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Objective: Cushing's disease (CD) is a serious illness, in which not only the endocrinological diagnostics, but also the detection of an adenoma by imaging is a challenge. Various magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols and their sensitivity have been described. The aim of this study is to assess [for full text, please go to the a.m. URL]

Objective: Initial treatment of Cushing’s disease (CD) consists of transsphenoidal adenoma resection. In 80% of patients, endocrinological remission with elimination of hypercortisolism can be achieved. However, reduced quality of life (QoL) often persists despite successful surgical treatment. [for full text, please go to the a.m. URL]

A cave underneath the theatre of Miletus in western Turkey contains a spring and can be identified as an ancient sanctuary. It underwent two main building phases, both of which appear to be linked to building phases of the theatre, one Hellenistic and the other Roman. The cave contained terracotta figures and limbs that might have been votive offerings. 44 late antique oil lamps may also have been votives; they were buried inside the spring when the spring was filled in at the turn of the fifth century A.D. or soon thereafter. The infill also contained marble heads from the stage building of the theatre that had previously been mutilated, probably by Christians and possibly in order to mar their beauty. The infill hid the spring as well as burying the lamps and marbles. This appears to have had the twofold function of closing the sanctuary – probably in response to the anti-pagan laws of the Theodosian emperors – and of protecting the sacred spring, the votive offerings, as well as the marble heads from further abuse and destruction. In addition, findings from around the cave also shed light on the history of the seaward defences that may date back to Archaic times and, in the Byzantine period, were renovated to include a sophisticated gate with zwinger.

The authors present case reports demonstrating the trilevel utility of the inferiorly based rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flap in the closure of complex wounds involving the pelvis, groin, and femur that had failed previously or were not amenable to traditional closure techniques. The use of the rectus abdominis flap was especially advantageous for achieving infection eradication and large dead space closure. Additionally they present the emerging technique of power color Doppler imaging as a valuable tool in preoperative flap planning. This technique is particularly useful in evaluating the candidacy for rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flap placement of patients with a prior history of abdominal surgeries, trauma, infection, irradiation, or other conditions that might compromise the patency of the deep inferior epigastric vessels.

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