[First case of sacral neuromodulation for treatment of urinary and fecal incontinence in Mexico. Case report.]. / Primer caso de neuromodulación sacrapara el tratamiento de la incontinenciaurinaria y fecal en México. Informe de caso.

Sacral neuromodulation is a new treatment for urinary and fecal incontinence that has demonstrated good therapeutic results. This treatment modality has shown not only to reduce urinary dysfunction symptoms and urinary and fecal incontinence but improve quality of life scores as well. We present a 73 years old female patient with severe fecal and urinary incontinence with major quality of life impact. She was referred after failure of different surgical and conservative therapeutic approaches. Her evaluation met inclusion criteria for sacral neuromodulation treatment. Acute sacral nerve evaluation (PNE) proved to be therapeutic in the patient as measured by at least a 50 percent improvement in her symptoms so a permanent implant (Medtronic InterStim System) was placed. After the implant there was a significant improvement in urinary and fecal functional scores. Fecal Incontinence Severity Index improved from 34 to 8 and Urinary Sandvik's Severity Index from very severe urinary incontinence to minor urinary incontinence after the placement of the implant. Using standard quality of life questionnaires, she improved in the areas of lifestyle,coping and behavior and her experience with depression and self-perception.

[Primary melanoma of the esophagus. Unusual case with Barrett's esophagus]. / Melanoma primario en el esófago. Caso inusual con esófago de Barrett.

OBJECTIVE: To present a rare entity of difficult preoperative diagnosis. BACKGROUND: Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus represents 0.1% of all malignant tumors in this organ. It has been described in association with esophageal melanocytosis and melanosis with a clinic behavior similar to other neoplasm in the esophagus, but is more aggressive and fatal. By endoscopy, it usually appears as a vegetant, non-obstructive lesion, with dark pigmentation in the melanotic variant, the sole evidence that suggests the diagnosis prior to microscopic examination. Clinical exclusion of metastasis melanoma as a possibility is obligatory. METHODS: We reviewed clinical, imagenologic, endoscopic, and anatomopathological aspects of an ulcerovegetant neoplasm on the esophago-gastric junction, surgically resected, in a 65 years-old man with progressive dysphagia, who was without tumoral relapse during 18 months after surgery. RESULTS: The tumoral mass was an anaplastic cell tumor with very scant melanic pigmentation and diffuses stain for HMB-45 antigen and S100 protein, considering it to be a primary malignant melanoma. The neighboring mucous membrane showed a typical Barrett's esophagus and melanocytic hyperplasia. CONCLUSIONS: 1) Endoscopy may suggest the possibility of esophagus melanoma when there is a vegetate, non-obstructive, pigmented tumor. 2) Immunohistochemistry confirms the entity if HMB-45 antigen and S100 protein are detected in the tumoral cells, while the negative results for keratin and leukocytic common antigen (LCA) eliminate carcinoma and lymphoma as possible diagnoses. 3) In our case, the presence of Barrett's esophagus is exceptional, because it has not been described previously in the literature reviewed.

[Laparoscopically created stomas]. / Estomas por laparoscopia.

PURPOSE: The aim of this paper is to present the results obtained in five cases with a stoma created by the laparoscopic approach. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Analysis of five patients who required a stoma as treatment for their diseases or as a complementary management of another medical problem from March 1999 to May 1999. There were three women and two men. Mean age was 43 years (range 20-59 years). Two women had a rectovaginal fistula secondary to radiation proctitis, another woman presented an infected sacral wound, one man suffered a sphincteric lesion that required sphincteroplasty, and the other man had Fournier's gangrene. Surgical technique included the use of two ports, one at the umbilicus for the camera and the other at the site previously chosen for the stoma. RESULTS: Mean surgical time was 30 min (range 20-40 min), transoperative bleeding was meaningless; all stomas began to function during the first 24 h after the procedure. One patient began oral intake on the first day, three patients on the second day, and one patient was intubated in the intensive care unit and for this reason was unable to eat. All stomas achieved the objective sought and there were no complications related to the procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Stoma creation by the laparoscopic approach may offer advantages over the open-surgery technique.

[Fistulotomy vs fistulectomy. Ultrasonographic evaluation of lesion of the anal sphincter function]. / Fistulotomía vs fistulectomía. Valoración ultrasonográfica de lesión al mecanismo de esfínter anal.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the extension of the lesion implicated on the mechanism of the anal sphincter with endoanal ultrasound in patients with simple fistulae, managed with fistulotomy versus fistulectomy. SITE: Central Military Hospital. Colon and Rectum Service. DESIGN OF STUDY: A prospective, comparative, descriptive and longitudinal study was performed. METHODS: A total of 40 patients with anal simple fistula were studied from march 1997 to march 1998. They were divided in two randomized groups: group A (n = 20) patients treated with fistulectomy, and group B (n = 20) patients managed with fistulotomy. Endoanal ultrasound was practice at the time of the diagnosis and six weeks later to identify integrity of both internal and external anal sphincter, and to register them in separate form. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in sex and age distribution, nor in type of fistula. The average of internal anal sphincter lesion in inter-sphincteric fistulae treated with fistulotomy was 8.5 mm versus 9.08 with fistulectomy (p > 0.05). The average of internal and external anal sphincter lesion in trans-sphincteric fistulae managed with fistulotomy was 9.25 mm versus 11.38 with fistulectomy (p < 0.05). The global analysis showed that the average of the lesion in the sphincter, mechanism was larger in the fistulectomy versus fistulotomy (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The major muscular injury made to the sphincter mechanism is caused mainly by the fistulectomy in comparison with the conventional fistulotomy.

[Sphincter-preserving surgery in rectal cancer]. / Cirugía preservadora de esfínter para cáncer de recto.

BACKGROUND: Surgical treatment for rectal cancer in the medium and lower third was traditionally abdominoperineal resection, but the possibility of sphincter preserving procedures has been emphasized in the last decades. PURPOSE: This review article was performed in order to discuss and analyze the surgical procedures available for treatment of rectal cancer. RESULTS: Surgical treatment of rectal cancer has changed due to a better understanding of the biological behavior of the tumor, improvement in diagnostic tests to stage the disease, and the development of better surgical techniques (surgical staplers) with the consequent increase in the possibility of sphincter-saving procedures. Adjuvant therapy has played a major role for improving the patient's prognosis. Even with all these improvements, the final outcome has not been changed in the last 15 years, and prospective studies are necessary to clarify the polemic issues still in debate: the development of better prognostic factors, more sensitive staging tests, the role of the complete mesorectal excision and pelvic lymphadenectomy, the adequacy of laparoscopic techniques in malignant disease, and the finding of the ideal scheme of adjuvant therapy. CONCLUSION: Significant progress has been made in the treatment of rectal cancer, but there are still important issues to be solved.