Colonic diverticula is observed in over 60% of the western population aged over 80 where up to 30% will eventually be symptomatic and may develop complications. The natural history and etiology of colonic diverticula have been well described. However, predictive indicators of complicated diverticular disease are not known thus preventing the prophylactic treatment of this subset of patients,. The aim of this study was to observe patients with complicated diverticular disease in order to identify common factors associated with recurrent complications. All hospital admissions from January 2005 to December 2008 for complications of diverticular disease were recruited. Using logistic regression, demographic data and factors such as clinical presentation, nature of complication, lifestyle, concomitant medical illness and medications that may be associated with recurrent episodes of complications were analyzed. A total of 121 patients were diagnosed with complicated diverticular disease during the study period with 24 patients having recurrent complications. Logistic regression analysis performed after controlling for confounders found active smoking (p=0.006) and alcohol consumption (p=0.036) along with underlying diabetes (p=0.031) and dyslipidemia (p=0.039) significantly associated with an increased risk of recurrent complications. We therefore concluded that smoking, alcohol consumption, diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia are associated with recurrent complicated colonic diverticular disease. As these are modifiable risk factors, they should be sought for during the presentation of the first attack. Aggressive control of these factors will help in reducing the risk of recurrent complications.
A 37-year-old Malay woman presented with progressive deterioration in vision and was diagnosed with advanced proliferative diabetic retinopathy with neovascular glaucoma. Intravitreal ranibizumab injection (an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor) was administered prior to vitrectomy. Slit lamp assessment 2 days post-injection revealed significant regression of both iris and retinal neovascularisation. This resulted in adequate reduction of intra-ocular pressure prior to surgery. In addition, the regression of retinal vessels reduced the risk of intra-operative haemorrhage, thus aiding the surgical excision of the fibrovascular membranes. Periodic post-operative assessment in the first 3 weeks showed minimal inflammation and no recurrence of vitreous haemorrhage. This case illustrates that intravitreal ranibizumab has a role as an adjunct therapy prior to diabetic vitrectomy to significantly reduce the risk of intra-ocular haemorrhage.
Extra-gonadal germ cell tumours (EGGCT) are rare. Therefore further investigations of the testis is aimed at sourcing a possible primary origin of gonadal tumour. Over the years, various case series on EGGCT have been reported questioning its true nature as in a majority of them, a primary source is found in the testis, thus representing a metastatic gonadal tumour. The testis pathology could be either a true germ cell foci, an intra-tubular epithelial neoplasia or an area of fibrosis, indicating a ‘burnt out tumour’. We report a 39-year-old male who underwent laparotomy and excision of a retroperitoneal tumour. Histopathological examination revealed retroperitoneal lymph node of mixed germ cell tumour origin. Clinical and ultrasound examination of bilateral testis was normal. The patient refused orchidectomy or a testicular biopsy. He underwent four cycles of bleomycin, cisplatin, and etoposide with no evidence of tumour recurrence on follow up and remains disease free after 12 months of diagnosis. A literature review of EGGCT, its relation and factors relating with future testicular tumour is presented.
Dermoid cyst in a kidney is rarely seen. We report a case of intrarenal dermoid cyst which mimics malignant renal tumour and discuss the dilemma in managing this disease.
Popliteal artery entrapment syndrome is an important infrequent cause of serious disability among young adults and athletes. We hereby describe a case of popliteal artery syndrome and its clinical implications. Physicians should be aware of the possibility of popliteal artery entrapment in young patients presenting with progressive arterial insufficiency.
Pseudohyperkalemia is a spuriously high serum potassium measurement in a patient with no clinical evidence of hyperkalemia. It has been reported to occur in patients with leukocytosis and thrombocytosis. Only a few cases of pseudohyperkalemia have been reported in patients after splenectomy. Two cases of pseudohyperkalemia occurring after emergency splenectomy for abdominal trauma are presented to highlight their clinical presentation and sequalae. Consecutive patients who underwent emergency splenectomy for trauma and subsequently developed pseudohyperkalemia were monitored in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre for their clinical sequalae. Both the patients developed leukocytosis, thrombocytosis and high serum potassium level within 2-weeks of their splenectomies. They did not demonstrate any symptoms and signs of hyperkalemia. Their conditions resolved spontaneously without any specific treatment. Pseudohyperkalemia should be suspected in a similar clinical scenario to avoid unnecessary treatment that could lead to severe hypokalemia.
Arthroscopic sub acromial debridement surgery with acromioplasty is one of the shoulder surgeries performed to treat chronic shoulder pain. This surgical procedure is usually indicated in sub acromial impingement syndrome of shoulder, degenerative rotator cuff tears, severe functional limitation of shoulder joint and often surgery was performed in cases where all the conservative management had failed in the treatment of chronic shoulder pain. Even though the patient would be referred for early rehabilitation, post operative management of this surgical condition is highly challenging. Movement of the shoulder joint is often related with scapulo-thoracic joint, acromio-clavicular joint and sternoclavicular joint and the shoulder movements are governed by various different muscular forces from these joints. Failure to understand this biomechanical complexity of shoulder joint during post operative rehabilitation results in failure of the surgical outcome and might cause severe functional limitation with recurrent shoulder pain. Often in clinical practice, greater emphasis is given to achieve and regain movements in shoulder joint at the expense of the joint stability. However, inadequate scapular stability might further predispose the shoulder joint to excessive loading and results in repetitive injuries leading to chronic shoulder pain. This might affect the surgical and clinical outcome of the acromioplasty and result in surgical failure. Hence, surgeons and clinicians need to understand the biomechanical contributions in the post operative rehabilitation of the shoulder joint. The present case report emphasises the biomechanical model of post operative rehabilitation of a patient who had arthroscopic sub acromial debridement with acromioplasty.
Management of pain plays an important role during prostate biopsy. Various types of management of pain plays an important role during prostate biopsy. Various types of anaesthetic methods have been used. The present study aimed to compare the efficacy and complication rate between periprostatic lidocaine infiltration and transrectal lidocaine gel in transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy. All prostate biopsy patients were included except those with lidocaine, allergy, haemorrhagic diathesis, anticoagulation therapy, the inability to rate a visual analogue scale and inability to obtain consent. They were randomized into two groups. Group 1 received 20ml 2% transrectal lidocaine gel. Group 2 received 5ml 1% lidocaine infiltration for each periprostatic nerve block with 23-gauge spinal needle. After three minutes, prostate biopsy was performed with an 18 gauge 7-inch spring-loaded biopsy gun. Six biopsies were taken for each lobe. Pain during probe insertion, biopsy and immediately after the procedure was assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale. Any complication immediately after procedure, one day or after one week, was recorded. Mean pain score was lower after periprostatic lidocaine infiltration compared to transrectal lidocaine gel (3.1 + 1.9 versus 4.9 + 2.4, p = 0.027). There was no statistically significant difference in the complication rate. Transrectal ultrasound prostate biopsy using periprostatic lidocaine infiltration provides better anaesthesia as compared to the transrectal lidocaine gel application with no significant difference in complication. Thus, the use of periprostatic lidocaine infiltration in TRUS guided prostate biopsy is recommended.
Morbidly adherent placenta with spontaneous rupture of membrane at extreme prematurity poses poor pregnancy outcome. Various issues on different management modalities still remain perplexed and individual consideration is vital. Two cases of morbidly adherent placenta with symptomatic per vaginal bleeding and spontaneous rupture of membrane at severe prematurity were reviewed and discussed. We found that, active intervention by termination of pregnancy and methotrexate therapy at early gestation can prevent the need of hysterectomy following major obstetrics haemorrhage.
Acute appendicitis is one of the most common differential diagnoses for acute abdominal pain made by emergency doctors. Suspected cases require surgical referral for observation or definitive intervention to prevent complications. A high index of suspicion and good clinical skills with the aid of scoring systems allows early decision making, which includes optimal pain control. The objective of this study was to identify the pain score and is relationship to the cut-off points of the Alvarado scoring system so that justifies early surgical referral or discharge for suspected acute appendicitis from the Emergency Department of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC). This was a cross sectional study of acute abdominal pain from June 2007 to September 2008. All patients who fulfilled the criteria and consented to the study were assessed for Alvarado score, verbal numerical pain score (VNRS) and their subsequent management. Patients with an Alvarado score of ≥7 were likely to have acute appendicitis (80.1% sensitivity and 52.63% specificity) and those with the score of ≤3 were unlikely to have acute appendicitis. The median pain score was 7.00 (IQR: 5.00-8.50) but 72.5% did not receive any analgesia. There was no direct relationship between the pain score with Alvarado score. Oligoanalgesia in patients with acute appendicitis still exist in Emergency Department of UKMMC.
Vulvo-vaginal haematomas are not an uncommon obstetric complication. Despite advances in obstetric care, practice and technique, vulvo-vaginal haematomas do occur especially in complicated vaginal deliveries. Various management options are available for vulvo-vaginal haematomas. We describe three cases of vulvo-vaginal haematomas with different severity and presentations which were managed in different manners i.e. local haemostasis control, laparotomy with hysterectomy, and transarterial embolisation. The choice of treatment options would mainly depend on the clinical presentations, availability of expertise as well as facilities. Early identification is crucial.
We report the case of a 34-year-old Malay, admitted for constipation and abdominal pain at 35 weeks of gestation. Initially, she was diagnosed to have paralytic ileus and was managed conservatively. As her condition did not improve, emergency laparotomy was performed for suspected intestinal obstruction. She delivered a baby boy weighing 2.84kg with good Apgar score through a caesarean section. Intra-operatively, she was noted to have sigmoid volvulus and sigmoidopexy was performed. Post-partum, colonoscopy and bowel decompression was performed. She recovered well and was discharged on day 5. This case illustrates the need to diagnose or suspect volvulus in pregnant woman presenting with severe constipation as early surgical intervention can reduce morbidity to both mother and fetus.
Tumour surgery for locally extensive malignant neoplasms of the extremity will sometimes result in extensive composite soft tissue defect. Local flaps are usually inadequate to cover these large defects. More than one tissue flap might be required to cover any exposed neurovascular structures, bone or prosthesis. We present two cases where two composite flaps were simultaneously used to cover extensive surgical defects after ablative tumour resections in the extremity. These resulted in uncomplicated wound healing and limb salvage.
A 64-year-old lady presented with a brief history of abdominal pain associated with obstructive jaundice. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreaticography (ERCP) revealed a short segment stricture with contact bleeding and the brush cytology confirmed presence atypical cells. Ca 19.9 levels were markedly elevated. She was planned for a Whipple’s procedure but was instead subjected to a total pancreatectomy based on intraoperative findings of a diffusely hard and nodular pancreas. Histopathological examination confirmed our diagnosis of diffuse pancreatic adenocarcinoma. This rare presentation of a locally contained and fully resectable diffuse pancreatic adenocarcinoma is being discussed.
Ectopic pregnancy in the interstitial part of the fallopian tube (cornual pregnancy) is a rare condition but can be fatal. Traditionally, the treatment had been cornual resection or hysterectomy. More conservative approaches had been advocated recently. There is no consensus on the dose or number of methotrexate injections that should be used in the treatment of interstitial pregnancies. Single dose intramuscular methotrexate is one of the treatment options. However, the failure rate is higher if the serum beta-hCG (beta-human chorionic gonadotrophin) level is more than 5000 IU/L. We report a case of cornual ectopic pregnancy with high initial serum beta-hCG level being successfully treated with multiple doses of systemic methotrexate. MRI was used to assess clinical resolution of cornual ectopic pregnancy.
In this article, we speculate the reasons behind the death of Achilles during the Trojan war. Roots of Medicine can be traced to ancient Greek history. From the Hippocrates Oath to the Achilles tendon, it all has a long story to tell. In the history of ancient Greece, Gods played an important role in their lives and the immortals existed.
Mediastinal mature cycstic teratomas are rare germ cell tumors most commonly found in the anterior mediastinum, and constitute about 3-12% of all mediastinal tumors. They grow slowly and are usually diagnosed incidentally. This is a rare presentation of a young lady with mediastinal mature cystic teratoma (dermoid cyst) presenting with chronic cough and haemoptysis.
Eccrine spiradenoma is a benign tumour of the sweat gland. Eccrine glands can be found almost everywhere but are mostly concentrated on the palms, soles and the axillae. Lesions involving the breast are rare. We present a case of a 13-years-old Malay girl with eccrine spiradenoma of the breast. The clinical presentation and histological features are being described.
Fulminant haemorrhage in cervical cancer leads to severe anaemia and haemodynamic instability. Palliative management includes vaginal packing as temporary measure, radiotherapy and other invasive surgical procedures. High dose emergency chemotherapy is not commonly implemented particularly when complicated with anaemia and renal impairment. We discuss three case series on the usefulness of high dose chemotherapy to combat bleeding from cervical cancer as an emergency treatment. The first case was clinically staged as operable 2A disease with severe anaemia due to bleeding from the tumour mass. The haemoglobin was corrected by blood transfusion while the bleeding was being arrested by high dose chemotherapy. The second case was inoperable with invasion to the bladder mucosa. She had frank haematuria and bleeding from the tumour with severe anaemia. A course of chemotherapy and blood transfusion controlled the bleeding and anaemia was corrected. The third case presented late with obstructive uropathy and anaemia. She required dialysis, blood transfusion and high dose emergency chemotherapy to stop the bleeding before undergoing urinary diversion after an unsuccessful ureteric stenting. High dose chemotherapy consisting cisplatin, vincristine, bleomycin and mitomycin-C has a clinical value in arresting fulminant haemorrhage in cervical cancer.