Internal jugular vein (IJV) ectasia is a rare benign disease. It commonly presents as a unilateral, soft, compressible neck swelling that mostly involves the right side. It is usually a childhood disease and believed to be of congenital origin. Accurate diagnosis from careful history, physical examination and radiological study can be made. We report here two cases of IJV ectasia in African adults with right lateral neck mass dilating when increase intrathoracic pressure. Because of its rarity, this entity is frequently ignored or misdiagnosed. This case report intends to stress the importance of keeping IJV ectasia as differential diagnosis in mind in case of lateral neck swellings to avoid invasive investigations and inappropriate treatment. The asymptomatic case management of IJV ectasia is conservative with long-term surveillance.

No abstract

Necrotizing fasciitis is an uncommon infection, but potentially lethal, especially when associated with systemic disorders such as diabetes. We report the case of a 35-year-old female with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, presenting with edema of the neck, facial and left mammary gland, secondary to untreated dental infection, progressing to a full-blown necrotizing fasciitis in a short period of time with sepsis. The patient was managed with aggressive multidisciplinary medical and surgical treatment. Despite the technologic advances in diagnosis and treatment, complications still result with astounding high mortality. Clearly, the morbidity associated to this infection, even in diabetic patients, can be minimized if an early diagnosis and effective debridement are done.

Traumatic diaphragmatic rupture (TDR) is very rare in the pediatric age group. Because of its rarity and its coexistence with more injuries, the diagnosis is often delayed. Very little has been written about this condition in the pediatric age group. TDR, while uncommon, should be considered in cases of blunt thoracic trauma. All patients should undergo meticulous examination preoperatively. The clinical presentation and importance of making an accurate diagnosis and surgery is highlighted. We report a case of secondary spontaneous traumatic left-sided diaphragmatic rupture in a child that was managed by delayed surgical repair.

Introduction: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the gold standard in the treatment of gallstones and lithiasis cholecystitis. It reduces post-operative complications especially in sickle cell patients. Aim: The aim of this work was to compare the results of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in sickle cell and non-sickle cell patients. Methods: Sixty-six patients including 25 sickle cell patients and 41 non-sickle cell patients were identified from March 2013 to November 2014 (20 months). The χ 2 test was used for comparisons. Values of p < 0.05 were used for a statistically significant difference threshold. Results: The mean age was 25.76 years for the sickle cell group and 45.61 years for the non-sickle cell group (p = 0.00008). There were 14/25 female patients in the sickle cell group and 28/41 in the non-sickle cell group. In per op, the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis was retained for 4/25 sickle cell patients and for 10/41 non-sickle cell patients. Diagnoses such as pyocholecyst (2 cases), porcelain vesicle (2 cases), hydrocholecyst (2 cases) were found in the group of non-sickle cell patients. Operative difficulties such as tight perivicular adhesions were encountered 9/25 times in the sickle cell group and 11/41 times in the non-sickle cell group. The average overall operative time was 55 min. There was no statistically significant difference between the different groups in mean operative time, occurrence of postoperative complication and average length of hospital stay. The mortality is not statistically different according to the group of patients. Conclusion: There is no significant difference between the cholecystectomy performed in sickle cell patients and that performed in non-sickle cell patients. The multidisciplinary perioperative man-