Surgical Options for Peritoneal Surface Metastases from Digestive Malignancies-A Comprehensive Review.

The peritoneum is a common site for the dissemination of digestive malignancies, particularly gastric, colorectal, appendix, or pancreatic cancer. Other tumors such as cholangiocarcinomas, digestive neuroendocrine tumors, or gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) may also associate with peritoneal surface metastases (PSM). Peritoneal dissemination is proven to worsen the prognosis of these patients. Cytoreductive surgery (CRS), along with systemic chemotherapy, have been shown to constitute a survival benefit in selected patients with PSM. Furthermore, the association of CRS with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) seems to significantly improve the prognosis of patients with certain types of digestive malignancies associated with PSM. However, the benefit of CRS with HIPEC is still controversial, especially due to the significant morbidity associated with this procedure. According to the results of the PRODIGE 7 trial, CRS for PSM from colorectal cancer (CRC) achieved overall survival (OS) rates higher than 40 months, but the addition of oxaliplatin-based HIPEC failed to improve the long-term outcomes. Furthermore, the PROPHYLOCHIP and COLOPEC trials failed to demonstrate the effectiveness of oxaliplatin-based HIPEC for preventing peritoneal metastases development in high-risk patients operated for CRC. In this review, we discuss the limitations of these studies and the reasons why these results are not sufficient to refute this technique, until future well-designed trials evaluate the impact of different HIPEC regimens. In contrast, in pseudomyxoma peritonei, CRS plus HIPEC represents the gold standard therapy, which is able to achieve 10-year OS rates ranging between 70 and 80%. For patients with PSM from gastric carcinoma, CRS plus HIPEC achieved median OS rates higher than 40 months after complete cytoreduction in patients with a peritoneal cancer index (PCI) ≤6. However, the data have not yet been validated in randomized clinical trials. In this review, we discuss the controversies regarding the most efficient drugs that should be used for HIPEC and the duration of the procedure. We also discuss the current evidence and controversies related to the benefit of CRS (and HIPEC) in patients with PSM from other digestive malignancies. Although it is a palliative treatment, pressurized intraperitoneal aerosolized chemotherapy (PIPAC) significantly increases OS in patients with unresectable PSM from gastric cancer and represents a promising approach for patients with PSM from other digestive cancers.

Laparoscopic Restorative Proctocolectomy for Ulcerative Colitis - How I Do It?

Total proctocolectomy with ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA) is nowadays the gold standard in patients with ulcerative colitis requiring surgery. It is a complex procedure, being associated with a significant rate of morbidity and mortality. In order to obtain better results, the timing of surgery is essential. In the last decades, with the expansion of the minimally invasive techniques, the procedure can be performed feasible and safe by laparoscopy, bringing all the short term advantages associated with this approach. Due to the long term advantages regarding improved female fecundity function and fewer adhesions the laparoscopic approach is now recommended by the European Crohn's and Colitis Organization in centers with appropriate expertise.

Is Radical Antegrade Modular Pancreatosplenectomy the Solution? A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: RAMPS is considered, in high volume centers, as the best treatment for adenocarcinoma of the body and tail of the pancreas. Methods: PubMed database was searched. The results of studies that compared RAMPS with SRPS were analyzed by meta-analytical methods. Results: Five studies, published between 2013 and 2016, were suitable for quantitative synthesis. 285 unique patients were included, 135 patients in the RAMPS group and 150 patients in the SRPS group. Regarding retrieved lymph nodes, the mean difference was 6.54. This difference was considered to be statistical significant, P 0.00001. A complete tumor resection was observed in 115 of 129 patients who underwent RAMPS and in the case of the standard procedure a R0 resection was obtained in 107 cases out of 137, the RR was 1.17 (95% CI, 1.04, 1.32). One-year overall survival was found to be 79.2% in the RAMPS groups compared with 64.29% in the SRPS group. This difference is considered statistically significant, with a P value of 0.02. Conclusions: RAMPS is a safe procedure for the treatment of adenocarcinomas of the body and tail of the pancreas. RAMPS procedure is superior to SRPS in terms of lymph node retrieval and R0 resections.

Surgical Treatment of Splenic Artery Pseudoaneurysm with Digestive Tract Communication - Presentation of Two Cases.

Splenopancreatectomy performed for pancreatic pseudo-cyst with splenic artery pseudo-aneurysm and communication with the digestive tract (stomach or colon) is a very rare indication and a small number of these procedures are described in literature. Managing peri-pancreatic pseudo-aneurysm is complex and can be challenging. Surgical treatment is of curative intent and can involve multiple visceral resections. Surgery can be performed in an emergency setting, if the patient presents cataclysmic bleeding, or in a planned manner if the pseudo-aneurysm is discovered incidentally or if the patient manages to overcome the initial bleeding. In this paper we present two cases of pancreatic pseudo-cysts with splenic artery pseudo-aneurysms and communication with the digestive tract (one with pseudo-cystic-colonic communication and the other one with gastric communication). Both patients were males, suffered from chronic pancreatitis and were known to have pancreatic pseudo-cysts. For the treatment of the first patient, surgery was performed in an elective setting, after intensive investigations. The other patient presented with cataclysmic bleeding and emergency surgery was performed in order to control the bleeding. We conclude that surgery remains the main option of treatment for these patients. It can be used as a first line of treatment or secondary to endovascular procedures.

Emergency Pancreatico-Duodenectomy with Superior Mesenteric and Portal Vein Resection and Reconstruction Using a Gore-Tex Vascular Graft.

Emergency pancreatico-duodenectomy(EPD) is a very rare procedure and few reports are present in medical literature. It is an uncommon approach, usually used for emergency surgical treatment of abdominal trauma that involves the head of the pancreas or the duodenum, but it is also a surgical tool for the treatment of ruptured aneurysms, bleeding pseudocysts, duodenal perforations, uncontrollable hemorrhage from ulcers and tumors, severe infectious complications of acute pancreatitis or endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography related complications (1,2). It is rarely used as the first line of treatment in case of acute bleeding from arterial pseudoaneurysm of the cephalad region of the pancreas. We present the case of a bleeding pseudoaneurysm of the cefalic region of the pancreas in a young patient with previously undiagnosed chronic pancreatitis and with suspicion of a malignant process located in the head of the pancreas. We performed a pancreatico-duodenectomy with resection of superior mesenteric and portal vein with reconstruction using Gore-Tex vascular graft due to probable venous abutment. Postoperative course was without any major complications, only minor grad-I pancreatic fistula was present. We determine that EPD is a useful tool in the treatment of such cases. It can be used as a first line of treatment or secondary to endovascular stenting or embolization.

Pancreatic metastases originating from uterine leiomyosarcoma: a case report.

In this report, we describe the case of a 67-year-old woman with metastatic pancreatic uterine leiomyosarcoma. She underwent a total hysterectomy and adnexectomy in December 2009. The resected uterine specimen was characterized as a leiomyosarcoma. The patient was free of disease until November 2010, when three pulmonary tumoral lesions detected by follow-up chest computed tomography were diagnosed as metastatic lesions. Wedge resections and enucleoresection of the pulmonary tumoral nodules were performed, and the patient received adjuvant chemotherapy. Ten months after the lung resection, an abdominal examination showed two tumoral masses in the pancreas and no extrapancreatic recurrence. In April 2014, a pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy was performed. To date, the patient is alive, without any evidence of recurrence, and she has received chemotherapy. Surgery can be considered in cases in which the pancreas is a unique metastatic site or even in cases with resectable oligometastases.