Browsing by Author "Knott-Craig, C. J."

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Bolus obstruction of the intestine : case reports
    (Health and Medical Publishing Group -- HMPG, 1985-06) Knott-Craig, C. J.; Du Toit, D. F.; Van Schalkwyk, P.; Van Rensburg, L. C. J.
    Two cases of intestinal obstruction caused by peaches are reported. In the first case steamed dried peaches were eaten by a 56-year-old woman who had undergone a Billroth I gastrectomy 18 years previously, while in the second case canned peach halves were swallowed whole by a 75-year-old edentulous man. The cases both typify the usual clinical setting of bolus obstruction, certain aspects of which are discussed. The responsibility of the attending practitioner to advise his high-risk patients with regard to their diets is emphasized.
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    Hyperkalaemic complete heart block : a report of 2 unique cases and a review of the literature
    (HMPG, 1983-03) Przybojewski, J. Z.; Knott-Craig, C. J.
    Two White male patients with temporary complete heart block (CHB) secondary to hyperkalaemia are presented. One, a 40-year-old man, developed CHB with ensuing shock within the first 24 hours of repeat aortic valve replacement for a paraprosthetic leak caused by previous endocarditis. This patient experienced iatrogenic hyperkalaemia. The second was an 81-year-old man who had chronic renal failure and presented with Stokes-Adams attacks. This patient was initially thought to have degenerative CHB and nearly underwent inadvertent permanent pacemaker insertion. Both patients were initially treated with emergency temporary cardiac pacing with subsequent successful management. Temporary CHB secondary to hyperkalaemia, from whatever cause, has very rarely been documented in the literature. A review of this potentially lethal complication is undertaken and the significance of unifascicular and bifascicular conduction block as a consequenc of hyperkalaemia is discussed.
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    Penetrating wounds of the heart and great vessels : a new therapeutic approach
    (Health and Medical Publishing Group -- HMPG, 1982-08) Knott-Craig, C. J.; Przybojewski, J. Z.; Barnard, P. M.
    A series of 36 Black and Coloured patients, presenting during a 1-year period with life-endangering intrathoracic trauma secondary to assault, is presented. Penetrating wounds of the heart were documented in 32 of these patients, 6 of whom died almost immediately after having been brought into the Resuscitation Unit of Tygerberg Hospital, Parowvallei, CP. The remaining 26 patients had clinical features of cardiac tamponade and circulatory collapse, and in 4 of these patients an emergency thoracotomy was performed in the Resuscitation Unit as it was considered inadvisable to delay surgery until theatre had been arranged. Three of the latter 4 were discharged home completely recovered. Total peri-operative mortality was 13.3%, most deaths being due to lacerations of the left ventricle. Penetrating wounds of the ventricles accounted for some 85% of the total cardiac lacerations; other lacerations affected the pulmonary artery and its branches, the aorta, left atrium and internal thoracic artery. The incision most frequently employed at surgery was a median sternotomy (53%), followed by left thoracotomy (40%) and right thoracotomy (7%). Pre-operative emergency management based on pathophysiological principles is discussed. The fact that relatively inexperienced surgical registrars performed many of these operations with good results emphasizes the need for the establishment of resuscitation units in more peripheral hospitals where many of these patients could primarily be treated. These units would then be able to manage many of these patients, probably at an earlier stage than if they were referred to a teaching hospital such as Tygerberg.
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    Thrombo-embolism of the subclavian artery : a case report
    (Health & Medical Publishing Group, 1985) Knott-Craig, C. J.; Buhrman, J. R.
    Acute thrombo-embolic occlusions of the subclavian artery account for less than 1% of all acute arterial occlusions of the extremities. One such case is presented and the management discussed with special reference to the technique of embolectomy and the treatment of the reperfusion syndrome with either fasciotomy or mannitol. The question of anticoagulation is also examined.