Biomedical subjects

R M Lifeso

Publications and source records attributed to R M Lifeso.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1992

Clinical and hemodynamic sequelae of lower-extremity, deep-vein thrombosis after total joint arthroplasty.

To determine the long-term sequelae of lower-extremity deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) after total hip or knee arthroplasty, 25 patients with venographically proven lower-extremity DVT were studied. A study group of 16 patients was available 14 months postoperatively. The results of clinical and hemodynamic evaluation were compared with those of a randomly selected group of patients who had negative venographic findings after total joint arthroplasty. There were no statistically significant differences in calf pain or swelling between the two groups. The presence of venous varicosities and pigmentation were unreliable indicators of the post-thrombotic syndrome. There were no statistically significant differences in vein patency, valve competency, and venous recovery times. There was a high incidence of hemodynamic abnormalities in the historically uninvolved extremities of patients with postoperative DVT.

Aged↗

PubMed1991

Triphasic bone scanning following porous-coated hip arthroplasty.

In a long-term follow-up evaluation of a homogenous group of patients with a standardized total hip arthroplasty for coxarthrosis, the imaging levels follow a predictable pattern over a prolonged period of time. Because of the prolonged nature of increased uptake in the static phases, the utilization of bone scanning in the early diagnosis and evaluation of the patient with a painful noncemented hip may have little value. Increased blood pool and blood flow studies may indicate localized pathology, but, at the present time, static images of noncemented hip arthroplasty within 12 months of surgery probably are of little diagnostic value.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Intermittent pneumatic compression versus coumadin. Prevention of deep vein thrombosis in lower-extremity total joint arthroplasty.

One hundred forty-nine consecutive patients requiring lower extremity total joint arthroplasty were randomized to either coumadin (52 patients) or intermittent pneumatic compression (48 patients) as prophylaxis against deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Forty-nine patients were excluded. When fully ambulatory, the presence or absence of DVT was diagnosed by ascending venography (90% of patients), nuclear venography, venous dopplers, or impedence plethysmography. The two groups were similar in average age (64 years), indication for arthroplasty (pain because of arthritis in 90%), gender (98% male), and average number of risk factors (2.4). Twenty-five percent of patients on coumadin and 25% of patients on intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) developed DVT. IPC was more effective than coumadin following primary total hip arthroplasties (THAs) (16% versus 24% incidence DVT); coumadin was more effective than IPC following primary total knee arthroplasties (TKAs) (19% versus 32% incidence of DVT). DVT developed in 36% of patients following revision arthroplasty. Seventy-five percent of all thrombi were proximal. Both IPC and coumadin were found to be safe; there was no increased perioperative bleeding in the coumadin group. Of three postoperative deaths, one was possibly due to pulmonary embolism (PE).

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Pyogenic spinal sepsis in adults.

Twenty adult patients presented with bacteriologically and histologically proven nontuberculous spinal sepsis. Thirteen patients presented with varying degrees of neurologic impairment. All patients underwent spinal decompression; in 11 this was combined with an anterior fusion using autogenous tricortical iliac grafts. All patients have recovered and are ambulatory, and no patient's disorder was made worse by surgery. Twenty-three separate organisms were cultured, only five of which were Staphylococcus. The antibiotic courses were shorter and pain relief more rapid with anterior fusion. All anterior bone grafts incorporated rapidly, and there was no progression of kyphosis or sequestration of grafts, regardless of organisms or level. The rational treatment of adult spinal sepsis necessitates the securing of tissue from the spine for histologic and bacteriologic examination. Pain relief, stabilization, and neural decompression can best be achieved with anterior decompression and fusion. Autogenous iliac crest grafts incorporate in the presence of sepsis.

Back Pain↗

PubMed1990

Post-traumatic squamous-cell carcinoma.

Between January 1, 1976, and January 1, 1986, we treated sixty-three patients who had histologically proved squamous-cell carcinoma that originated in a pre-existing scar or sinus of an extremity. In 49 per cent of the patients, metastases to regional lymph nodes either were present when the patient was first seen or subsequently developed. The age and sex of the patient, the etiology of the original scar, and the duration of illness bore no relationship to the result. The most significant factor in predicting the outcome was the grade of the tumor: for grade-I (low-grade) lesions, the incidence of metastasis was 10 per cent; for grade-II (moderately well differentiated) lesions, 59 per cent; and for grade-III (poorly differentiated) lesions, 86 per cent. Eleven patients had wide local excision of the lesion, which resulted in local recurrence in four patients and metastasis in three. Thirty patients had therapeutic amputation: one patient had recurrent disease and five patients had metastasis. Radical resection of lymph nodes after metastasis was uniformly unsuccessful in preventing additional metastasis. Ten patients who had a grade-II or grade-III tumor had prophylactic irradiation of the regional lymph nodes after the definitive operative treatment. At an average of thirty-seven months of follow-up, only one of them had metastasis. We recommend that well differentiated squamous-cell carcinoma be considered a low-grade tumor, according to the staging system for musculoskeletal neoplasms, and that more poorly differentiated squamous-cell carcinoma (grades II and III) be considered a high-grade lesion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

Squamous cell carcinoma of the extremities.

Between January 1976 and January 1983, 37 cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the extremities have been treated at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre by the authors. Each case has arisen in an area of preexisting scar or sinus. Twenty-nine cases were treated by definitive amputation, with 2 local recurrences and 12 nodal metastases. Seven cases had local excision, with three local recurrences and two nodal metastases. Recurrence rate was highest in Grade II and Grade III lesions, and 11 of 15 cases with Grade II disease had metastases to the regional lymph nodes an average of 5 months after surgery. With Grade I disease patients, 4 of 15 had nodal metastases an average of 5 months after surgery. Prophylactic regional nodal irradiation or node dissection was performed in seven cases. None of these cases have shown nodal metastases at an average of 24 months following definitive surgery and radiation. Routine prophylactic regional node irradiation is recommended in all cases of peripheral squamous cell carcinoma.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

Aneurysmal bone cysts of the spine.

Aneurysmal bone cysts of the spine are uncommon. In the English language literature, there have been less than one hundred reported cases. We present five examples, all of which arose in a vertebral body. One case is the first reported arising from the coccyx; one presented at the sixth thoracic vertebral body with complete paraplegia and two with extremely large abdominal masses and catastrophic bleeding during attempted open biopsy. All were resected by a one-stage anterior or combined anterior-posterior approach. Two cases were treated with preoperative irradiation because of profuse, life-threatening bleeding during biopsy, and 4 weeks later complete anterior excision was carried out without difficulty.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

Fractures of the thoraco-lumbar spine.

A personal prospective study of 98 consecutive patients presenting with neurological impairment and fractures or dislocations between the 9th thoracic and 2nd lumbar vertebrae bodies. Fifty-three patients underwent Harrington instrumentation, and 45 patients were treated recumbently. Neurological improvement was much better following Harrington rods in the complete paraplegia group but there was no difference in neurological recovery between the two groups in those with incomplete paraplegia. Forty-two patients who had been stabilised with Harrington rods underwent post-operative myelography or tomography to assess the adequacy of spinal decompression. The best results were in patients with adequate neural canal decompression. In 21 cases decompression had not been adequate, usually due to a stereotyped pattern in which the postero-superior aspect of the fractured body remained in the neural canal. All 21 underwent anterior decompression at an average of five months post injury. All the incomplete anterior decompression at an average of five months post injury. All the incomplete paraplegics (nine patients) regained the ability to walk, three of the 12 complete paraplegics improved and regained the ability to walk with bilateral ankle-foot orthoses. Neurological improvement was dependent upon the adequacy of spinal cord decompression and not upon Harrington rods. per se. Harrington rods alone were not adequate to decompress the spinal canal in 50 per cent of cases. The best results after anterior decompression occurred where neural compression was caused by a minimally displaced wedge fracture distal to T12.

Adult↗

PubMed1985

Spinal brucellosis.

Twenty-one patients with spinal brucellosis were reviewed. The disease is difficult to diagnose, and is often confused with spinal tuberculosis. Our study showed that it was best diagnosed by serology and bacterial culture; radiography and scanning were less helpful in the early stages. After only six weeks' antibiotic treatment, there was a 55% clinical and serological reactivation rate: better results were achieved after at least three months of treatment. The adequacy of treatment was best monitored with repeated agglutination titres, and the duration of treatment proved to be more important than the antibiotic agent itself. Surgical intervention was reserved for biopsy, severe neurological impairment, or for spinal stabilisation.

Adult↗

PubMed1985

Tuberculous spondylitis in adults.

We treated 107 adults with spinal tuberculosis. The average age was 41.8 years (range, sixteen to seventy-five years). Diagnosis was difficult: bone scans were negative in 35 per cent; gallium scans, negative in 70 per cent; and results of tuberculin skin tests, negative in 14 per cent. Five neurologically impaired patients had no discernible bone lesions when they were first seen but were found to have either intradural or extradural tuberculomas or tuberculous arachnoiditis. Our indications for a spinal operation were neurological impairment, spinal instability, or failure of medical management, and an operation was required in fifty-three of the 107 patients. Anterior decompression and fusion was the surgical procedure of choice. Ninety-four per cent of neurologically impaired patients recovered normal neurological function after anterior decompression; 79 per cent, after non-surgical treatment; and 55 per cent, after laminectomy. Neurological recovery and relief of pain occurred more rapidly in the surgically treated group. Kyphosis did not worsen in any patient, whether treated medically or surgically. There were no organisms that were resistant to isoniazid, rifampin, or ethambutol, and there was neither progression nor reactivation of disease after twelve months of adequate chemotherapy.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1984

The radiological diagnosis of tuberculosis of the adult spine.

Tuberculosis remains endemic in the United States with an estimated incidence of 15.9 cases per 100,000 population. In North America and Saudi Arabia tuberculosis of the spine is primarily a disease of adults. In Saudi Arabia the average age on presentation is 41 years. Spinal tuberculosis begins classically in the anterior inferior portion of a vertebral body. The infection spreads beneath the anterior longitudinal ligament to involve adjacent vertebral bodies. Disc space narrowing is a secondary phenomenon, occurring when destruction of the cancellous bone permits herniation of the disc into the affected vertebral body. Initially the lesion is purely lytic, so that in the early phase bone scanning, both with technetium polyphosphate and gallium, is often negative. With combination chemotherapy virtually all patients are curable, but early treatment demands early diagnosis. As the incidence of Pott disease has decreased so too has the medical awareness of this condition. Many physicians now believe it to have been totally eradicated. Particularly in the older age group, in whom other infections, tumours, and metabolic conditions are common, the differential diagnosis of a spinal lesion should include tuberculosis. The grossly destructive changes observed characteristically in children tend to develop only late in adults, making recognition of the early manifestations of the infection in the older patient much more important.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1984

The treatment of infected and uninfected non-union.

One hundred and sixteen patients with 129 ununited fractures were treated either by rigid internal fixation and bone grafting or, in 14 tibial non-unions, by posterolateral bone grafting. In 37 actively infected cases this was combined with sequestrectomy and appropriate antibiotics. The final success rate was 98.4%. Technical errors or inadequate immobilisation after operation in patients with severe osteoporosis led to some early failures. No patient had a discharge or evidence of osteomyelitis after removal of metal. Rigid internal fixation with or without bone grafting is the treatment of choice for established non-union with bone loss when true synovial pseudarthrosis is present, when malalignment or shortening needs correction, and when prolonged immobilisation is either difficult or would lead to unacceptable stiffness in adjacent joints. Active osteomyelitis is not a contra-indication to internal fixation.

Adolescent↗