Ghost Ileostomy in Anterior Resection for Bowel Endometriosis: Technical Description.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate our application of the ghost ileostomy in the setting of laparoscopic segmental bowel resection for symptomatic bowel endometriosis nodule. DESIGN: Technical step-by-step surgical video description (educative video) SETTING: University Tertiary Hospital. Institutional Review Board ruled that approval was not required for this study. Endometriosis affects the bowel in 3% to 37% of all cases, and in 90% of these cases, the rectum or sigmoid colon is also involved. Infiltration up to the rectal mucosa and invasion of >50% of the circumference have been suggested as an indication for bowel resection [1]. Apart from general risks (bleeding, infection, direct organ injuries) and bowel and bladder dysfunctions, anastomotic leakage is one of the most severe complications. In women with bowel and vaginal mucosa endometriosis involvement, there is a risk of rectovaginal fistula after concomitant rectum and vagina resections. Hence, for lower colorectal anastomosis, the use of temporary protective ileostomy is usually recommended to prevent these complications but carries on stoma-related risks, such as hernia, retraction, dehydration, prolapse, and necrosis. Ghost ileostomy is a specific technique, first described in 2010, that gives an easy and safe option to prevent anastomotic leakage with maximum preservation of the patient's quality of life [2]. In case of anastomotic leakage, the ghost (or virtual) ileostomy is converted, under local anesthesia, into a loop (real) ileostomy by extracting the isolated loop through an adequate abdominal wall opening. In principle, avoiding readmission for performing the closure of the ileostomy, with all the costs related, means a considerable saving for the hospital management. Also, applying a protective rectal tube in intestinal anastomosis may have a beneficial effect [3]. These options are performed by general surgeons in oncological scenarios, but their use in endometriosis has never been described. INTERVENTIONS: In a 32-year-old woman with intense dysmenorrhea, deep dyspareunia, dyschesia, and cyclic rectal bleeding, a complete laparoscopic approach was performed using blunt and sharp dissection with cold scissors, bipolar dissector and a 5-mm LigaSure Advance (Covidien, Valley lab, Norwalk, Connecticut). An extensive adhesiolysis restoring the pelvic anatomy and endometriosis excision was done. Afterward, the segmental bowel resection was performed using linear and circular endo-anal stapler technique with immediate end-to-end bowel anastomosis and transit reconstitution. Once anastomosis was done, the terminal ileal loop was identified, and a window was made in the adjacent mesentery. Then, an elastic tape (vessel loop) was passed around the ileal loop, brought out of the abdomen through the right iliac fossa 5-mm port site incision and, fixed to the abdominal wall using nonabsorbable stitches. Finally, a trans-anal tube was placed for 5 days. The patient was discharged on the fifth day postoperatively without any complications. The tape was removed 10 days after surgery, and the loop dropped back. Two months after the intervention, the patient remains asymptomatic. CONCLUSION: Ghost ileostomy is a simple, safe, and feasible technique available in the setting of lower colorectal anastomosis following bowel endometriosis resection.

Human small intestinal infection by SARS-CoV-2 is characterized by a mucosal infiltration with activated CD8+ T cells.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has so far claimed over three and a half million lives worldwide. Though the SARS-CoV-2 mediated disease COVID-19 has first been characterized by an infection of the upper airways and the lung, recent evidence suggests a complex disease including gastrointestinal symptoms. Even if a direct viral tropism of intestinal cells has recently been demonstrated, it remains unclear, whether gastrointestinal symptoms are caused by direct infection of the gastrointestinal tract by SARS-CoV-2 or whether they are a consequence of a systemic immune activation and subsequent modulation of the mucosal immune system. To better understand the cause of intestinal symptoms we analyzed biopsies of the small intestine from SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals. Applying qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, we detected SARS-CoV-2 RNA and nucleocapsid protein in duodenal mucosa. In addition, applying imaging mass cytometry and immunohistochemistry, we identified histomorphological changes of the epithelium, which were characterized by an accumulation of activated intraepithelial CD8+ T cells as well as epithelial apoptosis and subsequent regenerative proliferation in the small intestine of COVID-19 patients. In summary, our findings indicate that intraepithelial CD8+ T cells are activated upon infection of intestinal epithelial cells with SARS-CoV-2, providing one possible explanation for gastrointestinal symptoms associated with COVID-19.

Intestinal Abnormalities in Patients With SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Histopathologic Changes Reflect Mechanisms of Disease.

Approximately 20% of patients with symptomatic syndrome-associated coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection have gastrointestinal bleeding and/or diarrhea. Most are managed without endoscopic evaluation because the risk of practitioner infection outweighs the value of biopsy analysis unless symptoms are life-threatening. As a result, much of what is known about the gastrointestinal manifestations of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has been gleaned from surgical and autopsy cases that suffer from extensive ischemic injury and/or poor preservation. There are no detailed reports describing any other gastrointestinal effects of SARS-CoV-2 even though >3,000,000 people have died from COVID-19 worldwide. The purpose of this study is to report the intestinal findings related to SARS-CoV-2 infection by way of a small case series including one with evidence of direct viral cytopathic effect and 2 with secondary injury attributed to viral infection. Infection can be confirmed by immunohistochemical stains directed against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, in situ hybridization for spike protein-encoding RNA, and ultrastructural visualization of viruses within the epithelium. It induces cytoplasmic blebs and tufted epithelial cells without inflammation and may not cause symptoms. In contrast, SARS-CoV-2 infection can cause gastrointestinal symptoms after the virus is no longer detected, reflecting systemic activation of cytokine and complement cascades rather than direct viral injury. Reversible mucosal ischemia features microvascular injury with hemorrhage, small vessel thrombosis, and platelet-rich thrombi. Systemic cytokine elaboration and dysbiosis likely explain epithelial cell injury that accompanies diarrheal symptoms. These observations are consistent with clinical and in vitro data and contribute to our understanding of the protean manifestations of COVID-19.

Bowel necrosis in patient with severe case of COVID-19: a case report.

BACKGROUND: In patients who are critically ill with COVID-19, multiple extrapulmonary manifestations of the disease have been observed, including gastrointestinal manifestations. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of a 65 year old man with severe COVID-19 pneumonia that developed hypercoagulation and peritonitis. Emergent laparotomy was performed and we found bowel necrosis in two sites. CONCLUSIONS: Although rare, the presentation of COVID-19 with bowel necrosis requires emergency treatments, and it has high mortality rate.