Isolated congenital anonychia cases with coincident chromosomal fragility

Isolated anonychia without any associated phenotypical disturbances is one of the rarest anomalies of congenital nail disorders. Some or all fingers of the hands or feet could be affected. Anonychia can be encountered in dermatologic disorders like pemphigus, lichen planus, epidermolysis bullosa; it can also be seen as a component of some syndromes like Nail-Patella and Cooks syndromes. We present a sister couple in whom all fingernails and toenails were lacking without any additional physical sign. A fragile chromosomal site was also encountered in peripheral chromosome analysis in the long arm of the chromosome 10 in both of the cases. (C) 2004 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved

Burn scar sarcoma

Malignancies developing in burn scars have been known for a long time and are generally epidermoid carcinomas although a few sarcoma cases have been reported. A case of fibrosarcoma developing in the burn scar was presented in this report and the literature reviewed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved

The Effect of TENS on Random Pattern Flap Survival in Nicotinized Rats

The adverse effects of cigarettes, due to their nicotine content, may cause important ischemic complications in flaps. Electrical stimulation increases blood flow in ischemic tissues, the level of vascular endothelial growth factor, capillary density, and angiogenesis while decreasing oxygen tension in tissues. Electrical stimulation is also known to increase survival rate in flaps. In this study, which tests the hypothesis that TENS (a type of electrical stimulation) contributes to enhancement of flap viability by eliminating the adverse effects of nicotine, 40 rats were divided into 4 groups of 10 rats. Nicotinization was achieved by subcutaneous administration of 2 mg/kg per day to the rats, other than those in the Control group, for 4 weeks. The rats in one of the nicotinized groups received 20 mA, 80 Hz TENS (TENS1 group) for 1 hour daily throughout the last week before McFarlane flaps of random pattern were made in the backs of all the rats. Another nicotinized group was subjected to TENS in a similar dose after flap elevation (TENS2 group). Flap blood flow was measured before and 48 hours after their construction, and their fluorescein perfusion was measured immediately after the flap elevation. The comparison of the survival rates of the flaps revealed that, although the blood flow in the Nicotine group was significantly lower than in the Control group, it was significantly higher in the TENS1 group than in both the Control and Nicotine groups. The proportion of the area stained with fluorescein, immediately after the elevation of flaps, was significantly reduced in the Nicotine group compared to the Control group. In the TENS1 group, however, it was greater than in the nicotine and TENS2 groups. Flap viability rates decreased significantly in the Nicotine group compared with the Control group. In the TENS2 group, however, an increase was observed compared with the Nicotine group

Basal cell carcinoma arising from surgical scars: A case and review of the literature

BACKGROUND. Scar malignancies are generally known as Marjolin's ulcer and the majority of them are epidermoid carcinomas. In addition to epidermoid carcinomas, Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) also can grow in various scars. Basal cell carcinoma cases developing in surgical scars are extremely rare; only 5 cases have been encountered in available English literature

Correcting Concavity of Rabbit Auricular Cartilage: Comparison of Single Scoring Incisions with Butyl Cyanoacrylate-Aided Techniques

Background: The authors present the results of an experimental study in which four different techniques were used for the correction of concave rabbit auricular cartilage

Previous injuries or scars as risk factors for the development of basal cell carcinoma

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common malignant tumour in humans and most occur in elderly people. The pathogenesis of BCC is directly related to exposure to ultraviolet radiation in sunlight, but trauma is also mentioned occasionally. As well as one published series, several single cases have been reported. Our aim in the present study was to assess any possible relation between the development of BCC and trauma in a series of 92 patients, 12 of whom (13%) gave a history of previous injury. These lesions either developed directly after a sharp or blunt injury or in the scar tissue that had resulted from previous surgical incisions, burns, or dog bites. The male:female ratio was higher in the injured group (10:2) than in the uninjured group (44:36), but not significantly so (p=0.11). Morphoea-like basal cell carcinomas were more common in the injured group (n=91) (p=0.06). We conclude that trauma might be considered as another aetiological agent for BCC