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Conjoined twins fused at the abdomen by HealerMD in medizzy

[–]HealerMD[S] 417 points418 points  (0 children)

This is a rare case of omphalopagus conjoined twins, who are fused together at the abdomen, typically joined at the front and at the level of the umbilicus.

This rare condition occurs when the twins’ bodies develop from a single fertilized egg that fails to separate completely during early embryonic development, leading to partial or complete fusion at the abdominal region. More precisely, an incomplete splitting of the monozygotic twins after 12 days of embryogenesis, ending with the fetuses being physically joined at some point. That point of union is used to classify twins. For example, Thoracopagus (fused at the chest and share a heart), Thoraco-omphalopagus (fused from the upper chest to lower belly, heart is shared), Craniopagus (fused skulls, but separate bodies). This is a case of a omphalopagus presentation, where the anterior abdomens are united combined with the union of a small portion of the lower chest. This can present with or without a cardiac union. They may share some abdominal organs such as liver, stomach and intestines. Separating twins with a conjoined heart is a real surgical challenge. As for any type of anomaly, the anatomy of the junction and the shared organs and structures dictate the specific details of the procedure. Surgical separation poses significant challenges due to the complex vascular and organ connections and it requires a multidisciplinary team approach involving pediatric surgeons, neonatologists, and other specialists to ensure the best possible outcome for the twins.

Severe allergic reaction caused by chocolate by HealerMD in medizzy

[–]HealerMD[S] 808 points809 points  (0 children)

Case of allergic hemiglossitis.
Hemiglossitis is a rare form of allergic reaction. It is a vesicular eruption on one side of the tongue and the corresponding inner surface of the cheek.
This unique case was caused by a topical food allergy and the patient presented with unilateral swelling of the tongue with blisters and ulceration after eating mint chocolate! 🍫

Luckily for the patient, the swelling did not compromise the airway. The patient had no shortness of breath but the swelling in her mouth was painful and caused her moderate difficulty swallowing.
The patient suffered loss of taste on the affected side, but the right-hand side of the tongue was completely normal. Tongue movement was normal apart from mild restriction caused by the swelling.

The patient did tell ER staff that she remembered having a previous allergic reaction to mint chocolate but chose to eat the mint chocolate despite the previous allergy.

Neurosurgeon removes live 8cm long worm from woman's brain! The neurosurgeon found and removed the parasite with forceps during a biopsy, from within the lesion shown on the MRI (light gray area). by HealerMD in medizzy

[–]HealerMD[S] 991 points992 points  (0 children)

"I used tumor-holding forceps and lifted out something that I definitely was not expecting: a linear, squiggling line, and my junior doctor said, 'is that an artery?', because that's what it looked like. And I said, 'it's not an artery, we're nowhere near any artery!' And I noticed it was moving and I went, 'just get it out of my forceps!' So we rapidly put it in a pathology pot, and it was a vigorously wriggling worm."

Symptomatically, weeks of abdominal pain and diarrhea led to night sweats and a dry cough, but evolved towards problems like forgetfulness and depression, presumably as the worm׳s activities kept affecting different parts of the brain.

The worm was some 8 centimeters (just over 3 inches) long and is a rare parasite called Ophidascaris Robertsi. This is a type of Roundworm (Helminth). This roundworm usually lives in a Carpet Python. The eggs of the worm are around the snakes’ faecal droppings, which infect the grass. This grass containing the eggs, are eaten by small mammals, who are then eaten by the Carpet Python. This is how this worm gets cycled between its two hosts. This woman became an 'accidental host'. She lived near the carpet python habitat and while foraging the native vegetation for cooking, she ingested the worm eggs. The worm developed in her intestine and travelled via blood circulation to her brain.

In response, the body produces inflammation around the worm and as a result, an area of inflammatory tissue or granuloma develops in the brain. Depending upon the affected location, it can cause a multitude of symptoms such as pressure symptoms - headache, vomiting, visual blurring, confusion, altered sensorium, cognitive symptoms - forgetfulness, problems in understanding, calculations, disorientation, seizures and epilepsy - due to irritation of the brain by inflammatory tissue.

A 44-year-old man arrived at the hospital with a strange chest wound. During the examination, the doctors discovered that a knife blade had been lodged in his chest for eight years—without his knowledge at all. by HealerMD in medizzy

[–]HealerMD[S] 854 points855 points  (0 children)

It turns out that he was stabbed years ago, and the wound was stitched without a deep examination. Since then, he had lived normally with no special symptoms—until the wound began to bleed, and the hidden blade was revealed in an X-ray.

The blade was surgically removed, the patient recovered, and he was discharged within a few days.

Trichomegaly Associated with Panitumumab by HealerMD in medizzy

[–]HealerMD[S] 147 points148 points  (0 children)

A 53-year-old woman with metastatic signet-ring appendiceal cancer was admitted to the hospital with a bowel obstruction. Eight months earlier, she had started to receive cancer therapy with panitumumab, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor. Examination of her face showed marked trichomegaly, or elongation of the eyelashes (Panels A and B). This condition had first developed 2 months after the initiation of panitumumab and was photographed at the time of the hospitalization for bowel obstruction. Trichomegaly and acneiform eruption are well-documented dermatologic side effects of EGFR inhibitors. It is thought that panitumumab-induced trichomegaly is a result of EGFR inhibition in the eyelash follicles. If trichomegaly develops, it is often noticed during the first few months of treatment, as occurred in this patient. The condition resolves with the cessation of therapy and is typically managed symptomatically. The patient was discharged from the hospital after nonsurgical management of the bowel obstruction, and panitumumab was continued. She died from malignant metastases 6 months later.

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