We reviewed the recurrence rate and possible factors influencing recurrence of preauricular sinus after excision. Seventy-one patients with 73 preauricular sinuses seen at our centre from year 2000 to 2005 were reviewed in this study. The overall recurrence rate was 14.1%. Twelve sinuses needed to be drained for an abscess prior to a definitive surgery. Different modalities used in demonstrating the sinus tract between methylene blue alone and probing together with methylene blue, showed different outcomes, which were statistically significant with a p value of < 0.05(chi-square test). A preauricular sinus with a previous history of infection or actively infected during the definitive surgery may have a higher tendency of recurrence. Meanwhile demonstrating the sinus tract by probing with lacrimal probe/sinus probe followed by injection of methylene blue reduces the recurrence rate (p < 0.05 with chi-square test).
We report a case of the Antley-Bixler syndrome in an 11-year-old girl. She presented with bilateral proximal femoral focal deficiency, right clubfoot, left radiohumeral synostosis, bilateral ear hypoplasia, cleft palate, tongue tie, missing teeth, congenital heart disease, a pelvic kidney with hydronephrosis, and mental retardation. Proximal femoral focal deficiency has never been reported before as a manifestation of Antley-Bixler syndrome. Her mother was exposed to radiation during an intravenous urogram done in the first trimester of pregnancy. Exposure to radiation has not been implicated as a cause of Antley-Bixler syndrome.
A total of 56 subjects with auricular sinuses were investigated at the ENT clinic of University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) from April 1986 to April 1987. Infection was the main complaint, accounting for 60% of the cases. Chinese formed the majority of the patients (51%) and the commonest age group was between 1 to 10 years. Multiple anomalies were seen more amongst the Indians and none were noted among the Chinese subjects. Hearing loss was noted in 6% of the cases. Only infected cases were operated and none showed recurrence.
Study site: ENT clinic, Pusat Perubatan University Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM), Kualal Lumpur, Malaysia
Domestic maid violence is an assault and coercive behaviour, which mainly includes physical, psychological and at times sexual too, by employer or household members of employer against a person hired as a domestic help. Maid abuse is well known but poorly documented in scientific literature. This is an important global issue. In this article, two illustrated cases of maid abuse are discussed. Their employers allegedly subjected both the victims to physical and psychological trauma. The physical examination of the victims showed poor state of clothing, nutrition, and presence of injuries of different duration. The bruises were irregular to patterned, and were inflicted by beating. Both cases had eczematous contact dermatitis over palms and soles, paronechia, and sub-ungal fungal infection due to unprotected working in wet conditions. In both cases, external ears were deformed like cauliflowers due to repeated trauma. All cases had multiple injuries of varying duration. In this paper, medico-legal and social issues related to maid abuse are also discussed in detail. A possible solution to minimise maid abuse is also suggested. This paper highlights and document maid abuse.