Conclusions: Despite the manufacturers recommendation to avoid BIA in patients with ICDs, this study showed no evidence of any interference in 20 patients. Bioimpedance analysis might be safe in such patients, but further confirmatory studies are required. (PACE 2012; 35:681684)”
“Congenital hypopituitarism is commonly diagnosed either Selleck Combretastatin A4 in infancy with neonatal hypoglycemia, prolonged jaundice and/or microphallus or in early to mid-childhood because of short stature. Replacement of deficient hormones allows the affected children to have a normal and productive life. We describe a 10-year-old

boy with congenital hypopituitarism whose parents first sought definitive medical attention when the child developed congestive heart failure due to dilated cardiomyopathy, presumably secondary to prolonged untreated central hypothyroidism and growth hormone deficiency.”
“To evaluate the feasibility of surgical planning using a virtual reality platform workstation in

the treatment of cerebral arterio-venous malformations (AVMs)

Patient- specific data of multiple imaging modalities were co-registered, fused and displayed as a 3D stereoscopic object on the Dextroscope, a virtual reality surgical planning platform. This system allows for manipulation selleckchem of 3D data and for the user to evaluate and appreciate the angio-architecture of the nidus with regards to position and spatial relationships of critical feeders and draining veins. We evaluated the ability of the Dextroscope

to influence surgical planning by providing a better understanding of the angio-architecture as well as its impact on the surgeon’s pre- and intra-operative confidence and ability to tackle these lesions.

Twenty four patients were studied. The mean age was 29.65 years. Following pre-surgical planning on the Dextroscope, 23 patients underwent see more microsurgical resection after pre-surgical virtual reality planning, during which all had documented complete resection of the AVM. Planning on the virtual reality platform allowed for identification of critical feeders and draining vessels in all patients. The appreciation of the complex patient specific angio-architecture to establish a surgical plan was found to be invaluable in the conduct of the procedure and was found to enhance the surgeon’s confidence significantly.

Surgical planning of resection of an AVM with a virtual reality system allowed detailed and comprehensive analysis of 3D multi-modality imaging data and, in our experience, proved very helpful in establishing a good surgical strategy, enhancing intra-operative spatial orientation and increasing surgeon’s confidence.