Parastomal hernia is an incisional hernia related to an abdominal wall stoma. The incidence ranges from 5 to 50% and only 10% of these require surgical treatment. The authors propose an innovative surgical technique for treatment of parastomal hernia. Many kinds of repair for paracolostomal hernias have been proposed: simple fascia repair, stoma relocation and repair with prosthetic devices. We describe a successful local repair and a new approach to treat this defect using a polypropylene mesh.
Although the gastrointestinal tract is a fairly frequent site of melanoma metastases, reports of small bowel intussusception caused by this condition are rare. The presence of intestinal metastases is an expression of what is already a disease at an advanced stage and, therefore, the prognosis of these patients is generally poor with only sporadic cases of long-term survival after resective surgery. We describe the case of a patient referred to our department with a clinical picture of frank occlusion. Ileo-ileal intussusception was diagnosed preoperatively thanks to ultrasound and abdominal CAT scans. The patient was unaware that he had a cutaneous melanoma and, moreover, the diagnosis of a metastasised melanoma was possible only after histological examination of the surgical specimen and the subsequent search for and identification of the primary lesion at the level of the dorsal skin. We performed an extensive ileal resection with an end-to-end entero-enteroanastomosis. Ten months after the operation the patient is still alive but in poor general condition due to the presence of diffuse liver metastases and ascites. We believe that radical resective surgery affords valid palliation for these patients, with disappearance of symptoms and minimal postoperative morbidity and mortality.
A 68-year-old white female presented with two years of progressively worsening dyspnea. Echocardiography revealed a large right atrial mass and partial obstruction of the inferior vena cava. Further imaging revealed a cystic dense mass in the inferior vena cava and right atrium. Immunohistochemical stains were consistent with leiomyosarcoma. Intraoperatively, the tumor was noted to originate from the posterior aspect of the inferior vena cava. The patient underwent successful resection of the mass. Adjuvant radiation therapy was completed. The patient's dyspnea gradually improved and she continues to remain disease free five years post-resection.
This article describes and discusses a successfully treated case of a primary posterior perineal hernia which is a rare cause of outlet dysfunction. A 46-year-old female patient had a 6 cm left para-anal protrusion and a 7-year history of outlet dysfunction. The perineal hernia orifice was closed via an abdominal approach using both a polypropylene mesh and a Parietex Composite Net. A rectopexy to the promontory of the sacrum was then performed. Moreover, after 6 months' follow-up, the patient presented a sense of incomplete evacuation and underwent a prolassectomy to treat a hidden rectal prolapse. This clinical case shows that the surgical treatment of a pelvic pathology can be successful for the correction of a serious functional defect such as outlet dysfunction.
Adult intussusception is a rare condition. Most of the cases are due to an organic lesion and unlike the incidence in children idiopathic forms are really exceptional, occurring at a rate of 5% of all cases. Whereas in children a main cause is seldom found, adult intussusception is usually characterised by the presence of a leading intraluminal benign or malignant lesion. The authors report their experience with a clinical case of ileocolic intussusception occurring in an 28-year-old white male. In spite of the patient's age, the clinical presentation was very typical with the classic triad of abdominal pain, blood per rectum and a palpable mass. Diagnostic tools, namely US and TC scan, together with colonoscopy confirmed the physical examination, so that surgery was initiated with a definite diagnosis of intussusception. A large polyp or a lymphoma were considered the possible leading causes. After right hemicolectomy, pathology revealed that there was no organic lesion and the bulging mass was caused only by oedema and haemorrhagic infiltration of the invaginated loop. The patient had been on antipsychotic drugs for several months and the possible explanation of the pathology was linked to altered peristalsis induced by the pharmacological agents he was taking. The authors compare their experience with the data reported in the literature, evaluating in particular the incidence, pathology, clinical presentation, diagnosis and treatment of adult intussusception.
Pulmonary hernias--defined as protrusions of the lung parenchyma and pleural membranes through a defect in the thoracic wall--are rare. They are usually congenital, spontaneous or traumatic iatrogenic lung herniations are extremely rare and secondary to thoracoscopic procedures or minimally invasive cardiothoracic surgery. There are very few reports of surgical repair of this iatrogenic condition and, to date, no reports of thoracoscopic repair of such defects of the thoracic wall have been reported. We present a case of a young patient with iatrogenic lung herniation in which a thoracoscopic approach was attempted and complete repair successfully accomplished.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the characterisation of focal liver lesions and for the selection of surgical patients. One hundred and thirty-five consecutive patients (71 women, 64 men) with 165 focal liver lesions (mean size: 3.1 cm)--89 benign (10 simple cysts, 26 haemangiomas, 29 focal nodular hyperplasia, 2 hepatocellular adenomas, 11 focal fatty sparing, 3 focal fatty areas, 5 regenerative nodules, 2 hydatid cysts, 1 abscess) and 76 malignant (47 metastases, 26 hepatocellular carcinomas and 3 peripheral cholangiocarcinomas)--underwent CEUS after the administration of SonoVue. Two radiologists reviewed baseline US and CEUS scans obtained 25-30 sec (arterial phase), 55-80 sec (portal-venous phase), and 235-260 sec (late phase) after initiating SonoVue injection, respectively. The radiologists classified each lesion as malignant or benign on the basis of clearly defined diagnostic criteria. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy were calculated. CEUS correctly characterised 156/165 focal liver lesions (94.5%), 85 benign and 71 malignant. Five focal liver lesions (3%; 3 haemangiomas and 2 hepatocellular carcinomas) remained undetermined after CEUS and 4 focal liver lesions (2.4%; 3 hepatocellular carcinomas and 1 abscess) were misdiagnosed. CEUS presented sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy values of 93.4%, 95.5% and 94.7% respectively. Positive and negative predictive values were 94.7% and 94.4%, respectively. CEUS is a useful tool in the characterisation of focal liver lesions and for selecting surgical patients.
Retroperitoneal schwannomas are rare tumours originating from Schwann cells of peripheral nerve sheaths. Their clinical presentation is often delayed as they grow to a large size in a non-restrictive space, such as the retroperitoneum, before any clear symptomatology is manifested. Furthermore, the symptoms may mimic different diseases and be aspecific. The preoperative diagnosis is often unclear as no pathognomonic radiological features are known. Fine needle biopsy is not diagnostic due to tumour cell pleomorphism. We report the case of a 51-year-old woman presenting with unusual symptoms such as severe constipation, bowel distension, excess flatus, postprandial fullness and abdominal pain due to left colon compression by a large retroperitoneal tumour. A complete resection of the mass combined with sparing of the surrounding tissues was carried out through a midline laparotomy. Microscopic evaluation and immunohistochemistry documented a benign retroperitoneal schwannoma. Postoperatively, complete resolution of abdominal symptoms and no major complications were observed. At 28 months' follow-up no local recurrence was found. To the best of our knowledge, this is a rare case of retroperitoneal schwannoma with definite abdominal symptoms and with sudden onset of severe constipation.
Self-expanding biliary drains seem to allow long-term patency and prevent stent migration in peri-ampullary neoplastic lesions. We report two cases of duodenal occlusions due to the stent advancing towards the intestinal lumen in patients with tumours of the pancreatic head. The stents had been percutaneously positioned after an endoscopic papillotomy or palliative choledocho-jejunostomy and were impacted by alimentary debris, blocking the passage of food. Dislodgement of the metallic mesh, in conjunction with duodenal wall stiffness and reduced absorption ability due to the pancreatic cancer, can give rise to progressive intestinal occlusion.
Here we report a case of a 60 years old woman who came to the Emergency Department of San Martino Hospital suffering from abdominal pain for about a week with high fever in the last 24 hours. The final histological examination led to the diagnosis of ileal diverticulosis associated with perforation and peritonitis with a fibrotic reaction involving the last ileal loop, the caecum and the appendix.
The aim of surgical treatment of fistula-in-ano is to eradicate the suppurative process permanently without compromising faecal continence. The appearance of a recurrence of fistula-in-ano is often due to non-identification of the internal opening by the surgeon, and to the presence of complex fistulae. We evaluated the clinical course of 214 patients in a randomised. controlled trial with respect to the recurrence rate of anal fistula with or without preoperative endoanal ultrasonography. In this study we demonstrate that endoanal ultrasonography was the most accurate diagnostic modality for detecting internal opening and complex fistulae. Therefore, endoanal ultrasonography is reliable and useful in the preoperative assessment of anal fistula, and particularly for decreasing the recurrence rate of this disease.
Over the last two decades, oesophageal cancers, although considered among the most malignant visceral tumours, have witnessed a gradual increase in survival rates at a distance after surgery. The aims of the study were to present the results of our surgical approach and, on this basis, to discuss a number of considerations regarding the type of intervention to be adopted. In a retrospective study we recruited 105 patients with oesophageal cancer treated with various types of oesophageal resection, with or without thoracotomy, in the Division of General Surgery of the Civic Hospital of Sondrio. The postoperative mortality rate was 12%, with 40.2% of non-lethal complications. The average overall survival, whether in patients R0 or not, was 31.2 months (range: 1-167), with actuarial survival rates of 63.2% at one year, 30.3% at three years and 22.1% at five years. This was not significantly influenced by the type of surgery or by the location or histology of the cancer, while TNM stage, degree of parietal infiltration and the presence or absence of lymph-node metastases were significant factors. Although we limited the lymphadenectomy to "standard or extended two-field" operations, our overall survival at five years was similar to that of surgeons advocating much more extensive lymphadenectomy. In our case most of the relapses occurred at the systemic level and in the short term, on average after 12.7 months, meaning that micrometastases were probably already present at the time of intervention (82.4% of these patients, in fact, had stage N1 cancers). We prefer cervical anastomosis owing to the possibility it affords of greater oesophageal resection and to its relative safety in case of dehiscence. We always perform a right cervicotomy, which allows us to avoid having to move the patient on the operating table and to have fewer injuries to the recurrent nerve.
Total mesorectal excision (TME) is the cornerstone of surgical treatment for extraperitoneal rectal cancer. The aim of the present study was to analyse our five-year experience with laparoscopic TME, evaluating the overall five-year and disease-free survival rates. Twenty-five patients with low-middle rectal cancer were treated with laparoscopic TME. Patients with advanced rectal cancer were treated preoperatively with neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy. Five-year overall survival and disease-free survival were calculated according to the Kaplan-Meier method. Twenty-three ultralow anterior resections with Knight-Griffen anastomosis and 3 abdominoperineal resections were performed. At 30 days mortality was zero, while morbidity was 20% (all minor complications). The mean follow-up period was 30.5 months. Five-year overall survival was 80.2%, and five-year disease-free survival 80.9%. Our experience shows that laparoscopic TME is a safe and oncologically correct procedure. Oncologic outcomes were comparable to those reported in all major international experiences, and the results were very similar to those obtained with the laparotomic approach. However, it remains a complex technique, requiring an adequate learning curve. More prospective, randomised trials are needed in order to define laparoscopic TME as the new gold standard for the treatment of extraperitoneal rectal cancer.
We report a case of rectus sheath haematoma (RSH) in a patient undergoing laparoscopic right hemicolectomy and anticoagulant prophylaxis of a pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) with low molecular weight heparin. This pathological condition is rare and could be a cause of misdiagnosis in patients with acute abdominal pain. It can be a serious complication in the course of anticoagulant therapy. A rapid, correct diagnosis may lead to better treatment which must be timely, aggressive and ultimately curative. Our patient, with acute onset and swift worsening of his general condition, benefited from an immediate surgical procedure, with ligature of the epigastric artery stumps and drainage of the haematoma.
Arteriovenous malformations of the gastrointestinal tract are a known but rare cause of bleeding. Those of the stomach are the rarest if compared with other causes of gastric bleeding. The aetiology is still unknown, but senile age is considered an important cause, as are the degenerative processes connected with old age. These lesions are diagnosed by endoscopy which, with a haematostatic intent, often is not sufficient to stop the bleeding. Angiography is necessary for patients with massive bleeding whose endoscopy results are negative. The surgical treatment of gastric arteriovenous malformations requires excision of the lesion and part or all of the stomach. We report the case of a 57-year-old patient admitted to the Casualty Department with haematemesis and anaemia caused by acute gastric bleeding.
Perforation of peptic ulcer is a surgical emergency which still carries a risk of mortality. The main risk factors are delayed diagnosis > 24 hours, ASA-III or ASA-IV, age over 70 years, and associated cardiorespiratory pathologies. There is no unanimous consensus regarding the gold standard treatment of such complications. In this study we report our experience and analyse the literature with the aim of assessing the possible advantages of laparoscopic treatment of perforated duodenal ulcers versus open surgery. From April 2003 to December 2008, 39 patients underwent laparoscopic repair and 7 patients open repair of perforated duodenal ulcer. The following parameters were evaluated in all patients: operative time, duration of hospital stay, time to intestinal canalisation, morbidity and mortality. The conversion rate, in laparoscopic treated patients, was 0%. The mean operative time was longer in the laparoscopic group than in the open group (76.15 +/- 9.49 vs. 63.57 +/- 15.19 minutes; Mann Whitney test p < 0.05). The laparoscopic cases had a shorter mean hospital stay than the open cases (5.8 +/- 1.02 vs. 7.8 +/-1.34 days; Mann Whitney test p < 0.001). The time to canalisation in the two groups of patients was similar. One patient (2.56%) in the laparoscopic group and two (28.57%) in the open repair group presented morbidity in the postoperative period. One patient (ASA IV) in the open group died. Laparoscopic treatment in the emergency setting is a safe, reliable procedure, affording all the advantages of the minimally invasive approach.
Nowadays neuroendocrine breast cancer is a rare entity, though the presence of neuroendocrine cells is often detected within breast cancers. Most of these tumours are associated with conventional ductal or globular breast cancers. We describe the case of neuroendocrine cancer of the breast and discuss its clinical, radiological and cytological aspects.
The authors report a case of operative injury of the hepatic artery during a total spleno-pancreasectomy procedure for a mixed-type intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm. During the preparation of the structures of the hepatic pedicle, a "true" hepatic artery was not identified, but only a small arterial vessel measuring about 2 mm in diameter, just in front of the portal vein, apparently emerging from the parenchyma of the pancreatic head. To obtain complete mobilisation of the duodeno-pancreatic block from the portal vein, it was necessary to cut this small arterial vessel. In the postoperative period, the patient developed extensive liver ischaemia, which was gradually resolved, but resulted in multiple stenosis of the intra- and extra-hepatic biliary tree. At follow-up at three years, the patient was in fairly good condition, with a permanent percutaneous biliary drainage, but with no clinical or radiological signs of local or distant disease. Although interruption of hepatic arterial flow is usually well tolerated, this is not always the case. It is important to predict in what circumstances complications are likely to occur. The main determinants that should guide the surgeon faced with this problem are whether the portal circulation is normal, whether structures carrying collateral blood supply have been interrupted, and whether some form of biliary reconstruction is needed.
Mandard's tumor regression grade (TRG) is widely used to evaluate the pathological response to induction therapy with concurrent chemoradiotherapy in cancer of the oesophagus or gastro-oesophageal junction. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance and clinical applicability of TRG. From 2000 to 2007, 108 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus (57 cases) or Siewert type I and II adenocarcinoma of the cardia (51 cases) were treated with induction chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery in the 1st Division of General Surgery of the University of Verona. The treatment was identical for all patients and consisted of cisplatin, 5 FU and docetaxel together with 50 Gy of concurrent radiotherapy. The treatment-induced response was evaluated by TRG. Fifty-one, 24, 17, 9 and 7 patients were classified, respectively, as TRG1, 2, 3 4 and 5. Fifty-two patients died of the disease. Disease-related survival decreased with the increase in TRG class in node-negative patients (p < 0.001), while in N+ patients it was poor, irrespective of TRG class (p = 0.241). Mandard TRG is therefore useful for staging patients undergoing preoperative chemoradiotherapy, because it displays high prognostic significance. In our study, however, N was the main prognostic factor and for this reason it is mandatory to consider nodal status along with TRG. Moreover, among N negative patients, the prognosis of each different TRG class is statistically different and for this reason different TRG classes cannot be grouped together.
