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Biomedical subjects

W Lineaweaver

Publications and source records attributed to W Lineaweaver.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Blood loss associated with anticoagulation in patients with replanted digits.

The incidence of blood loss and blood transfusion in patients receiving one anticoagulant in addition to aspirin (n = 40) was compared with that in patients receiving two or more anticoagulants in addition to aspirin (n = 15). Multiple-agent therapy produced a greater drop in the hematocrit than single-agent therapy (15% compared with 6%). Only 2% of the patients receiving a single agent had transfusions, as compared with 53% of the patients receiving multiple agents. We conclude that administration of multiple anticoagulants greatly increases the incidence of blood loss and blood transfusion as compared with the administration of a single agent plus aspirin. The importance of salvaging a replanted digit or digits must be weighed against the risks of a blood transfusion.

Anticoagulants

Recipient vessels for microvascular transplants in patients with hemifacial microsomia.

Hemifacial microsomia is a developmental abnormality involving structures derived from the first and second branchial arches. Microvascular transplants are increasingly being used to improve facial contour in patients with this condition. We have reviewed 9 patients with this abnormality to determine which recipient vessels have been used. In 6 patients, the facial vessels were located and used for flap revascularization. In 3 patients, the facial vessels could not be identified intraoperatively, and the occipital artery and a branch of the external jugular vein were used as recipient vessels. In this series of hemifacial microsomia patients, therefore, the facial vessels could not be located in 3 patients. We recommend that surgeons performing microsurgical transplants in cases of hemifacial microsomia be prepared to explore the external carotid and external jugular systems for recipient vessels.

Face

Microsurgical tissue transfer in patients more than 70 years of age.

Between 1982 and 1989, three women and seven men older than 70 years of age underwent elective free-tissue transfer. Nonhealing wounds of 1 scalp, 2 upper extremities, and 7 lower extremities were covered with 3 serratus anterior, 3 latissimus dorsi, 2 gracilis, and 2 lateral arm flaps. Major coincidental medical problems included hypertension, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, metastatic lung cancer, tachyarrhythmias, syncope, elevated liver function tests, and previous arterial bypass in the affected lower extremity. One flap failed and 2 others were compromised by venous thromboses but salvaged by reoperation. There were no major anesthetic complications. This series demonstrates that elective free-tissue transfers can be safely performed in patients older than 70 years of age.

Age Factors

Posttraumatic condylar hyperplasia.

Posttraumatic condylar hyperplasia can result in complex facial asymmetry composed of degrees of condylar and ramus overgrowth, malocclusion, and complementary maxillary deformity. Three patients with unilateral condylar hyperplasia are described to illustrate the scope of surgical and orthodontic treatment required to restore facial symmetry. Condylar hyperplasia with facial asymmetry should be recognized as a possible consequence of condylar injury, and further delineation of the onset and natural history of this deformity could lead to investigations or intervention before the establishment of all the components of the deformity.

Adolescent

Microvascular transfers of latissimus dorsi and serratus anterior muscles in rats.

The thoracodorsal artery supplies the latissimus dorsi and serratus anterior in the rat in the same fashion as in the human. In the rat, the thoracodorsal artery and vein average 0.57 mm and 0.71 mm in diameter, respectively, at their origins and can be used as pedicles averaging 19 mm in length to the latissimus dorsi muscle and 27 mm to the serratus anterior muscle. We successfully transferred both of these muscles to groin vessels by means of end-to-end or end-to-side anastomoses. The serratus anterior muscle was technically easier to transfer because its pedicle was longer. We conclude that the serratus anterior transfer in the rat is a feasible animal model for microvascular muscle transfer and may be a useful standard model for pharmacological and biochemical studies in transplanted muscle.

Anastomosis, Surgical

Antibiotic sensitivities of Aeromonas hydrophila cultured from medicinal leeches.

Increased use of medicinal leeches (Hirudo medicinalis) for the treatment of venous congestion in flaps and replanted parts has coincided with reports of soft tissue infections following leech application. We cultured the gullets of 20 medicinal leeches to re-examine the antibiotic sensitivities of Aeromonas hydrophila, the leech enteric organism associated with reported infections. These isolates reflected reported resistance to penicillin and first generation cephalosporins as well as sensitivity to gentamicin, tetracycline and chloramphenicol. Additionally, the cultures were sensitive to cefamandol, cefoxitin and two third generation cephalosporins (cefoperazone and cefotaxime). These findings suggest that cefamandol, cefoxitin and some third generation cephalosporins may have a role as perioperative antibiotics in replantation and flap surgery. These antibiotics might provide prophylaxis against Aeromonas hydrophila infection when leech use is required.

Aeromonas

Distal avulsion of the palmar plate of the interphalangeal joint of the thumb.

A 63-year-old woman was unable to actively flex the interphalangeal joint of her right thumb after a hyperextension injury. Surgical exploration revealed an avulsion of the distal insertion of the palmar plate, allowing the bulk of the plate to block the joint during attempted active flexion. Resection of the palmar plate restored active flexion and caused no joint instability. We do not believe this lesion, which resulted in this disability, has been previously described.

Cumulative Trauma Disorders

Immediate skin grafting on microvascular free tissue transfers.

Clinical reports of pedicled muscle flaps and microvascular tissue transfers include two distinctly different strategies for skin grafting. Some authors describe immediate grafting, whereas others recommend a three- to 5-day interval between flap transfer and grafting. No systematic analysis of either strategy has been reported. We reviewed 51 consecutive successful free tissue transfers that involved immediate skin grafting. Ninety-six percent of the grafts survived without complication. Bot muscle and fascial flaps supported skin grafts. Skin grafts survived infected recipient sites, pedicle revisions, partial flap necrosis, and secondary operation. We conclude that immediate skin grafting on free tissue transfers is reliable.

Adult

Pilomatrixoma.

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Humans

Murine neutrophil migration during the course of an intra-abdominal abscess.

Studies of neutrophil migration in heterogeneous groups of septic patients have reported elevated, normal, and depressed neutrophil mobility. This experiment, conducted in a standardized murine population, measured neutrophil migration under agarose during the course of a chronic intra-abdominal abscess initiated by cecal ligation. Compared with both control (unoperated) and sham celiotomy mice, those mice with an abdominal abscess showed elevations of 22% and 14% of directed and random migration, respectively, at 48 hours. They had 30% to 40% decreases in these functions at days 4 through 10. Murine neutrophil migratory response during the course of an intra-abdominal abscess consisted therefore of an early elevation followed by a prolonged depression. Such a biphasic response could underlie the variable findings of neutrophil studies in septic patients. This model could be further applied to the study of the effects of chemotherapy and immunologic adjuvants on abscess course and neutrophil function, as well as to the study of the mechanisms of neutrophil response to sepsis.

Abdomen

Haemophilus influenzae meningitis and Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome in an adult.

An otherwise healthy 36-year-old man had abdominal pain, vomiting, sepsis, and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Negative exploratory laparotomy was shortly followed by death. Autopsy showed Haemophilus influenzae (type B) meningitis, multiple organ involvement with DIC, and bilateral adrenal hemorrhagic necrosis (Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome). This patient is the fourth reported adult with H influenzae meningitis and hemorrhagic infarction of the adrenals, and the first such patient with an apparent abdominal catastrophe.

Adult

Topical antimicrobial toxicity.

Three topical antibiotics and four antiseptics (1% povidone-iodine, 0.25% acetic acid, 3% hydrogen peroxide, and 0.5% sodium hypochlorite) were directly applied to cultured human fibroblasts to quantitatively assess their cytotoxicity. The four antiseptics were found to be cytotoxic; all of the cytotoxic agents except hydrogen peroxide were subsequently found to adversely affect wound healing in an animal model. Comparison of bactericidal and cytotoxic effects of serial dilutions of these four topical agents indicated the cellular toxicity of hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid exceeded their bactericidal potency. Bactericidal noncytotoxic dilutions of povidone-iodine and sodium hypochlorite were identified. These experiments provide evidence that 1% povidone-iodine, 3% hydrogen peroxide, 0.5% sodium hypochlorite, and 0.25% acetic acid are unsuitable for use in wound care. This sequence of experiments could be used to identify bactericidal, noncytotoxic agents prior to their clinical use.

Acetates

Neutrophil delivery to wounds of the upper and lower extremities.

Clinical observations and experimental evidence indicate that wounds of the lower extremity are more susceptible to infection than are wounds located elsewhere on the body. The details of this regional relative immunoincompetence are not described. In this initial study of regional inflammatory response, neutrophil delivery to standard wounds of the upper and lower extremities was measured in 15 human volunteer subjects using a quantitative skin-window technique. Neutrophil delivery proved to be relatively deficient in the lower extremity. Neutrophil delivery (mean +/- SEM) was significantly lower to the lower-extremity wounds (5,890 +/- 590 cells per cubic millimeter) than to the upper-extremity wounds (16,600 +/- 1,680 cells per cubic millimeter). This lower neutrophil response may be a part of the lower extremity's increased susceptibility to infection. Further functional study of regionally collected neutrophils may provide more details of differences in regional inflammatory response. The mechanisms underlying these differences remain undescribed.

Adult

PIPIDA scan diagnosis of traumatic rupture of the gallbladder.

Eighteen days after injury, a patient was evaluated for bilious ascites with a 99mTc-PIPIDA (paraisopropyliminodiacetic acid) scan. A ruptured gallbladder was shown, and this finding was confirmed at exploration. Radionuclide scanning offers a sensitive, non-invasive approach for delineating disruption of the biliary tract, and should be considered when such a defect is suspected.

Aged

Cellular and bacterial toxicities of topical antimicrobials.

Cellular and bacterial toxicities of four commonly used topical antimicrobials (1% povidone-iodine, 3% hydrogen peroxide, 0.25% acetic acid, and 0.5% sodium hypochlorite) were assayed in vitro using cultures of human fibroblasts and Staphylococcus aureus. All agents tested at full strength killed 100 percent of exposed fibroblasts. Fibroblast toxicity exceeded bacterial toxicity with serial dilutions of hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid. Dilutions of povidone-iodine (1:1000) and sodium hypochlorite (1:100) were identified where no fibroblast toxicity occurred while full bactericidal activity persisted.

Acetates

Endoscopic balloon dilation of outlet stenosis after gastric bypass.

Eighteen of 22 patients with stenotic gastrojejunostomies following gastric bypass surgery were successfully corrected by endoscopically placing a guidewire through the narrowed outlet and then passing a dilating balloon catheter over the wire. No complications occurred. All procedures were done without general anesthesia, and 64 per cent were done without hospitalization. This procedure can spare patients prolonged hospitalization for nasogastric decompression or reoperation, the two standard approaches to this problem. Successful use of this technique to dilate obstructed gastric partitions and distal esophageal strictures suggests that it may be considered for any gastrointestinal stenosis within reach of the endoscope.

Catheterization