Dental transfigurements in Borneo. (1/94)

Dental transfigurement, formerly termed dental mutilation, has been practised by many societies worldwide. This article gives many of the forms that have been attributed to the indigenes of the island of Borneo. The method has been performed by review of anthropological books, sparse dental references, Borneo research literature, and popular writing.  (+info)

An outbreak of mycobacterial furunculosis associated with footbaths at a nail salon. (2/94)

BACKGROUND: In September 2000, a physician in northern California described four patients with persistent, culture-negative boils on the lower extremities. The patients had received pedicures at the same nail salon. We identified and investigated an outbreak of Mycobacterium fortuitum furunculosis among customers of this nail salon. METHODS: Patients were defined as salon customers with persistent skin infections below the knee. A case-control study was conducted that included the first 48 patients identified, and 56 unaffected friends and family members who had had a pedicure at the same salon served as controls. Selected M. fortuitum isolates, cultured from patients and the salon environment, were compared by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: We identified 110 customers of the nail salon who had furunculosis. Cultures from 34 were positive for rapidly growing mycobacteria (32 M. fortuitum and 2 unidentified). Most of the affected patients had more than 1 boil (median, 2; range, 1 to 37). All patients and controls had had whirlpool footbaths. Shaving the legs with a razor before pedicure was a risk factor for infection (70 percent of patients vs. 31 percent of controls; adjusted odds ratio, 4.8; 95 percent confidence interval, 2.1 to 11.1). Cultures from all 10 footbaths at the salon yielded M. fortuitum. The M. fortuitum isolates from three footbaths and 14 patients were indistinguishable by electrophoresis. CONCLUSIONS: We identified a large outbreak of rapidly growing mycobacterial infections among persons who had had footbaths and pedicures at one nail salon. Physicians should suspect this cause in patients with persistent furunculosis after exposure to whirlpool footbaths.  (+info)

Haemophilus aphrophilus endocarditis after tongue piercing. (3/94)

Piercing invades subcutaneous areas and has a high potential for infectious complications. The number of case reports of endocarditis associated with piercing is increasing. We studied a 25-year-old man with a pierced tongue, who arrived at Memorial Health University Medical Center with fever, chills, rigors, and shortness of breath of 6 days' duration and had an aortic valvuloplasty for correction of congenital aortic stenosis.  (+info)

Prospective randomised trial comparing traditional suture technique with the dynamic sliding loop suture technique in the closure of skin lacerations. (4/94)

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the cosmetic appearance and related complications of selected skin lacerations closed by traditional suture technique with that of the dynamic sliding loop suture technique. DESIGN: Prospective, randomised clinical trial. SETTING: A district general hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty seven eligible patients aged between 16 and 60 years with skin lacerations (no deeper than superficial fascia) to the limbs, trunk, and neck (excluding face and scalp) and with no associated neurovascular or tendon injuries were recruited into the trial. The exclusion criteria used included immunocompromised patients (diabetics, malignancy, renal failure, corticosteroid treatment), primary dermatological conditions (psoriasis, eczema), keloid prone or susceptible patients, and wounds judged unsuitable for primary closure. INTERVENTION: Skin lacerations were randomly allocated to have closure by either the traditional method or by use of the dynamic sliding loop suture method. The trial had ethical approval of the hospital ethics committee and all participants were fully informed of the trial both verbally and by an information leaflet. Written informed consent was obtained before starting the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The cosmetic appearance of photographs of wounds immediately after suture removal and at three months were assessed by a general surgeon and an orthopaedic surgeon blinded to the technique used. The 10 point visual analogue cosmesis scale was used for scoring the appearance of the wounds. SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURE: The presence of wound closure related complications such as infection, dehiscence, suture slippage, wound edge submergence, skin edge necrosis, and haematoma formation were noted and recorded on follow up visits. RESULTS: A total of 37 patients participated in the trial over a period of 18 months. Seventeen patients underwent suture by the traditional technique and 20 by the dynamic sliding loop suture technique. Four patients (all from the traditional group) were lost to follow up and not included in the study. Most wounds healed uneventfully although there was one case of wound infection in each group. Four patients had ligature slippage (three from the dynamic suture and one from the traditional group). Two patients had evidence of skin edge necrosis both from the traditional technique group. A comparison of the healed wounds by two independent assessors blinded to the technique used showed no statistically significant difference observed between the two types of intervention (Wilcoxon matched paired test p>0.05) immediately after suture removal or at three months. Although there was no statistically demonstrable difference, the comparative paired absolute visual analogue scores seemed to consistently show higher values for the sliding loop technique. CONCLUSION: The cosmetic appearance of wounds sutured using the dynamic sliding loop suture technique in this study were not statistically shown to be superior to those sutured using the traditional suture technique although absolute visual analogue scores consistently showed higher values for the sliding loop technique. The significance of this is unclear and may warrant a much larger trial to see if it is a trend that a larger population of participants can help to support or refute with regard to the superiority of this new technique.  (+info)

Nonablative laser and light therapy: an approach to patient and device selection. (5/94)

Nonablative laser and light therapy is a relatively novel modality for the improvement of the visual appearance of photodamaged, scarred, and injured skin. A number of different wavelengths and devices have been purported to be efficacious for the delivery of nonablative therapy. Among the features that can be addressed are red spots and telangiectasia, pigmentation and lentigines, and their daily routines while benefiting from the cumulative effects of skin rejuvenation.  (+info)

Gingival recessions caused by lip piercing: case report. (6/94)

Fear of losing the teeth is common among patients presenting with gingival recession. This report describes a case in which unusual gingival recessions were caused by lip piercing. Periodontal treatment involved removal of the causative agent, hygiene instruction, scaling and root planing, and coverage of the root with a subepithelial connective tissue graft. The therapeutic measures applied in this case yielded satisfactory root coverage, an increase in the width of the keratinized gingiva, improvement in hygiene status and absence of dental hypersensitivity.  (+info)

Foreign-body reaction with Mycobacterium abseccus superinfection. (7/94)

Mycobacterium abscessus is a rare cause of skin and soft tissue infections that often results from inoculation with contaminated foreign material. A 41-year-old woman is described regarding an outbreak of M. abscessus following soft tissue augmentation. Clinical features and treatment options are reviewed.  (+info)

Self-inflicted cosmetic tongue split: a case report. (8/94)

The objective of this case study was to obtain some first-hand information about the functional consequences of a cosmetic tongue split operation for speech and tongue motility. One male patient who had performed the operation on himself was interviewed and underwent a tongue motility assessment, as well as an ultrasound examination. Tongue motility was mildly reduced as a result of tissue scarring. Speech was rated to be fully intelligible and highly acceptable by 4 raters, although 2 raters noticed slight distortions of the sibilants /s/ and /z/. The 3-dimensional ultrasound demonstrated that the synergy of the 2 sides of the tongue was preserved. A notably deep posterior genioglossus furrow indicated compensation for the reduced length of the tongue blade. It is concluded that the tongue split procedure did not significantly affect the participant's speech intelligibility and tongue motility.  (+info)

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