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Biomedical subjects

W B Greene

Publications and source records attributed to W B Greene.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Elemental analysis and clinical implications of calcification deposits associated with silicone breast implants.

Calcification of the fibrous capsule surrounding silicone breast implants is a well-recognized occurrence that increases with time following implantation. These mineralized deposits potentially confound mammographic breast cancer surveillance already made difficult by the obscuring effects of silicone breast implants. The authors performed elemental analysis of silicone breast implant-associated calcifications to define better their chemical composition as related to mammographic and clinical significance. Electron probe microanalysis and infrared spectroscopy revealed all of the calcification deposits to be calcium complexed with tribasic phosphate. No evidence of calcium oxalate, calcium carbonate, silicone, or talc was observed. Caution must be employed in interpreting mammograms in women with silicone breast implants as well as those who have had their silicone breast implants removed. High-density mammographic calcifications indicative of calcium phosphate associated with a silicone breast implant may represent an accepted consequence of implantation or nearby carcinoma. We recommend baseline mammography on women who have had their silicone breast implants removed to prevent unnecessary fine-needle aspiration or tissue biopsy of retained breast capsule calcifications during subsequent routine surveillance for carcinoma.

Breast

The clinical, histologic, and ultrastructural presentation of polyvinyl sponge (Ivalon) breast prostheses removed for massive fluid accumulation.

The current study describes what we believe is the first report of bilateral massive seromas associated with open-cell Ivalon sponges. Additionally, the gross, histologic, and ultrastructural features consistent with previous reports of polyvinyl alcohol prostheses are presented. Despite the reported chemical inertness of polyvinyl alcohol, this material may incite a biologic response in some patients, leading to dense fibrosis and occasional foreign-body giant-cell reaction. It is postulated that the molecular breakdown products of the polyvinyl alcohol polymer may create an osmotic gradient across the periprosthetic capsule, which may lead to intracapsular fluid accumulation, as presented in this case.

Aged

Morphology and pathogenesis of Liesegang rings in cyst aspirates: report of two cases with ancillary studies.

Liesegang rings are laminated ring-like structures occasionally found in benign cysts and abscesses. They have been confused with parasites (especially eggs), algae, calcifications, and psammoma bodies. We examined Liesegang rings from fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsies of a benign cyst of the breast and a complex renal cyst. Liesegang rings were best observed with Papanicolaou, hematoxylin-eosin, Masson's trichrome, acid-fast (AFB), and Gram stains, which accentuate the concentrically laminated morphology. An amorphous electron-dense core and fibrillary lucent concentric rings were seen with transmission electron microscopy with no significant energy peaks by electron probe microanalysis or distinct diffraction patterns by X-ray diffraction. This investigation indicates that Liesegang rings are composed of organic substances most likely formed by periodic precipitation from a supersaturated solution within cystic fluid. Awareness of the Liesegang phenomenon within cystic lesions will decrease the possibility of erroneous misdiagnosis as another type of pathologic process.

Cyst Fluid

Displaced fractures of the femoral shaft in children. Unique features and therapeutic options.

The decision analysis for managing femoral shaft fractures in children should included such factors as the possibility of child abuse, overgrowth, and the potential for remodeling. Direct and indirect costs must be understood. Factors to consider in determining treatment include the age of the child, the extent of the soft tissue injury, and associated injuries. Non-operative methods, universally used in the past to treat these injuries, still are indicated, but operative modalities should be considered for a greater number of pediatric femoral fractures. Early enthusiasm for external fixation and rigid intramedullary rodding has been tempered by a greater awareness of their particular complications. The role of flexible intramedullary rodding, however, is expanding.

Age Factors

Respiratory reovirus 1/L induction of intraluminal fibrosis. A model for the study of bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia.

Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP) is a term that was first applied in 1985 to describe a long-observed but unclassified pattern of acute lung injury. BOOP lesions are characterized by fibrous extensions into the alveolar spaces in association with a peribronchiolar organizing pneumonia. Since 1985, an increasing number of reports of BOOP have appeared in the clinical literature, and it is now accepted that BOOP is a significant pulmonary syndrome. Although BOOP can be associated with a number of documented pulmonary insults, many cases are not associated with known causes and are thus classified as idiopathic. The lack of an appropriate small animal model that closely mimics the generation of BOOP lesions has been an impediment to basic studies of the pathogenic mechanisms responsible for the generation of BOOP in humans. In this report, we describe an animal model for BOOP in which CBA/J mice infected with reovirus serotype 1/strain Lang develop BOOP lesions. These lesions closely resemble those seen in humans and occur in a well defined temporal sequence that proceeds from initial peribronchiolar inflammatory lesions to characteristic, fibrotic cellular BOOP lesions over a 3-week time course.

Animals

Prophylactic transfusion for hypertrophic synovitis in children with hemophilia.

A 7- to 9-month protocol of prophylactic transfusion was used to treat 33 joints in 19 children with severe hemophilia (< 1 U/dL Factors VIII or IX) and hypertrophic synovitis. The overall rate of hemarthrosis was reduced, but only 36% (12 of 33 joints) achieved a good result (defined as 0-0.5 bleeding episodes per month and decreased synovial hypertrophy 1 year after completing treatment). Age and severity of arthropathy at initiation of treatment did not affect the result. The degree of synovial hypertrophy and involvement of the knee joint showed an adverse trend, but these factors did not achieve statistical significance. The number of episodes of breakthrough bleeding during the first 6 weeks of therapy was significantly associated with a poor result. Based on the results of this study, a trial of transfusion therapy is recommended for recurrent hemarthroses and synovitis in patients with hemophilia, but the duration of thrice weekly treatment has been increased and the duration of prophylaxis has been reduced in selected cases.

Adolescent

Silicone deposition in reconstruction scars of women with silicone breast implants.

BACKGROUND: The possible association of silicone breast implants and disease is a subject of continuous debate and concern. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to examine microscopically and ultrastructurally the periprosthetic fibrous capsules and reconstruction scars of women with silicone breast implants. METHODS: Representative samples from the periprosthetic capsules and reconstruction scars from six women with silicone breast implants were examined by a variety of light microscopy techniques, transmission electron microscopy, and electron probe microanalysis. RESULTS: Silicone globules of various sizes were identified in every periprosthetic capsule and reconstruction scar. CONCLUSION: Extrusion and seeding of the incision tract during surgery most likely accounts for the presence of silicone in the reconstruction scar specimens. This observation suggests that the identification of silicone in the reconstruction scars of women with silicone breast implants does not necessarily implicate rupture of the silicone breast implant with systemic dissemination of silicone gel.

Breast Implants

Caterpillar bodies of porphyria cutanea tarda ultrastructurally represent a unique arrangement of colloid and basement membrane bodies.

Caterpillar bodies are eosinophilic, periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)-positive globules arranged in a linear fashion in the epidermis overlying subepidermal blisters of porphyria cutanea tarda (Am J Dermatopathol 1993;15:199-202). We retrospectively studied by transmission electron microscopy nine cases of porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) that demonstrated caterpillar bodies. We identified three components of the eosinophilic bodies: degenerating keratinocytes, colloid bodies, and basement membrane bodies. The colloid bodies consisted of whorled masses of filaments containing degenerating melanosomes, vacuoles, mitochondria, and desmosomes. Basement membrane bodies were composed of convoluted basement membrane material and associated collagen. Both colloid and basement membrane bodies were often associated with degenerating keratinocytes, were located both intra-and extracellularly, and were occasionally fused to one another. We believe that caterpillar bodies are a combination of degenerating keratinocytes, colloid bodies, and basement membrane bodies formed by repeated blistering and reepithelialization with transepidermal migration. Furthermore, we believe that caterpillar bodies are a diagnostic clue for the diagnosis of PCT.

Basement Membrane

Synovial metaplasia of a periprosthetic capsule surrounding a polyurethane foam breast prosthesis.

A 43-year-old woman underwent two-stage bilateral reconstruction mammoplasty using silicone-filled, polyurethane foam-covered breast implants. The permanent implants were later removed. The periprosthetic capsule demonstrated synovial metaplasia by light and electron microscopy. Synovial metaplasia is believed to be induced by the physical and chemical characteristics of the prostheses and may have important clinical implications in reducing capsular contracture and increasing host acceptance of implantable biomaterials.

Adult

Electron probe microanalysis of silicon and the role of the macrophage in proximal (capsule) and distant sites in augmentation mammaplasty patients.

Electron probe x-ray microanalysis was used to locate silicon (Si) within macrophages from 12 women who had previously undergone polymer prosthesis augmentation or reconstruction. Silicon was identified within macrophages and extracellularly in all fibrous breast capsules. In four women with arthritic joint pain and one woman with sclerodermatous skin lesions, silicon also was identified within macrophages residing in joint synovium and skin, respectively. It is suggested that the silicon-laden macrophages observed in the remote lesions may have accumulated silicon from other macrophages that had previously resided in the connective-tissue capsule around the silicone breast implants.

Adult

Bone-mineral density in children and adolescents who have spastic cerebral palsy.

Bone-mineral density was studied in a heterogeneous group of 139 children (mean age, nine years; range, three to fifteen years) who had spastic cerebral palsy. The evaluation included serum analyses and a nutritional assessment based on a dietary history and anthropometric measurements. The bone-mineral density of the proximal parts of the femora and the lumbar spine was measured with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and was normalized for age against a series of ninety-five normal children and adolescents who served as controls. Bone-mineral density varied greatly but averaged nearly one standard deviation below the age-matched normal means for both the proximal parts of the femora (-0.92 standard deviation) and the lumbar spine (-0.80 standard deviation). Ambulatory status was the factor that best correlated with bone-mineral density. Nutritional status, assessed on the basis of caloric intake, skinfolds, and body-mass index, was the second most significant variable. The pattern of involvement, durations of immobilization in a cast, and a calcium intake of less than 500 milligrams per day were additional factors of less significance. The age when the child first walked, previous fractures, use of anticonvulsants, and serum vitamin-D levels did not correlate with bone-mineral density after adjustment for covariance with the ambulatory status and the nutritional status. Serum levels of calcium, phosphate, alkaline phosphatase, and osteocalcin were not reliable indicators of low bone-mineral density.

Adolescent

Synovectomy of the ankle for hemophilic arthropathy.

The results of five patients who had hemophilia and a history of recurrent hemarthrosis and hypertrophic synovitis and who had been managed with a synovectomy of the ankle were studied at an average age of nine years (range, four years and seven months to nineteen years). Compared with the complications encountered after synovectomy of the knee or the elbow, the rehabilitation process after synovectomy of the ankle was relatively easy, even for the three youngest children in this series. The average duration of follow-up was five years (range, one to nine years). By the latest follow-up examination, the range of motion of the ankle had increased an average of 10 degrees (range, -5 to 15 degrees). The rate of hemarthrosis episodes requiring transfusion was reduced from an average of 3.4 per month (range, 0.3 to 5.0 per month) for the six months before the synovectomy to 0.1 per month (range, zero to 0.2 per month) for the twelve months before the latest follow-up examination.

Adult