Six hundred fifty-eight intestinal anastomoses in 429 operations for Crohn's disease were studied prospectively during an 8-year period to detect variables connected with perioperative morbidity. Postoperative complications occurred in 9.7% of the patients, 4% had to be reoperated on, and the overall mortality rate was 0.5%. In multivariate analysis by stepwise logistic regression, the only variable significantly (p = 0.03) associated with overall rate of complications was long-term corticosteroid therapy. Serious complications were more common in cases of intra-abdominal abscesses (p = 0.01) and preoperative steroid medication (p = 0.03). The combination of both of these risk factors increased the rate of reoperations from 0.6% (no steroids, no abscess) to 16% (steroids and abscess). No significant association with postoperative complications could be found for age, sex, duration of disease, previous operations, nutritional status, emergency surgery, extent of disease, type, number, and localization of anastomoses, presence of proximal ileo-/colostomy, or histologically inflamed margins of resection.

Two hundred and eight ultrasonographic fine-needle aspiration biopsies were performed in patients with head and neck masses and examined cytologically. The average minimum diameter of the masses was 1.5 cm. The smallest punctured lymph node located in the perivascular sheath had a diameter of 0.4 cm. In none of the patients were complications observed. Ninety-seven percent of the diagnoses based on cytological examination were confirmed in the histological examination of surgical biopsies or in the further clinical course.

From 1989 to 1991, 126 tonsils were prospectively studied in cadavers, volunteers and patients by B-scan ultrasonography. The transducer was positioned just medial of the mandibular angle. The submandibular gland, M. digastricus, M. stylohyoideus and the tongue proved to be suitable landmarks. Normal and chronically inflamed tonsils both presented as oval structures with weak echos. Peritonsillar abscess could not be sonographically defined in 13/15 cases. Squamous cell carcinoma presented with random echos and indistinct borders. Infiltration of the base of the tongue could be safely confirmed.