The British journal of surgery
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The aims of this prospective study were to analyse the health-related quality of life (QOL) changes associated with infrainguinal arterial reconstruction for chronic critical limb ischaemia (CLI) and to assess the impact of graft patency and limb salvage. ⋯ A patent graft following infrainguinal arterial reconstruction for critical ischaemia results in an immediate and lasting improvement in health-related QOL.
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Restoring intestinal continuity in the presence of radiation-induced rectal lesions and following low colorectal anastomotic complications or low Hartmann's procedure may be fraught with difficulties. Soave's procedure avoids potentially hazardous perirectal dissection. This study examined the morbidity and mortality as well as functional results. ⋯ Soave's procedure obviates the need for extensive pelvic dissection, providing good technical and functional results in both the long and short term.
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Telomerase activity may be required for unlimited growth of cells and is repressed in most somatic tissues, but is detectable in immortal cell lines, germ cells, many malignancies and some benign lesions. Desmoids are proliferative, locally invasive, non-metastasizing fibromatous tumours which rarely regress. They occur frequently in familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), causing significant morbidity and death. Telomerase activity was assayed in desmoids from patients with and without FAP to assess the role of telomerase in the development of these lesions, and its potential as a prognostic marker and possible target for treatment. ⋯ These results indicate that desmoid tumours are one of the intriguing exceptions to the emerging view that re-expression of telomerase activity accompanies the development of preneoplastic and neoplastic tissues, and suggest that alternative mechanisms may operate in these proliferative neoplasms.