Undiagnosed myasthenia gravis owing to a very unusual primary presentation.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an uncommon autoimmune disorder presenting with fluctuating, progressive muscle weakness. The typical initial presentation includes ocular symptoms of ptosis, diplopia, or both. In the literature, other late symptoms have been described. The inability to close the jaws or difficulty in closing the jaws is an uncommon symptom of muscle weakness. Studies have found that only 4% of patients with MG ever complain of, or demonstrate, masticatory muscular weakness with an inability to close the jaws or difficulty in closing the jaws. In the present case, although the patient may have manifested other symptoms, his primary complaint was the inability to masticate as a result of muscular weakness and the difficulty in closing the jaw. The symptoms had reportedly been present for several months. The case is interesting in that the patient presented with an uncommon symptom as the primary complaint. The patient's recall and communication of his medical history was poor, and it is unclear as to all the factors that may have delayed the diagnosis. However, it is important for dentists to recognize these atypical symptoms of MG so that they can either order the initial tests or make the appropriate referral.

Endoscopic sclerotherapy for dilated gastrojejunostomy after gastric bypass.

INTRODUCTION: Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is an excellent option for weight loss in the morbidly obese. Unfortunately, some patients do have weight regain or insufficient weight loss. Revisional bariatric surgery is not without risk. Less invasive techniques may provide alternative treatments for patients that regain weight or have insufficient weight loss. This video demonstrates a technique of endoscopic sclerotherapy for dilated gastrojejunostomy after gastric bypass. METHODS: The technique is applied to patients who have had weight regain or insufficient weight loss following gastric bypass. Patients who have lost the feeling of satiety, undergone reeducation and recounseling of dietary changes, and have documented dilated gastrojejunostomy on upper endoscopy and/or a barium study are offered this technique. If the gastojejunostomy is larger than 12 mm, sodium morrhuate is injected with an endoscopic needle circumferentially. RESULTS: The gastrojejunostomy is injected with 6-30 cc of sodium morrhuate. By visual inspection, the anastomosis usually appears smaller after the procedure. Most patients report a subjective feeling of satiety after the endoscopic sclerotherapy. Reinjection after 3 months has been performed in some patients. Except mild nausea, the patients have experienced no morbidity or mortality from the procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic sclerotherapy may offer an alternative treatment for dilated gastrojejunostomy after gastric bypass. The technique described in the video is a relatively easy, safe method that may become the first line of therapy in patients who have a dilated gastrojejunostomy and have lost the feeling of satiety after gastric bypass with an associated weight gain.

Omental reinforcement for intraoperative leak repairs during laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

Leaks from the gastrojejunostomy after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) have the potential for significant morbidity and mortality. When intraoperative leaks are discovered, we choose to perform omental reinforcement around the gastrojejunostomy and pouch after suture repair of the leaks. This study examined the hypothesis that omental reinforcement would be useful after intraoperative leaks during LRYGB. Omental reinforcement was performed on gastrojejunostomies, in which leaks were seen, created using a circular stapler during LRYGB. Data were reviewed retrospectively on these patients. There were a total of 387 patients with 32 (8.26%) patients who had a staple line dehiscence or evidence of gastric pouch or gastrojejunostomy leak intraoperatively. Leaks/dehiscences were repaired with sutures and then reinforced with omentum. None of these patient developed anastomotic leak postoperatively. Of the other 365 patients, there were four (1.1%) leaks from the gastrojejunostomy and/or gastric pouch. Omental reinforcement may be useful in decreasing the incidence of postoperative leaks when an intraoperative leak is encountered during LRYGB. However, omental reinforcement does not completely prevent a postoperative leak. Consideration of reinforcement with omentum may be given for patients in whom an intraoperative leak is noted.

Intraoperative endoscopy and leaks after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

Postoperative leaks after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) are a source of morbidity and mortality. Any intervention that would decrease leak rates after LRYGB would be useful. This investigation tested the hypothesis that postoperative leak rates are lower after LRYGB with the routine use of intraoperative endoscopy (EN). Consecutive patients who underwent LRYGB were included. Intraoperative leak testing with air and methylene blue through an orogastric tube (OG) was used in the first 200 patients. Intraoperative endoscopy was used after the first 200 patients. There were 400 patients in this study. Preoperative demographics did not differ between groups. The intraoperative leak rate of the EN group was double the OG group (8 vs 4%; P = not significant), although the difference was not statistically significant. The OG group had a postoperative leak rate of 4 per cent with a mortality rate of 1 per cent. The EN group had a postoperative leak rate of 0.5 per cent with a mortality rate of 0 per cent. The difference in leak rates was statistically significant (P < 0.04). Despite the issues of learning curve, EN demonstrates more intraoperative leaks than OG, indicating EN may be a more sensitive test than OG. Routine use of EN is associated with less postoperative leaks after LRYGB.

Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic gastric bypass performed in a cadaver.

Natural orifice transluminal surgery (NOTES) offers a new option for abdominal surgery. However, despite the initial interest and enthusiasm for its potential advantages, NOTES has some major drawbacks which include the purposeful injury to an organ that may not be otherwise injured or diseased. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass may be a procedure that is suited for NOTES because the stomach wall is breached during the normal course of the operation. We have experimented with a technique for a NOTES gastric bypass in the human. A transvaginal, transgastric gastric bypass (TVTG-GBP) was performed in a human cadaver.