50 Medical Photos That Are Equal Parts Fascinating And Deeply Unsettling

Most of his face was burned off on contact; what was left was mostly destroyed through multiple surgeries to save his life. For two years, he lived without a face, with just a small opening where his mouth had once been. Then he qualified for a full facial transplant at Brigham & Women's Hospital — the first such surgery in the country. Now, after his 15-hour transplant, follow-up surgeries, and years of rehabilitation, Wiens has a full, rich life again. Severe electrical burns like Wiens suffered can lead to a loss of facial function and even facial features. Chemical burns, animal attacks, cancer, dog bites, and other terrifying accidents can leave people similarly disfigured. Until recently, there was little recourse beyond a series of partial reconstructions that would leave severe scars and deformities. Yet facial transplantation remains rare, in part because it is still very controversial. Despite the procedure's successes, there have been serious complications. There have also been some deaths due to post-surgery complications

Child cancer patient underwent an unusual surgery to reconstruct her leg after being diagnosed with bone cancer. The procedure is called rotationplasty and is done by removing the part of the femur that has cancer in it and dissecting the nerves and vessels away from the tissue. Then they rotate the bottom portion of the leg 180 degrees and attach it to the hip, bundling up the nerves and vessels so they are secure. The procedure is most commonly used to transfer the ankle joint to the knee joint following resection of a distal femoral bone tumor, such as osteosarcoma. The limb is rotated because the ankle flexes in the opposite direction compared to the knee. The benefit to the patient is that they have a functioning knee joint which gives a stable foundation for the patient to use a prosthetic leg successfully. Compared with endoprostheses, allografts, and amputations, rotationplasty patients have been reported to achieve superior functional outcomes in several studies. Despite this, rotationplasty is rarely performed owing to concerns with the psychological effect of the abnormal cosmetic appearance of the limb.

Studies have shown that these towering shoes can be costly in more ways than one, taking their toll on your spine, hips, knees, ankles and feet, while altering your posture and gait having harmful effects on the musculoskeletal system

A boy aged 6 years who had received no immunizations sustained a forehead laceration while playing outdoors on a farm; the wound was cleaned and sutured at home. Six days later, he had episodes of crying, jaw clenching, and involuntary upper extremity muscle spasms, followed by arching of the neck and back (opisthotonus) and generalized spasticity. Later that day, at the onset of breathing difficulty, the parents contacted emergency medical services, who air-transported him directly to a tertiary pediatric medical center. The boy subsequently received a diagnosis of tetanus and required approximately 8 weeks of inpatient care, followed by rehabilitation care, before he was able to resume normal activities. The boy required 57 days of inpatient acute care, including 47 days in the intensive care unit. The inpatient charges totaled $811,929 (excluding air transportation, inpatient rehabilitation, and ambulatory follow-up costs). One month after inpatient rehabilitation, he returned to all normal activities, including running and bicycling. Despite extensive review of the risks and benefits of tetanus vaccination by physicians, the family declined the second dose of DTaP and any other recommended immunizations. (photo is not the actual patient) Credit: Guzman-Cottrill JA, Lancioni C, Eriksson C, Cho Y, Liko J. Notes from the Field: Tetanus in an Unvaccinated Child

Craniofacial fibrous dysplasia is a bone disease of the face and skull that replaces normal bone with fibrous-type tissue. This tissue is not as hard as normal bone, and because it is soft and stringy, it makes the bone more fragile and prone to break. Craniofacial fibrous dysplasia may cause shifting of facial features and facial asymmetry, such as incorrect placement of the eyes, misalignment of the jaw, and other problems. Fibrous dysplasia may appear in childhood, usually between the ages of 3 and 15. Boys are more often affected. Surgical treatment is usually required

Young male presented with a gradually increasing mass in the right eye since childhood. Examination revealed an elevated yellowish white lesion extending from 7 to 9 o’clock along the limbus with overlying fine vessels. Two hair follicles protruded from it. The clinical features were typical of limbal dermoid. The mass was excised with lamellar keratectomy, and histopathology further confirmed the diagnosis. Limbal dermoids are choristomas and are benign in nature. They may contain abberant tissues such as hair, teeth, bone, or muscle. Surgical excision is sometimes indicated for cosmetic purposes.

A 61-year-old male came to the department complaining of discomfort in his mouth which has been present for six months. History revealed that the patient had a history of diagnosed and treated cancer of the buccal mucosa. He had been treated with radiation therapy and local resection was done along with surgical reconstruction with radial forearm flaps. Intraoral examination showed various hair fibers growing from the surface of the left buccal mucosa into the oral cavity and extending into the palate. Patient was advised to have laser excision of these hairs but he refused the procedure. His refusal was related to his previous surgical experiences. . Hairy intraoral flaps are one of rarest adverse effects of surgical reconstruction after treatment of oral malignancies. This may be due to the presence of hair follicles in the donor sites used as a flap. An intraoral hairy flap may result in constant discomfort affecting the quality of life.

This 13-year-old’s scoliosis was progressing so rapidly that major spinal surgery was her only treatment option. In just over six months, her curve progressed from what was initially 49-degree to a 99-degree curve. The girl now has a combination of titanium rods and screws around her spine. Luckily she fully recovered and got back to her normal activities. Scoliosis is a sideways curvature of the spine that occurs most often during the growth spurt just before puberty. While scoliosis can be caused by conditions such as cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy, the cause of most scoliosis is unknown. About 3% of adolescents have scoliosis. Treatment depends on the degree of curve, location, and cause. Minor curves may simply be watched periodically.Treatments may include bracing, specific exercises, and surgery. The brace must be fitted to the person and used daily until growing stops. Specific exercises may be used to try to decrease the risk of worsening. They may be done alone or along with other treatments such as bracing. Evidence that chiropractic manipulation, dietary supplements, or exercises can prevent the condition from worsening is weak. However, exercise is still recommended due to its other health benefits. Surgery is usually recommended by orthopedists for curves with a high likelihood of progression (i.e., greater than 45 to 50° of magnitude), curves that would be cosmetically unacceptable as an adult, curves in people with spina bifida and cerebral palsy that interfere with sitting and care, and curves that affect physiological functions such as breathing. To completely straighten a scoliotic spine is usually impossible, but for the most part, significant corrections are achieved.

Plica fimbriata refers to the small folds in the membrane on the underside of your tongue. The folds tend to run parallel to, and on either side of your frenulum

A Condition Known As Supernumerary Vertebra Along With Congenital Scoliosis - Causing Pain, Stress On His Nerves, And Making It Difficult For Him To Walk.

riphalangeal thumb (TPT) is a congenital hand anomaly in which the thumb has an additional phalanx. The true incidence of the condition is unknown, but is estimated at 1:25,000 live births. In about two-thirds of the patients with triphalangeal thumbs, there is a hereditary component. Clinical presentation of triphalangeal thumb can vary considerably and can be present in both hands or unilateral. The thumb can be long with a finger-like appearance. The presence of clinodactyly depends on the shape of the extra phalanx varying from wedge-shaped to rectangular. Various joints, ligaments, muscles, and tendons of the first ray can be hypoplastic or absent, with varying degrees of stiffness or instability. In general the surgical treatment is done for improvement of the thumb function. However, an extra advantage of the surgery is the improvement in appearance of the thumb. In the past, surgical treatment of the triphalangeal thumb was not indicated, but now it is generally agreed that operative treatment improves function and appearance. Because an operation was not indicated in the past, there’s still a population with an untreated triphalangeal thumb.