Faculty Bibliography

Prior irradiation and scarring can complicate wound closure following spinal surgery. Implanted tissue expanders were used six times in four patients to aid skin closure. Three patients had prior irradiation for cancer, and one had myelomeningocele. The average interval between placement and removal of the expanders was 46 days. Two late failures occurred because of prominent hardware. These expanders may provide adequate myocutaneous covers following spinal surgery in difficult cases

Percutaneous endoscopic approaches to cholelithiasis are an alternative to extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy which offer advantages of fewer restrictions on stone size and type as well as avoidance of fragmented stone passage complications. Endoscopic techniques would be facilitated by methods of welding gallbladder tissues. The technical constraints imposed by the endoscopic approach favor nonsuture methods of fusing gallbladder tissues. To evaluate a laser method for fusing biliary tissue, we have compared the healing response of laser-welded versus polyglycolic acid suture-closed incisions in canine gallbladder tissue in vivo. The laser used was a thulium-holmium-chromium:YAG laser producing 200-microsecond, 300-millijoule pulses at 2.15 microns. Serial sacrifice of dogs that underwent laser or suture closure of incisions made in the fundus of the gallbladder revealed that all repairs healed without evidence of leakage or infection. Laser-welded cholecystotomy sites had complete fibrous healing of the wound by two weeks postoperatively and reepithelialization by three weeks after operation. Suture-closed wounds were still without complete epithelization four weeks after the procedure. Laser welding may be a useful technique in endoscopic biliary surgery

Precise and controllable tissue vaporization is essential for minimizing risk in removal of sessile polyps from the lumen of thin walled gastrointestinal organs such as the colon. We compared the ablative efficiency on canine colonic mucosa of the THC:YAG laser with the clinically employed cw Nd:YAG laser. Fresh canine colon was treated with a progressive dose schedule using each laser at several energy/power densities. Ablation depth was measured on fresh tissue and thermal (non-ablation or coagulative) damage examined histologically. The THC:YAG ablation rates were 13.7 +/- 0.8 and 10.2 +/- 0.4 microns/J at 55 and 85 J/cm2, respectively. The Nd:YAG laser generated 3.7 +/- 0.3, 2.8 +/- 0.1, and 3.6 +/- 0.2 microns/J at 4,460, 5,095, and 5,730 W/cm2, respectively. There was a significant (P less than 0.001) difference among the THC:YAG ablation rates and between the THC:YAG and Nd:YAG ablation rates (ANOVA). The THC:YAG laser craters had significantly less collateral thermal damage than Nd:YAG. The pulsed THC:YAG laser should have an important clinical role since its use could reduce the risk of perforation in endoscopic laser procedures such as the removal of sessile polyps

Case report of a 9-year-old female with a 7cm (length) x 4cm (width) x 1cm (thick) lymphangioma of the tongue. The tumor caused speech distortion, crowding of the anterior maxillary and mandibular teeth, and a prognathic mandible. The patient was evaluated by the members of the Cleft Lip and Palate Team at St. Christopher's Hospital and underwent a complete resection of the tumor and is continuing follow-up care. This case exemplifies the value in a team approach to a variety of intraoral problems

This report proposes that reflex sympathetic dystrophy be defined as a pain syndrome in which the pain is accompanied by loss of function and evidence of autonomic dysfunction. In the clinical setting, this diagnosis is usually associated with other anatomic and psychological diagnoses and may be associated with a variety of systemic illnesses and medicolegal factors. All components should be assessed before a treatment plan is established. Priorities should go to emergency care, acute injuries, and systemic illness, psychiatric problems, and chronic anatomic problems, in that order. Early, accurate diagnosis improves prognosis