Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J L Powell.
An awareness of the pitfalls associated with the various aspects of the colposcopic examination should minimize erroneous diagnosis and inappropriate treatment. The colposcopist, armed with current knowledge and guided by a diagnostic and therapeutic protocol, should be able to avoid them (summarized in Table 1).
A patient with squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva treated with a radical vulvectomy and bilateral inguinal and femoral lymphadenectomies utilizing separate groin incisions, subsequently developed a recurrence in the skin bridge between the vulvar and groin excisions. Following groin irradiation with chemosensitization, the tumor progressed to involve the superior public ramus and femoral vessels. A left hip disarticulation and resection of a portion of the superior pubic ramus was performed. The patient has been free of disease for 3 years. The advantages of this procedure over a hemipelvectomy include shorter operative time, reduced blood loss, better fascial closure of the abdomen, and the creation of a stump which is more amendable to prosthetic fitting.
One of four patients who underwent lymph node excision at exploration for ovarian serous borderline epithelial tumor (OSBT) at Baystate Medical Center was found to have FIGO Stage III C lesion associated with extensive ovarian external (surface) papillary growth, peritoneal implants in the omentum and cul-de-sac, and involvement of multiple pelvic and periaortic lymph nodes by the tumor. Histologically, the lymph nodes showed an admixture of endosalpingeal glandular inclusions with neoplastic tissue identical to the ovarian tumor. The exact histogenesis and the prognostic significance of the nodal involvement by OSBT are still not fully understood. Although there is a small number of reported cases of lymph node involvement associated with OSBT, they are described as examples of nodal metastases or independent primary foci of malignant transformation. This paper presents an interesting association of OSBT with extensive pelvic and periaortic nodal involvement and reviews the relevant literature.
Adult granulosa cell tumors (AGCTs) are classified as sex cord-stromal tumors of the ovary. However, they may be confused with other primary ovarian neoplasms. Intermediate filaments, specifically vimentin and cytokeratins, have been identified in AGCTs by immunohistochemistry performed on frozen and formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue and two-dimensional electrophoresis. Recently, however, immunohistochemical demonstration of cytokeratin has been used as supporting evidence of epithelial rather than sex cord-stromal differentiation in ovarian neoplasia. To investigate further intermediate filamentous proteins in AGCTs, 25 such tumors were studied by immunohistochemistry in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections. Cytoplasmic staining was observed, frequently in a distinct punctate, paranuclear pattern, in 14 of 25, 14 of 25, and seven of 17 tumors using monoclonal antibodies AE1/AE3, CAM 5.2, and 35BH11, respectively, which share the ability to detect low molecular weight cytokeratins. Staining for cytokeratin was not seen in any of the 17 tumors studied using the antibody 34BE12. Twenty-three of 25 tumors showed strong positivity for vimentin, characteristically seen as globoid paranuclear staining. Nine of 25 tumors contained desmin, which was restricted to the intermixed spindle cell, cortical type stromal component of the tumors. These patterns of immunoreactivity for intermediate filaments, particularly cytokeratins, are different than in common epithelial tumors of the ovary and may be useful in the differential diagnosis of ovarian neoplasia. Moreover, the immunohistochemical detection of cytokeratins should not be used as a criterion for excluding AGCT from the differential diagnosis of an ovarian neoplasm.
A large hemangioma of the cervix was treated successfully with the neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) laser. A survey of the literature disclosed 39 cases of hemangioma of the cervix and vagina. Hysterectomy was the primary mode of therapy in 15 cases. More conservative approaches have been used in young women requesting preservation of their childbearing ability, including CO2 laser excision, knife excision, cryotherapy, and electrocauterization. In the case presented, the Nd:YAG laser was used in the non-contact mode for a photocoagulative effect. This technique results in destruction of the lesion with less danger of bleeding than with any other surgical technique.
Breast metastasis from ovarian carcinoma is a rare event, with only 26 cases being previously reported in the English literature. The twenty-seventh such case is presented herein, and the literature on this topic is reviewed. Metastases to the breast from the ovary signal widespread metastases and generally herald a rapid deterioration and death. Although rare, it is important that metastatic cancer to the breast be differentiated from primary breast carcinoma as both the treatment and prognosis differ significantly.
Histiocytosis X of the female genital tract is unusual. Thirty-two cases have been reported to date in the world literature. An additional case is reported herein, presenting as a vulvar ulcer in a 2.5-year-old child with osteolytic lesions of the skull, splenomegaly, and otitis media. The diagnosis of histiocytosis X may be established by identifying the Langerhans histiocyte, characterized by nuclear grooves, immunoreactivity for S-100 protein, and pentalamellar cytoplasmic structures seen by electron microscopy. Prognosis is difficult to determine with certainty. However, age of less than 2 years at presentation, multi-organ involvement, and/or organ dysfunction appear to be associated with a less favorable prognosis. The patient presented herein is currently receiving vinblastine chemotherapy for recurrence of disease, manifested as an osteolytic lesion in the skull.
Suppose an observer views a distant object through a window in the far wall of a room or corridor--a visual scene constituting a vista. If the observer moves toward the window, then the distant object will shrink in apparent size and appear farther away. These effects are paradoxical, because the distant object appears smaller as its visual angle increases. The vista paradox occurs under many other real-world conditions, such as viewing a distant object while moving out of the mouth of a valley, or driving across a topographic crest. In the present study, framing effects and the equidistance tendency are considered as possible factors. However, an explanation based on the dynamic relationship between the visual angle of the framing portion of a vista and the visual angle of a distant object appears more promising.
The use of intraperitoneal radioisotopes in the management of women with ovarian cancer is controversial. We analyzed the experience with intraperitoneal chromic phosphate P 32 at our institution, from October 1979 to February 1983, in 22 patients with various stages and grades of ovarian malignancy. Survival in stage I is 87.5% and in stage II, 50%. Survival is 88.9% among patients with grade 1 tumors and 33.3% for those with grade 3 lesions. Morbidity related to chromic phosphate P 32 was minimal; small bowel obstruction occurred in only one patient who had also received external pelvic irradiation. Our results suggest that chromic phosphate P 32 is a safe, well tolerated, inexpensive, and effective adjuvant to surgery in the management of selected patients with ovarian malignancy.
In recent years there has been an increasing awareness that radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy can play an important role in the management of early invasive cervical cancer. We present a series of 255 patients who had radical hysterectomy for gynecologic malignancy over a nine-year period. The incidence of ureteral fistulas was 0.8% and of vesical fistulas 1.6%. The operative mortality was 0.78%, which compares favorably with the rates in most larger centers in which radical pelvic operations are common. With proper patient selection and excellent operative technique, survival rates of well over 90%, with minimal complications, can be obtained.
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Nitroglycerin was utilized in combination with general anesthesia in order to reduce mean arterial blood pressure with the objective of reducing operative blood loss in 26 consecutive patients undergoing radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy. This deliberate hypotensive technique added no morbidity and compared to a control group decreased the blood loss by 70%, shortened operating time by 29.5%, and decreased the percentage of patients requiring blood transfusions from 81% to 11.5%. The indications for controlled hypotension are still controversial and somewhat dependent upon the expertise of the anesthesia and surgery teams, availability of blood, and the risk of transfusion hepatitis. Cerebrovascular disease, myocardial ischemia, peripheral vascular disease, severe renal or hepatic disease, and hypovolemia are relative contraindications to deliberate hypotension.
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A retrospective study was undertaken of 189 patients with Stage I or Stage II endometrial cancer in whom selective lymphadenectomy had been performed between the years 1974 and 1981. Pelvic and para-aortic nodal involvement increased with increasing stage, grade, and depth of myometrial invasion. The incidences of pelvic and para-aortic node metastases in Stage I were 1.4% and 3.8%, respectively, while 17.6% of Stage II patients had para-aortic metastases. Mortality was significantly greater for Stage I adenosquamous carcinoma (10.5%) and papillary serous adenocarcinoma (37.5%) than for Stage I adenocarcinoma (2.2%). In Stage I, grade 3 nonrandomized cases of endometrial cancer, no significant difference in survival or morbidity occurred between those patients treated with external radiation and those who were not. Intraperitoneal or adnexal spread occurred in 12 of the 189 patients, and lymph nodes were diseased in two of these. Sixteen of 17 recurrences developed at extrapelvic sites, indicating the need for effective systemic chemotherapy in high-risk patients. The overall 5-year survival rates for Stage I and II patients were 88.0% and 83.3%, respectively.
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Primary leiomyoma and leiomyosarcoma of the appendix are extremely rare, and most often the diagnosis is histopathologic. We have reported the largest leiomyoma of the appendix known to date.