Short-Term Impact of Temporary Shutdown of a University-Affiliated Hospital on Patients With Colorectal Cancer During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

Owing to in-hospital transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Uijeongbu St.Mary’s Hospital, a university-affiliated hospital in South Korea, was temporarily closed for disinfection in March 2020. This study aimed to investigate the impact of both the hospital shutdown and the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic on short-term outcomes of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. We retrospectively reviewed the clinicopathologic data of 607 patients who were surgically treated for CRC from May 2018 to September 2021. Nodal upstaging, higher lymphatic invasion and abdominoperineal resection rates for 3 months after the hospital resumed surgery following the shutdown in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic were detected, without worse short-term morbidity or mortality. The incidence of adverse pathologic features of CRC such as lymphatic, venous, and perineural invasion was higher throughout the COVID-19 pandemic era. Further follow-up of CRC patients treated in the pandemic era for long-term oncologic outcomes is needed.

Coring-out fistulectomy for perianal cryptoglandular fistula: a retrospective cohort study on 20 years of experience at a single center

Purpose@#Cryptoglandular fistula is one of the common anal diseases requiring surgical treatment. Various surgical techniques have been introduced; however, there is no known standard technique. Coring-out fistulectomy is a surgical technique that accurately resects only the fistula tract. However, only a few cases of this procedure have been reported.We aimed to analyze the surgical outcomes of coring-out fistulectomy for cryptoglandular anal fistulas. @*Methods@#We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who underwent coring-out fistulectomy for a cryptoglandular fistula between 1999 and 2019. Primary outcomes were the treatment success rate (recurrence and healing rates) and incidence of fecal incontinence. @*Results@#A total of 184 patients were included in our study. The average age of the patients was 44 years (range, 16–75 years), and 88.0% were male. Twenty-four (13.0%), 13 (7.1%), and 68 patients (37.0%) underwent operation for recurrent fistula, multiple tracts, and complex type fistula, respectively. The healing rate was 92.4%, and recurrence occurred in 15 of 170 healed patients (8.8%). Thus, the treatment success rate was 84.2%. There was no fecal incontinence except in 1 patient who had preoperative fecal incontinence because of cauda equine syndrome. In multivariable analysis of the factors affecting the treatment success rate, the complex fistula (odds ratio [OR], 14.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.7– 43.0; P < 0.001) and undetected internal opening during the operation (OR, 4.0; 95% CI, 1.4–11.6; P = 0.012) were significant factors. @*Conclusion@#Coring-out fistulectomy is a simple and feasible technique for sphincter-preserving anal fistula surgery.

Clinical Study on Safety, Clinical Indicators of Polydioxanone Sutures Inserted into Vastus Medialis Muscle in Degenerative Knee Osteoarthritis

Objective@#Physiologically, the vastus medialis muscle is the first muscle to undergo muscle atrophy, and it was thought that pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis could be reduced if this muscle could be strengthened and stabilized. The purpose of this study was to prove the effectiveness in knee osteoarthritis using polydioxanone sutures that have been tried in other musculoskeletal areas. Method: Forty knee osteoarthritis patients voluntarily participated in the study, and divided into 30 polydioxanone suture needle (MEST-B2375 produced by Ovmedi Co.) and 10 sham needle (without suture). And the needles were inserted into the vastus medialis muscle. In all patients, safety evaluation including blood tests and ultrasonography as well as efficacy evaluation including isometric maximal contractile strength of quadriceps muscle, weight bearing pain, impression of change, quadriceps angle, rescue drug intake were evaluated up to 30 weeks after the procedure. @*Results@#Isometric maximal contractile strength showed a significant improvement at 4 weeks after the procedure in the polydioxanone suture group, and the weight-bearing pain showed a significant improvement at every visit in the polydioxanone suture group compared with baseline values. Patient global impression of change score showed significant improvement at 20 and 30 weeks, and clinical score showed improvement at every visit. @*Conclusion@#Insertion of polydioxanone sutures showed improvement in muscle strength and knee pain by supporting and fixation of the vastus medialis muscle in patients with degenerative knee osteoarthritis. Insertion of polydioxanone sutures is considered to have a therapeutic effect in knee osteoarthritis patients.

Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor of the Retroperitoneum Including Chronic Granulomatous Inflammation Suggesting Tuberculosis: A Case Report

An inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a solid tumor of unknown etiology frequently affecting children and young adults and commonly affecting the lung or orbital region. We present a case involving a 41-year-old man who had an IMT combined with Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in the retroperitoneum. He presented with only pain in the right lower abdomen without accompanying symptoms; a retroperitoneal mass was found on computed tomography. The tumor had invaded the end of the ileum and was attached to the omentum, so mass excision could not be performed. The tumor was completely excised surgically and had histological features diagnostic of an IMT. Histologic findings of the omentum were positive for Ziehl-Nielsen staining for acid-fast bacilli and for a positive polymerase chain reaction for M. tuberculosis. The patient had no apparent immune disorder. These findings made this case exceptional because IMTs, which are mostly due to atypical mycobacteria, have been found mainly in immunocompromised patients.

Outcomes of the surgical management of encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis: A case series from a single center in Korea

BACKGROUND: Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS) is a rare but near-fatal complication of peritoneal dialysis (PD). Despite the high mortality rate of EPS, the surgical treatment strategy of severe EPS is yet to be established.METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed outcomes of patients with EPS who underwent enterolysis for intractable EPS at Seoul National University Hospital between 2001 and 2018. EPS was diagnosed based on the clinical symptoms and radiological findings of abdominal computed tomography (CT). CT scans were scored according to an EPS scoring system that assessed peritoneal thickening and calcification as well as bowel thickening, tethering, loculation, and dilatation.RESULTS: Thirteen patients (nine males and four females; age, 48 [29–63] years) underwent enterolysis for severe EPS. PD duration (11 [6–21] years) was not associated with survival. Two patients were newly diagnosed with EPS following kidney transplantation. Five patients died of infectious complications immediately after the surgery. Eight patients survived after the first surgery; however, five of them underwent reoperation but died of persistent infection, fistula formation, or adhesive bowel obstruction. Four young (< 60 years) male patients with relatively low CT scan scores (< 13) survived for > 2 years after the first surgery. Median survival duration from EPS diagnosis was 22 (1.3–184) months and that from the first surgery was 9 (0.3–153) months.CONCLUSION: The high mortality rate of EPS suggests the importance of appropriate surgical intervention in young symptomatic male EPS patients with relatively low CT scan scores.

Preliminary Experiences with Interbody Titanium Cage(RABEA(TM)) Fusion in Patients with Degenerative Cervical Disease

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of cervical interbody fusion with implantable titanium cage(RABEA(TM)). The authors retrospectively analysis the result of application of cervical hollow cage(RABEA(TM)) without bone graft to the patients of degenerative cervical disease. METHODS: 78 patients with radiculopathy with or without myelopathy due to degenerative cervical diseases were underwent anterior cervical discectomy and interbody fusion with titanium cages(RABEA(TM)) which were not filled with autogenous bone from June 1999 to December 2002. Among them, 33 patients could be followed-up for at least 6 months. Mean follow-up period was 13.3 months(ranged 6-30 months). RESULTS: Good or excellent results were found in approximately 82.0%. Preoperatively, the mean height of the disc space was 4.27mm(range 3~6mm), and at 1 day postoperatively it was 7.87mm(range 7~9mm). The mean height of the disc space after 1 year was 6.07mm(range 1~8mm). Due to subsidence of cage, 7 patients showed decrease of disc space height to preoperative disc space height. Among them, 1 patients showed poor results. A solid fusion was achieved in all patients. In this context, causes of subsidence are represented by osteoporosis and degree of cage recess. CONCLUSION: Titanium cages appear safe and effective in the treatment of degenerative cervical disease. But subsidence of cage, so far limited in number, appeared to be important risk factor for recurrence of the symptoms.