Low-grade myofibroblastic sarcoma of maxillary sinus and buccal mucosa: Two rare cases and review of the literature

Low-grade myofibroblastic sarcoma (LGMS) represents an atypical tumor composed of myofibroblasts with a predilection for the head and neck, especially in the tongue and oral cavity, with a high tendency to local recurrence and metastasis, even after a long period. LGMS arising from maxillary sinus and buccal mucosa are not very common. To the best of our knowledge, only 55 cases of low-grade myofibroblastic sarcoma have been reported and only four cases of LGMS of maxillary sinus and three cases of LGMS of buccal mucosa have been reported in world literature. We report two cases of LGMS of the maxillary sinus and buccal mucosa, discussing clinical, histological, inmunohistochemical and therapeutic features.

Clinicopathologic study of parapharyngeal tumors

BACKGROUND

Parapharyngeal space (PPS) tumors are rare. Three main groups are identified, namely those of salivary origin, neurogenic tumors and paragangliomas. Early pathological classification of PPS tumors is important for pin point diagnosis and timely management.

AIMS

The PPS is a complex anatomical potential space and poses high risk of per and postoperative complication. This study was done to perform optimum preoperative evaluation by clinicoradiologic correlation and guided fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) which is essential to minimize intraoperative risk.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Guided FNAC was carried out to diagnose parapharyngeal tumors in 48 patients from January 2008 to January 2010. The inflammatory lesions were excluded in the present study. Correlation with histopathology was done in all the cases.

RESULTS

The mean age for all the patients was 38.2 years. There were 23 male and 25 female subjects. Seventy nine percent of the lesions were benign with pleomorphic salivary adenoma being the commonest, while only 20.8% of the lesions were malignant. All the patients presented with neck swelling. No complication was encountered in the present study.

CONCLUSION

FNAC can replace incisional biopsy which may be hazardous in this area. Immediate treatment can be planned based on the FNAC report.

A rare case of gangrenous appendicitis by eggs of Taenia species

Cysticercosis and Taeniasis continue to be a major public health burden in the developing countries like India. Humans are the only definitive hosts infected by ingestion of eggs of Taenia species. Appendicular Taeniasis is rare with few isolated case reports during the past 30 years. Here, we report the case of a 38-year-old female patient from Nepal who presented with acute pain abdomen, was operated and diagnosed as suffering from gangrenous appendicitis caused by eggs of Taenia species.

Rosai-Dorfman disease

Sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy, also known as Rosai-Dorfman disease, is a rare histiocytic proliferative disorder of unknown aetiology. The classic presentation of Rosai-Dorfman disease is massive, bilateral, painless cervical lymphadenopathy. Extranodal disease is also common, often with a particular predilection for the head and neck regions. We report a rare case of Rosai-Dorfman disease with nodal and multiple extranodal manifestations in a 13-year-old girl. The patient had cervical and mediastinal lymphadenopathy, multiple soft tissue swellings of the scalp, bilateral proptosis and goitre due to thyroid gland involvement. She responded to steroids, with remission of the swellings and symptoms. This case is being reported for its rarity, multiple extranodal manifestations and thyroid gland involvement. Thyroid gland involvement in Rosai-Dorfman disease has rarely been reported in the literature.

Calcified pure uterine lipoma mimicking myoma

Pure lipoma of the uterus is a rare entity and only a few cases have been reported in the literature. Clinical symptoms and signs are similar to those found in leiomyoma and create preoperative diagnostic confusion. The histogenesis is still unclear. We report the case of a 70 year-old woman with pure lipoma of the uterus with calcification.

A simple chemical free arsenic removal method for community water supply--a case study from West Bengal, India

This report describes a simple chemical free method that was successfully used by a team of European and Indian scientists (www.qub.ac.uk/tipot) to remove arsenic (As) from groundwater in a village in West Bengal, India. Six such plants are now in operation and are being used to supply water to the local population (www.insituarsenic.org). The study was conducted in Kasimpore, a village in North 24 Parganas District, approximately 25 km from Kolkata. In all cases, total As in treated water was less than the WHO guideline value of 10 microg L(-1). The plant produces no sludge and the operation cost is 1.0 US$ per day for producing 2000 L of potable water.

Hepatorenal dysfunctions in lead pollution

Environmental and occupational lead pollution is a common problem in both developing and industrialised countries. Both hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity are known to occur in persons with exposure to heavy metals. We studied both liver function and renal function and blood lead concentraton in random population sample of 372 men (age range, 24 to 55 years). In all the subjects we measured both liver and renal function tests and both blood lead and urinary concentration of lead. Raised blood and urinary lead concentrations were associated with moderate changes in liver function and abnormal renal function, reflected in decrease of albumin and increased levels of liver enzymes and raised urea and creatinine concentrations, and with a reduction in creatinine clearance rate as compared to apparently normal subjects. These findings emphasis the importance of measurement of blood lead concentrations in adults in the genereal population to combat the effects of lead toxicity before the clinical signs predominate.

Effect of dynamization in open interlocking nailing of femoral fractures. A prospective randomized comparative study of 50 cases with a 2-year follow-up

This prospective randomized comparative study evaluated the role of dynamization of interlocking nails after open reduction and internal fixation of femoral shaft fractures. Fifty femoral shaft fractures were treated by open interlocking nailing and were statically locked. Twenty six of these 50 patients were randomly selected for dynamization and the other 24 were treated without dynamization. The patients were followed up for at least 2 years. The 26 cases which were dynamized went on to union between 13 and 28 weeks (average 19.2 weeks) with two poor results, including one nonunion. The cases that were not dynamized went on to union between 16 and 30 weeks (average 23.5 weeks) with two poor results, including one nail breakage. Though final results are comparable, the study suggests that dynamization after open interlocking nailing significantly shortens the mean time to union, though it does not significantly affect the union rate of the femoral shaft fractures.

Effect of different fractions of methanolic extract of the seeds of Dolichos biflorus on some microorganisms

Extracts from different parts of plants (1) including seeds are reported to act upon pathogenic microorganisms. A few active principles were isolated. The present preliminary report shows significant role of the seeds of Dolichos biflorus (Linn), locally known as Kulthi, against some test organisms using different fractions of defatted seed extracts with methanol.