Is it Safe to Perform Elective Colorectal Surgical Procedures during the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Single Institution Experience with 103 Patients

OBJECTIVES: Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), all health services worldwide underwent profound changes, leading to the suspension of many elective surgeries. This study aimed to evaluate the safety of elective colorectal surgery during the pandemic. METHODS: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional, single-center study. Patients who underwent elective colorectal surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic between March 10 and September 9, 2020, were included. Patient data on sex, age, diagnosis, types of procedures, hospital stay, mortality, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) preoperative screening tests were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 103 colorectal surgical procedures were planned, and 99 were performed. Four surgeries were postponed due to positive preoperative screening for SARS-CoV-2. Surgical procedures were performed for colorectal cancer (n=90) and inflammatory bowel disease (n=9). Laparoscopy was the approach of choice for 43 patients (43.4%), 53 (53.5%) procedures were open, and 3 (3%) procedures were robotic. Five patients developed COVID-19 in the postoperative period, and three of them died in the intensive care unit (n=3/5, 60% mortality). Two other patients died due to surgical complications unrelated to COVID-19 (n=2/94, 2.1% mortality) (p<0.01). Hospital stay was longer in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection than in those without (38.4 versushttps://doi.org/10.3 days, respectively, p<0.01). Of the 99 patients who received surgical care during the pandemic, 94 were safely discharged (95%). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that elective colorectal surgical procedures may be safely performed during the pandemic; however, preoperative testing should be performed to reduce in-hospital infection rates, since the mortality rate due to SARS-CoV-2 in this setting is particularly high.

Prognostic factors affecting outcomes in multivisceral en bloc resection for colorectal cancer

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine the clinical and pathological factors associated with perioperative morbidity, mortality and oncological outcomes after multivisceral en bloc resection in patients with colorectal cancer. METHODS: Between January 2009 and February 2014, 105 patients with primary colorectal cancer selected for multivisceral resection were identified from a prospective database. Clinical and pathological factors, perioperative morbidity and mortality and outcomes were obtained from medical records. Estimated local recurrence and overall survival were compared using the log-rank method, and Cox regression analysis was used to determine the independence of the studied parameters. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02859155. RESULTS: The median age of the patients was 60 (range 23-86) years, 66.7% were female, 80% of tumors were located in the rectum, 11.4% had stage-IV disease, and 54.3% received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. The organs most frequently resected were ovaries and annexes (37%). Additionally, 30.5% of patients received abdominoperineal resection. Invasion of other organs was confirmed histologically in 53.5% of patients, and R0 resection was obtained in 72% of patients. The overall morbidity rate of patients in this study was 37.1%. Ureter resection and intraoperative blood transfusion were independently associated with an increased number of complications. The 30-day postoperative mortality rate was 1.9%. After 27 (range 5-57) months of follow-up, the mortality and local recurrence rates were 23% and 15%, respectively. Positive margins were associated with a higher recurrence rate. Positive margins, lymph node involvement, stage III/IV disease, and stage IV disease alone were associated with lower overall survival rates. On multivariate analysis, the only factor associated with reduced survival was lymph node involvement. CONCLUSIONS: Multivisceral en bloc resection for primary colorectal cancer can be performed with acceptable rates of morbidity and mortality and may lead to favorable oncological outcomes.

Excisão total do mesorreto por laparoscopia / Total mesorectal excision by laparoscopy

INTRODUÇÃO: O tratamento cirúrgico do câncer do reto passou por grande refinamento técnico após a incorporação da excisão total do mesorreto. A possibilidade de tratamento por laparoscopia ainda permanece como motivo de controvérsia. Assim, uma revisão atualizada do assunto é pertinente para ajudar a orientar a conduta aos pacientes com esse tumor. MÉTODO: Foram consultadas as bases de dados disponíveis pelo Medline/Pubmed, Scielo e Lilacs cruzando os seguintes unitermos: câncer colorretal, laparoscopia, cirurgia. CONCLUSÃO: Até a presente data, ainda permanece motivo de controvérsia se o tratamento do câncer de reto deve ser realizado de forma rotineira por laparoscopia. Não existem dados na literatura que suportem a realização minimamente invasiva da excisão total do mesorreto para o tratamento do câncer de reto fora de protocolo de pesquisa, especialmente pela ausência de índices de sobrevida e de recidiva local com pelo menos cinco anos de seguimento.

INTRODUCTION: Surgical treatment of rectal cancer has undergone great technical refinement after total mesorectal excision. The possibility of laparoscopic approach still remains controversial. Thus, an updated review of the matter is relevant to help to guide physicians in surgical treatment. METHOD: It was done an extensive review of papers on databases available through Medline / Pubmed, Lilacs and Scielo crossing the following keywords: colorectal cancer, laparoscopic surgery, surgery. CONCLUSION: To date, there still remains a matter of controversy whether the treatment of rectal cancer should be routinely performed by laparoscopy. There are no published data that support the achievement of minimally invasive total mesorectal excision for rectal cancer treatment outside the research protocol, notably a lack of survival rates and local recurrence with at least five years of follow-up.

Initial experience with stapled hemorrhoidopexy for treatment of hemorrhoids / Experiência inicial com o tratamento da doença hemorroidária pela técnica de grampeamento circular

BACKGROUND: Introduction of stapled hemorrhoidopexy by Longo in 1998 represented a radical change in the treatment of hemorrhoids. By avoiding multiple excisions and suture lines in the perianal region, stapled hemorrhoidopexy is intended to offer less postoperative pain than with conventional techniques. OBJECTIVE: To report and analyze the intra and postoperative results gained during initial experience with stapled hemorrhoidopexy. METHODS: One hundred and fifty five patients (67 males) with average age of 39.5 years (21-67 years) underwent stapled hemorrhoidopexy between June 2000 and December 2003 with symptomatic third-degree (n = 74) and fourth-degree (n = 81) hemorrhoids. Mean follow-up period was 20 months (14-60 months). RESULTS: Preoperative symptoms were prolapse (96.7 percent) and anal bleeding (96.1 percent). Overall mean operative time was 23 minutes (16-48 minutes). We observed one case of stapler failure and one case of failure to introduce the stapler occurred in a patient with previous anal surgery. Additional sutures for hemostasis were required in 103 patients (66.5 percent). Resection of skin tags was performed in 45 cases (29 percent). Postoperatively scheduled analgesia with oral dipyrone and celecoxib was enough for pain control in 131 patients (84.5 percent). Rescue analgesia was necessary in 24 cases (15.5 percent). Five patients needed opiates for pain control. Hospital discharge took place on the first postoperative day in 140 patients (90.3 percent). First defecation without pain was reported by 118 patients (76.1 percent). Postoperative complications were anal bleeding (10.3 percent), severe pain (3.2 percent), urinary retention (3.9 percent), fever without any signs of perianal infection (1.9 percent), incontinence for flatus (1.9 percent), hemorrhoidal thrombosis (1.3 percent). Two patients presented symptoms of recurrent hemorrhoidal disease and were successfully treated by conventional hemorrhoidectomy. They were no cases of...

RACIONAL: A introdução por Longo em 1998, da hemorroidopexia pela técnica de grampeamento circular representou uma mudança radical no tratamento cirúrgico da doença hemorroidária, ao passo que propõe o reposicionamento da mucosa anorretal prolapsada, sem excisão do mamilo hemorroidário, cursando assim com menor dor e menor tempo de recuperação pós-operatórios. OBJETIVO: Apresentar e analisar os resultados intra e pós-operatórios obtidos durante a experiência inicial com a técnica de grampeamento circular. PACIENTES E MÉTODO: Foram incluídos 155 pacientes (67 homens) com média de idade de 39,5 anos (21-67 anos) e doença hemorroidária sintomática grau III (n = 74) e IV (n = 81), operados consecutivamente pelo método do grampeamento circular entre junho de 2000 e dezembro de 2003. Resultados e complicações pós-operatórias foram aferidos num tempo de seguimento médio de 20 meses (14-60 meses). RESULTADOS: Os principais sintomas pré-operatórios foram prolapso (96,7 por cento) e sangramento (96,1 por cento). O tempo operatório médio foi de 23 minutos (16-48 minutos). Houve um caso de falha do equipamento e um de impossibilidade de introdução do mesmo (paciente com cirurgia anal prévia). Hemostasia adicional com sutura foi necessária em 103 pacientes (66,5 por cento) e a ressecção de plicomas foi realizada concomitantemente ao procedimento em 45 pacientes (29 por cento). A analgesia pós-operatória via oral com dipirona e celecoxib foi eficiente no controle da dor em 131 pacientes (84,5 por cento), 24 (15,5 por cento) necessitaram de analgesia complementar, sendo que 5 pacientes receberam opióides devido a dor intensa. A maioria dos pacientes (140 - 90,3 por cento) teve alta no primeiro dia de pós-operatório e 118 (76,1 por cento) referiram a primeira evacuação sem dor. As complicações pós-operatórias observadas foram: sangramento (10,3 por cento), tenesmo (3,9 por cento), retenção urinária (3,9 por cento), febre sem sinais infecciosos (1,9 por cento), incontinência...

Diagnóstico e manejo do câncer gástrico familiar / Diagnosis and management of familial gastric cancer

Embora a neoplasia gástrica maligna constitua-se numa das principais causas de mortalidade por câncer, as bases moleculares desta enfermidade permanecem ainda pouco compreendidas. Recentemente, a identificação de lesões gástricas difusas ocorrendo em famílias com padrão de transmissão tipicamente mendeliano, resultou no achado de um evento molecular único: mutações no gene da caderina-E. Esta entidade foi denominada câncer gástrico hereditário. Apesar de rara, a sua identificação deve ser suspeitada na prática clínica, já que é possível detectar-se casos precoces de câncer nestas famílias em alto risco. Como a análise mutacional do gene da caderina-E só é realizada em pouquíssimos centros no mundo, é importante tentar identificar estas famílias por meio de critérios de fácil acesso para qualquer profissional de saúde. Este trabalho comenta os critérios sugeridos pelo International Gastric Cancer Linkage Consortium (IGCLC), propostos em 1999, além de tentar estabelecer algumas diretrizes para o rastreamento das pessoas em risco.

Despite being one of the leading causes of death by cancer, the molecular basis of gastric cancer remains poorly understood. Recently, the identification of families with autosomal dominant inherited predisposition to diffuse gastric cancer associated with mutation in the E-cadherin gene allowed the definition of a new familial cancer syndrome, the "Hereditary Gastric Cancer Syndrome" - HGCS. Although rare, one must suspect of HGCS in order to prevent or detect gastric cancer at an early stage. Since mutational analysis of the E-cadherin is not avaiable to most centers, it is important to establish clinical parameters so that physicians can be able to easily recognize it. This study review the guidelines suggested by the International Gastric Cancer Linkage Consortium (IGCLC) in 1999 and proposes key points for screening high-risk individuals.

Genetica do cancer colorretal / Genetics of colorectal cancer

O cancer colorretal (CCR) e uma das neoplasias de maior importancia atualmente, tanto por sua prevalencia como por sua incidencia, correspondendo a...

Revascularizacao transmiocardica com o uso de laser / Transmyocardial laser revascularization

A miocardiopatia isquemica e uma patologia extremamente frequente em todo o mundo, sendo uma das principais causas de internacao e morbi-mortalidade. As tecnicas convencionais para o tratamento da doenca coronariana incluem terapia medicamentosa, angioplastia e cirurgias de bypass da arteria coronariana ou transplante. Porem, alguns pacientes que apresentam angina severa nao respondem bem ou nao se enquadram como candidatos a tais procedimentos. A revascularizacao transmiocardica com o uso de laser (transmyocardial laser revascularization - TMLR) surgiu como uma alternativa para esses pacientes. Ela consiste na perfuracao de pequenos canais no musculo cardiaco utilizando-se um feixe de laser, via toracotomia lateral. Espera-se que atraves desses canais o sangue contido nas cavidades ventriculares penetre no miocardio e atinja uma rede de microcirculacao, irrigando o musculo antes isquemico...