Lumbar hernias are a protrusion of intra-abdominal contents through a weakness or rupture in the posterior abdominal wall. They are considered to be a rare entity with approximately 300 cases reported in the literature since it was first described by Barbette in 1672. Petit described the inferior lumbar triangle in 1783 and Grynfeltt described the superior lumbar triangle in 1866; both are anatomical boundaries where 95% of lumbar hernias occur, whereas the other 5% are considered to be diffuse. Twenty percent of lumbar hernias are congenital and the other 80% are acquired; the acquired lumbar hernias can be further classified into either primary (spontaneous) or secondary. The typical presentation of lumbar hernias is a patient with a protruding semispherical bulge in the back with a slow growth. However, they may present with an incarcerated or strangulated bowel, so it is recommended that all lumbar hernias must be repaired as soon as they are diagnosed. The "gold standard" for diagnosing a lumbar hernia is a CT scan, because it is able to delineate muscular and fascial layers, detect a defect in one or more of these layers, evaluate the presence of herniated contents, differentiate muscle atrophy from a real hernia, and serve as a useful tool in the differential diagnosis, such as tumors. Recent studies have demonstrated the advantages of a laparoscopic repair instead of the classic open approach as the ideal treatment option for lumbar hernias. We report a case of a spontaneous lumbar hernia initially diagnosed as a lipoma and corrected with the open approach, but after relapsing 2 years later it was corrected using a laparoscopic approach. It is followed by an extensive review of lumbar hernias literature regarding history, anatomy, and surgical techniques.

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(Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2020;222:293.e1–293.e52) A leading cause of worldwide maternal death is postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). In 2017, there were 38,000 maternal deaths worldwide, with over 90% occurring in low- and middle-income countries. In addition, an annual 1.5 million women experience hemorrhage-related complications during pregnancy or postpartum. Effective treatment for PPH includes uterotonics, uterine massage, uterine artery embolization, tranexamic acid, uterine balloon tamponade (UBT), and additional surgical intervention. The aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis and systematic review to determine the effectiveness, efficacy, and safety of UBT for the treatment of PPH.

Arthrofibrosis is a prevalent condition affecting greater than 5% of the general population and leads to a painful decrease in joint range of motion (ROM) and loss of independence due to pathologic accumulation of periarticular scar tissue. Current treatment options are limited in effectiveness and do not address the underlying cause of the condition: accumulation of fibrotic collagenous tissue. Herein, the naturally occurring peptide hormone relaxin-2 is administered for the treatment of adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder) and to restore glenohumeral ROM in shoulder arthrofibrosis. Recombinant human relaxin-2 down-regulates type I collagen and α smooth muscle actin production and increases intracellular cAMP concentration in human fibroblast-like synoviocytes, consistent with a mechanism of extracellular matrix degradation and remodeling. Pharmacokinetic profiling of a bolus administration into the glenohumeral joint space reveals the brief systemic and intraarticular (IA) half-lives of relaxin-2: 0.96 h and 0.62 h, respectively. Furthermore, using an established, immobilization murine model of shoulder arthrofibrosis, multiple IA injections of human relaxin-2 significantly improve ROM, returning it to baseline measurements collected before limb immobilization. This is in contrast to single IA (sIA) or multiple i.v. (mIV) injections of relaxin-2 with which the ROM remains constrained. The histological hallmarks of contracture (e.g., fibrotic adhesions and reduced joint space) are absent in the animals treated with multiple IA injections of relaxin-2 compared with the untreated control and the sIA-and mIV-treated animals. As these findings show, local delivery of relaxin-2 is an innovative treatment of shoulder arthrofibrosis. relaxin | fibrosis | frozen shoulder | arthrofibrosis