Objective This is an analysis of postoperative wound infections that developed in patients who had the cleft lift procedure for both primary pilonidal disease and for salvage after previous other failed operations. Infection after the cleft lift procedure can complicate or prolong healing and recovery by several weeks. The aim of this report is to help clinicians recognize and effectively manage these patients. Patients and methods All patients who had the cleft lift procedure by the author and developed postoperative infection during the period between January 2014 and May 2024 were included. This study evaluates the intraoperative measures to prevent infection, describes clinical presentations, and outlines specific treatment strategies for postoperative infections. Results During the approximate 10-year time period of this study, there were 1,200 patients who had the Bascom cleft lift procedure, and within that group, there were 39 patients who developed wound infections, for an overall infection rate of 3.3%. All patients with diagnosed postoperative infection were prescribed additional antibiotics, and if drains were present, they were left in place until the infection had clinically subsided, as was the case for 19 patients (49%). Two patients (5%) required return to the operating room (OR) for irrigation of the wound and replacement of drains, and three patients (8%) required placing additional supporting sutures in the outpatient clinic. 15 patients (38%) had their drain already removed when the infection became apparent, and they were successfully treated with antibiotics. Ultimately, 37 of the 39 patients went on to complete healing without the need for cleft lift revision, demonstrating the effectiveness of timely intervention. Two patients were lost to follow up. Conclusions Infections should be recognized and treated quickly with adjustment of the antibiotic regimen and assurance of adequate drainage. Maintaining the position of the lower incision is of paramount importance, and if these infections are properly treated, they do not jeopardize the ultimate success of the operation.

The cleft lift has been demonstrated to be one of the most successful operations for the treatment of pilonidal disease, however, there are times this procedure fails and further surgery is necessary. This article describes a reproducible and successful technique for the revision of a failed cleft lift. This procedure was performed on 76 consecutive patients who had previous cleft lift procedures. Failures were manifested by either a wound, sinus, abscess, dehiscence or fragile scar. The revision flattened the lower gluteal cleft with a rotation and advancement flap that placed the skin incision off-midline. Follow-up over the 10 years of this series was between six and 124 months with an average of 36 months. The revision was initially successful in 96.1% of patients; if the procedure was unsuccessful a repeat revision was subsequently curative. This procedure is proposed as an essential part of the treatment algorithm for patients with recurrent pilonidal disease after a cleft lift operation.

Objective This study is a report on 700 consecutive patients treated with the Bascom cleft lift as treatment for both simple and complex pilonidal diseases between 1993 and 2020. Patients and methods The Bascom cleft lift was used in patients with primary disease, recurrent disease, perianal disease, and failed flap procedures. Some technical modifications had to be made to accommodate patients with perianal disease, and they are described. All patients were treated by the author in private practice clinics and hospitals between 1993 and 2020 and were entered into a database concomitantly with their treatment. Patients were subsequently surveyed in preparation for this study, by phone, email, or email survey to determine the current status. The procedure consisted of excision of the sinus tracts, cysts, and open wounds; raising a skin and subcutaneous tissue flap; and flattening the gluteal cleft. Failure of the procedure was defined as lack of complete healing or recurrent pilonidal disease requiring revisional surgery. Complications were recorded and are described. Results We found that of the 700 patients, 3.4% required revision of the cleft lift (confidence interval for proportion based on binomial distribution: 2.1%-4.8%). The median follow-up time for patients without recurrence was six months (IQR: 2-19.5). Once primary healing was obtained, there were no late recurrences in the 156 patients followed beyond 24 months. Factors that negatively impacted the success rate were having had previous failed pilonidal surgery (5.3% required revision) and open wounds on the edge of the anus (15.5% required revision). Conclusions The Bascom cleft lift had an overall success rate of 96.6%. There was no category of patients for which this was not a good option, but analysis of this data reveals that patients who have had previous failed surgery, and patients with wounds on the edge of the anus had a higher failure rate than the group as a whole.

Introduction Although Pilonidal disease is rarely life-threatening, it is a painful and potentially embarrassing condition that if left untreated or treated poorly, can disrupt a patient's ability to enjoy life, function at work, develop relationships, or attend school or the military. There are several different approaches to this problem which include non-surgical measures, minimally invasive surgery, excisional surgery, or flap surgery. This article relates the experience with a surgical practice that offers only the cleft lift procedure and describes the degree of patient satisfaction with the operation. Materials and Methods Seven hundred and fifty-one patients were treated between 2011 and 2021. Surveys were sent out to these patients by email after at least eight weeks had elapsed from surgery. The study was closed once 500 responses were obtained. Statistical analysis was performed to determine if patients who had undergone previous pilonidal surgery (salvage group) had different opinions than the patients who did not (primary group). Results Of the 500 respondents, 494 (98.8%) were "extremely satisfied" or "satisfied" with their procedure; 444 (88.8%) felt that the recovery process was "very easy" or "easy" and only 56 (11.2%) felt that it was "difficult but worth it" or "really hard". Four hundred and one (80.2%) felt that the activity restrictions were "minimal, I was back to normal activity very quickly"; 438 (89.4%) felt that the scar looked "really good" or answered, "it's fine, not an issue for me. I'm just glad to be done with this". Whether the patients had previous failed surgery or not, the vast majority (78.2% and 79.6% respectively) felt that the cleft lift was an appropriate first operation for pilonidal disease; and statistical analysis failed to show any significant differences in opinions between the primary and salvage groups on any of the questions. The few patients who ultimately were dissatisfied with the procedure were unhappy with the cosmetic appearance of the scar and shape of the buttocks. By comparing the demographic characteristics of the respondents to the entire cohort, we found them to be similar groups, suggesting that the respondents were representative of the group as a whole. Conclusion A correctly performed cleft lift operation provides a solution that is very well accepted by patients, specifically in regard to recovery time, appearance, appropriateness, and overall satisfaction.

Introduction Treating pilonidal disease can be an unrewarding and frustrating experience for a general surgeon. It is not unusual for a busy surgeon to have several young people coming to the office each week for wound evaluations and dressing changes for failed surgical treatment of pilonidal disease, or for treatment of intentionally created open wounds. These patients are uniformly unhappy, and the situation is frustrating and stressful for the patient, the office staff, and the surgeon.

Background. A case of a functioning mediastinal cyst is presented.Methods. A comprehensive review of the literature found 93 patients in whom a parathyroid cyst or cysts extended into, or was completely contained within, the mediastinum. Including our patient, there were 46 men and 45 women, and the gender was not recorded in three.Results. The cysts were located in the anterosuperior region in 56 patients, in the middle region of the mediastinum in 26, and in the anterior, prevascular region in 12. Thirty-nine patients had functioning cysts associated with hyperparathyroidism of varying severity; seven patients presented with a hypercalcemic crisis. Local symptomatology consisted of a neck mass, respiratory distress, and occasional dysphagia or chest pain. Recurrent laryngeal nerve paresis was present in nine patients, and innominate vein compression or thrombosis was present in two. The cysts in all but four patients were treated by open surgical excision; two were treated by thoracoscopy, and two patients only had fine-needle aspiration of the cyst. The cyst was excised via a cervical approach in 67 patients and by a thoracotomy or median sternotomy or a variation thereof in 23. There was no operative mortality and morbidity was minimal.Conclusion. Surgical resection was successful in all and remains the treatment of choice for mediastinal parathyroid cysts.

A retrospective analysis of all patients having the diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin at a single hospital over a ten-year period was performed. These lesions are less common than both basal cell carcinomas and malignant melanomas. Noninvasive squamous cell carcinomas were not observed to recur. There was a 20% incidence of recurrence in 86 patients with invasive squamous cell carcinoma. The presence of solar changes in the skin did not obviate recurrence. The larger, less differentiated lesions had a greater probability of recurrence. When the depth of invasion of the lesions were determined, it was found that only the lesions that penetrated to Clark-s Level IV or V recurred. Squamous cell carcinomas that penetrate to this depth have the potential to recur and metastasize to regional lymph nodes and should be considered malignant lesions, even if they are associated with actinic skin changes.

Between 1975 and 1980, 392 patients with a palpable mass or masses were referred for breast evaluation, including risk factor assessment, physical examination, and selective utilization of aspiration cytology and mammography. Three-hundred and thirty-one (85%) were biopsied, with a benign diagnosis in 65% of the patients and cancer in 35%. The 61 patients (15%) who were not biopsied consisted of 32 patients in whom the mass disappeared on follow-up examination, 20 with stabilization on long-term follow-up, and nine with decreased mass size. Most breast masses must be biopsied, but a few can be followed and biopsy avoided. However, a decision not to biopsy requires more precise clinical judgement and experience than a decision to proceed with biopsy. Absolute indications for breast biopsy include a clinically suspicious mass, a mammogram considered malignant or suspicious, aspiration cytologic findings reported as malignant or suspicious, and a persisting, dominant mass, even if clinically benign.

We treated four patients who had hypoglycemia and nonpancreatic tumors. Two had pleural mesothelioma, one had primary fibrosarcoma of the liver, and one had pheochromocytoma metastatic to the liver. We propose four mechanisms for this syndrome: (1) insulin or insulin-like activity produced by the tumor, (2) decreased gluconeogenesis, (3) disruption of glucagon metabolism, and (4) increased utilization of glucose by the tumor. The local effects of the tumor in hepatic parenchyma may also play an important role. The important diagnostic tests are an insulin-glucose ratio, to rule out insulinoma, and fasting glucose levels. An assay of nonsuppressible insulin-like activity can be performed and is of investigative interest, but does not aid in individual patient therapy. Treatment consists of control of the tumor.

Ninety-nine patients with Stage I or II lung carcinoma that was other than the small cell type and who survived for more than 30 days after a “curative” resection were followed for five years or until death if it occurred prior to the five-year anniversary. Recurrent disease developed in 44 patients. Clinical data and data from postmortem examination were reviewed in these 44 patients in an attempt to classify each recurrence as either initially local or distant metastatic disease. The site of the first documented recurrence was local in 18 patients and distant metastases in 26. When the patients with recurrence were separated into TNM categories, it was apparent that in those patients without lymph node metastases demonstrated in the resected specimen (N0), the initial recurrence tended to be a distant metastases, whereas in those with such involvement (N1), the initial occurrence was more often local. In light of these data, selection of appropriate initial adjuvant therapeutic modalities may be different for each type of patient.