40 and 72 patients, respectively) during a period of 5 years, were included. Diagnosis of LPR was made on the basis of both history and dual pH probe recording during 24 h in the inferior esophagus and the hypopharynx.

Functional tension nose as a cause of nasal airway obstruction.

Objective: The purpose of this prospective study was to evaluate the influence of functional tension nose in nasal obstruction and to discuss its frequency and management.

Methods: Over the years 2000-2006, 153 patients underwent revision operation for nasal obstruction in our rhinoplastic center. Twenty-two of them (14.

Remifentanil preventing hemodynamic changes during laparoscopic adrenalectomy for pheochromocytoma.

In this prospective case-series study, a balanced anesthetic scheme of sevoflurane in nitrous oxide supplemented with remifentanil and sustained neuromuscular block was applied in nine patients scheduled for laparoscopic adrenalectomy for pheochromocytoma. Laparoscopic adrenalectomy to treat pheochromocytoma results in marked catecholamine release during pneumoperitoneum and tumor manipulation. Remifentanil infusion was adjusted to maintain systolic arterial pressure between 120-170 mmHg.

The influence of premedication and smoking.

The history of smoking and premedication did not influence the proportion of patients who had a cough response to fentanyl when administrated as first agent during induction in anesthesia.

The use of trichloroacetic acid in the treatment of acute external otitis.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of 5% trichloroacetic acid (TCA) in the treatment of acute external otitis (AEO) in comparison with a standard clinical treatment. All patients who consecutively presented in our emergencies with AEO during the summer months of the previous year were included in the study. They were randomly divided into two groups: the study group included 117 patients treated with TCA and the control group included 98 patients treated with ear drops containing antibiotic and corticosteroid.

Spontaneous gonadotrophin deficiency recovery in an adult patient with Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH).

Langerhans cell histocytosis (LCH) is a rare disease which exhibits a particular predilection for pituitary involvement leading to diabetes insipidus (DI) and other anterior pituitary hormonal deficiencies that are usually permanent and unresponsive to treatment. We report a 35 year old woman with a 10 year history of multisystemic LCH who developed DI, mild hyperprolactinemia, gonadotrophin and partial growth hormone deficiency following a normal delivery that was accompanied with infundibular thickening on pituitary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Following several courses of glucocorticoid administration, that were not associated with any substantial improvement, the patient was started on estrogen replacement therapy and cabergoline.