AIM: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of Ahmed glaucoma valve implantation for refractory glaucoma after sequential failed trabeculectomy.
METHODS: Thirty - six patients (36 eyes) with prior failed sequential trabeculectomy who underwent Ahmed glaucoma valve implantation were included. The intraocular pressure ( IOP), best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and complications were ovserved and all the patients were followed up at least for 12mo.
RESULTS: Mean preoperative IOP was 35. 20±7. 28mmHg and reduced to 10. 15±3. 34, 11. 23±3. 56, 15. 63±5. 72, 17. 17±5. 47, 17. 73±6. 23,19. 76±5. 43mmHg at 1, 2wk, 1, 3, 6 and 12mo after surgery, which was significant different from the preoperative level (t = 12. 643, 11. 837, 10. 324, 8. 839, 8. 462, 8. 046, all P < 0. 05 ). Visual acuity was not significantly different between pre - operation and 12mo post- operation ( Z = - 0. 420, P > 0. 05). At 12mo after operation, the complete success rate reached 78% and the conditional success rate reached 92%. There were 5 eyes complicated with shallow anterior chamber, 3 eye complicated with anterior chamber hemorrhage, which all recovered after additional treatments. Late complications included valve exposure and encapsulated cystic blebs around the plate. Severe corneal endothelium loss occurred in 1 patient.
CONCLUSION: Ahmed glaucoma valve implantation is effective in reducing IOP at 1-year follow-up in refractory glaucoma patients with prior sequential failed trabeculectomy, but we should fully understand and attach great importance to all kinds of complications that may occur.

Objective To study the feasibility and curative effect of transumbilical single-incision (TSIL) vs multiple-incision (MIL) laparoscopic splenectomy.Methods Ten cases (2 cases of idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura,1 case of hereditary spherocytosis,3 cases of splenic hemangioma and 4 cases of cirrhotic splenomegaly) underwent TSIL from Jan 2010 to Ju12011,and 12 cases (3 cases of ITP,2 cases of hereditary spherocytosis,3 cases of splenic hemangioma and 4 cases of splenomegaly) underwent MIL.Clinical data were compared with each other.Results No severe complications occurred in either group.The mean operation time of single-incision group and multiple-incision group was ( 182 ± 23 ) min and ( 169 ± 19) min,and blood loss was( 160 ± 13 ) ml and ( 155 ± 16) ml ( P ＞ 0.05 ).The post-operative pain score in TSIL and in MIL group was respectively [ ( 1.60 ± 0.20) vs (3.60 ± 0.90) on day 1,P ＜ 0.05 ; (0.50 ±0.10) vs (2.00 ±0.45) on day 2,P ＜0.05].There was no significant difference between the two groups in the recovery of the gastrointestinal function,the length of hospital stay and the cost of hospitalization, all P ＞ 0.05.The umbilical incision in TSIL cases is more cosmetic.Conclusions Transumbilical single-incision laparoscopic splenectomy is feasible and safe in experienced hands.

Animals ; Electric Stimulation ; Neurons ; pathology ; physiology ; Pain Threshold ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Red Nucleus ; pathology ; physiology

The veins on the dorsum of the foot have been dissected and observed on 200cases of the Chinese adult lower extremities.The great saphenous vein is the chief draining vessel of the hallux,the toes andthe skin of the dorsum of the foot.The position and the tributaries of this vessel areconstant.Its diameter ranges from 1.9 to 5.0mm,with an average of 3.2mm.The dorsal venous arch is usually single(93%),double arches are seen in 6%,and absent in 1%.According to the form of reflux,the dorsal venous arch may begrouped into five types.In the most common type,the arch is continuous withthe great saphenous vein and the anterior malleolar branch of the small saphenousvein(49.5%).The dorsal metatarsal veins usually drain directly into the dorsal venous arch.Some of the neighboring dorsal metatarsal veins may drain through a commontrunk.The perforating veins on the dorsum of the foot may be divided into threedifferent groups:the anterior malleolar,marginal and intermetatarsal group.Thelatter usually drains into the dorsal venous arch at the base of the first intermeta-tarsal space.The valves of the superficial veins on the dorsum of the foot were also observed.There is no valve in the lateral part of the dorsal venous arch,but there may beone or two valves in its most medial part(66.7%).It appears that the venousblood from the first metatarsal vein usually drains into the great saphenous vein.

AIM: To observe the efficacy of surgical excision combined with autologous limbus conjunctival flap transplantation in the treatment of pterygium accompanied with conjunctival cyst.METHODS: Totally 126 patients 188 eyes with pterygium were hospitalized in Department of Ophthalmology of Tongji Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology during August 2013 and August 2015.The patients were divided into two groups: observation group (11 eyes of 11 patients) with pterygium accompanied with conjunctival cyst and control group (177 eyes of 115 patients) with primary pterygium.All patients underwent slit lamp microscope examination, anterior segment photography, and anterior segment optical coherence tomography(OCT).The size of pterygium was calculated by multiplying neck width and length of the covered corneal.All patients underwent excision combined with autologous conjunctival flap transplantation, and the resections were performed pathological section with hematoxylin and eosin staining.All patients were followed up postoperatively for 4-28mo.RESULTS: All cases in the observation group were confirmed by postoperative pathological examination.All cyst walls were complete, and containing single layer of epithelial cells.The mean size of pterygium of the observation group was 6.9±1.7mm2, and 6.3±1.8mm2 for the control group.There was no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05).The mean postoperative healing time of observation group was 2.1±0.9d, and 1.9±0.8d for the control group.There was no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05).Recurrence was seen in two eyes within the follow-up period in the control group, and no recurrence in the observation group.CONCLUSION: Surgical excision combined with autologous limbus conjunctival flap transplantation is a safe and effective treatment for pterygium accompanied with conjunctival cyst.

Objective To compare the dosimetric difference between jaw tracking technique (JTT) and static jaw technique (SJT) in dynamic intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for preoperative radiotherapy of rectal cancer patients.Methods Jaw tracking and static jaw were used to develope the intensity-modulated plans for 10 patients respectively.For all the patients,the dose to surrounding tissues was minimized as low as possible,the 95％ volume of the planning target volume (PTV) and planning gross target volume (PGTV) satisfy the prescribed dose.The doses of the planning target volumes,organs at risk and normal tissue were detected by dose-volume histogram.Two groups of treatment plan dose were verified by ionization chamber array 2D-Array 729 and OCTAVIUS (PTW) phantom.Results The treatment plans of two groups could satisfy the clinical requirements.There was no significant difference between the maximum and the mean dose of target.The volumes of jaw tracking dynamic intensity-modulated radiotherapy were lower,including the V5,V10,V20,V30,V40 (volumes receiving 5,10,20,30 and 40 Gy,respectively),mean dose(D) for body and V10,V20,V30,D for bilateral femoral head,bladder,and small intestine.There was significant difference for the results (t =-2.32-12.24,P ＜0.05).The verification results showed that the treatment plans were all passed the dosimetric verification.Conclusions Jaw tracking intensity-modulated radiotherapy and jaw fixed IMRT plan could achieve equal dose coverage in patients with rectal cancer,while jaw tracking techniques could reduce normal tissue dose and organs at risk dose.

Objective To investigate the changes of A20 expression stimulated by free fatty acids (FFA) and its pathway.Methods HepG2 cells and U937 cells were stimulated by 0.5 mmol/L mixed FFA.The expression of A20,phosphor-p65 and phosphor-IκBα of neclear factor (NF)-κB pathway and phosphor-c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK),JNK,phosphor-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK),ERK,phosphor-p38 and p38 of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway were detected by Western blotting.The level of interleukin (IL)-12p,IL-1β,tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α,IL-6,IL-10 and IL-8 cytokines in the supernatant of cell culture were detected by flow cytometry.T-test was performed for statistical analysis.Results The level of A20 changed along with the stimulated time of FFA.NF-κB and MAPK pathways were activated after FFA stimulation.The secretion of IL-6 and IL-8 increased after HepG2 cells stimulated by FFA and both reached peak at 24 hour.Compared with control group,the difference in IL-8 was statistically significant ((423.8 ± 8.9) pg/mL vs (12.4 ± 4.5) pg/mL,t=41.28,P＜0.01).The difference in IL-6 was also statistically significant ((4 082±423.6) pg/mL vs (52.9±29.5) pg/mL,t=9.49,P＜0.01).After U937 cells were stimulated by FFA,the secretion of IL-8 increased compared with control group.And in a certain period of time the secretion was time dependence.The maximum secretion of 24 hours was (200.6±5.7) pg/mL vs (5.0±3.9) pg/mL,and the difference was statistically significant (t=28.16,P＜0.01).IL-10,IL-12p,IL-1β and TNF-α were detected.Both NF-κB pathway and MAPK pathway were detected.Conclusions The in vitro FFA mediated steatotic cell model could induce the expression change of A20 and secretion of inflammatory cytokines.NF-κB and MAPK pathways involved in the response to FFA in HepG2 cells and U937 cells.

Objective To study the influence of postnatal high protein feeding on learning and memory abilities of preterm rats.Methods After weaning,the SD offspring were divided into 6 groups randomly according random digits table:preterm standard protein group (group A),term standard protein group (group B),preterm low protein group (group C),term low protein group (group D),preterm high protein group (group E),and term high protein group (group F),with 34 rats in each group.Starting from 22 days of age,the standard protein group,low-protein group and the high-protein group were respectively fed with a standard protein diet (containing 18％ protein),low-protein diet (containing 8％ protein) and a high-protein diet (containing 30％ protein) until the end of experiment.Within each group,the rats were respectively tested in 6 weeks and 8 weeks.Morris water maze task was performed to assess the learning and memory abilities of the premature rats.Results 1.Directional navigation experiments:(1) At the age of 6 weeks,the escape latencies to find the platform were shortened with increased training times for full-term rats.The escape latencies of the premature rats did not change significantly on the third and fourth day of the experiment.(2) At the age of 8 weeks,the escape latencies to find the platform were shortened with increased training time for all of the rats.2.Probe trial test:(1)At the age of 6 weeks,premature rats spent significantly less time in target quadrant than full-time rats.And the percent age of traveled distance in target quadrant of premature rats was significantly less than full term rats (P ＜ 0.05).(2) At the age of 8 weeks,group E [(68.48 ± 20.65) s] spent significantly greater time in target quadrant than group A and group C [group A(52.41 ± 11.24) s,group C (49.54 ± 11.04) s].And the percent age of traveled distance in target quadrant of group E [(36.56 ± 10.44) ％] were significantly higher than group A and group C [group A (29.83 ± 8.33) ％,group C (26.97 ± 5.41) ％] (P ＜ 0.05).(3) At the age of 8 weeks,group E spent time in target quadrant and the percent of traveled distance in target quadrant [(68.48 ± 20.65) s,(36.56 ±10.44)％] were higher than group F [(61.29 ± 16.27) s,(35.71 ±6.61)％],but there was no significant difference (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions In the early growth and development process of the brain,premature birth may seriously affect early brain functions in rats,and the learning and cognitive abilities of the premature rats are worse than full-term rats.In the subsequent process of growth and development,after a long time of high protein nutritional intake,the learning and cognitive abilities of the premature rats can be restored and they can catch up with full-term rats.

A 37-year-old female was admitted to the hospital for an itching and painful subcutaneous nodule with ulceration on the extensor aspect of her left forearm for more than 6 months.The pain was severe,continuous and localized.Systemic and local treatment with antibiotics resulted in no obvious improvement.The lesion had gradually increased in size over the past 6 months and the ulcer had enlarged for 1 month.On examination,a hard infiltrative plaque measuring about 5.5 cm × 4.0 cm with a well-defined margin was seen on the extensor aspect of her left forearm,along with ulceration and some dirty discharge on the surface.The diagnosis of fibrosarcoma,grade Ⅱ was eventually made by a biopsy of the lesion,which revealed increased pigmentation in the basal layer,and tumor tissue was tightly adherent to the epidermis.Dermis and subcutaneous fat layer were infiltrated with various sizes of spindle cells with fine collagen fiber bundles between the cells.Obvious atypia and mitotic figures were easily observed in some of the cells.Immunohistochemical analysis showed moderately positive staining for fibronectin,but negative staining for human melanoma black-45 (HMB45),S100,smooth muscle actin (SMA),Melan-a,high molecular weight cytokeratin (HCK),CD34,CD68 or cytokeratin.Some diseases should be differentiated from this case,including dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans,cutaneous spindle cell squamous carcinoma,atypical fibroxanthoma,malignant fibrous histiocytoma,and so on.

Objective To review our experiences of diagnostic methods and surgical treatment of the left superior vena cava (LSVC) draining into the left atrium.Methods Nineteen patients with LSVC draining into the left atrium were diagnosed and treated surgically from February 1998 to January 2012.All the cases were combined with other congenital heart diseases including patent ductus arteriosus,ventricular septal defect,atrial septal defect,single atrium,triatriatum,partial endocardial cushion defect,anomalous pulmonary venous drainage,right ventricle outflow stenosis,pulmonary valve stenosis,tetralogy of Fallot,double outlet right ventricle,complete endocardial cushion defect,tricuspid atresia.The patients were diagnosed through different methods including echocartiographic examination,cardiac catheterization,computer tomography,and explored during the operation,even postoperatively.All were treated surgically with four techniques including simple ligation to the LSVC,including ligation during a redo procedure; intra atrial rerouting to drainage the flow from the LSVC to the right atrium,atrial septum reconstruction to make the outlet of the LSVC lying in the right side of the patched atrial septal,and bidirectional Glenn shunt to get a physiological result.Results No mortality postoperatively.All the cases were uneventful postoperatively.And the main postoperative course was related only to the main diagnosis of congenital heart disease,not to the left superior vena cava draining into the left atrium.The echo examination result was satisfied before the discharge.The early and long term follow-up(1-11 years) results are excellent,no arrhythmia,no cardiac deficits after echo examination,including stenosis obstruction and residual shunt.No death.Conclusion The diagnostic methods of the LSVC draining into the left atrium are difficult,the only way to make the diagnosis clearly enough before the operation is depending on improving of more and more comprehending to this rare cardiac anomaly,by the pediatric cardiologists,the sinologist,the intensive care unit,and the pediatric cardiae surgeons.The choice of different surgical treatment is depending on the diagnosis and the findings during the operations,and the results are excellent after a suitable choice made.