Laparoscopic Repair for Enterocutaneous Fistula Caused by Laparoscopic Right Hemicolectomy for Pan-Peritonitis due to Cecal Cancer Perforation.

Enterocutaneous fistula (ECF) can occur after any intra-abdominal procedure and is a concern for most surgeons. We report a case of laparoscopic treatment of an ECF in a 65-year-old male patient who had undergone a laparoscopic right hemicolectomy for peritonitis due to perforated colon cancer four months previously. Two weeks after discharge from the hospital, he visited the outpatient clinic complaining of a malodorous abscess draining from the right trocar site. Although we allowed two months for the fistula to close naturally, it did not close and formed an abscess. The patient subsequently underwent a laparoscopic colectomy of the fistula between the colonic stump and the skin. The operation time was 110 minutes, and he was discharged 10 days after surgery without any postoperative complication.

Extending the Indication for Laparoscopic Surgery in Patients With Pan-Peritonitis.

BACKGROUND: There have been reports of favorable results in patients with peritonitis who underwent laparoscopic surgery. The present study evaluated the outcomes of laparoscopic surgery in patients with pan-peritonitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We enrolled 148 patients who underwent open and laparoscopic surgery for pan-peritonitis between January 2015 and December 2017 at Hanyang University Guri Hospital. Patients with appendicitis or cholecystitis were excluded from this study because of the simplicity of the technique and the favorable postoperative prognosis. Surgical outcomes including open conversion, morbidity, mortality, risk, and prognostic factors were evaluated. RESULTS: During the study period, 125 patients (84.5%) underwent laparoscopic surgery. The conversion to open surgery occurred in 7 (5.3%) patients. In the laparoscopic surgery group, 27 patients (21.6%) experienced postoperative complications, and 6 died (4.8%). Multivariate analysis showed that age of older than 75 years was a risk factor for postoperative complications. Especially, preoperative shock (<90 mm Hg) and a longer time from symptom onset (over 2 d) to surgery were prognostic factors for postoperative mortality. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of our results and experiences, we believe that laparoscopic surgery is applicable to surgery of pan-peritonitis. And, preoperative shock and longer time from onset are prognostic factors of mortality in laparoscopic group. Therefore, we are confident that careful patient selection and specialized laparoscopic team should be considered in order to have best results.

Phantom Study of a New Laser-Etched Needle for Improving Visibility During Ultrasonography-Guided Lumbar Medial Branch Access With Novices.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the visibility and procedural parameters between a standard spinal needle and a new laser-etched needle (LEN) in real-time ultrasonography guided lumbar medial branch access in a phantom of the lumbosacral spine. METHODS: We conducted a prospective single-blinded observational study at a rehabilitation medicine center. A new model of LEN was manufactured with a standard 22-gauge spinal needle and a laser etching machine. Thirty-two inexperienced polyclinic medical students performed ultrasonography-guided lumbar medial branch access using both a standard spinal needle and a LEN with scanning protocol. The outcomes included needle visibility score, needle elapsed time, first-pass success rate, and number of needle sticks. RESULTS: The LEN received significantly better visibility scores and shorter needle elapsed time compared to the standard spinal needle. First-pass success rate and the number of needle sticks were not significantly different between needles. CONCLUSION: A new LEN is expected to offer better visibility and enable inexperienced users to perform an ultrasonography-guided lumbar medial branch block more quickly. However, further study of variables may be necessary for clinical application.

The Ratio-Based N Staging System Can More Accurately Reflect the Prognosis of T4 Gastric Cancer Patients with D2 Lymphadenectomy Compared with the 7th American Joint Committee on Cancer/Union for International Cancer Control Staging System.

PURPOSE: The utility of N classification has been questioned after the 7th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC)/Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) was published. We evaluated the correlation between ratio-based N (rN) classification with the overall survival of pathological T4 gastric cancer patients who underwent D2 lymphadenectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed 222 cases of advanced gastric cancer patients who underwent curative gastrectomy between January 2006 and December 2015. The T4 gastric cancer patents were classified into four groups according to the lymph node ratio (the number of metastatic lymph nodes divided by the retrieved lymph nodes): rN0, 0%; rN1, ≤13.3%; rN2, ≤40.0%; and rN3, >40.0%. RESULTS: The rN stage showed a large down stage migration compared with pathological T4N3 (AJCC/UICC). There was a significant difference in overall survival between rN2 and rN3 groups in patients with pT4N3 (P=0.013). In contrast, the difference in metastatic lymph nodes was not significant in these patients (≥16 vs. <15; P=0.177). In addition, the rN staging system showed a more distinct difference in overall survival than the pN staging system for pathological T4 gastric cancer patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm that rN staging could be a good alternative for pathological T4 gastric cancer patients who undergo D2 lymphadenectomy. However, before applying this system to gastric cancer patients who undergo D2 lymphadenectomy, a larger sample size is required to further evaluate the usefulness of the rN staging system for all stages, including less advanced stages.

Atypical traumatic pneumorrhachis accompanied by paraparesis.

Pneumorrhachis, caused by intraspinal air, is an exceptional but important radiographic finding that is accompanied by different etiologies. Pneumorrhachis, by itself, is usually asymptomatic and gets reabsorbed spontaneously. Therefore, the patients with pneumorrhachis are mostly managed conservatively. We encountered a unique case of atypical traumatic pneumorrhachis accompanied by paraparesis.

Paraplegia due to Spinal Epidermoid Cyst Rupture at Asthma Attack.

Spinal epidermoid cyst is less than 1% of the entire spinal cord tumor and a rare tumor. It is a slowly proliferating benign tumor and can be a result of either congenital or acquired factors. In particular, reports of acute paraplegia due to spinal epidermoid cyst rupture are very rare. Since authors experienced paraplegia resulting from congenital spinal epidermoid cyst rupture during an asthma attack, it is reported with a review of literature.

Adsorption of organophosphates into microporous and mesoporous NaX zeolites and subsequent chemistry.

Due to the neurotoxicity of organophosphate (OP) pesticides and nerve agents synthesized as military or terror agents, their safe destruction and disposal is of considerable current importance. A representative OP, trimethyl phosphate (TMP), was adsorbed onto NaX zeolite, two mesoporous modifications, and a low-silica X zeolite. The nucleophilic chemical reactions of TMP with the zeolites were investigated by solid-state 13C and 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and the solvent extracts by 1H, 13C, and 31P NMR. Nucleophilic substitution and subsequent hydrolysis reaction schemes are proposed. All of the zeolites have similar TMP decomposition yields, supporting the hypothesis that slow or incomplete diffusion of TMP in the microporous zeolite regions limits TMP decomposition.