The adaptation process of a teaching and research hospital to changing trends in modern breast surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Minimally invasive surgery is increasingly gaining importance in breast surgery parallel to other surgical branches. Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a method that has radically changed the approach to breast surgery in the last decade of the 20(th) century. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the adaptation process to these alterations in breast surgery at our clinic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients who underwent surgery with a diagnosis of breast cancer in our clinic between April 2010 and November 2013 were retrospectively evaluated in terms of demographic characteristics, the number of operations and type of surgical methods applied according to years, SLNB performance rate, and results of frozen section and histopathological analysis. The first year of SLNB practice was accepted as part of the learning curve, and 24 patients who were operated during that period underwent routine axillary dissection. RESULTS: The median age of 198 patients who were included in the study was 55 years (25-89). It was detected that the number of cases who underwent surgery for breast cancer increased in years, that the SLNB application rate increased from 37% to 66% between 2010 and 2013 (p=0.01), and SLNB staining rates increased from 70% to 94% (p=0.03). When only results from the last four years were evaluated, the mean staining rate in patients with SLNB (n=105) was 88% (n=92), with positive histopathology in 32% of these cases (n=30). Despite a decreasing trend over the years, a metastatic axillary lymph node was detected in paraffin block evaluation in spite of negative frozen section examination of SLNB in five cases, and 5 patients (5%) out of 97 patients who underwent breast conserving surgery required re-excision. The histopathological diagnosis was invasive ductal carcinoma in 84% (n=167) of patients. CONCLUSION: It was observed that during the four-year period of adaptation, the application rate of breast conserving surgery and SLNB reached accepted standards, and that both the technical problems encountered in SLNB and the requirement for re-excision after breast conserving surgery significantly decreased with increasing case volume and experience.

Evaluation of the Probability of Non-sentinel Lymph Node Metastasis in Breast Cancer Patients with Sentinel Lymph Node Metastasis using Two Different Methods.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this retrospective clinical study was to evaluate the accuracy and feasibility of two different clinical scales, namely the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) nomogram and Tenon's axillary scoring system, which were developed for predicting the non-sentinel lymph node (NSLN) status in our breast cancer patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The medical records of patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer between January 2010 and November 2013 were reviewed. Those who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for axillary staging were recruited for the study, and patients who were found to have positive SLNB and thus were subsequently subjected to axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) were also included. Patients who had neoadjuvant therapy, who had clinically positive axilla, and who had stage 4 disease were excluded. Patients were divided into two groups. Group 1 included those who had negative NSLNs, whereas Group 2 included those who had positive NSLNs. The following data were collected: age, tumor size, histopathological characteristics of the tumor, presence of lymphovascular invasion, presence of multifocality, number of negative and positive NSLNs, size of metastases, histopathological method used to define metastases, and receptor status of the tumor. The score of each patient was calculated according to the MSKCC nomogram and Tenon's axillary scoring system. Statistical analysis was conducted to investigate the correlation between the scores and the involvement of NSLNs. RESULTS: The medical records of patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer and found to have SLNB for axillary staging was reviewed. Finally, 50 patients who had positive SLNB and thus were subsequently subjected to ALND were included in the study. There were 17 and 33 patients in Groups 1 and 2, respectively. Both the MSKCC nomogram and Tenon's axillary scoring system were demonstrated to be significantly accurate in the prediction of the involvement of NSLNs (p<0.05 for each). Among all the parameters, the only one that was found to be correlated with the risk of NSLN involvement was the presence of lymphovascular invasion. CONCLUSION: The MSKCC nomogram and Tenon's axillary scoring system both seem to be reliable tools for the assessment of NSLN status in SLNB-positive breast cancer in our breast cancer population. Nevertheless, the omission of ALNB in SLNB-positive breast cancer cannot be yet recommended because of the lack of long-term results of current nomograms and scoring systems.

Gastropleural fistula: a rare complication of ewing sarcoma.

Gastropleural fistula (GPF) is a rare condition that can occur as a consequence of prior pulmonary surgery, trauma, or malignancy. Conservative management usually fails, and gastrectomy and even thoracotomy is often required, especially in debilitated patients. We present a patient with GPF who had a history of Ewing's sarcoma. Diagnosis of GPF was confirmed by upper gastrointestinal system endoscopy and radiographic contrast examination, and the patient underwent a laparoscopic wedge resection of the fistula. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a GPF, in the formation of which recurrence of Ewing's sarcoma had played a role and in the treatment of which wedge resection of the fistula was performed. Laparoscopic treatment of GPF may be associated with less morbidity and should be considered as the initial procedure of choice.