The incidence of mandibular fractures was remarkably larger in the male sex, during the third decade of life. The most common cause was traffic accident, and symphysis and condyle were the most injured sites. Isolated fractures occurred in over half of the cases. Most of the patients were treated in the first three days and were discharged until the first postoperative visit. Closed reduction was the treatment most commonly employed. The most frequent complication was osteomyelitis.

Several discoveries about leprosy indicate that Mycobacterium leprae transmission mainly occurs by inhalation, and the nose is major port of entry and exit. The present study evaluated the clinical application of PCR for detection of M. leprae DNA in nasal mucosa biopsies in untreated leprosy patients (52) and their contacts (99) from the State Reference Center in Sanitary Dermatology and Leprosy, Uberlandia, MG, Brazil. PCR detection of a 372-base pair DNA fragment from M. leprae was accomplished in 36 (69.2%) patients, from which 34 (91.9%) of them were multibacillaries. Furthermore, PCR was positive in 3 (16.7%) of 18 slit-skin smear negative, 4 (25.0%) of 16 skin lesion BI negative, 8 (33.3%) of 24 nasal mucosa BI negative patients, and 10 of 99 contacts (10.1%). The presence of bacilli in 10.1% of the contacts may potentially reflect an occult leprosy, and these patients must be accompanied, followed by a chemoprophylaxy treatment. Considering all PCR results against clinical and BI classification of patients and controls, we have found a sensitivity of 69.2%, a specificity of 89.9%, and an accuracy of 82.8%. It has been demonstrated here through PCR of nasal biopsies that the bacillus invades the mucosa, passing through the nasal inferior turbinate to reach peripheral blood. Therefore, the molecular investigation of invasive nasal biopsies by PCR tests has proven to be useful in defining patients of higher risk of transmission and risk-group contacts, which is an important step to reach the World Health Organization objective towards the elimination of leprosy as a public health problem.

Our graduated approach has shown excellent outcomes, a high rate of patient satisfaction, and a low rate of revision.

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Mandi bular fracture is the second most common facial fracture and there has been a significant increase in number of cases in the last years. Misidentification and inadequate treatment can take to permanent aesthetic or functional deformity. Aim: Evaluate cases of mandibular fracture reduction in the Hospital of Clinics of the Federal University of Uberlândia, from January of 1974 to December of 2002. Study design: historical cohort. Patient and Method: Two hundred and ninety-three cases of reduction of mandibular fractures were retrospectively analyzed according to factors related to: patient, trauma, signs and symptoms, and surgical treatment. Results: There has been a clear tendency of increase of the number of mandibular fractures along the years. There was higher prevalence in male (4:1), with occurrence peak between 20 to 29 years old. The principal causes of fracture in this study were traffic accidents and violence, representing 72.4%. One hundred and thirty-five patients presented only one fracture. The most injured sites were, in decreasing order, symphysis, condyle, angle, body, ramus, and coronoid. We performed closed reduction (28), open reduction (213) and association of the two (11 patients); 56.8% of the patients were treated within the first 3 days; and, 50.4% were discharged from the hospital until the first postoperative day. About 10% of the patients presented complications, being osteomyelitis the most frequent one. Conclusion: The incidence of mandibular fractures was remarkably larger in the male sex, during the third decade of life. The most common cause was traffic accident, and symphysis and condyle were the most injured sites. Isolated fractures occurred in over half of the cases. Most of the patients were treated in the first three days and were discharged until the first postoperative visit. Closed reduction was the treatment most commonly employed. The most frequent complication was osteomyelitis.

Complications in blepharoplasty are uncommon and, when they occur, they are usually mild and transient, such as hematomas and chemosis. However, sometimes they can be severe, such as blindness, or they might require surgical correction, such as ectropion. Objective To evaluate the results and complications of transcutaneous blepharoplasty performed in the same procedure, discussing how to treat and how to avoid them. Methods A retrospective study of 200 medical records of consecutive patients that underwent transcutaneous blepharoplasty from January 2007 to January 2009. The variables analyzed were age, gender, complications, clinical outcome, patient satisfaction, and photographic documentation. Results The incidence of complications was 9.5% (19 patients). The complications were 1 hematoma, 12 cases of chemosis and 13 patients who underwent canthoplasty, 6 patients with malposition of the lower eyelid (5 retractions and 1 ectropion). Medical treatment was performed in 12 patients and revision surgery in 7 cases of all the patients who had complications. Conclusions We demonstrated that blepharoplasty is a procedure with a high satisfaction and a low complication rate, and it is an excellent surgical procedure, when properly indicated.

We consider this technique an innovative one, of easy accomplishment, and with good aesthetic and functional results. Therefore, it is the authors preferred technique for the correction of earlobe clefts.

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