Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Little Leaguer's Shoulder
Acetabulum Fractures
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Fatty Infiltration of the Liver
Fatty infiltration of the liver, also known as fatty liver, is an accumulation of fat in the liver cells. It is not certain how fatty liver occurs but could possibly be fat that is transported from other parts of the body into the liver.
Causes and higher incidence of fatty liver can include heavy alcohol consumption, extreme weight gain, diabetes mellitus, tuberculosis, gastric bypass surgery, use of corticosteroids.
Fatty liver can be diagnosed by the presence of an enlarged liver, elevated liver enzymes, biopsy of the liver, and imaging studies including ultrasound and CT.
On ultrasound images a fatty liver will appear bright in a ripple pattern. CT studies of the liver will present less dense than a normal liver when fatty liver occurs.
Simple fatty liver is not associated with other liver abnormalities however individuals who have fatty liver due to heavy alcohol consumption and continue to drink excessively can result with alcoholic hepatitis or alcoholic cirrhosis.
Fatty liver can occur in patients that do not drink excessively as well. Patients that are at a higher risk for developing fatty liver without excessive drinking include middle aged, significantly overweight, and diabetic individual. These individuals that have a fatty liver the liver can progress to the development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) or steatonecrosis or necrosis. It is possible that between 20-40% of grossly overweight individuals will develop NASH.
Treatment for fatty liver is related to it's cause. Obese individuals will benefit with weight loss. Heavy drinkers will benefit from discontinuing alcohol consumption. Patients with diabetes mellitus can benefit from controlling the diabetes with diet, drugs or insulin.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Mediastinal Teratoma
The above images are a PA Chest X-Ray and a CT Scan of the of the Chest revealing a Mediastinal Teratoma.
A teratoma is tumor consisting of different types of tissue, as of skin, hair, and muscle, caused by the development of independent germ or reproductive cells.
Mediastinal teratomas account for 7% of all teratomas. The mature type of these are benign and do not have potential to metastasize. These can be found in all age groups however they are most common in adults 20-40 years of age.
They are often asymptomatic. If symptoms due occur, they can include chest pain, cough, difficulty breathing, or symptoms similar to pneumonitis.
The treatment for mediastinal teratomas is typically just surgical removal of the cyst. The surgical procedure is the most often cause of complications.