Lade Wosornu

Thyroid Tuberculosis Mimicking Carcinoma: Report of Two Cases

Abstract.Among 527 patients with thyroid disease who underwent surgery at our hospital during a 20-year period, 2 (0.4%) had tuberculous thyroiditis mimicking carcinoma. The first patient was a 44-year-old man with a solitary thyroid nodule and the second was a 24-year old man with a thyroid abscess. The unexpected diagnosis was made postoperatively and was based on histological findings in both patients. No primary focus was found elsewhere in either patient, and both responded to antituberculous chemotherapy. Although the diagnosis is usually based on examination of resected specimens, recent reports indicate that find-needle aspiration cytology is a cost-effective technique of diagnosing thyroid tuberculosis. A review of 35 cases reported in the English literature is also discussed.

Increased Rate of Cholecystectomy after Introduction of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy in Saudi Arabia

Abstract. A rapid increase in the rate of cholecystectomy was reported in eastern Saudi Arabia between 1977 and 1986. The aim of this study was to determine whether the rate of cholecystectomy in the same region was still rising after the introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. From 1987 to 1995 a total of 24 hospitals in eastern Saudi Arabia were surveyed using a questionnaire. During the 9-year study period, the rate of total cholecystectomy (open and laparoscopic) increased by 91%. Whereas the cholecystectomy rate decreased by 4% per annum from 1987 to 1990, it increased by 63.7% from 1991 to 1995 after the introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The increase in the rates of cholecystectomy was observed in all age groups and both sexes. Cholecystectomy was, however, most frequent among the age group 45–64 years followed by the age group 25–44 years. Young and female patients were more likely to undergo laparoscopic cholecystectomy than the open procedure. The rise in cholecystectomy rate deserves further evaluation with regard to the following: reasons for the increased rate of cholecystectomy, cholecystectomy-related morbidity and mortality, and the total costs of cholecystectomy.

Prevalence of Primary Adult Lactose Malabsorption in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

Although it has been reported that adult lactose malabsorption (ALM) is relatively common among Arabs, data on the prevalence of ALM in the Saudi and Yemeni populations are scant. We have determine...

Duodenal Ulcers in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia

Using a method that involves corrections for pyloric losses and duodenogastric reflux, we determined gastric acid secretion in 36 control subjects (25 males and 11 females) and 58 patients with duo...

A Community-Oriented Approach to Surgery

If each day of our lives is meant to be better than the day before, then the day we die must be the best of all. But, due to ill health, most human beings cannot possibly see things that way. Thus have the planners and providers of health fallen short, to say nothing of politicians and men of religion. For, although we are nowhere near the WHO goal “Health for All by 2000,”1 in this grand scheme of things, the surgeon’s role is small.