Irving B. Rosen

Orofacial and mandibular reconstruction with the iliac crest free flap: a review of 60 cases and a new method of classification.

Sixty vascularized iliac crest free-tissue transfers were used for oromandibular reconstruction, 46 as osteocutaneous and 14 as osseous flaps. Forty-one patients had preoperative radiotherapy, and 8 had failed previous attempts at reconstruction. Forty-nine of the 60 reconstructions were carried out primarily, most commonly following ablative surgery for radiorecurrent squamous carcinoma. Ages ranged from 19 to 85 years, and follow-up ranged from 2 months to 5 years. Flap survival was 95 percent. Eight-six percent of patients returned to their previous activities. There were 2 perioperative deaths, and 31 patients were alive at follow-up. Horizontal defects from 5 to 16 cm were reconstructed, and in 22 patients, both oral lining and skin coverage were replaced. Radiographic evidence of bone union was noted in 96 percent of synostoses, and clinical union was seen in all but one patient. One patient required bilateral hemimandibular reconstructions for sequential primaries at different operative sittings. Functional and cosmetic results were generally satisfactory and were excellent in bone-only reconstructions. Several surgical principles evolved to minimize bulk and eliminate the need for intermaxillary fixation or external fixation postoperatively. To improve results in large or more lateral through-and-through defects, an accessory pectoralis musculocutaneous flap proved advantageous. Cosmetic and functional results depend largely on three factors: the extent of the surgery, the leanness of the patient, and his or her position on the surgical learning curve.

Immunohistochemical Diagnosis of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

In thyroid, the diagnosis of papillary carcinoma (PC) is based on nuclear features; however, identification of these features is inconsistent and controversial. Proposed markers of PC include HBME-1, specific cytokeratins (CK) such as CK19, and ret, the latter reflecting a ret/PTC rearrangement. We applied immunohistochemical stains to determine the diagnostic accuracy of these three markers. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue from 232 surgically resected thyroid nodules included 40 hyperplastic nodules (NH), 35 follicular adenomas (FA), 138 papillary carcinomas (PC; 54 classical papillary tumors and 84 follicular variant papillary carcinomas [FVPC]), 4 follicular carcinomas (FC), 6 insular carcinomas (IC), 7 Hürthle cell carcinomas (HCC), and 2 anaplastic carcinomas (AC). HBME-1 and ret were negative in all NH and FA; some of these exhibited focal CK19 reactivity in areas of degeneration. Half of the FC and AC exhibited HBME-1 staining but no positivity for CK19 or ret. In PC, 20% of cases stained for all three markers. Classical PC had the highest positivity with staining for HBME-1 in 70%, CK19 in 80%, and ret in 78%. FVPC were positive for HBME-1 in 45%, for CK19 in 57%, and for ret in 63%; only 7 FVPC were negative for all three markers. The six IC exhibited 67% staining for HBME-1 and 50% positivity for CK19 and ret. The seven HCC had 29% positivity for HBME-1 and CK19, and 57% positivity for ret. This panel of three immunohistochemical markers provides a useful means of diagnosing PC. Focal CK19 staining may be found in benign lesions, but diffuse positivity is characteristic of PC. HBME-1 positivity indicates malignancy but not papillary differentiation. Only rarely are all three markers negative in PC; this panel therefore provides an objective and reproducible tool for the analysis of difficult thyroid nodules.

Prospective management of nodal metastases in differentiated thyroid cancer

Previous studies have concluded that lymph node metastases do not affect survival rates in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma and, therefore, nodal metastasis has not been evaluated as a prognostic factor in recent definitions of risk groups. To determine the significance of nodal disease, we reviewed 227 consecutive patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (173 with papillary, 37 with follicular, and 17 with Hürthle cell carcinoma). Of 70 (31%) patients with lymph node metastases (14 [20%] palpable preoperatively and 56 [80%] detected by routine sampling of middle and lower cervical nodes), 13 (19%) developed a recurrence compared with only 3 of 157 (2%) without nodal disease (p less than 0.01). Sixty-eight patients were treated with modified neck dissection, 63 of whom received adjuvant radioiodine. There were 10 recurrences in 63 patients (16%) who had been treated with radioiodine, compared with 3 recurrences in 7 (42%) patients who did not receive adjuvant radioiodine. Follow-up ranged from 2 to 28 years, with a mean of 8 years. Involvement of the lymph nodes was a marker for systemic disease occurring synchronously in 4 of 5 patients who presented with distant metastases and preceding systemic recurrence in 9 of 10 patients. Four patients (2%), all with lymph node metastases (three with concomitant extrathyroidal invasion and one with systemic metastases at initial presentation), died of thyroid carcinoma. Cervical lymph node metastases were associated with a higher incidence of recurrence and occurred synchronously or preceded the development of distant metastases in 13 of 15 (87%) patients. Although these findings were not statistically significant for overall survival, they lend support to routine cervical lymph node sampling for detection of and modified neck dissection with adjuvant radioiodine therapy for treatment of lymph node metastases. Such measures should reduce the subsequent recurrence rate and permit early detection and treatment of systemic disease.

Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy in the management of thyroid disease.

During a 23-month period, 59 patients were referred for ultrasound (US)-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) of the thyroid gland because of inadequate orthodox (office) FNAB, a clinically small lesion, or an occult lesion. Seventy percent of the group (41 patients) was referred for surgery, which revealed cancer in 37% of patients, adenoma in 19%, and benign disease in 44%. US-guided FNAB yielded false-positive reports in 0% of patients, false-negative reports in 5% to 12%, and inadequate aspirates in 32%. The US-guided FNAB technique had a sensitivity of 60% to 90%, a specificity of 100%, a positive predictive value of 100%, a negative predictive value of 80%, and an accuracy of 85%. US-guided FNAB provides cytologic information in 60% of patients in whom a diagnosis cannot be established by orthodox (office) means, thus enhancing the diagnostic ability of clinicians who can recommend a treatment program with confidence.

Mandibular reconstruction in the radiated patient: the role of osteocutaneous free tissue transfers

This paper discusses our experience with the second metatarsal and iliac crest osteocutaneous transfers for mandibular reconstruction. The prime indication for this type of reconstruction was for anterior mandibular defects when the patient had been previously resected. Midbody to midbody defects were reconstructed with the metatarsal and larger defects with the iliac crest. In most cases, an osteotomy was done to create a mental angle. The evaluation of speech, oral continence, and swallowing revealed good results in all patients unless lip or tongue resection compromised function. Facial contour was excellent in metatarsal reconstructions. The iliac crest cutaneous flap provided a generous supply of skin for both intraoral reconstruction and external skin coverage but tended to be bulky, particularly when used in the submental area. Thirty three of 36 flaps survived completely. Flap losses were due to anastomosis thrombosis (1), pedicle compression (1), and pedicle destruction during exploration for suspected carotid blowout (1). Ninety three percent of bone junctions developed a solid bony union despite the mandible having had a full therapeutic dose of preoperative radiation. Despite wound infections in 8 patients, and intraoral dehiscence with bone exposure in 12 patients, all but one of these transfers went on to good bony union without infection in the bone graft.

Oncogene profile of papillary thyroid carcinoma

BACKGROUND Our purpose was to study the expression of multiple oncogenes in papillary thyroid cancer for possible interactions and prognostic significance. METHODS Twenty papillary thyroid carcinomas were studied for expression/mutation of 3 oncogenes: ras, ret/PTC, and erbB-2/neu. H, N, and K ras codons were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), single-stranded conformation polymorphism, and sequencing. The thyroid oncogene ret/PTC was identified by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR. Gene amplification of erbB-2/neu was analyzed by differential PCR. The transmembrane domain of erbB-2/neu was sequenced for activating mutations. Quantitation of erbB-2/neu mRNA was evaluated by competitive RT-PCR, and protein expression was determined by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS Among 20 tumors, 3 had insular/anaplastic dedifferentiation, 13 were intrathyroidal, and 7 were metastatic to cervical lymph nodes (6) or lung (1). An H-ras 13 mutation was found in 1 metastatic tumor and an N-ras 61 mutation in 1 intrathyroidal tumor. ret/PTC was identified in 3 intrathyroidal and 5 metastatic tumors. No erbB-2/neu DNA amplification or mutations were identified, although 4 tumors had elevated erbB-2/neu mRNA levels. Three of 20 patients had abnormalities detected in multiple oncogenes; 2 had elevated erbB-2/neu mRNA and ret/PTC rearrangements, and 1 of these had pulmonary metastasis. An intrathyroidal papillary cancer had an N61 ras mutation and a ret/PTC gene rearrangement. CONCLUSIONS ret/PTC rearrangements are present in 40% of papillary thyroid carcinomas and may play a role in metastatic behavior. In contrast, ras mutations are rare (10%). erbB-2/neu gene amplification and activating mutations are not detected, although elevated mRNA levels were found in 20% of papillary carcinomas. The lack of correlation among the 3 oncogenes in 17 of 20 (85%) papillary thyroid carcinomas suggests that they were not cumulative factors in the pathogenesis of these tumors.

The iliac crest and the radial forearm flap in vascularized oromandibular reconstruction

Sixty cases (59 patients) of oromandibular reconstruction using vascularized iliac crests were compared with 13 in which radial osteocutaneous flaps were used. These patients were reviewed from the standpoint of cosmetic results and function as well as their operative and postoperative courses. In both groups, the results were generally good. However, revisionary surgery was more frequent in those receiving the iliac crest. This group also had a higher incidence of intraoral wound breakdown and bone exposure. Nevertheless, the sheer size of the iliac crest made it ideal for massive oromandibular defects, just as its natural curvature lent itself to precise replication of the mandible in bone-only reconstructions. Its bulk proved a major obstacle in small composite defects. The radial forearm flap carried thin, pliable, well-vascularized skin that was superior to groin skin for oral lining. Bone gaps of up to 9 cm could be handled with ease, thus making it complementary to the iliac crest over the wide spectrum of mandibular reconstruction.

B-Mode Ultrasonography in Assessment of Thyroid Gland Lesions

Abstract We have used B-mode ultrasonography in a study of 150 cases to differentiate between cystic and solid characteristics of thyroid nodules, properties that could not be reliably determined b...

Hyperparathyroidism–Jaw Tumor Syndrome: The HRPT2 Locus Is within a 0.7-cM Region on Chromosome 1q

Hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor syndrome (HPT-JT) is an autosomal dominant disease characterized by the development of multiple parathyroid adenomas and multiple fibro-osseous tumors of the maxilla and mandible. Some families have had affected members with involvement of the kidneys, variously reported as Wilms tumors, nephroblastomas, and hamartomas. The HPT-JT gene (HRPT2) maps to chromosome 1q25-q31. We describe further investigation of two HPT-JT families (K3304 and K3349) identified through the literature. These two expanded families and two previously reported families were investigated jointly for linkage with 21 new, closely linked markers. Multipoint linkage analysis resulted in a maximum LOD score of 7.83 (at recombination fraction 0) for markers D1S2848-D1S191. Recombination events in these families reduced the HRPT2 region to approximately 14.7 cM. In addition, two of these four study families (i.e., K3304 and K11687) share a 2.2-cM length of their (expanded) affected haplotype, indicating a possible common origin. Combining the linkage data and shared-haplotype data, we propose a 0.7-cM candidate region for HRPT2.

The through-and-through oromandibular defect: rationale for aggressive reconstruction.

Through-and-through oral cancer (T4+) involving contiguous mucosa, mandible, and skin is a devastating disease with poor prognosis and represents one of the most difficult reconstructive challenges in head and neck surgery. Thirty-eight patients underwent immediate microvascular reconstruction following surgical tumor ablation. The purpose of the present review was to assess the value of microvascular reconstruction in these essentially palliative reconstructive efforts. The iliac crest osteocutaneous flap was used in the majority of patients and was found to be ideal for the reconstruction of large bony and soft-tissue defects present in this group of patients. Other methods, including pectoralis major, forehead, and latissimus dorsi flaps, also were used in the soft-tissue reconstruction. The mean follow-up was 16 ± 2 months, and the mean hospitalization was 43 ± 22 days. The majority of patients succumbed to recurrent or related diseases, yet a few went on to survival despite the initial advanced stage of disease. A number of complications were observed. However, most patients developed normal or easily intelligible speech (65 percent), and most (78 percent) had their tracheostomies closed and sustained themselves on an oral soft diet (84 percent). Bony union was noted in the majority of patients (73 percent). Although the prognosis in full-thickness oral carcinoma is grim, it appears that palliative surgery in these cases is well justified. The goals are to shorten the duration of hospitalization, reduce morbidity, and improve the remaining quality of life. Microvascular tissue transfer offers a means to achieve these goals in a single, reliable procedure. We feel that immediate one-stage bone and soft-tissue reconstruction restores dignity and relieves suffering in this unfortunate group of individuals. (Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 93: 44, 1994.)