The Fatty Liver Disease
Steatosis, also known as fatty liver disease (FLD), is a condition caused by the build-up of certain fats in the liver. Fat in the liver has to be normal. It is not good when the fat found in the liver accounts about five (5) to 10% of the liver’s weight.
There are two main forms of FLD and they are:
a.) non-alcoholic FLD
b.) alcoholic FLD
As the name suggests, non-alcoholic FLD is fat build-up not linked to alcohol use, while the other form has something to do with fat build-up caused by alcohol use.
The liver is affected greatly with alcohol use and experts say that men should drink no more than two (2) alcoholic drinks and only one (1) alcoholic drink for women, each day.
FLD will not, in most cases, cause any serious health problem or would lead in a situation where the liver will not function properly.
However, in certain circumstances, FLD may lead to liver damage.
About a quarter of the people in the United States are affected with FLD and the disease has been identified as one of the leading causes of liver cirrhosis.
Non-alcoholic FLD may be the precursor of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with fibrosis or cirrhosis. NASH may happen with people who are obese or overweight or with diabetes.
FLD may lead to health problems such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, and high triglyceride levels.
People with FLD should avoid certain medications, it is best to talk to your doctor and tell him or her about your condition so you can avoid the medications that may cause problems with your liver’s health.
The problem with FLD is the fact that there are now visible signs or symptoms but there are times people with FLD may experience abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, weakness, jaundice, edema, and mental confusion.
Cryptorchidism
Cryptorchidism is the medical term for Undescended Testis. To date, there are no statistics available in the Philippines regarding the incidence of true undescended testis. However, the number of operations for cryptorchidism as compared to inguinal hernias is low.
The true undescended testicle has a short spermatic cord and artery which prevents the descent below the external abdominal ring. There are more right- sided undescended testes than left-sided ones on the basis that the right testis descends later than the left. 10% to 25% of cases are bilateral. And bilaterally undescended testicles are commonly associated with urinary tract abnormalities. If it is associated with perineal hypospadias, a urogenital sinus and other intersex anomalies must be ruled out by appropriate laboratory methods starting with a determination of the chromosomal sex of the body.
In 66% of cases, the undescended testicle has an accompanying hernia. With this scenario, repair of the hernia is made together with the repair of the undescended testicle as soon as the diagnosis is made. Elective orchidopexy can be done after age 2 years old but should not be deferred later than 5 years when the child is ready to go to school.
The reason repair of undescended testicle is done in early childhood is securing the spermatogenic function. The testis will be able to form normal active spermatozoa if it is in the scrotum. The danger of sterility is quite real in bilateral undescended testes because of the failure of maturation of sperms. Also, a testis located in the inguinal canal is subject to trauma due to its exposed location. It is also reported that malignancy may occur between 37-50 times more in undescended testis than in scrotally located testis. Torsion may also occurs in undescended testis. In addition to the above reasons why repair of undescended testis should be done is to spare the child when he reaches his manhood the psychologic disturbance created by cryptorchidism.
Crowns for Kids (Part 4)
In this issue, we will be discussing, further, the preparation for the installation of dental crowns using stainless steel crowns.
When using the crowns for occlusal reduction, the set should approximately follow the anatomy of the tooth with a depth of 1.0 to 1.5 mm. This is allowing the right space for the stainless steel crown, the tapered fissure bur or flamed shaped diamond bur which could be used following the outline.
When using the crowns for proximal reduction, there should be a plain-cut tapering fissure bur or a veneer diamond is passed buccolingually on proximal surface, enough to break the contact with the next tooth and angulated slightly convergent in an occusal direction. There should be a ledge in order to avoid extending the bur gingivally. All sharp angles and the edges get to be smoothened, too.
When selecting and sealing the crowns, it is best to choose the crowns by measuring the mesiodistal width of the tooth. The properly sealed crown needs to match to the small ridge height of the next tooth and it should not rotate, and it should be able to mold closely to the gingival area where contacts nearby are maintained to blanching of soft tissues and occlusal relationship can be established for the sake of function.
Moreover, the dental crown should be adjusted if there is a need to adapt to the walls of the tooth on all surfaces. There should also be trimming to be done.
The cementing medium usually is made of polycarbonate cement, zinc phosphate, zinc oxide cement or glass ionomer luting cement.
Crowns are usually found on the lingual surface first before applying pressure buccally. This can help take into consideration the excess cement to flow buccally which would lead to its easier removal.
The improper handling of crowns may lead to the problems such as ledging, tilting, periodontal diseases or possible swallowing of the crown.
The dentist should have a shoulder-free preparation because ledges may result to problems in the seating process.
A core can be built to prevent tilting of the crown that may be cause cavitation of improper tools. Preparation of crowns should have trial fittings and trimmings that could prevent accidental ingestion.