Use of bone marrow derived stem cells in trauma and orthopaedics: A review of current concepts

There is a considerable amount of interest in the futurerole of bone marrow-derived stem cells(BMDSCs) and tissue engineering techniques to manage conditions within the musculoskeletal system. Repair of soft tissue and bone defects, in the early stages of injury, may lead to a reduction in progression of symptoms. Furthermore, troublesome soft tissue injuries that are notoriously fraught with problems either in healing or function, could be augmented with such techniques. The aim of this review paper is to look at the advances in such strategies to tackle these problems and assess how BMDSCs, with the aid of growth factors and scaffolds, are being used in vitro, animal and even human models to treat problems within the field of trauma and orthopaedics. There is plenty of evidence that the results are encouraging and thus gaining momentum toward their use in human studies.

Choice of skin incision for a massive ovarian cyst

We present a case of a very large ovarian cyst extending up to the patient’s xiphisternum, which was managed through a Pfannensteil incision. The cyst was excised without any spill of fluid, using a5 mmlaparoscopic port under suction, through a Pfannensteil incision. By this method, the operating time and the post-operative in-patient stay were reduced. Also, as our patient had a very high BMI, the associated morbidity was significantly reduced.

Major clinical and angiographic outcome of drug eluting stents in native ostial coronary artery disease

Objectives: The study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of drug eluting stents (DESs) in aorto-ostial (A-O) coronary artery lesions, in terms of early and late restenosis rate;including clinical assessment, non-invasive stress testing and angiographic follow-up. Also, the study was aimed to compare the results of implantation of drug eluting stents (DES) to that of bare metal stents (BMS) in aortoostial lesions done over a previous 5 years in Royal Brompton Hospital. Background: The safety and effectiveness of DESs for the treatment of aortoostial lesions. Methods: We included 161 consecutive patients with symptoms subjective of angina pectoris or objective evidence of myocardial ischemia;who underwent percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) in coronary ostial lesions using DES. The patients were divided into two groups based on the site of ostial lesion. The control group consisted of 125 consecutive patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention for ostial lesions using bare metal stents (BMS) implantation in the period immediately before the introduction of DES. The incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), including death or Q-wave myocardial infarction (MI), need for repeated revascularization procedure CABG or angioplasty, were recorded in-hospital and at twelve months ± 3 months. Follow-up angiography was only performed in case of recurrent symptoms subjective of myocardial ischemia or if there was objective evidence of myocardial ischemia by stress testing. Results: The initial procedure was successful in 149 patients (92.5%) in the DES arm. There were no statistically significant major in-hospital complications in the DES group, compared to BMS group which showed 4 cases of in-hospital deaths (p = 0.017). At Twelve months ± 3 months follow-up, MACE were significantly less frequent in the DES group compared to the BMS group, including death (0.8% vs. 6.4%, p = 0.004) and need for CABG (1.7% vs. 10%, p = 0.012). Conclusions: The main finding of our study is that, compared to the BMS, implantation of the DES in coronary ostial lesions appears safe and effective. It is associated with high procedural success rate, low immediate and in-hospital complication rate, infrequent late adverse events and favourable long-term clinical and angiographic outcomes compared with bare metal stents implantation at 12-month follow-up. Advanced age, previous myocardial infarction and acute coronary syndromes at presentation were all found to be independent positive predictors for clinical events after drug eluting stent implantation in ostial lesions.

Statins decrease the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease:A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease(MASLD)is a leading cause of chronic liver disease with a significant risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Recent clinical evidence indicates the potential benefits of statins in cancer chemoprevention and therapeutics.However,it is still unclear if these drugs can lower the specific risk of HCC among patients with MASLD.AIM To investigate the impact of statin use on the risk of HCC development in patients with MASLD.METHODS A systematic review and meta-analysis of all the studies was performed that measured the effect of statin use on HCC occurrence in patients with MASLD.The difference in HCC risk between statin users and non-users was calculated among MASLD patients.We also evaluated the risk difference between lipophilic versus hydrophilic statins and the effect of cumulative dose on HCC risk reduction.RESULTS A total of four studies consisting of 291684 patients were included.MASLD patients on statin therapy had a 60%lower pooled risk of developing HCC compared to the non-statin group[relative risk(RR)=0.40,95%CI:0.31-0.53,I2=16.5%].Patients taking lipophilic statins had a reduced risk of HCC(RR=0.42,95%CI:0.28-0.64),whereas those on hydrophilic statins had not shown the risk reduction(RR=0.57,95%CI:0.27-1.20).The higher(>600)cumulative defined daily doses(cDDD)had a 70%reduced risk of HCC(RR=0.30,95%CI:0.21-0.43).There was a 29%(RR=0.71,95%CI:0.55-0.91)and 43%(RR=0.57,95%CI:0.40-0.82)decreased risk in patients receiving 300-599 cDDD and 30-299 cDDD,respectively.CONCLUSION Statin use lowers the risk of HCC in patients with MASLD.The higher cDDD and lipophilicity of statins correlate with the HCC risk reduction.

Pseudoangiomatous squamous cell carcinoma:a challenge for pathologists and plastic surgeons

Pseudo-angiosarcomatous or pseudovascular squamous cell carcinoma(SCC)of the skin is an unusual variant form of acantholytic SCC that mimics the histopathological appearance of angiosarcoma.We describe a case of pseudovascular SCC in a 77-year-old lady to highlight the frequent recurrence and aggressiveness,as well as the clinicopathological features of this rare form of cutaneous SCC,and demonstrate the difficulties in establishing the correct diagnosis.Plastic surgeons involved in the care of patients with cutaneous malignancies should be aware of this variant of SCC and its aggressive nature in order to manage these patients appropriately.