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Biomedical subjects

H Carty

Publications and source records attributed to H Carty.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

The painless soft tissue mass in childhood--tumour or not?

Soft tissue malignancies are uncommon in adults and even rarer in children. Twelve children presented to the radiology department over a three-year period with a clinical diagnosis of a malignant lower limb mass. This diagnosis was usually based on the presence of a firm, painless mass. However, imaging revealed a heterogeneous group of benign pathologies: haemangioma (two cases), haematoma (two cases), aneurysm (two cases), and one case each of infection, myositis ossificans, Baker's cyst, lipoma, muscle rupture, and venous malformation. During the same period there was only one malignant soft tissue neoplasm. A variety of imaging techniques were used but ultrasound combined with colour flow Doppler was the single most helpful modality. The radiological diagnosis were confirmed by biopsy, surgery or clinical follow-up.

Adolescent

Ultrasound: a helpful guide in the treatment of congenital talipes equinovarus.

Ultrasound may be used to distinguish the unossified cartilage and the ossification centres of the tarsal bones. The use of ultrasound to image the normal foot and the foot with congenital talipes equinovarus (CTEV) deformity has been assessed. We describe two standard ultrasound planes that enable the normal foot to be distinguished from the foot with a CTEV deformity even before it becomes clinically apparent. The technique does not take much time, is easily tolerated by the child, and may be repeated frequently to assess the response to treatment. It can be learned easily.

Clubfoot

Avulsion fractures of the pelvis in children: a report of 32 fractures and their outcome.

Avulsion injuries of the apophyses of the pelvis are mainly athletic injuries and are usually seen in adolescents. In a series of 80 pelvic fractures in children seen and managed in The Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital, Alder Hey, in the last 10 years, 32 avulsion fractures in 25 patients were diagnosed and treated. Twenty-two of these patients were followed for an average of 44 months (range 4-120 months). Eight (33%) were girls, a higher proportion than in other published series. The average age of the children was 13.8 years. These fractures, though generally regarded as trivial injuries, have left disability persisting into adult life, with limitation of sporting ability in 10 of the 22 patients and persistent symptoms in 6, mostly in those with ischial avulsion injuries. Fourteen patients with acute injuries needed hospitalisation, with an average stay of 5 days. The other 11 were suffering from chronic traction injuries sustained in sport. This distinction between acute and chronic injuries has not been emphasized in the other reviews. The radiological appearances, diagnostic problems and morbidity are discussed in order to increase awareness of these injuries.

Adolescent

Breast masses in childhood and adolescence. A presentation of 17 cases and a review of the literature.

Breast masses are uncommon in the first two decades of life. 17 girls aged between 2 and 15 years who presented over a 5-year period are reviewed retrospectively. The cases comprised inflammation (11), asymmetrical gynaecomastia (1), precocious puberty (1), giant juvenile fibroadenoma (1), primary rhabdomyosarcoma (1), lymphoma (1), and metastatic neuroblastoma (1). Ultrasound was useful in all cases in identifying the abnormality and guiding any further investigation.

Adolescent

Strictures of the colon in cystic fibrosis.

We describe the radiological and histopathological findings in five children with cystic fibrosis who presented recently to our hospital. Each child underwent surgery after failing to respond to medical management for suspected distal intestinal obstruction syndrome. Four patients had preoperative ultrasound and contrast enema examinations. Wall thickening and dilatation of the ascending colon was seen on ultrasound and contrast enema revealed a stricture of the ascending colon in all four. At surgery these findings were confirmed. All five patients had histopathological changes of post-ischaemic ulceration repair. One child had symptoms of intestinal obstruction 5 months after right hemicolectomy. Radiological investigation revealed a stricture in the descending colon which was resected. The histopathological changes were the same as before. Colonic strictures should be considered in cystic fibrosis patients who do not respond to medical management of distal intestinal obstruction syndrome.

Adolescent

Diagnosis of interstitial lung disease by a percutaneous lung biopsy sample.

A percutaneous lung biopsy sample was used to diagnose interstitial lung disease in nine children aged less than 42 months. Fibrosing alveolitis was diagnosed in eight children and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in one child. Complications associated with the procedure were minimal and the results of the biopsy sample enabled each child to be treated appropriately.

Biopsy, Needle

Infantile myofibromatosis--a review.

Infantile myofibromatosis is a rare condition which usually presents in childhood. It has a wide spectrum of disease activity, ranging from a solitary cutaneous nodule, through to a multicentric form with widespread visceral involvement. We present four cases which demonstrate the diversity of this condition and its radiological findings, together with a review of the literature.

Child

Case report: complete photopenia of the femoral head on radionuclide bone scanning in septic arthritis of the hip.

Three cases of septic arthritis of the hip are presented. In each case, radionuclide bone scanning, using 99Tcm diphosphonate (MDP), demonstrated complete photopenia of the femoral head. All three cases resulted in avascular necrosis and subsequently had a poor clinical outcome with a reduced range of movement and radiographic epiphyseal deformity. Complete photopenia in the presence of suspected sepsis requires urgent referral with a view to exploration and decompression.

Arthritis, Infectious

Fracture through the bone of traumatic myositis ossificans. A report of three cases.

We describe three cases of traumatic myositis ossificans in which fractures occurred through a mature, quiescent ossification mass. None of the fractures reactivated the original pathological process, no callus was formed and union did not occur. The nonunion became painless over a period of months. This unusual late complication of myositis ossificans seems to require only symptomatic treatment by temporary splintage and subsequent mobilisation. We could find no previous report of a similar case.

Adolescent

The value of baseline CT head scans in the assessment of shunt complications in hydrocephalus.

The purpose of this study was to determine the value of a baseline CT head scan in the assessment of patients who subsequently presented with symptoms which may have been due to shunt complications (such as blockage or infection). In all these patients the shunt had been inserted in the treatment of hydrocephalus. We conclude that the presence of a baseline scan does not add to the interpretation of CT scans done when the patient presents with symptoms of possible shunt malfunction.

Brain

Toddler's fracture of the calcaneum.

Calcaneal fractures in very young children are thought to be rare. We report on seven calcaneal fractures in children under the age of 36 months in the absence of a history of significant injury. In five cases plain radiology was normal, but the diagnosis was reached using scintigraphy. We suggest that this is not such a rare injury, and that wider use of scintigraphy will assist in making the diagnosis. The prognosis of this injury is excellent.

Calcaneus