ObjectiveTo observe the effectiveness of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) assisted musculoskeletal flap transplantation in the treatment of osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH).MethodsThe clinical data of 15 patients with 15 hips of ONFH admitted between January 2016 and December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were male, aged 20-45 years, with an average age of 31.6 years. There were hormone type in 9 cases and alcohol type in 6 cases. The disease duration ranged from 15 days to 3 years, with an average of 8 months. The Association Research Circulation Osseous (ARCO) staging: 4 hips in stage Ⅱ, 11 hips in stage Ⅲ. The preoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) score was 6.2±0.2, and the Harris score of the hip joint was 57.3±1.3. Preoperative DSA examination of the femoral head was performed to determine the location of vascular lesions of the femoral head. According to the results of the angiography, the surgical selection of the musculoskeletal flap was guided. For the patients with both superior and inferior retinaculum vessels developed, simple core decompression was performed. For the patients with superior retinaculum vessels developed but inferior retinaculum vessels not developed, anterolateral tensor fasciae flap was used. For the patients whose superior retinaculum did not develop and the inferior retinaculum developed, posterolateral quadratus femoris flap was used. The fibular flap with anastomotic vessels was used in the patients whose superior and inferior retinaculum vessels were not developed.ResultsAll 15 cases of 15 hips were followed up 6-24 months, with an average of 14 months. During the follow-up, the patient’s ONFH did not worsen, the femoral head did not collapse, the joint space was normal, and the hip joint fextion and extension function was acceptable. At last follow-up, the VAS score was 1.9±0.2, and the hip Harris score was 92.1±0.8, both of which were significantly improved when compared with preoperative ones (t=14.85, P=0.00; t=23.22, P=0.00).ConclusionFor patients with ONFH who need musculoskeletal flap transplantation, preoperative DSA of femoral head can determine the location of vascular lesions of femoral head, so as to guide the selection of musculoskeletal flap transplantation, which is of great significance for hip-conserving surgery.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the relationship between the expression of alpha fetoprotein (AFP) and chemoresistance in hepatocellular carcinoma.MethodsHepatocellular carcinoma was screened from liver tumor tissue samples, which was obtained by puncture before transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE). Immuno-histochemical staining was used to detect the expression of AFP in HCC tissues and the effect of AFP expression in HCC on the effect of chemotherapy was analyzed.ResultsA total of 62 patients met the inclusion criteria, of which 36 were in the chemotherapy resistant group and 26 in the chemotherapy sensitive group. There were 42 patients with positive expression of AFP in tumor tissues (including 29 patients with chemoresistance) and 20 patients with negative expression of AFP in tumor tissues (including 7 patients with chemoresistance). There were no significant difference between the two groups in sex, age, tumor differentiation, Child-Pugh classification of liver function, tumor size, tumor site and hepatitis (P>0.05). In elevated serum AFP level, tumor single, and with portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT), the proportion of patients in the chemosensitivity group were significantly lower than that in the chemosensitivity group (P<0.05). The results of logistic multivariate regression analysis showed that positive expression of AFP ［OR=0.280, 95%CI (0.092, 0.950), P=0.045］ and PVTT ［OR=0.026, 95%CI (0.004, 0.322), P=0.005］ were independent risk factors for chemotherapeutic resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma.ConclusionAFP positive expression in liver tumor tissues and PVTT are useful indicators of resistance to chemotherapy.