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Biomedical subjects

A J Aho

Publications and source records attributed to A J Aho.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Operative treatment of unstable thoracolumbar fractures by the posterior approach with the use of Williams plates or Harrington rods.

Two similar groups of patients with unstable fractures and fracture dislocations of the thoracic or lumbar spine have been treated with the posterior application of Williams plates or Harrington distraction rods over a period of 10 years. The instrumentation was routinely removed from 13 to 19 months after insertion. The initial preoperative kyphotic angle was corrected by a mean of 4.5 and 6.9 degrees respectively. However, follow up after a minimum of four years has shown a loss of correction by a mean of 14.4 and 12.7 degrees to an angle of 21.9 degrees even in the Harrington rod cases. These results do not show the ability to maintain correction of deformity by either method with a dorsal approach. Reduction and stabilization of fractures of the spine should be directed to the anterior part of the vertebrae to overcome late deformity of the spine.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Painful spine after stable fractures of the thoracic and lumbar spine. What benefit from the use of extension brace?

In a series of 126 patients with conservatively treated stable fractures of the thoracic and lumbar spine, the fracture occurred most often (56%) in the thoracolumbar junction. The mean follow-up time was 7.2 years (range 5.5-10.7) and the mean age was 45.9 years (range 14-83). The radiological measurement of vertebral deformity and evaluation of clinical outcome showed that the patients with poor outcome had significantly greater anterior wall compression and kyphosis on admission than the patients with good outcome, but the deformity worsened similarly in both groups. The use of extension brace seemed to decrease subjective symptoms during the mobilization phase but it could not prevent the development of kyphosis deformity during the follow-up period. The results favour the conception of more effective treatment concerning patients with kyphosis of greater than or equal to 13 degrees or anterior wall compression of greater than or equal to 30% on admission, respectively.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Abdominal gynaecological emergencies in the surgical unit.

We have studied two types of emergency cases that occurred in the surgical unit who were found to have gynaecological aetiology: 1) patients with the so-called "morbus acutum dexter", i.e. appendicitis, or a gynaecological disease and 2) late complications in patients who had earlier benign gynaecological disease, usually such as tumour and surgery for it. The material with seven years follow-up consisted of 97 patients, who were treated during the periods 1959--60 and 1969--70. The relative numbers in both groups increased during the latter period. Of the patients in the reproductive age with suspected appendicitis, gynaecological diseases--mostly ovarian tumours with complications--constituted 7.6% of patients who had undergone appendicectomy in the surgical unit during the former period and 9.6% during the latter. The late complications consisted mainly of small bowel obstruction, resulting from adhesions caused by previous gynaecological surgery. The time interval between initial surgery and the obstruction was rather long, 3.5 years on the average. In the surgical unit the surgery was carried out in about two thirds of these patients. Our analysis demonstrates the necessity of recognizing cases with gynaecological aetiology as a significant factor in surgical practice; it has to be taken into consideration both in surgical and gynaecological education.

Abdomen, Acute↗
PubMed1979

Impaired lymphocyte transformation after accidental trauma.

The effect of accidental trauma on lymphocyte transformation induced by phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), concanavalin A (Con A), pokeweed mitogen (PWM) and purified protein derivative of tuberculin (PPD) was studied in 66 patients with minor, moderate or multiple trauma. An in vitro whole blood micromethod was used. The lymphocyte transformation induced by the mitogens and the antigen was impaired in patients with trauma in proportion to the severity of the injury. A decrease of lymphocytic responses to a very low level had prognostic value for the patient as indicated by the two patients with very low lymphocytic responses and serious infectious complications.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Appendicectomy during pregnancy.

Twenty-four appendicectomies were performed during intra-uterine pregnancy at the Department of Surgery of the University Central Hospital, Turku, in the period 1963--77. Six out of 14 cases of appendicitis occurred in the third trimester. The incidence of appendicitis during pregnancy was 1 : 1 445. In 9 cases the appendices removed were normal. The diagnostic difficulties were greatest during the final phase of pregnancy. The location of palpation tenderness in these cases differed from that in the cases with a normal appendix. Fever was generally slight and was sometimes completely absent. The appendix had perforated in 2 cases in both of which premature delivery occurred on the third postoperative day. The infant died in one of these two cases because of immaturity. The pregnancy of the other patients continued uneventfully to term. Appendicitis and appendecectomy performed in good time generally do not involve risk for the continued progress of pregnancy. Progesterone or isoxuprine may have beneficial effect on the course of the pregnancy.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Extra-abdominal desmoid tumour. Report of three cases.

Three cases of desmoid tumour in a lower extremity are described. Primary radical excision is necessary for this type of tumour, because of its clear tendency to recur. In the described cases surgery was complicated by the proximity of neural structures and blood vessels. Preoperative angiography was useful for determining the size of the tumour and its position in relation to large blood vessels. Pathologic vascularity was found in the tumours, but histologic examination revealed no sign of malignancy. The histologic structure of the tumours corresponded in all respects to benign fibromatosis, apart from a clear increase in the number of mast cells. The tumours showed a tendency to grow between the muscle fibres, though a pseudocapsule was observed at operation in two cases. None of the specimens from the extirpation line displayed any signs of tumour tissue, but this did not preclude recurrence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Inoperable and recurrent carcinoma of the rectum and rectosigmoid. Aspects of radiation treatment and prognosis.

35 patients treated with radiotherapy for recurrent (23) or primarily inoperable (12) rectal or rectosigmoid carcinoma are presented. The radiation treatment was delivered in 28 cases with megavoltage equipment, in two cases with a conventional X-ray unit and in seven cases with intracavitary radium or cathetron applications. 17 of the patients (49%) lived for more than one year. Six patients from the recurrent cases lived (26%) for more than two years, and four patients (17%) survived three years. Relief of symptoms was observed in at least 20 cases. The importance of early diagnosis of recurrent tumor is stressed especially in the follow-up of Dukes' A and B groups.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Patellectomy after fracture. Long-term follow-up results with special reference to functional disability.

Twenty-eight out of a group of 38 patients, who had undergone a patellectomy during the period 1950-70, were investigated clinically and radiologically. The results were compared with the subjective symptoms of the patients to see if there was a correlation. The follow-up period was 7.4 years on average. A good subjective result was reported by only six patients. The predominant subjective symptoms were weakness of the limb and pain on movement and/or exertion. The most usual findings were atrophy of the quadriceps muscle, crepitation, and palpation tenderness. The muscular power of the quadriceps was found to be greater than or equal to 75 per cent of the power of the intact knee in only seven cases (25 per cent).

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Complications following radiotherapy in gynaecological carcinoma: comparison between X-ray and megavoltage therapy.

The use of megavoltage therapy has in some investigations been shown to be associated with improvement in the prognosis of gynaecological carcinoma. Our purpose was to clarify whether the character or number of complications has changed with the increased effectiveness of treatment. During the years 1967-1970 a total of 449 cases of gynaecological carcinoma (cervical, endometrial, ovarian) were treated at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and the Department of Radiation Therapy, Turku University; tele-Cobalt was used for external radiation. The comparison period was the years 1963-1965 when 289 patients were treated, the external radiation then in use being X-ray therapy. Intracavitary radiation was given in both groups using the modified Stockholm method for cervical carcinoma and the Heyman method for endometrial carcinoma. Operative activity was about the same in both periods. Patients with cervical carcinoma treated with tele-Cobalt appeared to have a higher frequency of severe intestinal complications (12.4%) than patients receiving X-ray therapy (6.0%); the difference was not, however, statistically significant. The same is true concerning the treatment groups of ovarian cancer (4.8% and 0% respectively) and those of endometrial carcinoma (5.2% and 1.2%). However, if all the patients as a group are considered and also those with urological complications, the difference was significant (p less than 0.05), the frequency of complications being 7.6% for patients treated with tele-Cobalt and 4.2% for those treated with X-ray therapy. One must take into account that in all cases the most difficult complications were seen in patients treated with tele-Cobalt, where surgical treatment was necessary in 29%.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Experimental small bowel obstruction. Ultrastructural observations on liver and adrenal cortical function.

In experimental small bowel obstruction an increased proportion of smooth endoplasmic reticulum and an increased number of lysosomes were seen in many liver cells. The occurrence of cytoplasmic vacuoles as well as the glycogen depletion were not pathognomonic and in the toxic pathogenesis the ultrastructural damage in the liver was only of a low degree and can be explained as a reactive (e.g. detoxication) phenomenon. The increase of plasma corticosterone content (stress reaction) differed only slightly from that of the controls, but a severe disturbance of fluid balance (increase of hematocrit and decrease of serum Na+ and C1-) and circulation failure were the more conspicuous findings, compared to toxic liver cell disturbance in the pathogenesis of small bowel obstruction.

Adrenal Cortex↗