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Twelve cases of median nerve compression at the elbow are presented. More than half of them showed only an anterior interosseous nerve syndrome (Kiloh-Nevin). Nevertheless, surgical exploration was performed from the brachial tunnel to the superficialis arch. When the neurolysis occurred reasonably early, uniform good results were obtained.

With physical examination alone it is difficult or even impossible to evaluate the abdominal wall damage in patients with major evisceration, especially when they are obese. Computerized tomography (CT) is very useful in this respect as it provides a detailed anatomical overview of the lesions. CT was performed in 30 out of 229 patients operated upon. It supplied information on the size, site and extension of eviscerations and showed whether they were single or multiple; it also informed on the quality, thickness and retraction of the abdominal muscles. All this is extremely important to know before surgery as it enables the operative problems to be foreseen and, to some extent, the operative procedure to be determined. In all cases of complex evisceration CT may be regarded as the "key examination".

The authors report a case of cutaneous pathomimesis of the hand with severe self-mutilation, contrasting with the minimal nature of the psychiatric illness. They recall several pathogenic and therapeutic elements for this disease which, although difficult, should be managed by a multidisciplinary approach.

An experimental study was conducted in dogs to study the increase an vascular supply to an ischemic zone after transplantation of the greater omentum. The study design, applied in eleven dogs, is described, and the various technical details emphasized : staged vascular ligature of one paw, preparation of the omentum, and transplantation using microsurgical procedures. The circulatory deficiency, evaluated by comparison with the healthy or similarly ligatured opposite paw, is well-compensated by the omental transplant, and a new circulation is established. This is apparent on pathological examinations and arteriography. Isotopic angiography, by means of labelled erythrocytes, supplies proof that a vascular pool is effectively derived from the transplanted organ and that it reaches the distal region of the ischemic limb. The increase in blood supply obtained suggests the possibility of new clinical indications. Apart from omentoplasty, already widely used in plastic surgery, the omentum could perhaps also be effective in certain areas of cardiovascular surgery, especially in some cases of arteritis where the distal vascular bed is greatly reduced. Further experimental studies, such as these described, are necessary before using this technique in humans.

The authors report their experience of the use of the CO2 laser in oral pathology, based on 109 patients treated in 136 sessions. The indications of this type of therapy are reviewed and details of the technic and results are given. The CO2 laser is specially useful in cases of dysplasia and cavernous hemangiomas; it guarantees the quality of the intervention, and avoids post-operative discomfort for the patients. Future prospects of this method are promising.

One hundred patients were treated by a Patey type conservative radical mammectomy with or without associated radiotherapy. Objective numerically rated comparison of the frequency and degree of limitation of the different shoulder movements after surgical treatment alone showed that abduction was the movement most markedly and frequently limited. This was followed, in decreasing order of frequency and degree, by limitation of amplitude, anterior flexion, external rotation, posterior flexion, and internal rotation. In cases with associated radiotherapy, highest percentages of maximal imitation for each movement occurred in those undergoing pre-operative cobalt therapy, and particularly involved abduction, posterior flexion, and external rotation. Patey type mammectomy provides improved functional results when compared with the classical Halsted's operation, but its technique has still to be perfected, a useful basis for this being a detailed analysis of its possible sequelae.

Trochanteric bedsores are a serious condition because of the danger of osteoarthritis of the coxofemoral joint, which is a source of septicemia, and also because of the difficulty of covering them with skin owing to the mobility of the bone and the absence of skin laxity in the area. The authors suggest a new technique of closure after local preparation providing a clean "surgical" defect. They use a groin island flap raised in the Japanese "retrograde" manner (i.e. laterally to medially). This technique is of course the fruit of the authors' experience of the microsurgery. The distal portion of the flap is drawn, corresponding to the size of the defect (round shape). The proximal portion contains the vessels surrounded by subcutaneous and protected by a de-epithelialized triangle of skin with a distal base. The flap is passed through a subcutaneous tunnel between the femoral trigone and the trochanteric area to be covered. The donor site is closed by approximation of the edges after they have been undermined. The authors discuss the others possible surgical managements: 1) local flaps (transposition flap, Z plasties, are unsuitable; 2) the double S-rotation flap had the drawback of creating a large undermined area and leaving a scar on the trochanteric region; 3) simple GER-type muscle flaps are not advisable because the transposed muscle always indergoes a fibrous involution so that the graft provides insufficient protection; 4) myocutaneous flaps, and especially fascia lata myocutaneous flap, offer better indication, because of muscle only acts as a vascular pedicle for the skin flap. The only drawback is the relative defect resulting from raising the flap. The authors conclude that the groin island flap offers the following advantages; a skin material which is more than efficient; ideal vascularization; perfect corverage without undue tension of the trochanteric surface; an interesting training for the plastic surgeon performing microsurgical reconstruction.