Thrombosis of the dorsal vein of the penis as first clinical presentation of pancreatic cancer metastatic to the penis.

INTRODUCTION: Though metastatic disease is a common presentation of pancreatic adenocarcinoma, localization to the penis is an extremely rare event despite its abundant vascularization. Primary cancers responsible for penile metastases usually occur in prostate and rectum and are often associated with disseminated malignancy and poor prognosis. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 66-year-old man was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the tail of the pancreas after the onset of thrombosis of the dorsal vein of the penis; pubis ultrasound and total body computed tomography scan were negative for metastases at other sites. The patient was submitted to distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy for a pT3 N1 G4 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Three weeks after discharge, the patient returned to the outpatient clinic complaining of a painful permanent turgidity of the penis shaft. Ultrasound revealed a complete replacement of the cavernosal bodies by multiple nodular masses and a penile biopsy confirmed metastases from the primary pancreatic cancer. The patient started chemotherapy with NAB-paclitaxel and gemcitabine, with excellent control of symptoms. However, the disease progressed to bone and liver and the patient died 9 months after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Penile localization is an extremely rare event and a standard of care has not been elaborated. Treatments are palliative and mainly aimed at pain relief and can comprise chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. Identification of venous thrombosis as an early sign of involvement could potentially offer patients an earlier diagnosis and a better treatment option.

The long head of biceps as a source of pain in active population: tenotomy or tenodesis? A comparison of 2 case series with isolated lesions.

The tendon of the long head of the biceps (LHB) is a common source of pain in the shoulder, and the surgical treatments proposed are tenotomy or tenodesis performed in different ways. The purpose of this study is to compare the clinical results (objective and subjective) of tenotomy versus soft tissue tenodesis. One-hundred and four patients with an isolated LHB pathology, arthroscopically treated between 2004 and 2007, were observed retrospectively. Forty-eight of these patients were treated with tenotomy and 56 with a soft tissue tenodesis technique. All the patients were evaluated by an independent observer with a minimum follow-up of 2 years which included VAS, DASH questionnaire, Constant score and ROM evaluation with a goniometer. All these evaluations were performed pre- and post-operatively. An independent expert radiologist then performed an ultrasound examination only in the post-operative evaluation of the tenodesis group looking to confirm the effectiveness of the procedure. In both groups, the scores were significantly improved. In the tenotomy group, 16.6 % of the patients had bicipital cramps for a mean post-operative time of 1 month. Constant score improved in both groups: 46.6 to 86.1 in tenotomy group and 48.9-84.9 in tenodesis group; VAS improved from 8.4 to 1.5 in tenotomy group and from 8.8 to 1.4 in tenodesis group; DASH scores changed from 42.5 to 13.6 in tenotomy group and from 55.8 to 11.4 in tenodesis group. Popeye sign was present in 37.5 % in the tenotomy group and in 5.3 % in tenodesis group. In 3 patients of the tenodesis group, ultrasound revealed complete failure of the tenodesis. In conclusion, both procedures are effective in terms of treatment of LHB pathologies. Tenotomy does not require specific post-operative treatment and is easy to perform, but cramp and Popeye sign may occur after surgery. The soft tissue tenodesis technique is an easy and cost-effective way to perform tenodesis with good results, especially in preventing the Popeye sign, but requires a longer rehabilitation time. Level of evidence IV.