Mohammad Alessa - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Mohammad Alessa

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Saudi Journal of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, 2020

Thyroid hemiagenesis is a rare congenital anomaly, more commonly affecting the left lobe of the t... more Thyroid hemiagenesis is a rare congenital anomaly, more commonly affecting the left lobe of the thyroid. There is only one case reported in Saudi Arabia in Annals Saudi journals 1997, and this will be the second case to be reported in Saudi. Here, we present a 67-year-old woman with the left thyroid lobe agenesis and multinodular goiter in the right thyroid lobe. The condition was discovered during preoperative preparation for tracheostomy, which showed euthyroid (in laboratory measurements) and an enlarged right large thyroid lobe extending up to cervical vertebra 2 and the retrosternal area (in computed tomography images). The patient underwent total thyroidectomy and tracheostomy. Postoperative thyroid scan and histopathology results confirmed the diagnosis. It is a rare anomaly, with most patients asymptomatic. Consequently, cases may not be readily diagnosed.

Journal of Surgical Case Reports, 2020

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans is a rare, locally aggressive cutaneous malignancy with a high ra... more Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans is a rare, locally aggressive cutaneous malignancy with a high rate of recurrence if the head-and-neck region is involved. Treatment is challenging as it is difficult to avoid poor aesthetic and functional outcomes using the standard approach of complete resection with negative margins and subsequent reconstruction. This is especially challenging in cases where the face is involved and the defect is large after resection. There have been few cases of reconstruction using different flaps reported. We present the case of a young lady with a large cheek tumor, which was reconstructed using an anterolateral thigh flap. Excellent functional and aesthetic outcomes were achieved.

Dysphagia, 2021

Dysphagia is a common adverse event among head and neck (H&N) cancer patients. We aimed, for the ... more Dysphagia is a common adverse event among head and neck (H&N) cancer patients. We aimed, for the first time, to validate the Arabic version of the MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI) among 82 Saudi Arabian patients with H&N cancer. We followed established validation guidelines and translated the 20-item MDADI using the forward–backward method. Our results revealed 100% feasibility. Test–retest reliability demonstrated acceptable interclass correlation coefficients (ICC) for the subscale domains (emotional = 0.973, physical = 0.971, and functional = 0.956) and composite score (ICC = 0.984). The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the emotional, functional, and physical subscales were 0.937, 0.825, and 0.945, respectively (composite score = 0.975). We confirmed concurrent validity by demonstrating significant correlations between the domains of the Arabic MDADI and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality-of-Life Head and Neck Module (QLQ-H&N35). Ou...

The Laryngoscope, 2021

We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that sc... more We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that scrutinized the oncological benefits and postsurgical complications of total thyroidectomy (TT) plus prophylactic central neck dissection (pCND) versus TT alone among clinically node-negative (cN0) papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) patients. We screened five databases from inception to September 4, 2021 and evaluated the risk of bias of the eligible studies. We pooled dichotomous outcomes using the risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Overall, we included 5 RCTs with low risk of bias comprising 795 patients (TT plus pCND = 410 and TT alone = 385). With regard to efficacy endpoint, the rate of structural loco-regional recurrence did not significantly differ between both groups (n = 4 RCTs, RR = 0.49, 95% CI [0.19, 1.27], P = .14). With regard to safety endpoints, the rates of hypoparathyroidism (n = 5 RCTs, RR = 1.48, 95% CI [0.73, 2.97], P = .27), recurrent laryngeal nerve injury (n = 5 RCTs, RR = 1.34, 95% CI [0.59, 3.03], P = .48), and bleeding (n = 3 RCTs, RR = 1.75, 95% CI [0.42, 7.26], P = .44) did not significantly differ between both groups. For cN0 PTC patients, there was no significant difference between TT plus pCND and TT alone with regard to the rate of structural loco-regional recurrence or frequency of postsurgical complications. Adaptation of pCND in cN0 PTC patients should be contemplated by taking into consideration the clinical oncological benefits and rate of postsurgical adverse events. 1 Laryngoscope, 2021.

Annals of Medicine and Surgery, 2021

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most prevalent type of thyroid cancer. It is one of the ... more Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most prevalent type of thyroid cancer. It is one of the most common types of malignancy of the thyroid that spreads to cervical lymph nodes. Lymph node metastasis (LNM) is an important factor when determining recurrence risk, and determining the extent of lymph node involvement can guide treatment. Our main objective is to evaluate the association between the size of the tumor and the number of lymph node metastases in patients with PTC. Methods: We conducted an electronic retrospective chart review of 125 patients with PTC followed in the Head and Neck Department at KAMC from 2009 to 2020. Twenty-two patients included in our study were pathologically and clinically diagnosed and confirmed to have LNM of PTC. Results: The study included 22 PTC patients who had undergone lymph node dissections. Patients had a median age of 38.8 years (IQR = 32.2-54.5), and the median tumor size was 20.5 mm. The most commonly affected level of the neck was IV (76.2%). Distant metastasis M1 was seen in only two patients (9.1%). Tumors sizes >30mm (75%) had ≥5 LNM. Most cases were the classic subtype PTC. For the site of the tumor, the site had a significant impact on the number of LNM (p = 0.004). Multifocality had a high impact on LNM (p = 0.019). Conclusions: This study showed no association between the size of PTC and the number of LNMs. The bilaterality of PTC was significantly associated with a high number of LNMs.

Saudi Medical Journal, 2020

Objectives: To improve our local data and demographics of thyroid neoplasm in Makkah region, King... more Objectives: To improve our local data and demographics of thyroid neoplasm in Makkah region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and provide some basic statistics for future studies in our local community. Methods: A record based retrospective epidemiological study was conducted and included 314 thyroid disease patients who were presented to our centers at Makkah region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between December 2009 and December 2019. Results: A descriptive statistical analysis was carried out. The average age was 42.77 years, with a femaleto-male ratio of 3:1, and most of the patients were Saudi (77%). Fifty-seven percent of cases were benign, while in malignant cases, 33.4% were papillary thyroid carcinoma. The mean follow-up time was 15.44 months, with excellent compliance in 39.4% of the patients. Original Article Conclusion: Thyroid tumors have a leading incidence in head and neck tumors in Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, mandating further studies to determine the causes and distribution in other regions of the country.

International Journal of Medicine in Developing Countries, 2020

Annals of Medicine and Surgery, 2020

Introduction: Renal cell carcinoma is known to cause metastasis to unusual sites, but metastasis ... more Introduction: Renal cell carcinoma is known to cause metastasis to unusual sites, but metastasis to the thyroid gland is a rare occurrence, not only that, but 20 years after complete recovery is almost nonexistent. Case presentation: We are presenting here a case of 79-year-old female who presented to us for asymptomatic progressive thyroid nodule. She had history of right nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma 20 years ago. Ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) of the thyroid was non-diagnostic. Total thyroidectomy of the patient was performed, and histopathological evaluation of the specimen revealed the swelling to be of metastatic in nature secondary to renal cell carcinoma. Discussion: Despite thyroid metastasis being rare, FNAB can prove to be useful tool for diagnosis of thyroid tumors and metastases and can be inconclusive in some cases. Therefore, immunohistochemistry can prove beneficial in diagnosis such cases. Conclusion: The diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma metastasis is made after immunohistochemical evaluation of the thyroidectomy specimen with thyroidectomy proving to be the modality of treatment for such cases with no further radiation therapy and a yearly follow up plan to screen for other lesions.

Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE, Jan 29, 2018

Live models that resemble surgical conditions of humans are needed for training free-flap harvest... more Live models that resemble surgical conditions of humans are needed for training free-flap harvesting and anastomosis. Animal models for training purposes have been available for years in many surgical fields. We used the female (because they are easy to handle for the procedure) Yorkshire pigs for the head and neck reconstruction by harvesting the deep inferior epigastric artery perforator or the superior epigastric artery perforator flap. The anastomosis site (neck skin defect or tracheal wall defect) was prepared via the dissection of the common carotid artery and the internal jugular vein, in which 3.5× loupe magnification was used for anastomosis as we use on human cases in real life. This procedure demonstrates a new training method using a reliable learning model and provides a detailed anatomy in a live scenario. We focused on the ischemia time, harvesting, vessel anastomosis, and designing the flap to fit the defect site. This model improves tissue handling and with the use ...

Scientometrics, 2018

In 2011, professional societies recommended the use of the representative name “Granulomatosis wi... more In 2011, professional societies recommended the use of the representative name “Granulomatosis with polyangiitis GPA” followed by the parenthetical eponym “Wegener”, due to the ethical concerns that were raised on Wegener. We aim to study the change in using the eponym “Wegener” to using the representative name “GPA” in medical literature in the period from 2010 to 2017. We used Scopus database to search for articles or reviews that used the eponym “Wegener”, and those that used the representative name “GPA” during the years 2010–2017, using appropriate operators and limiting tools available. A total of 2613 publications used the eponym “Wegener” compared to 1443 publications included the phrase “GPA” during the years 2010–2017. We found a significant difference in number of publications that used the eponym alone in the years from 2010 to 2014 (p < 0.001), reaching only 11.8% of the total publications in 2014, with no significant difference in the subsequent years (i.e. 2014–2017). USA, UK, and US-based institutions published research using the eponym alone significantly more than Germany, France, and Japan. The use of the eponym only also varied among journals. Changing an eponym to a representative name would take around 4 years to adopt the new change.

The Journal of infectious diseases, Sep 14, 2016

The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes severe respiratory illness in... more The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes severe respiratory illness in humans. Fundamental questions about circulating viruses and transmission routes remain. We assessed routinely collected epidemiologic data for MERS-CoV cases reported in Saudi Arabia during January 01 - June 30, 2015, and conducted a more detailed investigation of cases reported during February 2015. Available respiratory specimens were obtained for sequencing. During the study period, 216 MERS-CoV cases were reported. Spike gene or full genome sequences (n=17) were obtained from 99 individuals. Most (72 of 99, 73%) sequences formed a discrete, novel recombinant clade (NRC-2015), which was detected in 6 regions and became predominant by June, 2015. No clinical differences were noted between clades. Among 87 cases reported during February 2015, 13 had no recognized risks for secondary acquisition; 12 of these 13 also denied camel contact. Most viruses (8 of 9) from these 13 individuals...

Cancer, 1999

BACKGROUND Clear cell tumors (CCTs) occur as primary neoplasms in a number of anatomic sites. Due... more BACKGROUND Clear cell tumors (CCTs) occur as primary neoplasms in a number of anatomic sites. Due to their overlapping morphologic features, these tumors can be challenging for the cytologist, particularly when they present as metastatic lesions. ...