Acute appendicitis is a common indication for emergency abdominal surgery. Octogenarians (≥ 80 years) are considered high risk due to comorbidities and reduced physiological reserve. This study examined age-related differences in symptoms, surgical management, and outcomes in patients undergoing surgery for acute appendicitis. This multicenter retrospective cohort study includes 1,582 surgically treated patients from 41 German hospitals, comprising 1,533 non-octogenarians (18–79 years) and 49 octogenarians (≥ 80 years). Octogenarians had higher comorbidity burden and ASA classification (both p < 0.001). Clinical presentation was largely comparable; however, octogenarians experienced lower pain intensity (p = 0.05) and had higher CRP levels (p < 0.001). Complicated appendicitis was more prevalent in octogenarians (63.3

Different surgical techniques of kidney procurement exist, for example, simultaneous en-bloc and sequential nephrectomy. After warm dissection, cross-clamping of the large vessels and perfusion of the organs, the cold dissection and extraction of organs is done. During the extraction time, organs are cut off from blood supply and, despite the cold flush, are not adequately cooled, which can result in ischemic damage. We propose that en-bloc kidney procurement shortens extraction time. We analyzed 242 cases of kidney procurement in Germany between January 2017 and December 2023 from donations after brain death (DBD) and compared the influence of the surgical techniques (en-bloc and sequential nephrectomy) on the extraction time of the first retrieved kidney. Kidneys procured with the en-bloc technique had significantly lower extraction times (median 44 vs. 60 minutes; p < .001), which was further confirmed in the multivariate linear regression analysis with a shortening of extraction time by approximately 14 minutes. In conclusion, en-bloc kidney procurement significantly shortens the organ extraction time in DBD organ procurement.

BACKGROUND:Comprehensive informed consent is a core surgical responsibility but is increasingly challenged by rising patient volumes and limited personnel resources. Digital solutions in healthcare offer opportunities to optimize patient education. Video-assisted informed consent may reduce time expenditure without compromising informational quality. The objective was to compare video-assisted with conventional informed consent regarding duration, patient understanding, patient, and physician satisfaction. METHODS:In this prospective, cluster quasi-randomized clinical trial at the University Hospital Wuerzburg, Germany (September 2023-March 2025), 153 of 330 screened patients scheduled for elective cholecystectomy or colon resection were enrolled. The intervention group received a video developed by medudoc education GmbH, while the control group received physician-led informed consent according to the hospital's standard. Consultation duration was recorded using a stopwatch. Patients completed questionnaires on satisfaction and understanding immediately after consent and postoperatively, physicians rated satisfaction at study completion. The primary outcome was time reduction for the physician consultation time. Secondary outcomes included patient understanding, patient satisfaction, physician satisfaction, and postoperative pain. RESULTS:Of 153 participants, 84 (55%) received video-assisted and 69 (45%) conventional consent. Median physician consultation time was significantly reduced with video assistance for cholecystectomy (1.5 vs. 8.1 min) and colon resection (3.3 vs. 11.9 min). Patient understanding, satisfaction, and postoperative pain outcomes were high in both groups. Physician satisfaction with the video-assisted process was consistently high. CONCLUSIONS:Video-assisted surgical informed consent serves as a valuable adjunct in preoperative patient education and represents a promising approach to digital innovation in clinical practice. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ISRCTN registry ISRCTN26680260 (https://www.isrctn.com/search?q=ISRCTN26680260).

BACKGROUND:The best multimodal approach for resectable locally advanced esophageal adenocarcinoma is unclear. An important question is whether perioperative chemotherapy is preferable to preoperative chemoradiotherapy. METHODS:In this phase 3, multicenter, randomized trial, we assigned in a 1:1 ratio patients with resectable esophageal adenocarcinoma to receive perioperative chemotherapy with FLOT (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel) plus surgery or preoperative chemoradiotherapy (radiotherapy at a dose of 41.4 Gy and carboplatin and paclitaxel) plus surgery. Eligibility criteria included a primary tumor with a clinical stage of cT1 cN+, cT2-4a cN+, or cT2-4a cN0 disease, in which T indicates the size and extent of the tumor (higher numbers indicate a more advanced tumor), and N indicates the presence (N+) or absence (N0) of cancer spread to the lymph nodes, without evidence of metastatic spread. The primary end point was overall survival. RESULTS:From February 2016 through April 2020, we assigned 221 patients to the FLOT group and 217 patients to the preoperative-chemoradiotherapy group. With a median follow-up of 55 months, overall survival at 3 years was 57.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 50.1 to 64.0) in the FLOT group and 50.7% (95% CI, 43.5 to 57.5) in the preoperative-chemoradiotherapy group (hazard ratio for death, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.92; P = 0.01). Progression-free survival at 3 years was 51.6% (95% CI, 44.3 to 58.4) in the FLOT group and 35.0% (95% CI, 28.4 to 41.7) in the preoperative-chemoradiotherapy group (hazard ratio for disease progression or death, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.51 to 0.85). Among the patients who started the assigned treatment, grade 3 or higher adverse events were observed in 120 of 207 patients (58.0%) in the FLOT group and in 98 of 196 patients (50.0%) in the preoperative-chemoradiotherapy group. Serious adverse events were observed in 98 of 207 patients (47.3%) in the FLOT group and in 82 of 196 patients (41.8%) in the preoperative-chemoradiotherapy group. Mortality at 90 days after surgery was 3.1% in the FLOT group and 5.6% in the preoperative-chemoradiotherapy group. CONCLUSIONS:Perioperative chemotherapy with FLOT led to improved survival among patients with resectable esophageal adenocarcinoma as compared with preoperative chemoradiotherapy. (Funded by the German Research Foundation; ESOPEC ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02509286.).

BackgroundDedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLPS) is a rare mesenchymal cancer originating from the adipose tissue, with poor survival rates for most patients, highlighting the critical need for novel treatment options.Case descriptionThis report examines the efficacy and safety of sequential pre-treatment with the marine-derived alkaloid trabectedin followed by checkpoint inhibition using the anti-PD-1 antibody nivolumab in a 63-year-old male patient with unresectable retroperitoneal DDLPS. Treatment was initiated at the time of the seventh relapse as part of the NitraSarc phase 2 multicenter trial for inoperable soft tissue sarcoma conducted by the German Interdisciplinary Sarcoma Group (GISG-15, NCT03590210). The patient demonstrated an immediate tumor response, and in combination with minor surgery, achieved R0 resection status, which was subsequently maintained without the need for further therapy for the past 52 months. Correlative molecular analyses revealed a sustained DNA damage repair machinery and downregulation of PD-1 protein expression in post-treatment tumor samples.ConclusionThis report provides exemplary insight on the feasibility and efficacy of sequential pre-treatment with trabectedin as a priming strategy for PD-1 inhibition in advanced DDLPS. Full trial results from NitraSarc are pending for publication.

BACKGROUND:Perioperative thoracic epidural analgesia (EDA) and patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) are common forms of analgesia after pancreatic surgery. Current guidelines recommend EDA over PCIA, and evidence suggests that EDA may improve long-term survival after surgery, especially in cancer patients. The aim of this study was to determine whether perioperative EDA is associated with an improved patient prognosis compared to PCIA in pancreatic surgery. METHODS:The PAKMAN trial was an adaptive, pragmatic, international, multicenter, randomized controlled superiority trial conducted from June 2015 to October 2017. Three to five years after index surgery a long-term follow-up was performed from October 2020 to April 2021. RESULTS:For long-term follow-up of survival, 109 patients with EDA were compared to 111 patients with PCIA after partial pancreatoduodenectomy (PD). Long-term follow-up of quality of life (QoL) and pain assessment was available for 40 patients with EDA and 45 patients with PCIA (questionnaire response rate: 94%). Survival analysis revealed that EDA, when compared to PCIA, was not associated with improved overall survival (OS, HR, 1.176, 95% HR-CI, 0.809-1.710, P = .397, n = 220). Likewise, recurrence-free survival did not differ between groups (HR, 1.116, 95% HR-CI, 0.817-1.664, P = .397, n = 220). OS subgroup analysis including only patients with malignancies showed no significant difference between EDA and PCIA (HR, 1.369, 95% HR-CI, 0.932-2.011, P = .109, n = 179). Similar long-term effects on QoL and pain severity were observed in both groups (EDA: n = 40, PCIA: n = 45). CONCLUSIONS:Results from this long-term follow-up of the PAKMAN randomized controlled trial do not support favoring EDA over PCIA in pancreatic surgery. Until further evidence is available, EDA and PCIA should be considered similar regarding long-term survival.

Surgical treatment of inguinal hernias in children is one of the most common operative procedures worldwide. During surgery for inguinal hernias in adults, chronic pain develops in approximately 10

Rectal resection has remained the cornerstone in curative treatment of rectal cancer. This however, implies the risk of anastomotic leakage leading to morbidity, mortality and potentially disease progression. Endoscopic vacuum therapy (EVT) has emerged as a promising tool in leakage therapy in order to avoid reoperation and Hartman resection. However, its clinical efficacy and its potential effect on oncological outcomes still requires further research. In this retrospective single-centre cohort study, we analysed all consecutive patients undergoing rectal resection for rectal cancer during 2012–2021. The incidence and management of anastomotic leakage and its effects on long-term oncological outcomes were analysed. A total of 334 patients underwent rectal resection of whom 47 patients (14.1

Introduction Although neoadjuvant therapy is widely used in the management of several malignant tumors, it is not yet an established therapeutic concept for patients with locally advanced, unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

LBA1 Background: The most effective multimodal approach for treatment of resectable locally advanced esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is under debate. A prior ranking question is if neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy or perioperative chemotherapy is superior. ESOPEC (NCT02509286) is a multicenter prospective randomized trial comparing neoadjuvant CROSS (41.4Gy plus carboplatin/paclitaxel) followed by surgery versus perioperative FLOT (5-FU/ leucovorin/oxaliplatin/docetaxel) and surgery for the curative treatment of EAC. Methods: Patients with cT1 cN+ cM0 or cT2-4a cNany cM0 resectable EAC were eligible. The primary endpoint is overall survival (OS; 90% power; hazard ratio [HR] 0.645, 218 events needed; one sided significance level of 2.5%). Analysis is by intention-to-treat in all randomized patients. The effect of treatment on OS is estimated using Cox regression stratified by study site, and including N stage (N0, N+), and age as covariates. Results: Between Feb 2016 and Apr 2020, 438 patients from 25 sites in Germany were randomly assigned to two treatment groups (221 FLOT; 217 CROSS). Baseline characteristics (male sex 89.3%, median age 63 [range 30-86], cT3/4 80.5%; cN+ 79.7%) were well balanced between both arms. Neoadjuvant treatment was started in 403 patients (207 FLOT; 196 CROSS). Surgery was done in 371 patients (191 FLOT; 180 CROSS). R0 resection was achieved in 351 patients (180 FLOT; 171 CROSS). 90 days postsurgical mortality was 4.3% (3.2% FLOT; 5.6% CROSS). After a median follow up of 55 months, 218 patients had died (97 FLOT; 121 CROSS). Median OS was 66 (95% CI 36 – not estimable) months in the FLOT arm, and 37 (95% CI 28 – 43) months in the CROSS arm. The 3-year OS rates were 57.4% (95% CI 50.1 – 64.0%) for FLOT and 50.7% (95% CI 43.5 – 57.5%) for CROSS (HR 0.70, 95% CI 0.53-0.92, p=0.012). In 359 patients with available tumor regression status, pathological complete response was achieved in 35 (19.3%, 95%-CI 13.9 – 25.9%) in FLOT and in 24 (13.5%, 95%-CI 8.8 – 19.4%) in CROSS. Conclusions: Perioperative FLOT improves survival in resectable EAC compared to neoadjuvant CROSS. Funding: The trial was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), project number 264590883. Clinical trial information: NCT02509286 .

Retrosternal oesophageal reconstructions with collar anastomoses can become necessary when the stomach is either unavailable for oesophageal replacement, or orthotopic reconstruction is deemed impractical. Our aim was to analyse our results regarding technical approaches and outcomes. All patients undergoing primary and secondary oesophageal retrosternal reconstructions with collar anastomoses at our centre (2019–2023) were retrospectively analysed and individual surgical reconstruction options were presented. Overall, twelve patients received primary (n = 5; 42.7

Evidence from Asian studies suggests that minimally-invasive gastrectomy achieves equivalent oncological but improved perioperative outcomes compared to open surgery. Oncological gastric resections are less frequent in European countries. Index procedures may play a role for the learning curve of minimally-invasive gastrectomy. The aim of our study was to evaluate if skills acquired in bariatric surgery allow a safe and oncologically adequate implementation of minimally-invasive gastrectomy in a cohort of european patients. In this single-center retrospective study, all patients who received primary bariatric surgery between January 2015 and December 2018 and minimally-invasive surgery for gastric cancer treated from June 2019 to January 2023 were evaluated. Primary endpoints were operation time, lymph node yield and lymph node fractions. Secondary endpoints included postoperative complications and oncological outcomes. Learning curves for two surgeons with 350 bariatric procedures and 44 minimally-invasive gastrectomies were analyzed. For bariatric surgery, the mean operation time decreased from initially 82 ± 27 to 45 ± 21 min and 118 ± 28 to 81 ± 36 min for sleeve gastrectomy (SG) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), while the complication rate remained within the international benchmark. For laparoscopic gastrectomy (n = 30), operation times decreased but then remained stable over time. Operation times for the robotic platform were longer (302 ± 60 vs. 390 ± 48 min; p < 0.001) with the learning curve remaining incomplete after 14 procedures. R0 status was achieved in 95.5

Background Chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP) is a potential long-term problem following open incisional hernia repair which may affect the quality of life of patients despite successful anatomical repair of the hernia. The aim of this manuscript was to identify the incidence and outcome of patients following open incisional hernia repair in respect of risk factors to develop CPSP. Methods A single-center retrospective analysis of patients who underwent open incisional hernia repair between 2015 and 2021 was performed. Pre-existing conditions (e.g., diabetes mellitus and malignancy), hernia complexity, postoperative complications, and postoperative pain medication were analyzed using the local database. Quality of life and CPSP were assessed using the EuraHS Quality of Life (QoL) questionnaire. Results A total of 182 cases were retrospectively included in a detailed analysis based on the complete EuraHS (QoL) questionnaire. During the average follow-up period of 46 months, this long-term follow-up revealed a 54.4% incidence of CPSP and including a rate of 14.8% for severe CPSP (sCPSP) after open incisional hernia surgery. The complexity of the hernia and the demographic variables were not different between the group with and without CPSP. Patients with CPSP reported significantly reduced QoL. The analgesics score which includes the need of pain medication in the initial days after surgery was significantly higher in patients with CPSP than in those without (no CPSP: 2.86 vs. CPSP: 3.35; p = 0.047). Conclusion The presence of CPSP after open incisional hernia repair represents a frequent and underestimated long-term problem which has been not been recognized to this extent before. CPSP impairs QoL in these patients. Patients at risk to develop CPSP can be identified in the perioperative setting by the need of high doses of pain medication using the analgesics score. Possibly timely adjustment of pain medication, even in the domestic setting, could alleviate the chronicity or severity of CPSP.

Die Divertikulitis zählt zu den häufigsten gastroenterologischen Erkrankungen und kann sowohl akut als auch chronisch verlaufen. Neben konservativen Therapiestrategien stehen zudem chirurgische Optionen zur Verfügung, um je nach Typ der Divertikulitis (CDD-Klassifikation) eine adäquate Therapie anbieten zu können. Evidenzbasierte Indikationen zur elektiven Operation müssen in jedem Einzelfall geprüft und einer Nutzen-Risiko-Abwägung unterzogen werden, zudem sollte das Behandlungsziel individuell festgelegt werden. Eine absolute Indikation zur Kolonresektion besteht bei einer frei perforierten Divertikulitis (CDD Typ IIc) sowie bei chronisch komplizierter Divertikulitis mit Ausbildung von Stenosen oder Fisteln. Für die Operationsstrategie sollte unabhängig von der Dringlichkeit immer ein minimal-invasives Vorgehen mit dem Ziel einer primären Anastomosierung, ggf. unter Stomaprotektion bevorzugt werden.

Low-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasia (LAMN) represents a relatively rare tumor of the appendix typically diagnosed incidentally through appendectomy for acute appendicitis. In cases where perforation occurs, mucinous content may disseminate into the abdominal cavity, leading to the development of pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP). The primary objective of this study was to elucidate the molecular characteristics associated with various stages of LAMN and PMP. DNA was extracted from LAMN, primary PMPs, recurrent PMPs, and adenocarcinomas originating from LAMN. The subsequent analysis involved the examination of mutational hotspot regions within 50 cancer-related genes, covering over 2800 COSMIC mutations, utilizing amplicon-based next-generation sequencing (NGS). Our findings revealed activating somatic mutations within the MAPK-signaling pathway across all tumors examined. Specifically, 98.1% of cases showed mutations in KRAS, while one tumor harbored a BRAF mutation. Additionally, GNAS mutations were identified in 55.8% of tumors, with no significant difference observed between LAMN and PMP. While LAMN rarely displayed additional mutations, 42% of primary PMPs and 60% of recurrent PMPs showed additional mutations. Notably, both adenocarcinomas originating from LAMN showed mutations within TP53. Furthermore, 7.7% (4/52) of cases exhibited a potentially targetable KRAS G12C mutation. In four patients, NGS analysis was performed on both primary PMP and recurrent PMP/adenocarcinoma samples. While mutations in KRAS and GNAS were detected in almost all samples, 50% of recurrent cases displayed an additional SMAD4 mutation, suggesting a notable alteration during disease progression. Our findings indicate two key points: First, mutations within the MAPK pathway, particularly in KRAS, are evident across all tumors, along with a high frequency of GNAS mutations. Second, progression toward PMP or adenocarcinoma is associated with an accumulation of additional mutations within common oncogenic pathways.