[Spontaneously favorable course of an epiretinal membrane]. / Evolution spontanément favorable d'une membrane épirétinienne.

A 28-year-old female patient presented a macular epiretinal membrane. Her visual acuity had fallen to 20/80. Five years earlier, she had undergone focal peripheral photocoagulation for retinal degeneration. During the following 5 years, the membrane contracted spontaneously and detached itself. Visual acuity returned to 20/20. Six fluorescein angiographies were performed during this 5-year follow-up. As demonstrated here in this young patient, an epiretinal membrane can evolve favorably, suggesting surgery should be carefully discussed when visual function is not excessively deteriorated.

Visual hallucinations immediately after macular photocoagulation.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the incidence of visual hallucinations after macular photocoagulation for choroidal neovascularization. METHODS: After macular photocoagulation for choroidal neovascularization, 60 consecutive patients were asked to respond to an orally administered questionnaire. RESULTS: Twenty-seven patients (45%) described photopsias, flashing lights of various colors. Ten additional patients (16.6%) also described structured hallucinations, including known or unknown faces, flowers, and geometric patterns, which occurred hours or a few days after photocoagulation. Patients with structured hallucinations were older (P =.04) and more often had subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (P =.005) and severe macular disease in both eyes or at least in the treated eye (P =.01). CONCLUSIONS: Visual hallucinations appear to be a frequent, albeit unrecognized, side effect of macular photocoagulation of choroidal neovascularization. The provision of proper information to patients may avoid concern about a psychiatric origin of their hallucinations.

Macular serous retinal detachment caused by subretinal leakage in tilted disc syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a previously unreported complication of tilted disc syndrome: serous retinal detachment, caused by subretinal leakage, that mimics chronic idiopathic central serous chorioretinopathy (ICSC). DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: Five patients (five eyes) participated. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Fluorescein angiographic features were measured. RESULTS: All patients presented with visual loss and metamorphopsia. Fundus examination showed features typical of tilted disc syndrome, including obliquely directed long axis of the disc, situs inversus, retinal pigment epithelium conus, hypopigmentation and staphylomatous ectasia inferonasal to the optic disc, as well as a serous retinal detachment. Fluorescein angiography showed a site of leakage or multiple focal areas of staining and atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium that correlated to the linear pigmentary changes observed at the junction with the inferior staphyloma. The fluorescein angiographic pattern was very similar to that of chronic ICSC. Spontaneous healing occurred in one case, and successful photocoagulation of the site of leakage was applied in two cases; two eyes could not be photocoagulated because of diffuse leakage in the macular region. CONCLUSIONS: To the authors' knowledge, macular serous retinal detachment due to subretinal leakage has not been reported as a complication of tilted disc syndrome. The authors hypothesize that choriocapillary and pigment epithelial disturbances at the junction of the inferior staphyloma permit the subretinal leakage, but the pathogenesis of this complication remains unclear. A study of larger series of such patients is needed to identify the most appropriate management of these cases, which first need to be differentiated from a chronic form of ICSC.

[Perforation of duodenopyloric ulcers. Prognostic factors and therapeutic choices. Retrospective study of 140 patients]. / Perforations des ulcères duodéno-pyloriques. Facteurs pronostiques et choix thérapeutiques. Etude rétrospective de 140 malades.

The treatment of perforation of duodenopyloric ulcers varies according to the risks of immediate mortality and long-term recurrence. The authors carried out a retrospective study on 140 duodenopyloric ulcers which had been treated over a 13 year period. The study high identified 3 factors of immediate mortality. Age over 70 years, admission delayed by more than 24 h and preoperative hemodynamic shock. Global mortality in this series is 8.6% and varied between 2.3% and 66.7% according to the absence or presence of these 3 risk factors, respectively. The authors recommend a simple operative protocol guided exclusively by the risk factors for mortality. The presence of a single factor requires simple suture of the perforation. Suture of the perforation and vagotomy should be performed in the absence of risk factors.

[Technique of isoperistaltic esophageal gastroplasty. Comparative study of in vitro arterial vascularization]. / Technique de gastroplastie oesophagienne isopéristaltique. Etude comparative de la vascularisation artérielle in vitro.

Operative survival is impaired by anastomotic fistula after esophageal resection and reconstruction. Hypovascularisation of esophageal substitute is essential. Stomach is a useful esophageal substitute however proximal resection of lesser curvature compromises vascularisation of the highest point of fundus which is usually sutured to esophagus. To improve this a new S shape esophagoplasty with isoperistaltique stomach was achieved. Fifteen cadaveric stomachs were assigned to three equal groups prepared as follow: narrow J shape stomachs, large J shape stomachs, large S shape stomachs. The arterial tree was studied following injection of contrast media barium from the right gastroepiploic artery. Proximal arteries of the S shape stomachs were well filled comparing to the others. This was allowed by keeping intact the tronc of the left gastric artery branches, severing the left gastroepiploic artery close to the spleen, and dividing the proximal fundal region as a curve.

[Lumbar hernias in adults. Apropos of 4 cases and review of the literature]. / Les hernies lombaires de l'adulte. Rapport de 4 observations et revue de la littérature.

Lumbar hernias are rare (2% of abdominal wall hernias). Symptomatology consists frequently only of an arch formation seen best with the patient sitting and when coughing. In adults it is twice as frequent in women and on the left side. Acute events, dominated by incarceration of a digestive segment, particularly colic, often suggest the diagnosis (10% of cases). Diagnosis is simple when confronted with a large hernia, but difficulties arise with those less than 5 cm in diameter, often diagnosed as a lipoma or parietal tumor. Conventional radiographs and ultrasound images are usually sufficient to establish the correct diagnosis and to determine the content of the hernial sac, but computed tomography scans can provide data on the exact limits of the defect and allow evaluation of possible problems during surgical repair. Rarely congenital (10%), these hernias occur either secondary to a violent lumbo-abdomino-pelvic injury (25%) or following surgical intervention to the lumbar region (50% of cases). Small hernias can be repaired using the direct approach but larger deficits require the insertion of a reinforcing non absorbable prosthesis. Long term results, both for the 4 cases reported and those published in the literature, were assessed as satisfactory.

Retinal vascular changes in congenital hypertrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium.

BACKGROUND: Congenital hypertrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium (CHRPE) is a well-defined clinical entity with usually well-delineated, pigmented oval or round lesion with smooth or scalloped margins. Occasional retinal vascular changes have been reported previously. PURPOSE AND METHOD: To assess the prevalence of these changes, the authors performed a retrospective analysis of 12 patients with CHRPE, for whom fluorescein angiography allowed visualization of the entire lesion and of the retinal vascular capillary bed. RESULTS: Retinal vascular changes were found in 11 (91%) of these 12 patients. The changes consisted of capillary rarefaction in all 11 patients, with areas of capillary nonperfusion exceeding 1 disc diameter (DD) in three patients (25%), micro-aneurysmal capillary dilatations in three (25%), and chorioretinal anastomosis in one. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the above changes could constitute clinical and angiographic characteristics of CHRPE and allow easy corroboration of its diagnosis, thus avoiding the need for further clinical investigations.

[Macular edema caused by contraction of the posterior hyaloid in diabetic retinopathy. Surgical treatment of a series of 22 cases]. / Oedèmes maculaires induits par la contraction de la hyaloïde postérieure dans la rétinopathie diabétique. Traitement chirurgical sur une série de 22 cas.

We have observed some patients with diabetic macular edema who did not respond to grid laser treatment and who improved with spontaneous posterior vitreous detachment or vitrectomy. These cases have a taut and glistening vitreo-macular interface. Three such cases are presented in detail. Pars plana vitrectomy with separation of the posterior hyaloid was performed in 22 cases. All of them had proliferative diabetic retinopathy, previously treated by panretinal photocoagulation. Fourteen cases had an ineffective macular grid laser treatment. Postoperative visual acuity was improved in 19 eyes and was unchanged in three eyes. The macular edema disappeared in 12 eyes and decreased in 10. Complications included a vitreous hemorrhage in 6 eyes, a paramacular tear in 1 eye, a reghmatogenous retinal detachment in 1 eye and cataract formation in 2 eyes. Vitreous surgery can improve the visual prognosis in cases of diabetic macular edema associated with a pathological vitreo-macular interface.

[Management of patients over 75 years of age with digestive or abdominal disease. A series of 660 cases]. / Prise en charge des patients âgés de plus de 75 ans présentant une pathologie digestive ou abdominale. A propos de 660 observations.

Over a period of 3 years, the authors cared for 660 patients over 75 years of age with diseases of the digestive tract. In 180 cases, the initial hospitalization had been previously planned and in 480 (72.7%) emergency admission was necessary. The diagnosis had not been confirmed in 90% of the emergency admissions. Half of the patients suffered from major illness (ASA III, IV). Planned hospitalization in a surgical unit involved cancer in 60% of the cases among which about one-half were colorectal cancers. In this latter group, mean hospitalization was 12 days and hospital mortality was 9.7%. For the patients with emergency admissions, diagnosis was only established after exploratory examinations (echography 296, endoscopy 205, opacification of the digestive tract 157...). No diagnosis could be established in 1.6% of the patients. Four types of emergency patients could be identified: occlusions 39.6%, painful abdomen 37%, haemorrhage 13.9% and jaundice 7.7%. In these groups, surgery was required in 64.7%, 69.1%, 72% and 40.5%, and mortality was 21.9%, 20.3%, 21.6% and 8.1% respectively. Duration of hospitalization was however similar (12 days). The overall mortality in this series was 14% (5.7% in non-operated patients and 16.7% in operated patients with a distinction between planned operations, 9.7%, and emergency operations, 20.3%). The two main risk factors were underlying disease and the need for emergency surgery. Age over 90 was also aggravated prognosis.

[Severe hemorrhage from gastroduodenal ulcer. Apropos of 100 cases]. / Hémorragies graves des ulcères gastro-duodénaux. A propos de 100 cas.

Over a period of 7 years, 100 patients (70 males and 30 females; mean age 66 years) were operated for digestive tract haemorrhage originating in an ulcer. There was a past history of ulcer in 21% and 29% had been taking drugs known to have a toxic effect on the stomach. Patent bleeding was observed by endoscopy in 32% with clear arterial flow, or a visible vessel in 10. In 20 patients a fresh clot was observed. Surgery had been indicated for massive haemorrhage in 25 cases, for persistent bleeding in 27, for recurrent bleeding in 37 and due to a visible vessel in 11. Conservative treatment was possible in three-fourths of the cases. Gastrectomy was performed in 26. Follow-up was uneventful in 55. There were 18 cases with complications and 27 deaths factors leading to fatal outcome and the data reported in the literature were analyzed.

[Should routine exploratory laparotomy be performed in the presence of an abdominal wound? Discussion apropos of 176 cases]. / Le dogme de la laparotomie exploratrice doit-il être maintenu en présence d'une plaie de l'abdomen? Discussion à propos de 176 observations.

Management of abdominal wounds is presently the subject of discussion between the partisans of routine laparotomy and those preferring "armed" surveillance. Results of study of a series of 176 abdominal wounds subjected to surgical dogma showed: that the diagnosis of non penetrating wounds (17.6%) was not always evident, due either to their anatomical localization (frontier region wounds) or to insufficient local exploration in urgent cases (6.6% of false-negatives), that the existence of serious clinical signs (50 cases) was always associated with one or more visceral lesions, requiring urgent laparotomy with a morbidity of 20% and a mortality of 8% (4 cases), that in the case of asymptomatic penetrating wounds (96 cases), routine laparotomy did nevertheless allow the diagnosis of visceral lesions in 50 cases (including 23 major lesions) but was of no utility in 46 cases (31.5% of blind laparotomies for the total series). The elevated proportion of useless laparotomies (30% in the literature), the result of a dogmatic attitude, or the risk of a delayed intervention (5 to 8%) in the series practising the selective method, led to a modification in the authors' attitude. The existence of serious signs should obviously result in a laparotomy. In their absence, and when confronted with a penetrating or doubtful (frontier region) wound, an exploratory celioscopy is proposed to ensure complete abdominal exploration, to confirm the presence or absence of penetration, to treat minimal lesions and to perform a classical laparotomy in case of evident necessity.

[Gallstone obstruction of the common bile duct, a severe form of biliary lithiasis. Choice of treatment]. / L'empierrement du cholédoque, une forme grave de lithiase biliaire. Quel traitement choisir?

Collection of 10 or more stones in the extrahepatic common bile duct causes lithiasic obstruction of the CBD, a fairly rare entity observed in less than 10% of cases of bile duct lithiasis. This study is based on 35 cases recorded over 10 years, including 60% in patients aged more than 75 years. Endoscopic treatment was attempted in 28% of patients and was totally successful in one case our of four only because of insufficient removal of obstruction after sphincterotomy. Surgery, either necessary (8 cases) or systematic (25 cases) combines cholecystectomy, choledocotomy and biliary fiberendoscopy for a complete treatment minimizing the risks of residual lithiasis. While biliodigestive anastomoses prevailed (58%) during the first years of this study, external biliary drainage was most often chosen during the last 5 years. This surgery in aged patients still entails high morbidity (25%) and considerable mortality (9%). Better efficacy may be provided in the future by the combination of fiberendoscopic means and of lithotrity for aged subjects at high surgical risks.

[What is the role of elective surgery in diverticular sigmoiditis?]. / Quelle place pour la chirurgie "à froid" dans les sigmoïdites diverticulaires?

From 1981 to 1991 inclusive, 188 operations were carried out for diverticular sigmoiditis. One hundred and thirty-nine patients were operated in emergency for acute complications (123) or fistulae (16), and another 49 had surgery scheduled outside acute crisis periods. Mortality and morbidity respectively are 16.5 and 31% in the first group, against 0 and 12% in the second one. Similarly, the stay in hospital varies from 13 days for scheduled surgery to 23 days for emergent surgery, the latter also requiring to account for risks and for the duration of a second operation that is far from exceptional (40%). Considering the severity of some evolutive complications, the authors advocate early radical surgery for symptomatic diverticular sigmoiditis, after the second crisis or as soon as the first one if it has been severe, and in young subjects and patients at risks.

[Incidentally discovered adrenal tumors. Apropos of 20 cases]. / Les incidentalomes surrénaliens. A propos de 20 cas.

According to Glazer, the term of incidentaloma describes an adrenal tumor discovered incidentally during acomputed tomographyscan and by extension to all masses discovered whatever the imaging process. Twenty patients have been operated during the last 10 years. The discovering circumstances are not specific, except the ecography and CT Scan. Complementary examinations include biological tests aiming at showing a possible hormonal secretion and more specific examinations MIBG scintygraphy and magnetic resonance imaging. The tumors often large (80% more than 5 cm long) and solid (75%) have all been removed by transperitoneal approach (13) or lombotomy. Post operative course was approach unevertful. The histological study showed 6 metastasis, 5 benign kystic lesions, 3 hematomas, 3 adenomas, 2 adrenalcortical carcinoma and 1 ganglioneuroma. A review of the literature series leads us to evaluate the frequency and risk of incidentalomas and to consider the necessary examination and the strategy to be adopted in front of such lesions. The evaluation of hormone status, the recourse to specific imaging seems necessary whereas the guided needle biopsy does not present any risk and should be reserved for very special cases. A decisional scheme is proposed, which ains at removing all voluminous and/or secreting tumors. Small lesions behind 35 mm will have to be examined closely and will be removed if they grow larger or persist.

[Traumatic hemoperitoneum of splenopancreatic origin. Apropos of 155 cases. Can a non-surgical treatment be proposed?]. / Les hémopéritoines traumatiques d'origine spléno-hépatique. A propos de 155 cas. Peut-on proposer un traitement non opératoire?

From 1985 to 1990, we treated 155 patients presenting with a hemoperitoneum secondary to a splenic or hepatic injury (diagnosis established by sonography, puncture and washout and/or laparotomy). These were 39 children and 116 young adults (average age 33 years). Fifty-eight of them (37%) suffered from multiple injuries (11 children, 47 adults). Splenic lesions were observed in 110 cases and hepatic lesions in 45. Ninety-one patients were operated, 55 in emergency and 36 later, while a watch-and-wait policy was applied to 64 (42%), with repeated clinical and complementary (ultrasound and/or CT) examinations. The indication for surgery was based on the clinical findings and the necessity of blood transfusion (more than 40 ml/kg/24 h in children, more than 2 to 5 U/24 h in adults, according to the context). This attitude allowed us to avoid operating two-thirds of the children and one third of the adults. We assess the limitations of this method.

[Traumatic rupture of the bladder. Apropos of 11 cases]. / Les ruptures traumatiques de la vessie. A propos de onze cas.

Eleven cases of rupture of bladder were observed within 7 years. Four of them were due to a direct trauma on a full bladder (group I), the other seven occurred during a complex trauma, constantly with a fracture of the pelvis (group II). In group I, the rupture was situated on the apex of the bladder. The symptoms were a suprapubic pain in four patients, a hematuria in two, and an anuria in one. In the four patients, intraperitoneal fluid was clinically evident, and confirmed ultrasonographically. An urography was performed in two patients and showed an intraperitoneal leak in our patient, and intravesical clots in the other one. The four patients were operated on within 48 hours, and were successfully treated by suture and vesical catheter. In group II, the vesical injury was revealed by hematuria (2 patients) hemorragic shock (2 patients) or both (2 patients). In the last patient, an abdominal pain after 10 days was the only symptom. Clinical signs of hemoperitoneum were present in only four patients and were confirmed ultrasonographically in two out of five patients. The urogram was normal in two of four patients. In one patient it showed a small bladder, and in another one a vesical leak. Five patients were operated on among where three in emergency and two after 9 and 10 days. Four patients with intraperitoneal rupture were successfully tread by suture of the bladder. Among three patients with extraperitoneal rupture, one had an additional tear of the mesentery and died from intravascular coagulation, the second was successfully treated by a suture, and the last one by a vesical catheter only.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)