Robotic-Assisted Repair of a Ureterosciatic Hernia with Combined Ureteral Stenting.

Pelvic floor hernias represent a rare type of hernia and a rare etiology of pelvic symptoms. The rarest type of pelvic floor hernias are sciatic hernias, which present with a variety of symptoms depending on the hernia contents and location. Many different treatment approaches are described in the literature. A 73-year-old female presented to our outpatient minimally invasive surgery (MIS) clinic with one year of colicky left flank pain. She had previously presented to an emergency department, at which time a computed tomography (CT) scan demonstrated left-sided hydronephrosis in the setting of a left-sided ureterosciatic hernia. She was asymptomatic and had no palpable hernia bulge. An operative repair was offered based on her prolonged symptoms. The patient was brought electively to the operating room with minimally invasive and urological surgeons. A left ureteral stent was placed over a guidewire. A robotic repair was performed with a round piece of biosynthetic mesh, secured in place with fibrin glue. Sciatic hernias are an extremely rare etiology of pelvic symptoms and require a high index of suspicion to identify. Obstructive and neuropathic symptoms may be intermittent, so diagnosis is often made using CT imaging. We report a successful treatment with pre-operative ureteral stenting followed by a robotic repair using biologic mesh secured with fibrin glue fixation. We believe this is a durable repair although acknowledge that longer follow-up is needed to establish the longevity of our treatment modality.

Adjuvant treatment for pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women. Surgical resection has been shown to be the only curable treatment available. Unfortunately only 20% of all patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are surgical candidates due to the aggressive biology of this disease. There is no clear consensus on what type of adjuvant therapy should be used for patients with pancreatic cancer. Chemoradiation is the favored treatment modality by many in the United States while gemcitabine based chemotherapy is favored in Europe. Both of these approaches have been shown by large prospective, randomized trials to improve disease free intervals and in some studies overall survival. The survival of these patients, even status post resection and adjuvant therapy, remains poor and therefore the need for alternative adjuvant therapies is needed. We will therefore discuss Abstracts #4124, #TPS4162, #4120 and #E15191 in this paper which are relevant to the issues described above.

Management and outcome of patients with blunt splenic injury and preexisting liver cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND: The response of liver cirrhosis (LC) patients to abdominal trauma, including blunt splenic injury (BSI) is unfavorable. To better understand the response to BSI in LC patients, the present study reviewed a much larger group of such patients, derived from the National Trauma Data Bank. METHODS: The National Trauma Data Bank was queried for 2002 to 2010, and all adult BSI patients without severe brain trauma were identified. LC and non-LC patients were compared using nonoperative management (NOM) failure and mortality as primary outcomes. Predictors of these outcomes in LC patients were identified. RESULTS: Of the 77,753 identified BSI patients, 289 (0.37%) had LC. Overall, 90% of the patients underwent initial NOM (86% in LC and 90% in non-LC patients, p = 0.091) with a global 90% success rate. Compared with non-LC patients, LC patients had a lower NOM success rate (83% vs. 90%, p = 0.004) despite increased use of splenic artery angioembolization (13% vs. 8%, p = 0.001). LC patients also had more complications per patient, an increased hospital and intensive care unit lengths of stay, and a higher mortality (22% vs. 6%, p < 0.0001), which was independent of the treatment paradigm. In the LC group, mortality in those who underwent immediate surgery was 35% versus 46% in failed NOM (p = 0.418) and 14% (p = 0.019) in successful NOM patients. LC patients who did not require surgery were more likely to survive than those who had surgery alone (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.30). Preexisting coagulopathy (AOR, 3.28) and Grade 4 to 5 BSI (AOR, 11.6) predicted NOM failure in LC patients, whereas male sex (AOR, 4.34), hypotension (AOR, 3.15), preexisting coagulopathy (AOR, 3.06), and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of less than 13 (AOR, 6.33) predicted mortality. CONCLUSION: LC patients have a higher rate of complications, mortality, and NOM failure compared with non-LC patients. Because LC patients with failed NOM have a mortality rate similar to those undergoing immediate surgery, judgment must be exerted in selecting initial management options. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic/epidemiologic study, level III.

Sildenafil and vardenafil but not nitroglycerin limit myocardial infarction through opening of mitochondrial K(ATP) channels when administered at reperfusion following ischemia in rabbits.

Phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors including sildenafil and vardenafil induce powerful preconditioning-like cardioprotective effect against ischemia/reperfusion injury through opening of mitochondrial K(ATP) channels in the heart. The goal of these studies was to demonstrate the protective effect of sildenafil and vardenafil on reperfusion injury and to compare it with the antianginal vasodilator nitroglycerin (NTG). In addition, we determined the role of mitochondrial K(ATP) channels in protection. Adult male New Zealand white rabbits were anesthetized and subjected to ischemia by 30 min of coronary artery occlusion followed by 3 h of reperfusion. Seven groups were studied. 1-Controls; 2-Sildenafil (total dose: 0.71 mg/kg; i.v.) infused for 65 min starting 5 min before reperfusion; 3-Sildenafil+5-hydroxydecanoate (5-HD, blocker of mitochondrial K(ATP) channel, total dose: 5 mg/kg) administered as 2 bolus injections; 4-Vardenafil (total dose: 0.014 mg/kg; iv) administered as in group 2; 5-Vardenafil+5-HD administered as in group 3; 6-5-HD administered as two bolus injections and 7-Nitroglycerin (NTG, total dose: 2 microg kg(-1) min(-1)) administered as in group 2. Infarct size was reduced in sildenafil (19.19+/-1.3%) as well as vardenafil (17.0+/-2.0%) treated groups as compared to controls (33.8+/-1.7%). However, NTG failed to confer similar cardioprotection (31.5+/-0.8%). 5-HD blocked the cardioprotective effects of sildenafil and vardenafil as shown by an increase in infarct size (34.0+/-1.1% and 28.3+/-1.9%, respectively). Both sildenafil and vardenafil protect the ischemic myocardium against reperfusion injury through a mechanism dependent on mitochondrial K(ATP) channel opening.