Desmoid tumors are locally aggressive and nonmetastatic neoplasms with a high rate of recurrence. Desmoid tumors of the pancreas are, however, very rare, and only a few cases have been reported in the literature. This paper reports an anecdotal case of a diffuse pancreatic desmoid tumor with the involvement of the pancreatic head, body, and-partially-tail. The patient underwent the Whipple procedure and subtotal pancreatectomy. Histopathological assessment showed that the tissues were partly positive for smooth muscle actin, but not for S100 or PanCK. The Ki67 index of the cells was only 1 %. Unfortunately, the patient died on the 10th postoperative day due to massive upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

People addicted to opium rarely develop intra-abdominal adhesions after abdominal surgery. We aimed to evaluate the effect of opium or morphine on preventing postoperative adhesions in rats. Sixty-three rats were randomly divided into a control group, opium-addicted group, and morphine-addicted group in a double-blind study. Drug dependency was checked by using naloxone. Animals were then operated on and the cecum was abraded. At reoperation 3 weeks later the magnitude of adhesions was evaluated by a scoring system. There was a significant difference between the control, opium-addicted, and morphine-addicted groups with regard to the length (P < .001), thickness (P < .05), and severity of adhesions (P < .05). Opium or morphine reduces the severity of postoperative adhesions. Elucidation of the opioid receptor(s) involved in this process would enable the use of selective ligands and offer a pharmacologic strategy in preventing adhesion formation.

Necrotizing fasciitis is a rare, life-threatening infection most commonly seen in patients with diabetes mellitus, intravenous drug abuse, and immunocompromised conditions. The extremities are the primary sites of involvement in as many as two thirds of the cases. In a significant proportion of patients, the extremities are involved as a result of trauma, needle puncture or extravasation of drugs. The infection is usually polymicrobial. Treatment involves broad-spectrum antibiotics and multiple surgical debridements or amputation. We present a patient with necrotizing fasciitis of the upper limb and present our experience with this often lethal condition.