Parathyroid carcinomas are rare neoplasms, with a reported incidence of less than 1% of cases of primary hyperparathyroidism. Diagnosis and treatment of parathyroid carcinoma remains a challenge, as many of the pathologic features are neither sensitive nor specific in differentiating from benign parathyroid lesions. The rule of 3’s (serum calcium of more than 3mmol/L and size of the adenoma being more than 3cm) is helpful in risk identifying a cancer. Ultrasound of the neck and Tc-99m pertechnetate/Tc-99m sestamibi (MIBI) scan remains the two main modalities of investigation of parathyroid disease. Although en-bloc treatment is recommended for parathyroid cancer, it is only performed in up to 12% of cases. This review illustrates the challenges in diagnosis and treatment of parathyroid carcinoma.

During induction of general anaesthesia, the act of laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation stimulates the sympathetic nervous system resulting in an increase in blood pressure and heart rate which may be harmful especially in elderly patients with pre-existing ischaemic heart disease. Several drugs have therefore been used to obtund this increase including esmolol, nicardipine, magnesium sulphate and lignocaine. This prospective, double blind randomised clinical trial compared the efficacy of magnesium sulphate and esmolol in attenuating haemodynamic responses to laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation. One hundred and twenty six ASA I-II patients scheduled for elective surgery requiring general anaesthesia with tracheal intubation were enrolled and randomised into two groups: Group 1 (n = 67) received MgSO4 40 mg/kg diluted in 100 ml normal saline administered over ten minutes, whereas Group 2 (n = 59) received a bolus of esmolol 1.0 mg/kg diluted to 10 ml. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures and heart rate were recorded every minute for subsequent 10 minutes following laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation. Attenuation of the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures following laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation was significantly larger in Group 2 compared to Group 1. Patients in Group 2 had significantly better suppression of heart rate response compared to Group 1 during the first four minutes after laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation (p<0.05). Attenuation of the haemodynamic response to laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation by esmolol 1.0 mg/kg was more pronounced compared to MgSO4 40 mg/kg in normotensive patients undergoing general anaesthesia for elective surgery.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is a rare cause of prosthetic joint infection. The diagnosis is challenging especially in cases of latent tuberculosis. QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFT®) is an interferon-gamma relative assay (IGRA) which is highly specific and sensitive for detection of MTB infection. We report a case of 76-year-old lady diagnosed with tuberculous prosthetic joint infection following total knee replacement. Histological examination of abnormal synovial tissue taken intraoperatively reveals chronic granulomatous lesion and raised suspicion of tuberculous infection in otherwise asymptomatic patient. The tuberculin skin test, MTB acid-fast stain and tuberculosis polymerase chain reaction were negative. The diagnosis dilemma was solved with positive result of QuantiFERON TB Gold Test. The patient was treated with anti-tuberculous drug without any surgical intervention. At five months follow-up, patient was clinically well with no symptoms and signs of infection
Interferon-gamma ; latent tuberculosis ; mycobacterium tuberculosis ; total knee replacement ; tuberculosis

Endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS) is a rare malignant tumour of the endometrium, accounts for less than 1% of all uterine malignancies. Routinely, it is diagnosed morphologically, supported by immunomarkers of CD10 and vimentin. CD56 is used widely in neuroendocrine tumour. In our current practice, CD56 is not used to support the diagnosis of ESS. We present a case of a postmenopausal lady with advanced ESS who had expression of CD56 upon immunohistochemical study
CD56 ; endometrial stromal sarcoma ; immunohistochemistry ; uterine leiomyoma ; vaginal neoplasm

Traditionally, treatment for thyroid diseases is associated with very high mortality and morbidity. Various techniques been performed in the past including finger dissection and the use of finger nails to remove the thyroid tissues. The earliest reported thyroidectomy was probably by Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi or Albucasis. It was mentioned that, he performed an enucleation of a thyroid nodule in the 11th century in Spain. This was followed by Salerno in the twelfth centuries, using different technique, including setons, hot irons and caustic powders. The first documented partial thyroidectomy was performed by Pierre Joseph Desault in 1791. But at that time, thyroidectomy was considered as a barbaric surgery with high mortality. The poor result and high mortality had lead to the imprisonment of surgeons and total ban of the operation by the French Academy of Medicine in 1850. The advancement of thyroid surgery was most obvious in the second half of the nineteenth century when Theodor Billroth managed to reduce the mortality dramatically, thanks to the establishment of antisepsis, arterial ligation and precise capsular dissection which was introduced at the same time. There was further improvement on the mortality of the thyroid surgeries to almost zero, but the basic principles remain the same: identification of the recurrent laryngeal nerves and preservation of the parathyroid glands. What becoming a more important issue is the surgery now been performed for smaller thyroid for cosmetic reason, with the need to avoid visible scar in the neck

The coracoid process is a bony projection arising from the antero-lateral aspect of the scapula. The variation in the height and length of the coracoid process are responsible for altered size and shape of the space between the coracoacromial arch and the rotator cuff. The study was conducted on sixty-four dry adult human scapulae of unknown age and sex with a view to elucidate the morphological and osteometric details. The length of coracoid process on right side was 41.01±3.55 mm and it was found to be 40.88±3.83 mm on left sided. The breadth of coracoid process was observed as 13.93±1.13 mm and 13.25±1.26 mm on right and left side respectively and the difference between the two sides was statistically significant (p=0.026). Thickness of the coracoid process was 8.59±1.32 mm and 8.01±1.16 mm in right and left sided scapulae. The acromiocoracoid distance was found to be 38.48±4.03 mm on right side and 35.51±3.83 mm on left sided scapulae and the difference between to the two sides showed high statistically significance (p=0.004). Mean coracoglenoid distance was noted 26.23±3.05 mm and 24.94±2.75 mm on right and left sided scapulae respectively. Values of the thickness of coracoid process recorded in the present study are at appreciable variance with the result of previous study. The coracoid process constitutes an important component of the scapular glenoid construct and is involved in many surgical interventions on the glenohumeral joint. Comprehension of standard morphometric details of the coracoid process is vital in traumatic cases, surgical interventions and replacement surgeries in the shoulder region.
Coracoid ; process ; scapula ; osteometric ; clinical

Perioperative intravenous (IV) dexamethasone is administered prophylactically for post operative nausea and vomiting. However, its glucocorticoid property which raises blood glucose is of concern, especially among diabetic patients. The surgical stress response also contributes to increased perioperative blood glucose. Prior studies showed higher glucose levels with dexamethasone 8 mg compared to 4 mg, hence we studied the effect of the lower dose amongst diabetic patients. This prospective, single blinded, randomised study recruited forty-six type 2 diabetes mellitus patients planned for surgery under general anaesthesia. They received IV dexamethasone 4 mg or saline (placebo) after induction of anaesthesia. Capillary blood glucose levels were recorded preoperatively, and subsequently at recovery (T0), and at 6, 12, 18 and 24 (T6, T12, T18, T24) hours post-operatively. Median glucose levels were higher at 9.0 [10.5-7.7] mmol/l in the dexamethasone group, versus 7.4 [9.2-5.9] mmol/l in the placebo group at T0, p = 0.022. Similarly at T6, the dexamethasone group recorded higher glucose levels of 11.2 [15.0-9.3] mmol/l, versus 7.7 [9.0-6.2] mmol/l in the placebo group, p = 0.001. This corresponded to a significant difference between the groups, in the change of glucose levels from baseline values, p = 0.042. Subsequent readings at T12, T18, and T24 were comparable between the groups. In conclusion, IV dexamethasone 4 mg in type 2 diabetic patients, resulted in higher glucose levels immediately postoperative and 6 hours later. The change in blood glucose from baseline levels was significant between the groups at 6 hours postoperatively. Glucose levels however remained within acceptable range of approved guidelines in both groups at all recorded intervals
capillary ; dexamethasone ; glucose ; postoperative ; type 2 diabetes mellitus

We compared the analgesic profile between patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) using oxycodone and morphine in post total abdominal hysterectomy patients. Eighty-four ASA I or II patients, aged 18 to 65 years who underwent total abdominal hysterectomy were recruited into this prospective, double blind, randomised controlled study. They were randomised to receive either PCA oxycodone 0.7 mg per bolus or PCA morphine 1 mg per bolus for postoperative pain relief. At the end of surgery, all patients received IV morphine 0.1 mg/kg and skin incision was infiltrated with 20 mls of bupivacaine 0.25%. Post-operative pain scores, opioids consumptions, sedation scores and side effects were assessed upon arrival and at 30 minutes after arrival to recovery area, as well as at 6 hours and 24 hours after the operation in the ward. Patients’ overall satisfaction was also assessed 24 hours postoperatively.No significant differences were observed in terms of postoperative pain scores, opioids consumption, sedation scores, side effects as well as patient’s overall satisfaction between the PCA oxycodone and PCA morphine group. Oxycodone was comparable to morphine as PCA in terms of total opioid consumption, pain scores and satisfaction level for patients undergoing total abdominal hysterectomy and therefore may be an alternative to morphine in postoperative pain management as PCA
morphine ; oxycodone ; pain scores ; patient controlled analgesia ; total abdominal hysterectomy

Traumatic injury to the eye can occur due to various causes, most of which are avoidable. Here we report three cases of intrastromal corneal foreign bodies (FB) which required surgical removal. Most corneal FBs are removed easily at the slit lamp, however, these cases required surgical intervention due to the mechanism of which the FB penetrated into the stroma. Although the mechanism of injury was similar, with all three cases occurring at high velocity, we observed that the entry and level of penetration differed in each case. In the first case, the corneal FB penetrated the cornea and was embedded in the anterior stroma, whereas in the second case, the FB was embedded in the posterior stroma, but with an intact endothelium. In the third case, the FB caused a full thickness, self-sealed laceration wound but remained embedded in the stroma. Through further evaluation, we noted that several factors contribute towards the severity of the injury, namely, anatomy of the cornea, area affected, shape, size, mass and velocity of the object. We speak in depth about the mechanism of injury and physics associated with these injuries and why the penetration differed in each case.
corneal stroma ; foreign bodies ; injury ; mechanics ; physics

Microperforate hymen is a rare vaginal anomaly that is usually reported in childhood due to recurrent urogenital infections. Unlike imperforate hymen where the presenting complaints are classical due to complete vaginal obstruction, the less profound and varied presentation of microperforate hymen may go unnoticed. We report a case of a 39-year-old, with a background history of amenorrhea, who presented with acute abdomen suggestive of tubo-ovarian abscess, and was finally diagnosed to have microperforate hymen. She underwent hymenectomy to correct the anomaly. To our knowledge, this is the oldest age of presentation of a congenital form of microperforate hymen. A high index of suspicion and early detection of microperforate hymen and properly timed intervention is essential to prevent acute symptoms and long term detrimental sequalae to women’s reproductive and psychosexual health
congenital anomalies ; imperforate hymen ; microperforate hymen ; surgical correction ; tubo-ovarian abscess