Gastrointestinal surgery in gynecologic oncology: evaluation of surgical techniques.

In recent years, the use of surgical staples has become popular in all subspecialties of surgery. The advantages proposed have been a decrease in operative time and morbidity. This paper reviews the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center, Division of Gynecologic Oncology experience with the use of surgical staples in gastrointestinal surgery on patients with a diagnosis of a gynecologic malignancy. Between January 1, 1979 and July 1, 1985, a total of 152 procedures were done, 81 by stapler and 71 by suture anastomosis. Ninety-one patients had received previous radiation or chemotherapy. The average age of the patients was 52 years. The results show a decrease in operating time, blood loss, and postoperative hospital stay in those patients where the stapler anastomosis was used. The postoperative morbidity and mortality were not increased. Twenty-seven total pelvic exenterations were performed during the period of study and they were evaluated separately. The hospital stay and blood loss as well as the operative time were significantly less using staplers. This report includes a detailed evaluation of the results. From this study, we concluded that surgical staples are a safe alternative in gastrointestinal surgery in patients with a gynecologic malignancy.

Emergency treatment of adnexal masses in a nonpregnant woman.

Both benign and malignant adnexal masses can present as an emergency. Differential diagnosis, as well as practical clinical maneuvers to differentiate the two, and initial treatment are discussed in this article.

Major surgical procedures for gynecologic malignancy in elderly women.

We review 89 patients more than 75 years old who had major operations for various gynecologic malignancies. The recent routine use of perioperative intensive care decreased hospital mortality from 8.9% to 3.2%, and helped in decreasing and anticipating intraoperative and postoperative cardiorespiratory complications. Availability of visiting nurses since 1980 decreased the mean hospital stay from 30.2 to 24.4 days in patients who had radical vulvectomy. There were no deaths among 11 patients who subsequently had surgical reexploration for recurrent or new disease. Fifty-two of the 89 patients survived more than three years with no limitations resulting from the operations. When indicated, major surgical procedures for gynecologic malignancy in elderly women can be done safely, especially when the patient is evaluated and managed in a well staffed surgical intensive care unit.

Small bowel complications after supravesical urinary diversion in pelvic exenteration.

Between June, 1966, and June, 1984, 102 pelvic exenterations were performed at Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami Medical Center and all patients had some type of supravesical urinary diversion. Of these patients, 23 were reexplored for a gastrointestinal complication and 15 of those had a small bowel complication. Small bowel fistula occurred in 15 instances and 9 patients were reexplored. The fistula associated mortality was 53.3%. All the fistulas occurred in previously radiated patients who had undergone an enteroenteroanastomosis. The recent use of enterocolostomies after the construction of an ileal conduit in 21 patients has not produced any postoperative small bowel fistula, while in 43 patients who underwent enteroenterostomies, 13 fistulas occurred (P less than 0.01). Patients who did not undergo pelvic floor closure had a higher incidence of fistula and small bowel obstruction, while there were no fistulas in patients with previous enterocolostomies, regardless of the pelvic closure.

Antibiotic prevention of infections complicating radical abdominal hysterectomy.

In this randomized, double-blind study, the effectiveness of a single-agent prophylactic antibiotic in reducing infections after radical abdominal hysterectomy with pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy was compared with a placebo. A total of 12 doses of cefoxitin (2g) or placebo were given to 70 patients, starting the evening before surgery. Because of tumor spread beyond the cervix, radical hysterectomy was not performed in 17 patients who were, therefore, excluded from the study. Analysis of 53 patients who completed the study revealed that 15% of cefoxitin patients had surgical site-related infections compared with 52% of placebo patients (P = .005). Significant differences between the groups were also observed in nonsurgical site-related infections (23 versus 48%), overall morbidity (58 versus 89%), and the need for additional antibiotic therapy (38 versus 67%). Socioeconomic status was a significant risk factor with 57% of staff patients demonstrating increased site-related infections as compared with 17% of private patients (P = .002). No clinically significant side effects were observed. The authors recommend the use of antibiotic prophylaxis in patients undergoing radical abdominal hysterectomy for gynecologic malignancies.

Pelvic exenteration: a 15-year experience in a general metropolitan hospital.

Between June, 1966, and June, 1981, 92 pelvic exenterations were performed by gynecologic oncologists at Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami Medical Center. The decrease in postoperative morbidity and mortality and the improved 5-year survival rate probably were related to improvement in hospital facilities and more refined surgical techniques. Urinary and gastrointestinal complications occurred with equal frequency during the period of study and were more common in patients who had received previous radiation therapy. On the basis of our experience, recommendations to decrease gastrointestinal and urinary complications further are presented.

Treatment of advanced or recurrent endometrial adenocarcinoma with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, cis-Platinum, and megestrol acetate.

A prospective clinical trial using combination chemotherapy consisting of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, cis-Platinum and megestrol acetate (CAP-M) was initiated to study its effect on advanced or recurrent endometrial adenocarcinoma. Fifteen patients were clinically evaluable. Nine patients (60%) demonstrated an overall objective clinical response resulting in either complete regression of disease (33%) or a reduction in tumor size. For all responders the mean progression free interval was eight months, with a range of five to 11 months. Similarly, a mean survival time of 12 months with a range of five to 21 months was observed. An additional four patients showed no progressive disease for a mean of seven months duration. Reversible cis-Platinum-induced nephrotoxicity occurred in two patients. This is the first reported series of endometrial cancer patients using nonhormonal cytotoxic agents, including cis-Platinum, in conjunction with a progestin. This preliminary experience is encouraging and appears worthy of further clinical evaluation.