Risk factors for failure of resolving optic disc pit maculopathy after primary vitrectomy without laser photocoagulation

Japanese Journal of Ophthalmology - To determine factors significantly correlated with the failure of macular reattachment by pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) without laser photocoagulation of the optic...     

Intraoperative optical coherence tomography-assisted displacement of prepapillary membrane in eyes with optic disc pit maculopathy

Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology - To determine the efficacy of displacing a prepapillary membrane during vitrectomy assisted by intraoperative optical coherence...     

Central visual field change after fornix-based trabeculectomy in Japanese normal-tension glaucoma patients managed under 15 mmHg

Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology - To investigate how the central visual field would be changed after fornix-based trabeculectomy with mitomycin C in Japanese...     

Carbonization of cellulose cell wall evaluated with ultraviolet microscopy

This is the first study of cellulose carbonization in the interior of cell walls. Cotton cellulose was pyrolyzed under nitrogen or in aromatic solvents (benzophenone, diphenyl sulfide, and 1,3-diphenoxybenzene) at 280 °C, and cross sections of the cell walls were examined using ultraviolet (UV) microscopy. After pyrolysis under nitrogen, UV absorption caused by carbonization appeared inside the cell walls. The absorptivity of the cell interiors was homogeneous and slightly lower than that of the cell surfaces. The UV spectra had maximal absorption at ca. 250 nm. The spectra of model compounds and Py-GC/MS analysis data suggested that furanic and polycyclic aromatic structures were present in the carbonized products. The use of aromatic solvents decreased the yields of solid carbonized products and the UV absorptivity, which remained homogeneous throughout the cross sections. The mechanism of cellulose carbonization in cell walls is discussed along with the influence of aromatic solvents.

This is the first study of cellulose carbonization in the interior of cell walls.     

Lobar emphysema with pneumothorax in an adult: report of a case

A 31-year-old woman was transferred to our hospital for treatment of a right pneumothorax. She had presented initially with moderate dyspnea and coughing at a local clinic, where a chest radiograph showed a collapsed right lung. Chest computed tomography showed overinflation of the middle lobe and a large bulla. We diagnosed congenital lobar emphysema of the middle lobe with pneumothorax and performed middle lobectomy by video-assisted thoracic surgery via four ports (5–12 mm in size). The patient had an uneventful postoperative course and was discharged from hospital 5 days after surgery.     

One-step reconstruction of the right inferior hepatic veins using auto-venous grafts in living donor liver transplantation

Purposes

Reconstruction of the right inferior hepatic vein (RIHV) presents a major technical challenge in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) using right lobe grafts.

Methods

We studied 47 right lobe LDLT grafts with RIHV revascularization, comparing one-step reconstruction, performed post-May 2007 (n = 16), with direct anastomosis, performed pre-May 2007 (n = 31).

Results

In the one-step reconstruction technique, the internal jugular vein (n = 6), explanted portal vein (n = 5), inferior vena cava (n = 3), and shunt vessels (n = 2) were used as venous patch grafts for unifying the right hepatic vein, RIHVs, and middle hepatic vein tributaries. By 6 months after LDLT, there was no case of occlusion of the reconstructed RIHVs in the one-step reconstruction group, but a cumulative occlusion rate of 18.2 % in the direct anastomosis group. One-step reconstruction required a longer cold ischemic time (182 ± 40 vs. 115 ± 63, p < 0.001) and these patients had higher alanine transaminase values (142 ± 79 vs. 96 ± 46 IU/L, p = 0.024) on postoperative day POD 7. However, the 6-month short-term graft survival rates were 100 % with one-step reconstruction and 83.9 % with direct anastomosis, respectively.

Conclusion

One-step reconstruction of the RIHVs using auto-venous grafts is an easy and feasible technique promoting successful right lobe LDLT.     

A randomized controlled trial comparing antioxidant-enriched enteral nutrition with immune-enhancing enteral nutrition after esophagectomy for cancer: a pilot study

Purpose

The objective of this study was to compare the effects of two types of enteral supplements, an antioxidant-enriched enteral nutrition (AeEN) and an immune-enhancing enteral nutrition (IeEN), on the nutrition, immunoinflammatory response, antioxidant capacity and clinical outcomes in patients after esophagectomy for cancer.

Methods

Patients (n = 20) undergoing esophagectomy for cancer were randomized in this single-center, open-label study. Two types of enteral supplements were used for 5 days before surgery and 7 days after surgery. The circulating levels of nutritional markers, immunoinflammatory markers, oxidative stress markers, and the antioxidant capacity were compared throughout the perioperative period, and the patients’ clinical outcomes were also compared.

Results

The circulating levels of nutritional markers decreased after surgery, but the changes were not significantly different between the AeEN group and the IeEN group throughout the perioperative period. Surgery increased the immunoinflammatory markers, and the levels were not significantly different between the groups after surgery. Surgery also increased the levels of oxidative stress markers, but there were no significant differences between the groups throughout the study period.

Conclusions

The results of this pilot study suggest that AeEN and IeEN have a similar effect on nutrition, the immunoinflammatory response, antioxidant capacity and clinical outcomes after esophagectomy for cancer. These findings, therefore, warrant further studies on a larger scale.