Complete removal of the thymus and fatty tissue adherent to pericardium is crucial for treating myasthenia gravis. Our aim was to analyze our surgical and clinical results and early experience of robot-assisted thymectomy in patients with nonthymomatous myasthenia gravis. Between January 2008 and October 2010, 8 patients, all women, with nonthymomatous myasthenia gravis underwent robot-assisted...

Introduction: Angiomyolipoma (AML), a benign mesenchymal tumor that commonly arises from the kidney, may be associated with tuberous sclerosis complex and perivascular epithelioid cell tumors (PEComas). Nasal angiomyolipoma is very rare and usually occurs in elderly individuals with epistaxis and nasal obstruction.   Case Report: We report a rare case of nasal angiomyoli...

PURPOSE Several risk factors for development of reexpansion pulmonary edema (REPE) after drainage of pneumothoraces have been reported, but the association between the method of thoracostomy and the development of REPE is unknown. The aim of this study was to compare the frequency of REPE after treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax with trocar or hemostat assisted closed thoracostomy. MATERIA...

This comparative analysis examined the cost-effectiveness of music therapy as a procedural support in the pediatric healthcare setting. Many healthcare organizations are actively attempting to reduce the amount of sedation for pediatric patients undergoing various procedures. Patients receiving music therapy-assisted computerized tomography scans ( n = 57), echocardiograms ( n = 92), and other ...

Computer assisted surgery can improve accuracy and precision in many surgical techniques (Stiehl2005, Jenny2005). Moreover, imaging based computer assisted procedures allow for planning and visual control during all steps (Victor2005). Often, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are used as imaging modalities. CT offers good image quality but due to its ionizing radiati...

Microkeratome-assisted anterior lamellar keratoplasty has emerged as a surgical option for conditions affecting the clarity of the outer 200 mum of the cornea. Herein we describe the outcome of a simple procedure in which the excimer laser can be used to augment deep tissue removal after both recipient bed and donor graft are prepared with the microkeratome. Our noncomparative interventional ca...

We describe a technique for femtosecond laser-assisted bag-in-the-lens (BIL) intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. Anterior capsulotomy and lens division into small pieces are performed by the laser. A fluid-filled interface makes it possible to re-dock the laser to the eye for posterior capsulotomy after the eye has been opened for lens aspiration without complications. The integrated optical c...

Robotic assisted laparoscopic surgery is becoming more widely available, but despite its multiple benefits, it is not without risk. This case is of a 62-year-old female who presented to the emergency department for dyspnea two days after robotic assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy. Physical exam revealed diffuse facial, neck, upper extremity, torso, and lower extremity crepitus, which was diagno...

Computer assisted tomography (CAT) systems demand large amounts of time and space. In this paper, we describe an approach to solving the CAT problem using several AI techniques including representation selection and pruning. Rather than backproject intensity data onto a pixel grid or voxel lattice, we solve the problem geometrically — a backprojection region is stored as a convex polygon in a p...