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Background: The purpose of this study was to introduce an applicable culture technique to isolate human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs); which could also contribute to research, clinical practices, as well as tissue engineering.Methods: Samples from the human skin were dissected and cultured via serial explant technique.Subsequently, the isolated fibroblasts were assessed for their protein markers and genetic variations via immunofluorescence (IF) and karyotyping; respectively. Following the employment of this technique, a small piece of explant completely disappeared; while no dermis remained after 10 days. Results:The quantity of HDFs harvested through this culture technique was reported at a normal level.The results of immunostaining also indicated that the isolated fibroblasts had expressed vimentin and fibronectin; whereas no cells had shown cytokeratin and epidermal marker. Moreover, karyotyping results for the fibroblasts isolated by the given technique revealed no chromosomal diversity after passage 20.Conclusions: It was concluded that serial explant culture was an efficient technique for isolating HDFs from a small piece of skin in short-time periods; which could also preserve their normal morphology and molecular characteristics.

Background:In head and neck cancer patients, diagnosis of metastatic cervical adenopathy is essential for treatment planning and prognosis assessment. Treatment of patients with head and neck cancer with clinically negative cervical lymph node (N0) remains controversial. While routine neck treatment would result in overtreatment in many patients, observation may delay the diagnosis and decrease the patients’ survival.Objectives:To gain insights into the unclear questions regarding the value of diagnostic modalities in patients with N0 neck, this study was designed to compare the diagnostic efficacy of palpation, ultrasonography (US) and ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (USGFNA) in detecting cervical lymph node metastasis.Patients and Methods:Forty-two patients with head and neck cancer who underwent US and USGFNA prior to elective neck dissection were studied. Histopathologic findings of the neck specimens were compared with each diagnostic technique.Results:Of the 53 neck dissection specimens, histopathology showed metastases in 16 cases. The overall accuracy of USGFNA, US and palpation was 96%, 68% and 70%, respectively. The specificity of USGFNA was superior to palpation and US alone. USGFNA had the highest sensitivity, predictive value and accuracy in detecting cervical metastases compared with other performed tests.Conclusions:In our study, USGFNA was superior to palpation and US in detecting metastasis in clinically negative necks. This method can be recommended as a diagnostic tool in preoperative assessment of patients without palpable metastasis, but further investigations are needed before this modality could be considered as an alternative to elective neck dissection.

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Background: Tonsillectomy is a common pediatric surgery followed by a severe, sometimes debilitating, postoperative pain. Many drugs can be used to control pain. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effects of topical bupivacaine in controlling postoperative pain. Patients and Methods:This clinical trial was performed on 60 elective tonsillectomy patients in Imam Khomeini Hospital, Ahvaz, in 2013. The patients were randomly divided into two groups of A and B; Group A received topical bupivacaine just before the operation, while Group B received placebo (distilled water). The results were statistically analyzed using SPSS-19. Results: Patients aged 4 to 13 years. The amount of postoperative pain was obviously less in the bupivacaine group than the other group. The mean time of postoperative fluid intake was lower in group A (bupivacaine) than Group B (placebo) (P < 0.001). The mean pain score at 24 hours after the operation was lower in the bupivacaine group than the placebo group (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Considering that tonsillectomy is one of the most common surgeries in children and produces a lot of pain, using a low risk medicine such as bupivacaine to recover child as soon as possible seems reasonable.