Resultados tardios da operaçäo de Heller associada à fundoplicatura no tratamento do megaesôfago: análise de 83 casos / Late results of Heller operation and fundoaplication for the treatment of the megaesophagus: analysis of 83 cases

Objetivo. Estudo retrospectivo dos resultados tardios dos pacientes submetidos a miotomia e fundoplicatura para o tratamento do megaesôfago. Casuística e Métodos. Foram estudados 83 pacientes com seguimento de um a 186 meses (média de 40,0 + 47,4 meses). A fundoplicatura em três planos, proposta por Pinotti, foi realizada em 15,7 por cento dos doentes e a fundoplicatura parcial posterior em 83,1 por cento. A queixa pré-operatória principal foi disfagia, seguida de regurgitação e perda ponderal. A etiologia chagásica pode ser comprovada em 72,3 por cento dos doentes, através de teste sorológico. Resultados. No seguimento, 55,4 por cento dos doentes estavam assintomáticos, 34,9 por cento queixavam-se de disfagia esporádica, 14,4 por cento de pirose, 8,4 por cento de regurgitação e 2,4 por cento de disfagia igual pré-operatória, sendo esses últimos pré-operados, com melhora da sintomatologia. Refluxo gastro-esofágico foi constatado em 8,4 por cento dos doentes. Outras complicações tardias foram: hérnia paraesofágica, deslizamento da fundoplicatura, esôfago de Barrett e neoplasia do esôfago. Conlcusões. Os autores salientaram a necessidade de acompanhamento clínico e endoscópico perene dos doentes, mesmo operados, devido à possibilidade de complicações tardias, em especial o câncer. Concluem por bons resultados tardios em relação à disfagia. Propõem, como alternativa à esofagectomia, a operação de Heller em pacientes portadores de megaesôfago para grau IV com más condições clínicas, que não suportariam uma cirurgia de maior porte.

Tumoral DNA analysis by flow cytometry in patients submitted to esophagectomy for squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus

Squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus has a poor prognosis. There are several factors influencing the prognosis. The study of DNA ploidy by flow cytometry used in many malignant tumors is very valuable in determining, as a tumor marker, this prognosis. In this study 13 cases of resected squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus were analyzed. Despite the small sample, the authors observed that the worst prognosis was in advanced stage cases (III and IV), an aneuploid DNA pattern. The only case with a 5-year survival had a diploid DNA pattern.

Gastric metastasis of melanoma

We present a case of gastric metastasis, leading to chronic bleeding in a patient already submitted to surgery for a malignant melanoma of the lip. In view of the good clinical conditions, a subtotal gastrectomy as palliative treatment was performed. We discuss the diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of this rare clinical situation

Leiomyosarcoma of the stomach

The smooth muscle neoplasms from the gastrointestinal tract, such as leiomyomas, leiomyosarcoma and leiomyoblastomas, are rare tumors and represent not more than 1 to 3 per cent of all gastric neoplasms (1,2). The authors report a case of gastric leiomyosarcoma (GL) and discuss the difficulties in the diagnosis, surgical treatment and the factors which are important for prognosis

Behaviour of the volume of lymphatic follicles and of the spleen weight in Wistar rats submitted to resection of the distal 80 por cento of the small bowel

The effect of resection of the distal 80 por cento of the small bowel (EIR) of wistar rats on spleen weight, lymphatic follicle volume (LFV) serum albumin and total proteins was studied as compared to sham-operated, pair-fed and control animals. The spleen weight of rats submitted to EIR was lower than that of the other groups. Serum albumin and total proteins presented lower values in the resected animals as compared to those of the other groups. LFV reduction was more pronounced in animals submitted to EIR than in the pair-fed rats

Primary gastric lymphoma: report of one case

Primary gastric lymphoma represents about 2 per cent of all neoplasms located in the stomach. In spite of the low frequency, it is an important diagnosis, since its prognosis differs significantly from gastric carcinomas. The authors present 1 case and underscores the difficulty of establishing a pre-operative diagnosis through clinical, laboratorial and radiological findings and mainly because upper digestive endoscopy hardly differentiates it from carcinoma.