Objective To summarize our experience in prevention and treatment of stricture after esopageal burns in the past thirty years.Methods There were 168 cases in this series.Of them,158 cases underwent surgical management in this study.Modified intraluminal stenting was used in 34 cases, colon interposition without resection of strictured esophagus in 77 cases,gastric transposion with resection of the stricture in 27,repair of cervical stricture with platysma myocutaneous flap in 22,and miscellane- ous operation in 12.Eleven cases experienced operation twice or more at our department.Results Twenty-nine cases recovered after treatment with intraluminal stenting,and 5 re-experienced stricture after stent removal.One of the 5 cases with failed stent responded to bougienage,and the remaining 4 cases re- quired esophageal reconstruction later.Of the 77 colon interpositions,5 cases died postoperatively,and complications of cervical anastomotic fistula occurred in 14 cases,anastomotic stenosis in 4,and abdomi- nal incision dehiscence in 2 cases.In the 27 cases with gastric transpositions,postoperative complications of anastomotic stricture occurred in 2 cases and empyema in 1 patient.There was a cervical leak in 3 ca- ses of the 22 cases treated with the repair of cervical esopageal or anastomotic stricture with a platysma myocutaneous flap.In the 12 cases treated with miscellaneous operation,one died of intestinal obstruc- tion.All the survivors had regular diet after discharge.Conclusions Intraluminal stenting can prevent the formation of caustic esophageal stricture.The location of the cicatricial esophagus dictates whether to perform concomitant esophagectomy during esophageal reconstruction.Platysma myocutaneous flap repair is an excellent method for the treatment of severe cervical esophageal or anastomotic stricture.

AIM: To evaluate the relationship between damages of visual field and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in primary open angle glaucoma (POAG)with highly myopia. POAG with highly myopia group (21 eyes of 17 cases), POAG with non-highly myopia group (17 eyes of 16 cases), highly myopia without POAG group (25 eyes of 20 cases) and normal control group (19 eyes of 17 cases).automated perimeter and thickness of RNFL was measured by optical coherent tomography(OCT). Main outcome mean deviation (MD), pattern standard deviation (PSD) and mean sensitivity at superior, inferior, nasal and temporal sectors in total deviation probability plots. Thickness of RNFL at superior, inferior, nasal and temporal sector.total deviation probability plots of the early POAG with highly myopia than that of POAG without highly myopia,and the early visual field defects of glaucoma in pattern deviation probability plots of this group. MD of POAG with highly myopia was more than those of others (P＜0.05).The differences of MD, PSD and mean sensitivity between POAG with highly myopia and others were significant(P＜0.05).Mean sensitivities in each sector of POAG without highly myopia were similar to those of highly myopia(P＞0.05). The thickness of RNFL of POAG with highly myopia was thinner than that of others and the thickness of RNFL of normality was thicker than that of others. The relationship between mean sensitivity and the thickness of RNFL in each quadrant was significant(P＜0.05).judgment of the visual field changes in POAG with highly myopia. The relationship between RNFL thickness by OCT and visual field damage may provide clinically relevant information in diagnosis of POAG with highly myopia. Field; optical coherent tomography

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Computational Biology ; Database Management Systems ; Medical Informatics Applications ; Software

Objective　To explore the effect of video-assi sted thoracic surgery (VATS) on common diseases of chest. Methods　Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery was performed on 131 patients with ches t diseases from April 1994 to December 2000 in which 109 cases were spontane ous pneumothorax and hemothorax, 10 pulmonary tuberculoma, 5 pulmonary carcinoma , 3 esophageal carcinoma, 2 localized benign mesothelioma, 1 pulmonary hamartoma and 1 myasthenia gravis. Results　There was no operative death in all cases. Four patients with spontaneous pneumothorax complicated persist ent air leak(more than 7 d) and 1 patient with hemopneumothorax formed hemoth orax after the operation, which was stopped by the second VATS. The others recov ered well without any postoperative complications. Conclusion　 VATS is characterized by safety and mild tissue injury in the operation, and les s pain, fewer complications, rapid recovery and short duration of hospitalizatio n after the operation.

Cell Culture Techniques ; methods ; Fixatives ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; methods ; Tissue Fixation ; methods

OBJECTIVETo observe the experience and the outcome of pharyngo-colonic anastomosis for esophageal reconstruction in diffuse corrosive esophageal stricture involving hypopharynx.

METHODSThis retrospective report reviews the experience and results of 14 patients who underwent esophageal reconstruction by pharyngo-colonic anastomosis without resection of intra thoracic stricture esophagus. The left half colonic segment was pulled up to the neck through the substernal space in all patients.

RESULTSThere was no operative or hospital death. Postoperative complications include cervical anastomotic fistula in four patients, rupture of the abdominal incision in 1. The length of follow-up ranged from half year to 10 years with an average of 4 years. Anastomotic stenosis occurred in 2 patients. One case improved after dilatation and the other one healed by plastic operation. One patient began to vomit after diet in seven months later with barium swallowing the abdominal colon graft was redundant and this patient was cured with side by side between the colon and the stomach.

CONCLUSIONThe successful reconstruction for hypo-pharyngo-esophageal stricture requires a correct and larger hypopharyngeal opening and a good anastomotic technique. From our experience this procedure is shown to be safe and effective.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Anastomosis, Surgical ; Burns ; complications ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Colon ; surgery ; Esophageal Stenosis ; etiology ; surgery ; Esophagoplasty ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Pharynx ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies

Objective　To study the effect of epidermal growt h factor receptor(EGFR) on the development and progress of thymoma. Me thods Expression of EGFR was detected by immunohistochemical stain in t he tissues of 11 cases of normal thymus and 29 cases of thymoma. Result s　 The positive expression of EGFR was 75.9%(22/29) in thymomas and 18.2%(2/11) in normal thymus. The difference was significant(P<0.01). The positive rate of EGFR was higher in invasive thymomas than in non-invasive ones (P<0.01). T he positive rate of EGFR increased with Masaoka stage with a significant increm ent in Ⅲ-Ⅳ stage compared with I stage (P<0.01). EGFR was strongly expre ssed in 5 cases of invasive thymomas, in which recurrence or metastasis occurred in 3 during the follow-up period after operation. But there was no statistical correlation with whether complicated with myasthenia gravis (MG) and histolog ical type. Conclusion　EGFR might be related to the tumori genesis and development of thymoma. There is high risk of recurrence and metast asis in case of EGFR over-expression and radiotherapy, chemotherapy and follow up should be enhanced.

Introduction:The properties of a tumor itself were considered the main factors determining the survival of patients with locally recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). However, recurrent tumors were mainly evaluated by using the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system, which was modeled on primary tumors and did not incorporate the tumor volume. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic values of the primary tumor location and tumor volume, and to determine whether evaluating these parameters could improve the current staging system. Methods:Magnetic resonance (MR) images for 229 patients with local y recurrent NPC who underwent IMRT were analyzed retrospectively. Results:The skul base, parapharyngeal space, and intracranial cavity were the most common sites of tumors. There was a difference in the survival between patients with T1 and T2 diseases (77.6%vs. 50.0%, P<0.01) and those with T3 and T4 diseases (33.0%vs. 18.0%, P=0.04) but no difference between patients with T2 and T3 diseases (50.0%vs. 33.0%, P=0.18). Patients with a tumor volume≤38 cm3 had a significantly higher survival rate compared with those with a tumor volume>38 cm3 (48.7%vs. 15.2%, P<0.01). Conclusions:A new staging system has been proposed, with T3 tumors being down-staged to T2 and with the tumor volume being incorporated into the staging, which may lead to an improved evaluation of these tumors. This new system can be used to guide the treatment strategy for different risk groups of recurrent NPC.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the feasibility and curative effect of thymectomy for myasthenia gravis (MG) by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) through right anterior-lateral approach.

METHODSFifty-six patients of MG were treated with thoracoscopic thymectomy and mediastinal fat dissection through right anterior-lateral approach from August 2001 to October 2007. The feasibility, safety, complication and remission for MG were retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTSFifty-five operations were completed by VATS. The mean operative time and blood loss were (96.2 +/- 52.1) min and (68.7 +/- 21.4) ml, respectively. The brachiocephalic vein injury by the electric coagulator occurred in two cases and one of them performed thoracotomy for homeostasis, the other performed ligation. The postoperative pathology showed hyperplasia in 38 cases, atrophy in 5 cases, thymoma in 12 cases and cyst of thymus in 1 case. And the operative complication included one myasthenia crisis (1.8%) at the third day and one death (1.8%) at the eighth day because of postoperative hemorrhage. The average length of stay was (7.9 +/- 2.9) d. All cases were followed up from one to seventy months. Eight (14.3%) of complete remission, 39 cases (69.6%) of partial remission and 7 cases (12.5%) of no change were found. The total effective rate was 83.9%.

CONCLUSIONSThoracoscopic thymectomy through right anterior lateral approach is technically feasible, safe and minimally invasive. It has a high remission rate for MG.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Child ; Feasibility Studies ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myasthenia Gravis ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted ; Thymectomy ; methods ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To investigate the effect of I1imidazoline receptor(I1R)on the expression and function of α2Aadrener-gic receptor(α2AAR)at the cellular level.Methods After sequencing and enzymatic identification,the mouse I1R and α2AAR plas-mids were transfected into CHO cells,respectively.The radioligand receptor binding assay and flow cytometry were used to select sin-gle cell clones,and the CHO cell lines stably expressing the mouse I1R or α2AAR were established.The CHO cell line that stably ex-presses both the mouse I1R and α2AAR were also established by the same technology and strategy.Then,the radioligand receptor bind-ing assay was used to determine the affinity and expression of α2AAR. Further,the effects of I1R on the α2AAR expression and the α2AAR agonist dexmedetomidine(DEX)-induced extracellular regulated protein kinase(ERK)phosphorylation were evaluated by the Western blotting.Results After transfection of mouse I1R and α2AAR plasmids,CHO cells grew normally.In the saturation binding experiments of membrane proteins from the CHO cells that stably expressed α2AAR,the Kdand Bmaxvalues of 3H-RX821002 were(0.96 ± 0.24)nmol/L and(0.29 ± 0.03)nmol/g protein,respectively.The expression levels of I1R were significantly increased in both the CHO cells expressing I1R and the CHO cells co-expressing α2AAR and I1R(P<0.05,P<0.01),when the cells that express exogenous I1R or α2AAR alone were trasfected again with the I1R plasmids.Moreover,in the CHO cells that transfected both I1R and α2AAR sta-bly,the I1R expression upregulated the α2AAR expression(P<0.01),and further increased the ERK phosphorylation induced by DEX through activating α2AAR(P<0.01).Conclusion I1R could upregulate the α2AAR expression and the ERK phosphorylation in-duced by DEX through activating α2AAR in the CHO cells that express exogenous I1R and α2AAR.This study presents a groundwork for further exploration of the relationship between I1R and α2AAR at the molecular level in future.