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Biomedical subjects

S Gfrörer

Publications and source records attributed to S Gfrörer.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

IORT (intraoperative radiotherapy) in neuroblastoma: experience and first results.

Intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) permits the application of a single large radiation dose to a malignant mass at the time of surgery sparing adjacent normal tissue from irradiation. Since 1996 we have used IORT to treat 13 children with neuroblastoma, stage 3 - 4. In all cases the tumour was not radically resectable at the first operation. Ultrasound, CT and MRI were performed and patients were treated with chemotherapy according to the NB90 protocol. The second-look operation was performed in the IORT operating room where the tumour was resected as completely as possible, while keeping the "no risk" principle in mind. Localised radiation of the residual tumour was 8 - 10 Gy. The child was monitored via 3 video cameras. No technical problems occurred during IORT application. The follow-up time was 6 - 69 months (May 2001). One patient died due to tumour progression, another in complete remission died after 9 months due to sepsis. The clinical course of 2 patients was complicated by a renal artery stenosis and a mesenteric artery occlusion. All other patients are in complete remission with regular follow-up examinations. Although the results are promising the number of patients is too small as yet for statistical analysis. However, IORT can be safely applied in patients with high-risk neuroblastomas, reducing the dose, side effects and resulting in remission.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗

Decrease of cholestasis under "continuous extracorporeal stool transport (CEST)" in prematures and neonates with stomas.

According to recent studies, the percentage of neonates suffering a combination of very low birth weight (VLBW) and intestinal malformation or diseases that require surgery has increased. As opposed to mature newborn, split stoma is the therapy of choice in VLBW infants. These neonates and patients with other causes for a congenital or acquired short-bowel syndrome usually require parenteral nutrition and have a high risk of a cholestasis. Until 1993, stoma patients were treated with a special diet in our department, but depending of the stoma site often required parenteral nutrition, while the non-used distal bowel was irrigated with an isotonic electrolyte solution. With this regime, up to 38.5% of the treated patients (10126) were found to have a hyperbilirubinemia (> 3 mg/dl) after the 21st day of life. 1994, we started to use a device that continuously transfers the intestinal chylus from the proximal into the aboral bowel via a pump like a continuous extracorporeal stool transport (CEST). In this study, we evaluated the risk of cholestasis by comparison of the prospectively investigated group (CEST-group 1994-1998) of 33 infants with the results of the retrospectively studied group of 26 patients operated on between 1987 and 1993. We found a significantly lower risk of cholestasis in the CEST-Group (12.9% versus 38.5%; p<0.04). Only 3% of our patients with CEST (one patient) required permanent parenteral nutrition, compared to 50% of the conventionally treated patients.

Bilirubin↗