Combined laparoscopic and thoracoscopic repair of adult right-sided Bochdalek hernia with massive liver prolapse: A case report.

BACKGROUND: A Bochdalek hernia (BH) is a congenital diaphragmatic hernia that often develops in the neonatal period. BH typically occurs on the left side of the diaphragm. A right-sided BH in an adult is rare. CASE SUMMARY: A 45-year-old man was referred to our hospital because of an abnormal shadow seen on chest radiography during a medical check-up. A chest radiograph showed elevation of the right hemidiaphragm. Computed tomography showed prolapse of multiple intraabdominal organs into the right thoracic cavity, corresponding to a right-sided BH. The herniated contents included the stomach, transverse colon, and left lobe of the liver. The left lobe of the liver was enlarged, particularly the medial segment. Laparoscopic surgery was performed. However, the left lobe of the liver was completely trapped in the thoracic cavity. Therefore, thoracoscopic manipulation had to be performed to return the liver to the abdominal cavity. The hernia was repaired with interrupted nonabsorbable sutures and reinforced with mesh. CONCLUSION: Combined laparoscopic and thoracoscopic surgery was successfully performed for right-sided BH with massive liver prolapse and abnormal liver morphology.

Surgical Outcomes of Colorectal Cancer Surgery for ≥ 85-year-old Patients in Our Hospital: Retrospective Comparison of Short- and Long-term Outcomes with Younger Patients.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate future problems in colorectal cancer surgery for elderly patients. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of patients receiving colorectal cancer surgery in our hospital from January 2010 to December 2018. Patients were divided into the ≥ 85-year-old patient group and the younger patient group. We compared patient backgrounds, surgical outcomes (surgical procedure, reduction of lymph node dissection range, operative duration, and blood loss), postoperative short-term outcomes (mortality, morbidity, and postoperative length of stay) and prognosis. RESULTS: We performed colorectal cancer surgery on 1,240 patients during the study period. Of them, 109 (8.7%) were ≥ 85 years old, and 1,131 (91.2%) were < 85 years old. The American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (ASA-PS) was significantly poorer in the elderly group than in the younger group and patients with a history of cardiac disease and anticoagulant use were significantly more in the elderly group. The rate of reduction of lymph node dissection range was significantly higher in the elderly group (16.8% vs. 3.8%, p < 0.05). Overall morbidity was significantly higher in the elderly group (42.2% vs. 21.9%, p < 0.05), as were the respective frequencies of pneumonia and thromboembolism (8.2% vs. 0.7%, p < 0.05 and 3.6% vs. 0.8%, p < 0.05, respectively). Postoperative hospital stay was significantly longer in the elderly group (17 vs. 12 days, p < 0.05). Overall survival was significantly lower in the elderly group (p < 0.05), but relapse-free survival and colorectal cancer-specific survival were not statistically different between the groups (p = 0.05 and p = 0.15, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Prevention of postoperative pneumonia and thromboembolism remains a problem. After proper assessment and careful management of peri-operative surgical risks, surgery can be indicated in elderly patients.

Delayed perforation after endoscopic band ligation for colonic diverticular hemorrhage.

A 77-year-old woman presented with the chief complaint of large amounts of hematochezia. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) revealed extravasation of contrast medium from the diverticula in the sigmoid colon; therefore, upon diagnosis of sigmoid colonic diverticular hemorrhage, she was immediately admitted to our hospital. Emergency colonoscopy revealed active bleeding from the diverticula in the sigmoid colon; hemostasis was achieved with endoscopic band ligation (EBL). However, 4 days later, she suddenly developed severe abdominal pain while defecation, prompting the requirement for obtaining a CT scan, which revealed intraabdominal free air, and delayed perforation after EBL was diagnosed. Emergency surgery was immediately performed; the perforation site was closed with sutures. EBL is useful in achieving hemostasis for colonic diverticular hemorrhage; however, it carries the risk of serious complications, such as delayed perforation, which require surgery. Although EBL is useful to achieve hemostasis for diverticular hemorrhage in the colon, it is preferable to carefully judge its indication owing to the risk of serious complications.

Evaluating distribution of the left branch of the middle colic artery and the left colic artery by CT angiography and colonography to classify blood supply to the splenic flexure.

INTRODUCTION: CT angiography has gained widespread acceptance for preoperative evaluation of blood supply in patients with colorectal cancer. However, there have been few reports that pertain to the splenic flexure, for which surgery is technically difficult. We used preoperative CT angiography and CT colonography to evaluate blood supply to the splenic flexure. METHODS: We defined the splenic flexure as the junction of the distal third of the transverse colon and the proximal third of the descending colon. We reviewed 191 cases and considered the descending colon as divided into the proximal third and the distal two-thirds; we then determined which part of the descending colon the left colic artery (LCA) entered. We also considered the transverse colon as divided into the proximal two-thirds and the distal third, and evaluated which part of the transverse colon the left branch of the middle colic artery entered. RESULT: We classified blood supply to the splenic flexure into six types, described by the feeder vessels: type 1, the LCA (39.7%); type 2, the left branch of the middle colic artery (17.8%); type 3, the LCA and the left branch of the middle colic artery (9.9%); type 4, the accessory left colic artery (4.1%); type 5, the LCA and the accessory left colic artery (2.6%); and type 6, the marginal artery (25.6%). CONCLUSION: We classified blood supply to the splenic flexure into more complex types than previous reports had. Because we dissect the lymph nodes according to the type of blood supply, knowing the type before splenic flexure surgery is crucial.