OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility of utilizing pedicled sternocleidomastoid clavicular periosteocutaneous flap to reconstruct the laryngotracheal defect after tumor resection. METHOD: To review 6 cases of laryngotracheal defect resulting from resction of thyroid papillary carcinoma(4/6) or subglottic laryngeal carcinoma (2/6) (T1~2N1~2M0 , UICC,2002), laryngotracheal stenting was also employed in all cases. Half a year after surgery, the stoma was sutured if no local recurrence took place and safety was proved after tracheal tube had been obstructed for days. The follow-up time lasted from half a year to 3 years. RESULT: Four cases (4/6) were extubated successfully without event, one case could intermittently plug the tracheal tube. One patient couldn't breath with tracheal tube plugging. CONCLUSION To reconstruct the laryngotracheal defect with pedicled sternocleidomastoid clavicular.periosteocutaneous flap after tumor resection is feasible in selected cases and could get satisfactory clinical results either in respiration or phonation.
Back ; Carcinoma ; surgery ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Clavicle ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; Humans ; Laryngeal Neoplasms ; surgery ; Larynx ; Neck Muscles ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck ; Stents ; Surgical Flaps ; Thyroid Cancer, Papillary ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; surgery

OBJECTIVE: To investigate cervical esophageal reconstruction by means of laryngo-tracheal flap after resection of hypopharyngeal carcinoma with cervical esophageal involvement. METHOD: Eleven cases of hypopharyngeal carcinoma with cervical esophageal involvement. Unilateral piriform sinus and cervical esophagus were involved in 8 cases (8/11) while bilateral piriform sinus, posterior pharyngeal wall and cervical esophagus were involved in 3 cases. After resection of laryngeal, pharyngeal and esophageal tumors and bilateral neck dissection, direct anastomosis of larynx and trachea with esophagus of cervico-thoracic segment was performed if circular structure of larynx and trachea could be preserved (3/11), pectoralis major myocutaneous flap was employed if only part of pharynx and larynx could be preserved (8/11). Postoperative radiochemotherapy was adopted and follow-up lasted for 1-5 years. RESULT: All cases healed without event except for one case of pharyngeal fistula and one case of chylous fistula which also healed after about 2 weeks dressing change. All patients got normal diet without anastomotic stricture. There was no recurrence in 6 patients at the 3 years follow-up, 4 patients had metastases in the neck and 1 patient had thoracic esophageal carcinoma with hepatic metastasis arid gave up further treatment. The overall 3-year survival rate was 54.5%. CONCLUSION Using laryngo-tracheal flap to reconstruct cervical esophagus after resection of hypopharyngeal carcinoma with cervical esophageal involvement is a recommendable method that is simple in processing, reliable in effect and less in postoperative complications.
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Esophagus ; pathology ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; Humans ; Hypopharyngeal Neoplasms ; surgery ; Larynx ; Neck ; Neck Dissection ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Pharynx ; Postoperative Complications ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck ; Surgical Flaps ; Survival Rate

Taenia pisiformis is one of the most important parasites of canines and rabbits. T. pisiformis cysticercus (the larval stage) causes severe damage to rabbit breeding, which results in huge economic losses. In this study, the genetic variation of T. pisiformis was determined in Sichuan Province, China. Fragments of the mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) (922 bp) gene were amplified in 53 isolates from 8 regions of T. pisiformis. Overall, 12 haplotypes were found in these 53 cytb sequences. Molecular genetic variations showed 98.4% genetic variation derived from intra-region. F(ST) and Nm values suggested that 53 isolates were not genetically differentiated and had low levels of genetic diversity. Neutrality indices of the cytb sequences showed the evolution of T. pisiformis followed a neutral mode. Phylogenetic analysis revealed no correlation between phylogeny and geographic distribution. These findings indicate that 53 isolates of T. pisiformis keep a low genetic variation, which provide useful knowledge for monitoring changes in parasite populations for future control strategies.
Animals ; China ; Cytochromes b/*genetics ; *Genetic Variation ; Helminth Proteins/*genetics ; Humans ; Mitochondria/*genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Rabbits ; Taenia/classification/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Taeniasis/*parasitology

Dirofilaria immitis (heartworm) infections affect domestic dogs, cats, and various wild mammals with increasing incidence in temperate and tropical areas. More sensitive antibody detection methodologies are required to diagnose asymptomatic dirofilariasis with low worm burdens. Applying current transcriptomic technologies would be useful to discover potential diagnostic markers for D. immitis infection. A filarial homologue of the mammalian translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) was initially identified by screening the assembled transcriptome of D. immitis (DiTCTP). A BLAST analysis suggested that the DiTCTP gene shared the highest similarity with TCTP from Loa loa at protein level (97%). A histidine-tagged recombinant DiTCTP protein (rDiTCTP) of 40 kDa expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) showed immunoreactivity with serum from a dog experimentally infected with heartworms. Localization studies illustrated the ubiquitous presence of rDiTCTP protein in the lateral hypodermal chords, dorsal hypodermal chord, muscle, intestine, and uterus in female adult worms. Further studies on D. immitis-derived TCTP are warranted to assess whether this filarial protein could be used for a diagnostic purpose.
Animal Structures/chemistry ; Animals ; Antibodies, Helminth/blood ; Antigens, Helminth/chemistry/*genetics/immunology/*isolation & purification ; Cloning, Molecular ; Dirofilaria immitis/chemistry/*genetics/immunology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Dogs ; Escherichia coli/genetics ; Gene Expression ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Molecular Weight ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins/chemistry/genetics/immunology/isolation & purification ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Tumor Markers, Biological/chemistry/*genetics/immunology/*isolation & purification