Laparoscopic ventral/incisional hernia repair: updated Consensus Development Conference based guidelines

BACKGROUND: The Executive board of the Italian Society for Endoscopic Surgery (SICE) promoted an update of the first evidence-based Italian Consensus Conference Guidelines 2010 because a large amount of literature has been published in the last 4 years about the topics examined and new relevant issues. METHODS: The scientific committee selected the topics to be addressed: indications to surgical treatment including special conditions (obesity, cirrhosis, diastasis recti abdominis, acute presentation); safety and outcome of intraperitoneal meshes (synthetic and biologic); fixing devices (absorbable/non-absorbable); abdominal border and parastomal hernia; intraoperative and perioperative complications; and recurrent ventral/incisional hernia. All the recommendations are the result of a careful and complete literature review examined with autonomous judgment by the entire panel. The process was supervised by experts in methodology and epidemiology from the most qualified Italian institution. Two external reviewers were designed by the EAES and EHS to guarantee the most objective, transparent, and reliable work. The Oxford hierarchy (OCEBM Levels of Evidence Working Group*. "The Oxford 2011 Levels of Evidence") was used by the panel to grade clinical outcomes according to levels of evidence. The recommendations were based on the grading system suggested by the GRADE working group. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The availability of recent level 1 evidence (a meta-analysis of 10 RCTs) allowed to recommend that not only laparoscopic repair is an acceptable alternative to the open repair, but also it is advantageous in terms of shorter hospital stay and wound infection rate. This conclusion appears to be extremely relevant in a clinical setting. Indications about specific conditions could also be issued: laparoscopy is recommended for the treatment of recurrent ventral hernias and obese patients, while it is a potential option for compensated cirrhotic and childbearing-age female patients. Many relevant and controversial topics were thoroughly examined by this consensus conference for the first time. Among them are the issue of safety of the intraperitoneal mesh placement, traditionally considered a major drawback of the laparoscopic technique, the role for the biologic meshes, and various aspects of the laparoscopic approach for particular locations of the defect such as the abdominal border or parastomal hernias.(AU)

Short- and mid-term outcome after laparoscopic repair of large incisional hernia.

PURPOSE: To compare the outcome after laparoscopic incisional and ventral herniorrhaphy (LIVH) for fascial defect larger or equal than 15 cm in width with the outcome after LIVH in patients with hernia defect smaller than 15 cm. METHODS: From 2003 through 2010, 350 patients were submitted to LIVH. In 70 cases, hernia defect was ≥15 cm in width and in 280 was <15 cm. Incisional hernias were often recurrent, double or multiorificial. In the group of larger hernias, the rate of obesity, recurrent hernia and multiorificial hernia was 27.1, 24.2 and 12.8 %, respectively, and in the group of smaller hernias 27.3, 16.1 and 2.8 %, respectively. Patients were interviewed using McGill pain score test to measure postoperative quality of life (QoL) in the mid-term. RESULTS: LIVH for hernia ≥15 cm required longer surgical time (p = 0.034) and postoperative hospital stay (p = 0.0001). Besides, there were higher rate of postoperative prolonged ileus (p = 0.035) and polmonitis (p = 0.001). Overall recurrence rate was 2.6, 8.6 % for larger and 1.1 % for smaller incisional hernias, p = 0.045. Mc Gill pain test revealed no significant difference in the two groups of patients in postoperative QoL within 36 months. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic approach seems safe and effective even to repair large incisional hernia, the rate of recurrence was higher, but acceptable, if compared to smaller hernias. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest reported series of incisional hernias ≥15 cm managed by laparoscopy.

Laparoscopic assisted duodenopancreatectomy.

BACKGROUND: In the past few years, minimally invasive therapy for pancreatic diseases has made significant strides but the role of laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy is still controversial. METHODS: Four patients with a mean age of 44 +/- 11 years were chosen for a laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy. Pathological diagnoses were ductal adenocarcinoma in one, neuroendocrine tumor in two, and metastatic malignant melanoma in one. RESULTS: The procedure was laparoscopically completed in all with a mean operating time, blood loss, and hospital stay of 416 +/- 77 min, 325 +/- 50 ml, and 12 +/- 2 days, respectively. There were no complications attributable to this surgery and there were no deaths. The average number of dissected lymph nodes was 26 +/- 17 (range 16-47). All the patients remained well at a median follow-up of 4.5 months (range 1-10). CONCLUSIONS: It can be inferred from this small but successful experience that laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy can be considered for the treatment of tumors of the pancreas or periampullary region.

[Minimally invasive esophagectomy for adenocarcinoma of the lower esophagus and the gastroesophageal junction]. / Esofagectomia mininvasiva per adenocarcinoma siewert i della giunzione gastroesofagea.

BACKGROUND: Adenocarcinoma of lower esophagus and GEJ shows worldwide an increasing incidence. The optimal approach to resection is still controversial. One of the major disadvantages of radical esophagectomy with extensive lymphadenectomy with open technique is its high rate of morbidity and mortality. Recent advances in minimally invasive surgical technology have allowed surgeons to apply laparoscopy and thoracoscopy to perform esophagectomy. PATIENT AND METHODS: In the video we report the case of a 79 years old man with Siewert I adenocarcinoma of GEJ, who was submitted to a 3-stage minimally invasive esophagectomy by laparoscopy, right thoracoscopy and cervicotomy. Preoperative endoscopic ultrasound and CT scan showed a marked thickening of the wall of the distal esophagus, with extension proximal to the mediastinal pleura and the anterior surface of the aorta, but still showing features of resectability. Four ports were used for the abdominal approach. A complete mobilization of the stomach preserving the right gastroepiploic arcade was achieved. The patient was then turned to the left lateral decubitus position proned to 30 degrees. Three ports were needed for right thoracoscopy. Mobilization of the thoracic esophagus was carried out from the diaphragm to the thoracic inlet. After extraction of the specimen through a small abdominal incision, the stomach was pulled up to the neck and esophagogastric anastomosis with the Orringer technique was constructed through a left cervicotomy. Pathology showed pT3 pN1 G3 adenocarcinoma. CONCLUSIONS: The minimally invasive approach to adenocarcinoma of the lower esophagus, in center with expertise in minimally invasive surgical technique, is feasible and safe.

[Gastrectomy and laparoscopic lymphadenectomy for carcinoma: preliminary experience with 59 cases]. / Gastrectomia e linfoadenectomia laparoscopica per carcinoma: esperienza preliminare su 59 casi.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic surgery has been used in the treatment of gastric cancer with low mortality and morbidity and improvement in patient's quality of life. AIM: To evaluate the results of laparoscopic gastric resection. METHODS: A retrospective review of 59 patients after laparoscopic surgery for gastric cancer was performed. The patients were 31 males and 28 females with a mean age of 67 (+/- 11) years (min 39, max 90). RESULTS: Tumor stage was IA in 15 patients, IB in 10, II in 9, IIIA in 6, IIIB in 9, and IV in 10. In 15 cases the tumor was an early gastric cancer. The mean number of dissected lymph nodes was 29 +/-10. Conversion rate was 16%. Morbidity rate was 37%. The median length of hospital stay was 10 days. Operative mortality was 3%. The mean time of follow-up was 23 months. Two-year survival was 75%. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic radical total or subtotal gastrectomy with extended lymphadenectomy for gastric cancer is a feasible, safe, and oncologically effective procedure.

[Laparoscopic versus conventional surgery in the treatment of colorectal diseases]. / Chirurgia laparoscopica versus chirurgia tradizionale nel trattamento della patologia colo-rettale.

The aim of the study was to compare the results obtained with laparoscopic (LPS) and laparotomic (LPT) colorectal resection after our initial experience with the laparoscopic technique. Fifty-six patients were submitted to colorectal resection, 26 with the LPS and 30 with the LPT technique. Eighteen patients out of 26 in the LPS group and 22/30 in the LPT group had malignancies. All resections were performed with a curative intent. The mean operating time was 220 min in the LPS group and 208 min in the LPT group. Mean blood loss was 287 ml and 312 ml, respectively (blood transfusions were needed in 1/26 and in 7/30 patients). The rates of major complications were 9.5% and 5.7%, respectively. There was no mortality. The conversion rate for the LPS group was 19.2%. In the cancer patients, no significant difference was observed between the two groups as regards postoperative staging. The mean length of specimens and the mean distance of the tumours from the resection margins were adequate. The mean number of lymph nodes harvested was 11.8 in the LPS group as against 18.5 in the LPT group. No early recurrences were observed. Resumption of gastrointestinal function was faster in the LPS patients who underwent the surgical procedure under general anaesthesia associated with epidural anaesthesia/postoperative analgesia. In conclusion, these preliminary results indicate that laparoscopic colorectal surgery is feasible and that the resections in cancer patients appear to be oncologically adequate. Long-term follow-up is needed for reliable assessment of oncological outcomes.

Selection criteria for pre-operative endoscopic retrograde cholangiography and endoscopic-laparoscopic treatment of biliary stones.

OBJECTIVE: Pre-operative endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERCP) prior to laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is the most common treatment of gallbladder and common bile duct (CBD) stones. In this study we evaluate our selection criteria for pre-operative ERCP and the results of endoscopic-laparoscopic treatment in patients with CBD stones. DESIGN: Consecutive adult patients admitted to the department of surgery because of symptomatic cholelithiasis were included in a prospective open trial. PARTICIPANTS: Between January 1996 and December 1996, 841 patients underwent LC at our hospital. ERCP pre-LC was performed in 95 of the 841 patients, on the basis of our selection criteria. INTERVENTIONS: The indication to perform ERCP was suggested by a dilatated CBD (> 10 mm) or ductal stones, abnormal serum liver tests, persisting for more than 3 days, jaundice, cholangitis or pancreatitis. Twelve months after surgery, all patients were contacted by telephone to exclude symptoms related to residual stones. RESULTS: Cannulation of the CBD was successful in 94 of 95 patients submitted to pre-LC ERCP. CBD stones were found in 87 patients (95.6%) in 22 of whom (25.2%) they were in the form of small stones or sludge. In only three of 94 patients (3.2%) no alterations of the CBD or papilla were found. Complications occurred in eight of 98 patients (in five after endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES), and in three after LC). CONCLUSIONS: Pre-operative ES in selected patients with coexisting gallbladder and CBD stones has been a good approach and the criteria that we used for selection of patients to be submitted to pre-operative ERCP/ES seem to be effective.

Impact of thymopentin on the incidence and severity of postoperative infection: a randomized controlled trial.

The effectiveness of perioperative administration of thymopentin in preventing postoperative infection was evaluated in 206 patients with cancer (54 gastric, 152 colorectal) who underwent elective major surgery. Comparable subsets of patients were obtained with respect to age (proportion over 65 years) and nutritional status (patients with serum albumin level less than 30 milligrams or weight loss of 10 per cent or more of usual body-weight were considered to be malnourished). Patients were then randomly assigned to a control group or to a group receiving thymopentin. All patients received perioperative short-term antibiotic prophylaxis and postoperative parenteral nutrition. Levels of CD3-, CD4- and CD8-positive T cell subsets were evaluated before and after surgery in 20 (ten elderly) patients from each group. The severity of postoperative infection was evaluated using a sepsis score. In elderly patients thymopentin prevented the postoperative drop in CD3- and CD4-positive T cell subpopulations that was observed in controls (P < 0.05d). The postoperative infection rate was 17.5 per cent in the group given thymopentin and 24.3 per cent in controls (P not significant). The mean (s.d.) sepsis score was 6.7 (3.1) in the group receiving thymopentin and 9.4 (5.8) in controls (P not significant). Considering only elderly patients, the mean (s.d.) sepsis score was significantly lower in those treated with thymopentin than in control patients (6.9(2.1) versus 11.3(4.7)). In conclusion, administration of thymopentin did not significantly reduce the postoperative infection rate. However, it prevented the drop in number of CD3- and CD4-positive T cells after operation and reduced the severity of postoperative infection in elderly patients.

[Perioperative administration of thymopentin for the prevention of infections in oncologic surgery]. / Somministrazione perioperatoria di timopentina per la prevenzione delle infezioni in chirurgia oncologica.

The efficacy of thymopentin in reducing postoperative infections (PI) was prospectively evaluated in 138 patients with abdominal cancer, who underwent major surgery. Comparable subsets of patients were obtained according to age (cutpoint 65 years) and nutritional status (patients with serum albumin less than 30 g/l or weight loss greater than or equal to 10% with respect to their usual body weight were considered as malnourished). Patients were then at random attributed to a control group and to a thymopentin receiving (Thy) group, in the latter thymopentin (50 mg) was given three times before surgery and three times after operation. All patients received perioperative short term antibiotic prophylaxis and postoperative parenteral nutrition. The severity of Pl was expressed by the sepsis score which was calculated on all those patients developing Pl. Overall complication rate was 26.3% in the control group and 20.3% in the Thy group (p ns). Surgical-related infections occurred in 14 (20.3%) control group patients and in 10 (14.5%) Thy group patients (p ns). The average sepsis score was 10.11 +/- 6.69 in control group (2 patients died) and 6.85 +/- 3.80 in the Thy group (all patients survived) (p less than 0.05). By considering the elderly patients, a reduction in both Pl rate and the average sepsis score was observed in Thy group. Otherwise, no difference was observed in the young patients. Our data suggest that Thymopentin is useful in reducing both the incidence and the severity of Pl in elderly patients.

Evaluation of the predictive performance of nutritional indicators by receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis.

Four hundred twenty-two cancer patients who underwent major surgery were studied. At admission, nutritional status was evaluated in all patients by assessing serum albumin (SA), total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), total lymphocyte count (TLC), serum cholinesterase activity (CHE), and weight loss (WL). All patients received perioperative short-term antibiotic prophylaxis and postoperative total parenteral nutrition. Prognostic ability of nutritional indicators was assessed by receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The area beneath the ROC curve (Az) is an index of predictor performance when its value ranges from 0.5 (chance performance) to 1 (perfect prediction). Specificity, sensitivity, Youden index, and predictive values were determined for each nutritional parameter within a wide range of potential threshold values. Postoperative septic complications were observed in 85 (20.14%) patients. The Az values for the considered nutritional parameters ranged from 0.52 to 0.57 and that showed the low predictive ability of the parameters. When sensitivity and specificity for each nutritional parameter were examined at different thresholds, a clearly more predictive cutpoint was not observed, but ranges of values with a similar predictivity were observed. Significant ranges of predictivity were found for SA (33 to 35 g/L), for TIBC (2200 to 2300 micrograms/L), for TLC (2100 to 2200 million/L), for CHE (1700 to 1900 U/L), and for WL (7% to 12%). The higher values of Youden index were as follows: 1.183 for WL (cutoff 11%), 1.150 for TLC (cutoff 2100 million/L), and 1.145 for SA (cutoff 35 g/L). In conclusion, ROC curve analysis showed that the nutritional parameters had a low predictive ability.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effectiveness of perioperative short-term antibiotic prophylaxis in reducing surgical risk induced by malnutrition and anergy.

The ability of perioperative short-term antibiotic prophylaxis to reduce the predictive significance of nutritional indicators for postoperative infections was evaluated in 162 patients undergoing major surgery for gastric or colorectal cancer. All patients were randomly assigned to a group receiving such prophylaxis or a group with postoperative antibiotic treatment. Preoperative serum albumin, total iron-binding capacity and weight loss were the nutritional indicators, and the evaluation included delayed hypersensitivity response. Postoperative infections occurred in 29% of the total series, with highest incidence in the group with postoperative antibiotics (p less than 0.001) and in anergic patients (p less than 0.05). Increased risk of postoperative infection was related also to the number of altered nutritional indicators (p less than 0.005). Multiple logistic analyses showed that the short-term prophylaxis independently contributed to fall in the infection rate and reduced the prognostic importance of nutritional and immunologic factors. Indeed, heightened incidence of postoperative infection was found only when all three nutritional factors were altered.

Prognostic ability of nutritional assessment methods in surgical cancer patients.

To identify patients at high-risk for post-operative infections, several methods have been proposed, including prognostic nutritional index (PNI), instant nutritional assessment (INA) and nutritional assessment (NA). Weight loss (WL) has also been related to post-operative morbidity. We have evaluated the prognostic ability of PNI, INA, NA and WL in a prospective study carried out in 94 patients affected by gastro-intestinal malignancy, who underwent major surgery. Post-operative infections occurred in 26 (27.7%) patients. PNI, INA and NA identified classes of patients with a progressive risk of septic complications. To determine the prognostic ability of PNI, INA, NA and WL, sensitivity, specificity, Youden index and predictive values were evaluated. All methods had a Youden index greater than one, with a positive predictive value ranging from 0.33 to 0.36. Since all the methods studied showed a similar predictive ability, it seems reasonable to identify the high-risk surgical patient by using weight loss in association with those nutritional parameters derived from routine hospital laboratory tests.

Prognostic role of preoperative nutritional and immunological assessment in the surgical patient.

The utilization of delayed hypersensitivity response (DHR) for the identification of high-risk patients with regard to postoperative septic complications is still discussed. The aim of this study was to clarify how much DHR may improve the prognostic capacity of nutritional assessment (NA). Nutritional and immunological evaluations were performed at admission on 405 patients undergoing elective general surgical procedures. Subjects with serum albumin less than or equal to 3.0 g/dl or total iron-binding capacity less than or equal to 220 micrograms/dl or weight loss greater than or equal to 10% with respect to usual body weight were classified as malnourished. DHR was assessed by performing skin tests with four recall antigens: PPD, candida, trichophyton, sk-sd. The incidence of postoperative complications resulted higher among the 187 malnourished patients (31.0%) than in the 218 well-nourished ones (14.2%) (p less than 0.001), and among the 213 anergic patients (29.6%) than in the 192 normal responders (13.5%) (p less than 0.001). To determine how much skin tests may improve the prognostic ability of NA, the relationship between DHR and postoperative complications was also studied in the malnourished and in the well-nourished patients, separately. In the malnourished group, the patients with an impairment of DHR had a higher incidence of postoperative infections than normal responders (p less than 0.05). In the well-nourished group, no significant differences were found between anergic patients and normal responders. In our study, DHR slightly improved the prognostic capacity of NA. Therefore, the first approach to identify the high-risk patients seems to be the unexpensive, quick and available determination of nutritional status.

Causes of anergy in the surgical patient and its relationship to postoperative sepsis.

Between June 1981 and June 1983 the delayed hypersensitivity response (DHR) was studied in 401 patients considered for major surgical procedure: 320 of these patients underwent surgery. The incidence of sepsis and postoperative mortality was higher in anergic and relative anergic patients than in normal responders (p<0.001). To evaluate whether DHR depression in cancer patients was due to the direct effect of cancer or to tumour-linked malnutrition, the 401 patients were divided into 4 groups: 1) 140 malnourished cancer patients, 2) 51 malnourished non-cancer patients, 3) 120 well-nourished cancer patients and 4) 90 well-nourished non-cancer patients. The mean age was not significantly different for the 4 groups. The results showed a relationship between DHR and nutritional status (p<0.001). The tumour-related DHR impairment disappeared when the cancer and non-cancer patient groups were homogeneous with regard to their nutritional status. Therefore, the tumour was able to determine the DHR depression because of the cancer-linked malnutrition. We did not observe any relationship between local extension of the tumour and lymph node involvement and DHR depression. In 90 well-nourished non-cancer patients the relation between DHR and age was investigated. The incidence of anergy and relative anergy was higher in patients over 59 years than in patients under 60 years (p<0.001).