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The aim of this study was to determine placental growth between 12–22 weeks in normal pregnancies compared to pregnancies complicated by foetal SGA and maternal pre-eclampsia (PE). The placentae of 1199 women were measured 3D sonographically at 12, 16 and 22 weeks of gestation. Placental volume growth was then calculated. Neonatal birthweight, birth centile and the occurrence of pre-eclampsia were recorded in every woman and correlated with placental growth (four groups: normals, SGA, PE, SGA+PE). SGA-placentae are already smaller at 12 weeks but then develop in a similar way to normal placentae. PE placentae are slightly, but significantly, larger at 12 weeks, grow rapidly until 16 weeks and then stop growing normally between 16 and 22 weeks. If SGA goes together with PE, both placental volume (PV) at 12 weeks as well as growth is reduced significantly. Nevertheless, placental growth between week 12 and 22 is too heterogeneous to justify using this method as a clinical tool, but it can provide new information on placental physiology underlying unfavourable obstetric outcomes.

The thigh muscles of New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits are frequently used in experimental surgery, particularly for evaluation after reinnervation or ischaemia. Although histomorphometric analyses are regularly performed, morphological data for untreated thigh muscles in previously unoperated animals are not available. Specimens from the rectus femoris (RF), vastus medialis (VM) and adductor magnus (AM) muscles from both thighs were harvested in 7 untreated rabbits and were processed for histomorphometric evaluation. The right RF and VM were harvested in a further 5 rabbit hindlimbs after experimental denervation and reinnervation of the contralateral RF and subsequently processed for histomorphometric analysis. Muscle fibre type distribution, diameter and connective tissue content were evaluated on serial transverse cryosections reacted for ATPase and NADH tetrazolium reductase activity and statistical analysis was performed. In all untreated animals RF revealed the highest proportion of type I muscle fibres (right: 8.4±4%, left: 11.4±4.9%), whereas VM showed the highest percentage of IIa fibres (right: 31.9±5.5%, left: 28.3±7.8%) and AM the highest proportion of IIb/d fibres (right: 80.5±8.6%, left: 84.4±6.3%). Fibre type distribution and diameter in rabbits after contralateral experimental operations revealed a statistically significant difference from the data obtained in bilaterally untreated animals. Knowledge of the morphology of untreated muscles is fundamental to the understanding of changes induced by intervention to the ipsi and/or contralateral thigh muscles.

The popularity of bicycling is reflected in the number-of cycling-related oral and maxillofacial injuries. Five hundred and sixty-two injured bicyclists (10.3% of all trauma patients) were registered at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Innsbruck, Austria, between 1991 and 1996, accounting for 31% of all sports-related accidents and 48.4% of all traffic accidents. A review of the patient records revealed more servere injury profiles in sixty mountainbikers, with 55% facial bone fractures, 22% dentoalveolar trauma and 23% soft tissue injuries, compared to 502 street cyclists showing 50.8% dentoalveolar trauma, 34.5% facial bone fractures and 14% soft tissue lesions. The dominant fracture site in bicyclists was the zygoma (30.8%), whereas mountainbikers sustained an impressive 15.2% LeForst I, II and III fractures. Condyle fractures were more common in bicyclists, with 18.8% compared to 10.8% in mountainbikers. Reduction of facial injuries due to cycling-related accidents needs appropriate design of helmets with faceguards and compulsory helmet use for all cyclists, and particularly mountainbikers.

Between April 1985 and August 1990 a total of 51 combined pancreas kidney transplants and 6 single pancreas transplants were performed in 51 Type 1 (insulin — dependent) diabetic patients suffering from end-stage diabetic nephropathy and three patients with proliferative retinopathy. In 17 transplants the pancreatic duct was occluded with a mean delay of 53 days (Group 1). Because of a high incidence of local complications associated with a prolonged hospitalization this technique was abandoned despite favourable results: The actual survival rates for patients, pancreas and renal allografts at 1 year are 94%, 72% and 93%, respectively. From 1987 a total of 39 consecutive segmental pancreas grafts were anastomosed with the urinary bladder (Group 2). Pancreatic secretions were temporarily drained to the exterior in all patients via a duct catheter. Monitoring of the exocrine function including pancreatic secretion cytology and pancreatic secretion neopterin excretion proved to be reliable rejection markers. Survival rates at 1 year were calculated to be 90%, 74% and 89% for all patients, pancreas grafts and renal grafts. Apart from local complications in group I which did not cause any graft loss, the surgical complication rate was comparably low in both groups.

Zusammenfassung: Grundlagen: Urologische Komplikationen sind nach wie vor die hufigste Ursache fr Reinterventionen nach Nierentransplantation. Wegen der mglichen Konsequenzen sollten Korrektureingriffe unverzglich durchgefhrt und deshalb diese Komplikation mglichst rasch erkannt werden. Fallbericht: Eine hchst ungewhnliche Manifestation wurde bei einem 64jhrigen Patienten beobachtet, bei dem am 10. postoperativen Tag ein auf konservative Manahmen therapierefraktres Genitaldem auftrat, welches nach 12 Tagen zur Diagnose einer distalen Ureternekrose fhrte. Nach Krzung des partiell nekrotischen Harnleiters wurde dieser wiederum in die Blase eingepflanzt. Der Patient fhlt sich 1 Jahr nach der Transplantation wohl und weist eine normale Nierenfunktion auf. Schlufolgerungen: Beim Vorliegen eines Genitaldems sollte die Mglichkeit eines Harnlecks in die differentialdiagnostischen berlegungen miteinbezogen werden.