Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A T Ethell.
A patient reported symptoms of upper airway obstruction for 4 years. His symptoms worsened with a viral upper respiratory infection and he suffered acute respiratory arrest. He was resuscitated and a large goitre with intrathoracic extension which was compressing the trachea was resected. The mechanisms of upper airway compromise by goitre are discussed. The symptoms of the effect of goitre on the airway are reviewed.
A case of a 28-year-old man surviving traumatic hemipelvectomy is presented. This patient is the first reported survivor in Australia of traumatic hemipelvectomy and one of few survivors reported in the world literature. Accurate and rapid early management including good resuscitation, rapid transport to the operating room and an aggressive team surgical approach all contributed to survival. Acute complications can be kept to a minimum by adhering to the approach of rapid resuscitation and early intervention by a team of surgeons. Associated dislocation of the contralateral hip with sciatic nerve damage and subsequent heterotopic calcification has not been previously reported and presents a significant obstacle to rehabilitation. Early attention to the psychological status of the patient and early involvement of rehabilitation specialists is advocated.
A ganglion of the temporo-mandibular joint presenting as a tumour of the deep lobe of the parotid gland is described. This appears to be the first description of such a case in the literature. Simple excision of the lesion after mobilization of the superficial lobe was performed. This form of management gives a very good cosmetic result for the occasional simple cyst of the deep parotid lobe. The ganglion reported in this paper presented as a parotid tumour. It was managed by mobilization of the superficial part of the gland from the facial nerve until the nature of the lesion was determined. The fact that the superficial lobe of the gland was not excised has caused no ill effect to the patient but has given a better cosmetic result by preventing the usual pre-tragal depression. Conservative surgery has previously been suggested in similar cases (Brennan et al., 1970).