Though peripheral arterial disease is not as common as in the Western countries, abdominal aorit aneurysm (AAA) is the most frequent arterial problem in Malaysia. A prospective study was made of 100 consecutive patients who presented with AAA to the author between January 1986 to September 1988 (31 months' period). There were 88 males and 12 females. The age range was 47-90 years, mean = 68.7. All the major ethnic rates were equally affected. The sizes of the AAA were documented by ultrasonography and the diameters ranged from 3-10 centimetres, mean = 5.8. Aneurysmectomy was performed on 58 patients, 17 of which were emergencies for ruptured AAA. The operative mortality for elective surgery was 2 percent, but that for emergency surgery was 47 percent. Ten patients refused surgery and 28 were not offered an operation. The true incidence of AAA is likely to be much higher than the number of patients referred for treatment. Many cases are not diagnosed or referred for treatment. Many cases of ruptured AAA died at home or in peripheral hospitals without a diagnosis being made. It is estimated that an AAA is present in 17,000 persons in Peninsular Malaysia. The risk of elective surgery is significantly lower than that of emergency. The overall mortality for ruptured AAA is even higher at about 99 percent. Furthermore, AAA is a benign disease and after surgery the patients return to their normal life expectancy. It is recommended that patients with AAA of five centimetres or more should be advised surgery if premature death is to be avoided.
The management of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) at a private medical centre was reviewed. The criteria for surgery were AAA more than or equal to five centimeters in diameter, symptomatic AAA even if less than five centimeters and ruptured AAA. A total of 67 patients were seen between October 1991 to September 1994. The age range was 48 to 94 years, mean = 69.8. There were 58 males to nine females. Twelve patients presented with ruptured AAA. There were three suprarenal AAA and three mycotic AAA. Aneurysmectomies were performed on 50 patients. This include all patients with ruptured AAA. There was no mortality in the elective cases. One patient with ruptured AAA died, ie. an operative mortality of eight per cent. It was concluded that a very low operative mortality can be achieved in this group of high risk patients. Our results were comparable to those reported by other centres in the developed countries. Important factors contributing to these results include a team approach in a unit interested in this disease, careful pre-operative preparation and a rigid post-operative regime. For ruptured AAA, survival of the patient depended on a successful and timely operation. It was also concluded that no patient should be deemed unfit for surgery or denied an operation if they needed to have one and it was safe to transport patients with ruptured AAA to a centre where the operation can be performed.
The use of an autologous ipsilateral internal iliac artery to restore circulation after excision of a ruptured femoral aneurysm in a patient addicted to drugs is described. Autogenous vein graft was not available. The advantages of using the internal iliac artery in this situation are discussed. The use of internal iliac artery graft in this situation has not been previously described in the literature.
A 68 year old man with significant cardiorespiratory risks factors presented with a ruptured thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA). This was treated by emergency thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair (TEVAR) under general anaesthesia (GA). An incidental abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) was not treated. Eight months later, he presented with ruptured AAA. Due to the patient's compromised respiratory system, he underwent endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) under local anaesthesia (LA). He had a smoother post-operation recovery compared to the first repair under GA.
Mesenteric venous thrombosis has been described to occur in cases where there has been no apparent cause. The diagnosis is usually delayed because the signs and symptoms are non-specific. A case of primary mesenteric venous thrombosis is reported below. Its presentation and pathology are discussed. Treatment is surgery with resection of gangrenous bowel and primary anastomosis. Post-operative anticoagulation is advocated.
An 8-year old boy presented with a right neck swelling which appeared only intermittently. The swelling was well demonstrated by the Valsalva manoeuvre. The differential diagnosis include a laryngocele, a superior mediastinum tumour or cyst and a venous aneurysm. Plain radiography, computerized tomography, ultrasonography and venography were performed. A diagnosis of venous aneurysm was confirmed. Ultrasonography was the best modality for imaging of this rare condition. It is non-invasive and it will also delineate the extent of the lesion. The treatment is expectant. Surgery is reserved for cosmesis and symptomatic aneurysms.
The toxic effects of Abate (temephos) on mosquito larvae and non-target organisms were studied in the rice-field and in the laboratory. In the laboratory tests, Culex tritaeniorhychus larvae and cladoceran zooplanktons (predominantly Diaphanosoma and Moinodaphnia species) were found to be highly susceptible to Abate with LC50 values of 0.27 and less than 0.10 parts per billion respectively. Other non-target species in decreasing degree of susceptibility to Abate were copepods (Tropodiaptomus spp.), Aplocheilus panchax and Tubifex worms. In field study, Abate at concentrations 60, 100 and 200 gm hectare-1 is effective in maintaining the rice-fields free of Anopheles and Culex mosquitoes for at least 2 days. No mortality was observed for Aplocheilus panchax and Tubifex worms at the above concentrations; nevertheless, populations of cladoceran zooplanktons and copepods were reduced up to seven days posttreatment.
Bleeding gastroesophageal varices is associated with a high morbidity and mortality. Forty-four cases of bleeding gastroesophageal varices were treated at the Department of Surgery, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, General Hospital, Kuala Lumpur over four and a half years. Thirty-two of them had liver cirrhosis. Hepatitis B infection was noted in 13 and alcoholic abuse was present in 14 patients. Five patients had associated hepatoma. Thirty-four percent had gastric fundal varices and a third of these bled from them. A total of 179 endoscopic injection sclerotherapy sessions were performed averaging 4 per person. Rebleeding rate was 4% and mortality was high (50%) in these cases. It was concluded that injection sclerotherapy is a safe and effective means of controlling bleeding oesophageal varices. Operative surgery was employed in those who rebled after injection and would be considered in those in Child's A.
A 45-year-old Malay lady who presented with intermittent abdominal pain and a left hypochondrial mass was found to have a 10 x 8 x 5 cm duodenal tumour without local invasion at laparotomy. En bloc resection of the tumour with adequate margin of clearance was done and histopathological diagnosis of low grade leiomyosarcoma was made. Fourteen months later, she returned with multiple metastases in the liver and needed palliative chemotherapy for pain relief. Duodenal leiomyosarcomata are very rare tumour. Their prognostic indicators include biological grading, tumour size and presence of metastases. Recognition of its high malignant potential calls for close surveillance calls even after apparent curative surgery.
A double-blind randomized study in 230 Malaysian patients with duodenal ulcer was conducted to compare the proton-pump inhibitor, omeprazole 20 mg, given once daily in the morning, with ranitidine 300 mg, administered once daily at night. After 2 and 4 weeks of treatment, 222 and 220 patients, respectively, were evaluable according to the study protocol. Omeprazole produced significantly higher healing rates than ranitidine at both 2 weeks (75% versus 46%, respectively, P less than 0.0001) and 4 weeks (97% versus 83%, respectively, P = 0.001). Ulcer symptoms were relieved more rapidly by omeprazole than ranitidine. After 2 weeks, daytime epigastric pain was reported by 30% of ranitidine-treated patients but only by 15% of omeprazole-treated patients, which is a statistically significant difference (P = 0.004). No major clinical or biochemical side effects were recorded for either omeprazole or ranitidine. In conclusion, omeprazole 20 mg was found to be superior to ranitidine 300 mg administered once daily for the treatment of duodenal ulcer as measured by ulcer healing and pain relief.
With technological improvements in the endovascular armamentarium, there have been tremendous advances in catheter-based femoropopliteal artery intervention during the last decade. However, standardization of the methodology for assessing outcomes has been underappreciated, and unvalidated peak systolic velocity ratios (PSVRs) of 2.0, 2.4, and 2.5 on duplex ultrasonography have been arbitrarily but routinely used for assessing restenosis. Quantitative vessel analysis (QVA) is a widely accepted method to identify restenosis in a broad spectrum of cardiovascular interventions, and PSVR needs to be validated by QVA. This multidisciplinary review is intended to disseminate the importance of QVA and a validated PSVR based on QVA for binary restenosis in contemporary femoropopliteal intervention.
The burden of peripheral artery disease (PAD) and diabetes in Asia is projected to increase. Asia also has the highest incidence and prevalence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the world. Therefore, most Asian patients with PAD might have diabetic PAD or ESRD-related PAD. Given these pandemic conditions, critical limb ischemia (CLI) with diabetes or ESRD, the most advanced and challenging subset of PAD, is an emerging public health issue in Asian countries. Given that diabetic and ESRD-related CLI have complex pathophysiology that involve arterial insufficiency, bacterial infection, neuropathy, and foot deformity, a coordinated approach that involves endovascular therapy and wound care is vital. Recently, there is increasing interaction among cardiologists, vascular surgeons, radiologists, orthopedic surgeons, and plastic surgeons beyond specialty and country boundaries in Asia. This article is intended to share practical Asian multidisciplinary consensus statement on the collaboration between endovascular therapy and wound care for CLI.