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Biomedical subjects

R Varenna

Publications and source records attributed to R Varenna.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

[The phantom breast syndrome].

BACKGROUND: The phantom breast syndrome (PBS) is a complication of mastectomy which consists of a sensation of breast persistence after mastectomy. MATERIALS, PATIENTS AND METHODS: The incidence, clinical course and location of PBS in 97 operated women were studied for a 15-year period. All women were interviewed in postoperative follow-up controls after mastectomy. RESULTS: The incidence of PBS was 29 patients out of the 97 total. The syndrome was present for more than 48 months in eleven of these patients. In most cases the location of "phantom sensations" was the nipple (15 cases) and the entire breast in five patients. In only three patients was phantom breast pain (PBP) reported whereas some discomfort was reported by the other patients. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of PBS in our series was similar to that reported by other authors, but PBP was less common. Neither postoperative sequelae nor the antitumoral specific therapy seemed to have influence on the emergence of PBS.

Adult

[Transverse colon atresia. Case presentation (author's transl)].

The Authors report about a case of colonic atresia localized on the transverse colon a few cms after the right flexure curd by one time resection and end-to-end anastomosis. The pathology of the lesion is atypical since features of Bland-Sutton and Louw's classification types II and III were mixed together at the atresia site while the radiological features were those typical of type II.

Colon

[Induction of general anesthesia with ketamine for short surgical interventions in pediatric patients with chronic hepatic pathologies].

Serum levels of bilirubin and of other four enzymes known to be elevated in liver diseases were measured preoperatively and controlled on the first and fourth postoperative day in 14 children with chronic liver disease and anesthetised for liver biopsy using Ketamine (7 patients, group A) or other drugs (group B). Serum levels of gamma GT, Ph. Alk, direct and indirect bilirubin show neither significant variations nor differences between the two groups of patients. SGOT and SGPT basal levels were similar in the two groups and were rather two-fold the normal values. At the first postoperative day, in group B only SGOT levels increased significantly. Moreover, their increase over the basal levels monitored at the first day was significantly lower in the group of patients anesthetised with Ketamine than in group B. In group A, SGPT values were constant showing a small, non significant decrease, while in group B, above levels present a significant increase at the postoperative day and a significant difference between the two groups. At the fourth day, SGOT and SGPT differences versus basal values were not significant. Our experience shows that - as known by normal subjects - Ketamine has no hepatic toxicity in pediatrics patients affected by chronic liver disease, too. Finally, our study suggests that Ketamine must be used in hepatopath children whenever they have to be submitted to total anesthesia.

Anesthesia, General

[Sylvatic rabies: a pediatric problem?].

Rabies epizooty has been recently reported from several Italian provinces: Bolzano, Udine, Belluno, Brescia, sondrio, Varese, Como and Bergamo. The rate of spread of the infection through wild animals has been estimated in 50 Km/year. We have reviewed the fundamental characters or rabies virus, the pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of disease. Furthermore the fundamental guidelines of passive and active immunization will be stressed with spread emphasis to the pre-exposition active immunization in children-living in high risk areas.

Animals

[Long-term development of chronic hepatitis caused by virus B in childhood].

Ten children with chronic hepatitis B have been followed for at least 3 years. All patients received 2 liver biopsies, the first after 1 year of continuous liver disfunction and HBsAg positivity, and the second 2 years after, that showed a mild improvement of the histologic lesions in 4 cases of chronic persistent hepatitis (CPH) and in 1 case of chronic lobular hepatitis (CLH). Three children out of 5 with chronic active hepatitis (CAN) changed to CPH and the other 2 remained unchanged without any evidence of cirrhosis. No patient received any drug for the treatment of hepatitis.

Biopsy

[Biliary atresia: pathogenetic considerations emerging from the histopathologic analysis of the liver parenchyma].

Nine patients had been surgically treated for extrahepatic biliary atresia from 1974 to 1982. The analysis of the hepatic specimens obtained during the surgical exploration revealed a wide spectrum of histopathologic lesions. In 3 patients we found severe Giant-cell transformation, while in the other 6 it was not possible to ascribe the histopathologic picture to a univocal pathogenesis. Comparing our results to the reports of other Authors we believe biliary atresia can not be explained by a single pathologic mechanism. The obstruction of the extrahepatic bile ducts might be the common morphologic denominator of different pathologic entities, from each of them it depends a different evolution of the hepatic lesions and a different survival after Kasai's operation.

Bile Ducts