Biomedical subjects

Charan Mahatumarat

Publications and source records attributed to Charan Mahatumarat.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Correction of the frontoethmoidal encephalomeningocele with minimal facial incision: modified Chula technique.

BACKGROUND: At present all surgical techniques to correct the frontoethmoidal encephalomeningocele require extensive incisions over the mass and perinasal area, thus adding scars to the already-disfigured faces. This study demonstrates a possibility of doing definitive surgery with minimal facial incision. METHODS: The technique follows the principles of the "Chula technique," which is the one-stage definitive technique without formal frontal craniotomy. However facial incision was kept to minimum, or even avoided, while amputation of the herniation, dural repair, skull defect closure, and repositioning of the medial canthal ligaments were performed mainly via the coronal incision. RESULTS: There were 20 patients operated on using this modified Chula technique. No perinasal incision was needed at all in three patients (15%) with F1 masses (small- and medium-sized masses according to the "FEEM classification"). Three patients with F1 masses had only small stab incisions just medial to the medial canthus for medial canthopexy. The rest (70%) consisting of two F2 (large-sized) masses and twelve F1 masses had limited nasal incisions just to help removing the facial masses and correcting facial deformity. With an average of 287 days of follow-up period (14-997 days), there had been no cerebrospinal fluid leakage or disease recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Correction of the frontoethmoidal encephalomeningocele can be done safely via the coronal incision alone while facial incision can be omitted or, if necessary, kept to minimum.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Reduction malarplasty without external incision: a simple technique.

BACKGROUND: The concept of Eastern facial beauty is different from that of the Western. Prominent malar bones are perceived as unattractive by Easterners, including the Thai. Many techniques for malar reduction, such as chiseling or burring of the zygomatic body, are ineffective in reducing facial width. At present, the concept of medial movement of the zygomatic body is accepted as the treatment of choice. However, all current approaches leave some external facial scars, usually at the preauricular area. OBJECTIVE: A new, effective, and simple technique for reduction malarplasty that leaves no external scars is described here by the authors. METHOD: The technique consists of a purely intraoral approach to remove a segment of anterior zygomatic body, to create a greenstick fracture at each zygomatic arch, and to medially mobile the zygomatic body, which is then fixed by wiring at the end. RESULTS: All eight patients who underwent this surgical procedure have satisfactory results without complications after one to six years of follow-up. CONCLUSION: This technique represents another step of improvement in cosmetic craniofacial surgery to reduce both anterior and lateral projections of the malar eminences for better facial harmony.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

FGFR2 mutations among Thai children with Crouzon and Apert syndromes.

Crouzon and Apert syndromes have been reported to be associated with mutations in Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 2 (FGFR2) gene in various ethnic groups, but never in Southeast Asian subjects. Therefore, the authors conducted a study to characterize 11 Thai patients: four with Crouzon syndrome and seven with Apert syndrome. All cases are sporadic. Mean paternal and maternal ages were 38.7 and 28.6 years, respectively. Molecularly, all patients were found to have mutations in the FGFR2 gene. Three mutations (C278F, S347C, S351C) were detected in all Crouzon patients with two having S351C. The seven patients with Apert syndrome have either S252W or P253R mutation. The authors' findings that sporadic cases were associated with advanced paternal age and that they all had mutations in FGFR2 are consistent with previous reports. This is another observation supporting the causative role of FGFR2 mutations in Crouzon and Apert syndromes.

Acrocephalosyndactylia↗

PubMed2003

Normal palatal sutures in newborns and fetuses: a critical fact for successful palatal distraction.

Distraction osteogenesis (DO) has recently been applied to the palate. Successful posterior lengthening and medial advancement of the palates was continuously reported. Based on these studies, it is obvious that DO will play a major role in the management of problems related to palatal defects in the near future. Although the results are appealing, they may not be applicable for humans due to anatomic differences. All experimental studies used normal palatal sutures of young dogs for size expansion. Therefore, it is necessary to know normal palatal sutures in infants before one can clinically apply this new technique. With consent, palates of fetuses and neonates who died of various causes were examined. Eight fresh cadavers were available for the dissection, with two being skeletonized using the boiling process. There were three fetal deaths in utero (33-41 weeks of gestational age) and five postnatal deaths (aged between 5 hours and 6 months). All specimens were grossly normal in shape and size except for one with a unilateral complete cleft of lip and palate. A midline palatal suture was found in every noncleft specimen, while premaxillary and transverse palatomaxillary sutures were present in every specimen. Laterally, there was no true suture except for the most posterior portion, which was contiguous with the greater palatine foramen. The palatal sutures of third-trimester fetuses and neonates are not different from adult ones. There is no lateral suture that will allow distraction in the medial direction. It is only the posterior hard palate (palatine bones) that can potentially be moved medially and posteriorly by sutural expansion with DO.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Frontoethmoidal encephalomeningocele: surgical correction by the Chula technique.

This study reevaluates a surgical technique known as the Chula technique, previously reported in 1991 for correction of frontoethmoidal encephalomeningocele. From 1986 to 1999, 108 patients were operated on with this technique, which could remove the herniation mass, repair dural and bone defects, reconstruct the naso-orbital area, and restore aesthetic facial appearance in a single stage. Formal frontal craniotomy was not necessary. The result has been very satisfying in terms of safety, cure rate, and aesthetic outcome. Spontaneous improvement of lacrimal passage obstruction occurred in 85.2 percent of cases, and dacryocystorhinostomy was required in the rest. There was no mortality. Complications (e.g., wound infection, 6.5 percent; wire extrusion, 3.7 percent; meningitis, 2.8 percent; cerebrospinal fluid leakage, 2.8 percent; and postoperative increased intracranial pressure, 2.8 percent) were much less frequent than in other reports. With a mean follow-up period of 439 days (maximum, 12 years), there has been no recurrence.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Distinct craniofacial-skeletal-dermatological dysplasia in a patient with W290C mutation in FGFR2.

Mutations in the fibroblast growth factor receptor genes (FGFR) have been known to be associated with many craniosynostosis syndromes with overlapping phenotypes. We studied a 15-year-old Thai boy with an unspecified craniosynostosis syndrome characterized by multiple suture craniosynostoses, a persistent anterior fontanel, corneal scleralization, choanal stenosis, atresia of the auditory meatus, broad thumbs and great toes, severe scoliosis, acanthosis nigricans, hydrocephalus, and mental retardation. Radiography revealed bony ankyloses of vertebral bodies of T9-12, humero-radio-ulnar joints, intercarpal joints, distal interphalangeal joints of fifth fingers, fibulo-tibial joints, intertarsal joints, and distal interphalangeal joints of the first toes. The patient was a heterozygous for a 870G --> T change resulting in a W290C amino acid substitution in the extracellular domain of the fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 gene (FGFR2). This mutation has previously been reported in a patient with severe Pfeiffer syndrome type 2 that is distinct from the craniosynostosis in our patient. These findings emphasize locus, allelic, and phenotypic heterogeneity of craniofacial-skeletal-dermatological syndrome due to FGFR2 mutations.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗