Short term safety of oncoplastic breast conserving surgery for larger tumors.

BACKGROUND: Oncoplastic surgery (OPS) replaces lumpectomy as standard technique in breast conserving surgery (BCS). OPS has shown to give good cosmetic results, but is it as safe as standard lumpectomy? We conducted a retrospective cohort study to determine postoperative complications, resection margins and re-excision rates for OPS compared to standard lumpectomy. METHODS: Based on data from the 'Netherlands Cancer Registry' and medical records we scored patient, treatment and follow-up related variables. All consecutive patients, with an initially breast conserving operation for primary breast cancer, performed between January 2010 and December 2014 in a dedicated breast center were eligible. Breast surgeons performed the operations. Invasive and in situ tumors were included. Postoperative complications within 30 days after surgery and the need for additional treatment were classified using the Clavien Dindo classification. Involved margin rates and subsequent re-excision were compared. RESULTS: We included 828 women with 842 breast cancers, who had a standard lumpectomy (62.7%) or oncoplastic resection (37.3%). OPS was performed more often for larger tumors (17.5 mm vs 13.6 mm, p = 0.002) and for tumors in the caudal half of the breast (33.1% vs 16.9%, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in postoperative complications. Positive surgical margins were similar (OPS 22.6%, lumpectomy 18.2%, p = 0.119), as were re-excision rates (p = 0.337). CONCLUSION: Oncoplastic breast surgery can be safely applied in larger tumors, resulting in comparable postoperative complications, resection margins and re-excision rates compared to standard lumpectomy.

The impact of pain on daily activities following open mesh inguinal hernia repair.

BACKGROUND: In groin hernia repair studies, chronic pain is a frequently used primary endpoint. However, its impact on daily life activities has been less investigated. Such an outcome is relevant for the patient and surgeon and cannot be extrapolated out of pain scores. The Pain Disability Index (PDI), a questionnaire wherein patients rate their impairment, could reveal the consequences of pain. The PDI was therefore introduced in a trial upon open mesh-based inguinal hernia repair. METHODS: A total of 172 patients received an open preperitoneal repair or Lichtenstein procedure. Primary endpoints for this report were the PDI scores measured preoperatively, after 2 weeks and 3 months. The Visual Analogue Scale pain (VAS) scores were assessed simultaneously. Chronic pain was defined as any VAS score at 3 months postoperatively. RESULTS: The PDI scores of all measure moments were available for 146 patients (85%). A correlation between the PDI and VAS score was found at all moments (P<0.001). A total of 47 patients reported chronic pain. The intensity of their pain correlated more significantly with the PDI than VAS scores at 2 weeks postoperatively (R=0.286, P<0.001 vs. R=0.175, P=0.036). Thirty chronic pain patients reported restrictions. The main disabilities were for the recreation, occupation and sexual subscale. Their PDI scores were not influenced whether work was rated as light or heavy (P=0.570). Twelve patients without chronic pain reported impairment in daily life (mean PDI score 8.8+/-10.8). CONCLUSION: The PDI is feasible in inguinal hernia repair and can be used as an adjuvant in pain measurement. It can identify patients still suffering postoperatively who might otherwise be missed. Furthermore, the PDI could serve as a predictor for chronic pain.

Colonoscopic perforations: a review of 30,366 patients.

BACKGROUND: Although the incidence of perforation after endoscopic procedures of the colon is low, the rising number of procedures could pose relevant health problems. Recognizing risk factors and optimizing treatment may reduce perforation incidence and the probability of (severe) complications. This study aimed to determine perforation frequency and the management of endoscopic colonoscopic perforation. METHODS: A retrospective review of patient records was performed for all patients with iatrogenic colonic perforations after sigmoido/colonoscopy between 1990 and 2005. The patients' demographic data, endoscopic procedural information, perforation location, therapy, and outcome were recorded. RESULTS: In the 16-year period, 30,366 endoscopic colonic procedures were performed. In total, 35 colonic perforations occured (0.12%). All the patients underwent a laparotomy: for primary repair in 18 cases (56%), for resection with anastomosis in 8 cases (25%), and for resection without anastomosis in 6 cases (19%). In three patients (8.6%), no perforation was found. The postoperative course was uncomplicated in 21 cases (60%) and complicated in 14 cases (40%), including mortality for 3 patients (8.6% resulting from perforations and 0.01% resulting from total endoscopic colon procedures). The relative risk ratio of colonoscopic and sigmoidoscopic procedures for perforations was 4. Therapeutic procedures show a delay in presentation and diagnosis compared with diagnostic procedures. Of the 35 perforations, 26 (74%) occurred in the sigmoid colon. CONCLUSION: Iatrogenic colonic perforation is a serious but rare complication of colonoscopy. A perforation risk of 0.12% was found. The perforation risk was higher for colonoscopic procedures than for sigmoidoscopic procedures. The sigmoid colon is the area at greatest risk for perforation. Immediate operative management, preferably primary repair and sometimes resection, appears to be a good strategy for most patients.

Randomized trial comparing the Prolene Hernia System, mesh plug repair and Lichtenstein method for open inguinal hernia repair.

BACKGROUND: Most surgeons favour the use of a mesh for open inguinal hernia repair as it has a low recurrence rate. Procedures used most frequently are the Lichtenstein method, mesh plug repair and the Prolene Hernia System. The choice of technique may be influenced by the effects on postoperative pain and quality of life. METHODS: A total of 334 patients were allocated blindly and at random to receive one of these three meshes for open hernia repair. Quality of life was assessed with the Short Form 36 and pain by a visual analogue scale 14 days, and 3 and 15 months after surgery. RESULTS: Operative complications were rare and comparable between the groups. Long-term follow-up was completed by questionnaire in 95.8 per cent of patients. There were no significant differences in pain parameters between the three meshes; overall, 43.3 per cent of patients reported some form of groin pain. The severity of the chronic pain correlated with a higher pain score in the first 2 weeks after surgery (P < 0.001). A significant reduction in scores for role emotional (short term) and vitality (long term) quality of life domains was found in patients who had a Lichtenstein repair. CONCLUSION: These short- and long-term results did not show any clinically significant difference in postoperative pain and quality of life between the three types of mesh hernia repair. Severe early postoperative pain reliably predicted the likelihood of persisting chronic groin pain.

Pain experienced by women attending breast cancer screening.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pain experience of women during mammography for breast cancer screening. Possible associations with personal and medical history, sociodemographics and/or situational factors were studied. It was also investigated whether this pain influenced the intention to return for future breast cancer screening. In the Netherlands, women between 50-75 years are invited for screening every two years. A total of 1200 participants were asked to fill up a questionnaire. The response rate was 79.5% (n = 954), and 945 questionnaires contained adequate information for analyses. A total of 689 women (72.9%) described mammography as mild to severely painful. In this group, compared to the group that reported no pain, the following factors occurred significantly more often: sensitive breasts (P = 0.001), family history of breast diseases (P = 0.017); expected pain based on former mammography (P = 0.001), high education (P = 0.008), anxiety (P = 0.001), breast sensitivity in last three days (P = 0.001), insufficient attention of technologist (P = 0.001). Other factors like age, hormonal status, breast size and hormone use were not associated with the pain experienced. Thirty-two women (3.3%) indicated that they would not attend further screening, 25 (2.6%) reported that the pain might deter them, six women (0.6%) had other reasons, one woman (0.1%) was sure not to come because of severe pain. In conclusion, a large majority of women attending breast cancer screening describes mammography as painful (72.9%). Factors associated with pain were described. Relatively few women (2.7%) indicated that the pain might deter them from future mammography. Recommendations are given to reduce the pain experienced during screening mammography.

Mature teratoma identified after postchemotherapy surgery in patients with disseminated nonseminomatous testicular germ cell tumors: a plea for an aggressive surgical approach.

BACKGROUND: Mature teratoma is often found in resected retroperitoneal residual tumor masses (RRTM) after chemotherapy for disseminated nonseminomatous testicular germ cell tumors (NSTGCT). The aim of this report is to describe the clinical course of patients after resection of residual teratoma, with particular emphasis on relapse with either growing mature teratoma or secondary non-germ cell malignancy. METHODS: During the period 1979-1995, 113 patients underwent a laparotomy for resection of RRTM after chemotherapy for NSTGCT. Only patients with mature teratoma in the RRTM were included in the current study, and data on the patients who experienced relapse were studied in detail. RESULTS: Mature teratoma was found in 51 patients (45.1%) with RRTM resected after chemotherapy. Nine of these 51 patients (17.6%) relapsed; the relapses resulted from growing mature teratoma in 5 patients (9.8%), secondary non-germ cell malignancy in 3 patients (5.9%), and recurrent germ cell malignancy in 1 patient (2.0%). The primary treatment for all relapsing patients was surgical excision. All five patients with growing mature teratoma are alive without evidence of disease, as is the patient with recurrent germ cell malignancy. One of the three patients with non-germ cell malignancy died of disease, and the remaining two are alive with disease. CONCLUSIONS: Long term follow-up after resection of postchemotherapy residual teratoma is indicated because a proportion of patients develop growing mature teratoma or a secondary non-germ cell malignancy. The treatment for these recurrences should be complete surgical excision.