Surgery of the abdominal aorta: experience of a university hospital in Thailand.

One hundred and thirty two patients who underwent aortic surgery at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand from January 1991 to December 2000 were studied. Twenty three patients (17.4%) were aged less than 60 years, 102 (77.3%) aged 60-80 years, and 7 (5.3%) were older than 80 years. Ninety eight patients (74.2%) underwent elective operations and 34 (25.8%) underwent emergency operations. Elective abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) repair was the most common indication for abdominal aortic surgery (56.0%). Eighteen patients (13.6%) underwent surgery for infected AAA. The incidence of infected AAA was 16.1 per cent among patients with AAA. Fifteen patients (11.4%) had ruptured AAA and 19 patients (14.4%) had aortoiliac occlusive disease. The overall mortality rate was 15.2 per cent. The mortality of elective aortic surgery was 5.1 per cent and of emergency aortic surgery was 44.1 per cent. The mortality of elective AAA repair was 4 per cent. Multiple system organ failure was the most common cause of death (80%), followed by acute myocardial infarction (10%) and exsanguination (10%). The authors conclude that elective surgery on the abdominal aorta is safe and should be performed when indicated to prevent the development of complications requiring emergency surgery which carries a much higher risk.

Long-term functional results of radiation after coloanal anastomosis

Surgery is the only treatment that can cure most patients with colorectal cancer. Radiation therapy (pre or postoperative) has been shown to improve results by decreasing local recurrence and improving survival. Our aim was to analyze whether postoperative radiation influenced long-term functional outcomes and the probability of stricture of anastomosis in patients who underwent coloanal anastomosis for rectal cancer. Methods: The records of 84 patients with coloanal anastomosis for rectal cancer were studied between 1980 and 1996. There were 82 males and 28 females. Mean age was 57.8 years (range 24 to 78 years). Mean distal resection margin was 2.6 cm (range 0 to 14cm). Twenty-three patients received postoperative irradiation therapy. Patients who received chemotherapy were not included in the study. Results were analysed by examination , telephone or questionnaire. Mean follow-up was 3.8 years (range 0 to 13 years). Results: There was no operative mortality. Functional variables were much better in non-irradiated patients. The irradiated group had more number of stools/day (p>0.05), more number of stools/ night (p>0.05), more incontinence/day (p<0.05) and more incontinence/night (p<0.05). Irradiated patients also wore more pads (p<0.05) than non-irradiated patients. The probability of remaining free of stricture at 5 years was slightly better in non-irradiated (72 percent) than in irradiated patients (65 percent, p>0.05). Conclusion: Postoperative irradiation after colo-anal anastomosis for rectal cancer is safe, but may increase the risk of stricture of anastomosis and does affect functional results adversely