Evaluation of an enhanced recovery protocol after pancreaticoduodenectomy in elderly patients.

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence has shown that enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols decrease hospital stay following pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). The aims of this study were to assess the feasibility and to evaluate the effect of introducing ERAS principles after PD in elderly patients. METHODS: Patients ≥75 years were defined as elderly. Comparison of postoperative outcome was performed between 22 elderly patients who underwent ERAS (elderly ERAS + patients) and a historical cohort of 66 elderly patients who underwent standard protocols (elderly ERAS-patients). RESULTS: The lowest adherence with ERAS among elderly patients was observed for starting a solid food diet within POD 4 (n = 7) and early drains removal (n = 2). The highest adherence was observed for post-operative glycemic control (n = 21), epidural analgesia (n = 21), mobilization (n = 20) and naso-gastric removal in POD 0 (n = 20). Post-operative outcomes did not differ between elderly ERAS+ and elderly ERAS- patients. In patients with an uneventful postoperative course, the median intention to discharge was earlier in elderly ERAS + patients as compared to the elderly ERAS- patients (4 days versus 8 days, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: An ERAS protocol following PD seems to be feasible and safe among elderly although it is not associated with improved postoperative outcomes.

Acute tension pneumocephalus secondary to whole spine pneumorrhachis as an unusual presentation of a colon cancer complicated by a transsacral cerebrospinal fluid leak.

A 52-year-old woman who was having chemotherapy for treatment of an adenocarcinoma of the colon, was admitted to the emergency department because of a moderate neurological impairment. Head CT scan showed bifrontal pneumocephalus without fractures or discontinuities of the skull base. A few hours later, following the patient's neurologic deterioration, a new CT scan showed tension pneumocephalus with air diffusion throughout the posterior cranial fossa and cervical spine. Because of air bubbles into the cervical spine, an MRI of the entire spinal canal was done. This exam revealed a whole spine pneumorrhachis along with a transforaminal air passage through the first right sacral foramen and a pyogenic collection anterior to sacral bone. An abdomen CT scan showed a massive relapse of the colon cancer and confirmed a hypodense collection contiguous to the anterior sacral surface, causing erosion of the sacral bone and dural layer with air penetration into the spinal canal. Neurosurgical treatment by a lumbosacral laminectomy and duraplasty was followed by tumour removal and omental covering of the pelvis. Her neurological symptoms were resolved completely. One month later, the patient began adjuvant chemotherapy.

Skin and thigh muscle metastasis from papillary thyroid cancer.

A 44-year-old man with total thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) performed at the age of 38 years was referred for mediastinal metastases demonstrated on chest radiograph and high serum thyroglobulin (Tg 328 ng/ml). Computed tomography revealed mediastinal lymph node enlargement with left bronchial compression and reduction of bronchial diameter, as well as two metastases in the left lung. Bronchoscopic biopsy findings showed a poorly-differentiated PTC, while a whole body scan after 131-Iodine therapy demonstrated uptake in the right subclavicular region. External beam radiotherapy and chemotherapy yielded no benefit; the neoplasm was aggressive, diffuse and experienced fast growth, leading to the formation of metastases also at unusual sites, such as the skin and thigh muscle. The patient died from a brain metastasis. We report a rare case of PTC metastasis with a poorly-differentiated component in a young patient. Rapid and diffuse metastases also to unusual sites led to death eight years after the initial diagnosis and treatment.

Incidental small ampullary somatostatinoma treated with ampullectomy 2 years after diagnosis.

Somatostatinomas are rare tumors; ampullary somatostatinomas are very rare. We report a case of a small pure somatostatin-producing neuroendocrine tumor of ampulla of Vater in a 54-year-old woman with neither neurofibromatosis nor somatostatinoma syndrome, "incidentally" discovered during an abdominal computed tomography. The patient initially refused other adjunctive exams but after 2 years she was admitted, presenting with itch, night sweats, severe fatigue, and unintentional weight loss. The size of the tumor (1.5 cm) and the other radiologic findings had not changed since the abdominal CT scan 2 years before. The somatostatin, gastrin, glucagons, serotonin, vasoactive intestinal peptide, dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, and calcitonin plasma levels were normal. ERCP-obtained biopsies revealed a neuroendocrine tumor with psammoma bodies; immunohistochemical profile was positive for chromogranin and somatostatin. The patient underwent surgery; intraoperative histologic examination of lymph nodes sampling of perihepatic and periduodenal lymph nodes was negative for metastasis. We performed, therefore, a transduodenal ampullectomy. The patient continues to do well at 3 years' follow-up with no evidence of local or distance recurrence of disease.

Lymphatic, blood vessel and perineural invasion identifies early-stage high-risk radically resected gastric cancer patients.

The availability of different treatment options for radically resectable gastric cancer reopened the question of treatment selection and correct definition of high-risk categories. Lymphatic, blood vessel and perineural invasion (LBVI/PNI) seem to possess the necessary potential to provide useful information for the clinical management of this disease. Seven hundred and thirty-four patients with advanced gastric cancer who underwent curative gastrectomy were analysed according to the presence of LBVI/PNI. Patients were divided into two groups: group A for patients with LBVI/PNI (189 patients 26%) and group B for patients without LBVI/PNI (545 patients, 74%). The disease-free survival (DFS) for patients in group A was 32.1 months, whereas it was not reached for patients in group B (P=0.0001); the median overall survival was 45.5 months for patients in group A, whereas it was not reached for patients in group B (P=0.0001). At multivariate analysis, the presence of LBVI/PNI appeared an independent prognostic factor for DFS and OS. Our results were confirmed in subgroup analysis, separately considering stage I and early gastric cancer patients with and without LBVI/PNI. Taken together, our findings suggest the importance of LBVI/PNI in gastric cancer as it may provide additional information for identifying patients at high risk, who may be candidates for further medical treatment after or before surgery.

Perioperative anemia and blood transfusions as prognostic factors in patients undergoing resection for non-small cell lung cancers.

We hypothesised that anemia could represent an important prognostic factor and perioperative blood transfusions do not reduce the risk of relapse. In order to explore this topic, we assessed the correlation of preoperative anemia and blood transfusions with survival in patients with resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients who underwent radical surgery for NSCLC at the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Università Politecnica delle Marche from January 1996 through December 2001, were included in our study. Four hundred and thirty-nine patients were eligible for our analysis. Survival appeared worse in patients with haemoglobin (Hb) < or =10 g/dl versus Hb >10 g/dl (p=0.012). Stratifying patients in three groups on their Hb level (group 1: Hb < or =10 g/dl; group 2: Hb=10-12 g/dl; group 3: Hb > or =12 g/dl), we observed a worse prognosis in patients with lower Hb levels, too (p=0.0325) and also in the transfused population (p=0.046). At multivariate analysis, only the age of patients, pathological stage and Hb levels resulted indicators of prognosis. Our results suggested that anemia could represent an important prognostic factor in resected NSCLC and correction of anemia in the perioperative setting does not reduce the risk of relapse.

Traumatic rupture of nodular focal fatty infiltration of the liver: case report.

Hepatic fatty infiltration generally appears in a widespread form but it can occasionally involve the liver in an irregular way. As regards focal forms, nodular focal fatty infiltration (NFFI) has great importance regarding problems of differential diagnosis with benign and malignant focal pathology of the liver. Except for this aspect, NFFI has little clinical importance as it is mainly asymptomatic. We report a case of an acute bleeding of a big nodule of FFI which required an urgent hepatectomy.

Evolution of the changes of the ileal pouch mucosa over a long follow-up period.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The mucosa of the ileal pouch after restorative proctocolectomy develops relevant adaptative changes but the real mechanisms and the evolution over time of these alterations are still unclear. The aims of the present work were to study the distribution of the mucosal changes at different levels in the reservoir and to evaluate the evolution of these alterations over a long follow-up period. METHODOLOGY: The severity of chronic and acute inflammation, villous atrophy, colonic-type mucins production and proliferative index were evaluated in the bioptical specimens from 46 patients (30 males, 16 females, mean age 38 years) with functioning pouch. We compared the histology of the upper pouch mucosa with the lower one. Then we divided the 46 patients into Group A-24 patients with a median follow-up of 11 years (range 9-16); Group B-22 patients with a median follow-up of 4 years (range 2-8), comparing the results from the two groups. Finally we performed a prospective evaluation in the 24 patients who were controlled in 3 subsequent follow-ups (1993-1994, 1996-97, 1999-2000). RESULTS: At the topographic evaluation only the acute inflammation was significantly more pronounced in the lower pouch area (p = 0.031). All the morphological changes showed a trend of greater severity in the group A patients, in particular villous atrophy (p = 0.005) and colonic-like mucins secretion (p = 0.006). At the prospective evaluation, the chronic inflammation showed a significant progressive worsening over time (p = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS: Our experience showed that the transformation of the mucosa represents an "organ" response to the luminal environment and may progress over time.

[Surgical treatment of differentiated thyroid carcinoma]. / Il trattamento chirurgico del carcinoma tiroideo differenziato.

Being the excellent prognosis, the extension of the thyroidectomy in the surgical management of differentiated thyroid carcinomas is still controversial: some authors recommend total thyroidectomy for all patients, others suggest a conservative approach, that guarantee the same good prognosis but is associated with fewer complications. Even the cervical lymph node dissection is discussed, both regarding to the indications and the extension. The authors reported a retrospective review of their experience of the last 10 years on 75 patients operated for differentiated thyroid cancer, 61 for papillary carcinoma and 14 for follicular carcinoma; 18 of them were men and 57 females, with a mean age of 48.2 years. We performed a total of 85 operations: 60 total thyroidectomy, 15 lobus-isthmusectomies and 10 completion thyroidectomy. Lymphadenectomy was performed in 17 patients with clinically or intraoperative evidence of enlarged lymph nodes. There was no surgical mortality. Permanent hypoparathyroidism occurred in 5 patients (5.8%) and permanent accidental laryngeal recurrent nerve injury, both monolateral, occurred in 2 cases (2.35%). The mean follow up was 53 months (4.5 years): 71 patients are still alive (94.7%), 68 of them disease free (90.6%) and 3 with recurrent disease (4%). Our results suggest that total thyroidectomy still represent the choice procedure for the treatment of differentiated carcinomas and that modified radical neck dissection is necessary in these patients with pre or intraoperative evidence of palpable lymph nodes. Some patients go well even undergoing more conservative surgery (lobectomy) but most problem is the impossibility to preoperatively identify these patients.

Pseudoaneurysm of the common hepatic artery: treatment with a stent-graft.

We report a case of a pseudoaneurysm of the common hepatic artery treated with a stent-graft in a 67-year-old man. The patient presented with severe catheter bleeding through a drain following surgical and interventional procedures performed for therapeutic management of a choledochal cholangiocarcinoma. Selective hepatic arteriography showed a pseudoaneurysm close to the origin of the gastroduodenal artery. After a preliminary attempt at arterial embolization, it was decided to use a stent-graft to bridge the false aneurysm. Complete pseudoaneurysm exclusion was seen after the procedure with preservation of hepatic arterial flow.

[Retroperitoneal tumors]. / Tumori retroperitoneali.

The retroperitoneal tumors are seldom met in their several histological expressions. Authors totally considered 27 patients with retroperitoneal tumors and they were observed from 1975 to 1996: 21 of them were primitively cured in this Institute whereas 6 were affected with relapse or metastasis after a surgical approach which had been performed by other structures. Their operability resulted of 100% with an 87% resectability rate. The surgical mortality resulted nil while the morbidity rate was of 44%. The global survival resulted of 60% to 5 years while the disease-free interval was of 35%. The outliving to 5 years resulted of 65% with a 60% disease-free interval only in the patients who were treated in first instance. The surgical therapy represents the only treatment which can modify the clinical history of such neoplasms. Exeresis should be aggressive enough in order to obtain a total extirpation of the mass and grant a right margin of safety of sound tissue. Such radical proceeding should also be pursued in the treatment of relapses and metastases. The therapeutical efficacy is always linked to the precocity the diagnosis. A strict follow-up of the patients who underwent a surgical operation for retroperitoneal neoplasm is therefore necessary. A minority of the instances was only subjected to a complementary radio and/or chemotherapic treatment. Such protections did not significantly modify the outliving.

Parietal seeding of unsuspected gallbladder carcinoma after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (VALC) represents the treatment of choice for the symptomatic gallstones. However the occurrence of an adenocarcinoma of the gallbladder results a controindication for this surgical technique. We present a case of a 52 years old woman who underwent a VALC; histology revealed a gallbladder adenocarcinoma. For this reason the patient underwent a second operation that is right hepatic trisegmentectomy. Six months later the patient presented with a parietal recurrence at the extraction site of the gallbladder. We discuss the possible mechanism responsible for carcinomatous dissemination during laparoscopic surgery and we raccommend the use of some procedures in order to limit the risk and eventually to treat a neoplastic parietal seeding. These complications suggest the problem about the utility and the future played by video assisted laparoscopic surgery in the diagnosis and treatment of intraabdominal malignancies.

Surgical treatment of hepatic metastatic colorectal cancer.

73 patients (men age 54 years, range 17-78), underwent an hepatic resection for metastatic, colorectal cancer. Operative mortality was 1.36% Overall 5 years survival rate (Kaplan-Meier) was 27%; 5 years disease free interval was equally 27%. This could demonstrate that 5 years survivors could be also considered free from the risk of metastatic recurrence. This is confirmed by our survivors over 5 years (70-79-94 months) that are still disease free.

[The 3rd national workshop on defecography: the functional radiology of (neo) rectal ampullae (ileal reservoir, colo-anal anastomosis, continent perineal colostomy)]. / III workshop nazionale sulla defecografia: la fisioradiologia delle (neo)ampolle rettali (reservoir ileale, colo-ano-anastomosi, colostomia perineale continente).

A survey was made in 13 Italian centers with a questionnaire concerning the (a) indications, (b) postoperative complications, (c) functional results and (d) diagnostic imaging modalities related to the making of an ileal or colonic (neo) rectum. Ulcerative colitis (100%), familial polyposis (61.5%) and Crohn's disease (15.3%) were the most common indications for an ileal pouch; rectal cancer (7.96%), chronic inflammatory diseases (15.3%), diverticulosis, rectal prolapse, redundant colon and imperforate anus (7.6% each) were the most common indications for a colonic pouch. Postoperative complications included pelvic abscess (14%), sinus tract/dehiscence (10%) and bowel obstruction (9%). When compared with the S and W variants, the J-shaped ileoanal pouch proved superior because urgency and fecal retention rates were lower (18.4% vs. 44.4% and 23% vs. 28.6%, p < 0.01 and p < 0.05, respectively), despite slightly more frequent staining episodes (15.8% vs. 11.1%; p < 0.05). As for colonic ampullae, fecal retention and provoked evacuation were more frequent in the J pouch and after gracileplasty; urgency and incontinence in the straight colo-anal anastomosis (33.3% vs. 22.2% and 41.6% vs. 33.3%, respectively). The functional outcome was assessed by anal endosonography (available in 4/13 centers), defecography and anorectal manometry. Abnormal findings included: (a) reduced capacity, barium leakage, anal gaping, sphincter damage (urgency and incontinence); (b) barium retention, pouch dilatation, split evacuation, knobs and strictures (fecal retention).

[Complications of elective hepatic resections. Analysis of risk factors]. / Le complicanze della chirurgia resettiva epatica d'elezione. Analisi dei fattori di rischio.

In the last decades the hepatic surgery has been more and more employed thanks to improvement of the surgical technique and of the post-operative assistance which have brought the peroperative mortality of principal specialistic centres to less of 5%. The main post-operative complications which trouble the hepatic surgery, forming in same cases the cause of the death, are: hepatic insufficiency, haemorrhage, subphrenic abscess and the appearance of biliary fistulas. These complications are often connected and linked to the devitalization of a part of the residual parenchyma. We have made a retrospective study on a series of 214 hepatic resections, executed in election, to estimate the main pre and intra-operative risk factors. The operative mortality has been zero whereas the post-operative one is occurred in 4.2% of the cases with a morbidity of 27.5%. In our experience the meaning full factors to prefigure an operative risk are resulted: the associated pathologies like diabetes, cardiopathies, ipertension and bronchopathies; the length of the operation; the entity of the peroperative haematic loss and of the consequent transfusional therapy and eventually quality the residual parenchyma.

[Congenital cyst of the choledochus. A case report and review of the literature]. / Cisti congenita del coledoco. Osservazione di un caso e revisione della letteratura.

Congenital cysts of the choledochus and of the glandulae mucosae biliosae are rare anomalies generally observed in pediatric age: it is in fact exceptional to detect them in adults. There seems also to be a difference in the occurrence among the various races since the disease is more frequently seen in the Japanese and in women. In the Western world the incidence of this pathology has rated to be 1 out of 26,000 hospitalizations, consequently the personal experience and familiarity of every surgeon with this disease will be naturally limited. The authors describe the case of a women, aged 21, under observation as carrier of cystoduodenostomy after congenital cyst of the choledochus. A calculosis of the common hepatic duct as well as the stenosis of the previous cystoduodenostomy are also discovered. The abscission of the cyst and the confection of a Roux's en Y loop hepaticojejunostomy with the separation of the previous gastrojejunostomy are then performed. According to the authors, the complete abscission of the cyst and the Roux hepaticojejunostomy should be considered the surgery of choice when the local situation and the patient's general condition allow it because this treatment reduces the occurrence of late postoperative accidents such as lithiasis and cholangitis and the possibility of malignant degeneration of the cyst. Two years after the operation, the patient is in excellent health conditions.

Straight ileo-anal anastomosis with myectomy as an alternative to ileal pouch-anal anastomosis in restorative proctocolectomy.

Restorative proctocolectomy with various types of reservoir is widely used in the elective surgery of ulcerative colitis and familial adenomatous polyposis. Both, advantages and disadvantages of this procedure are well known and documented. Straight ileo-anal anastomosis (IAA) yields unsatisfactory clinical results due to the lack of storage capacity of the distal ileum and the frequency of bowel movements related to high pressure ileal waves. In an attempt to create an alternative to the above procedures, we have performed a straight ileo-anal anastomosis with two rectangular (10 cm x 1 cm) myectomies down to 2 cm, above the anastomotic line. The two myectomies are spaced at 120 degrees to each other and to the mesenteric border of the ileal loop. The rationale of this approach is to reduce the peristaltic drive of the ileum by weakening the muscular wall. This study presents the results in three patients operated on with this new method in the last year.

[Proctocolectomy and mechanical ileo-anal anastomosis without mucosectomy]. / Proctocolectomia e anastomosi meccanica ileo-anale senza mucosectomia.

The present study compared the outcome in a small series of patients (7 cases) who underwent total proctocolectomy without mucosal proctectomy and stapled ileal pouch-anal anastomosis, constructed at the apex of the anal transitional zone, with our previous experience (17 cases) in which the ileal pouch was anastomosed at the dentate line after mucosectomy. Though not statistically significant, our limited experience showed excellent clinical results with better continence and discriminating ability between gas and faeces in the former group. The resting anal pressure profile showed no chances in the postoperative period. The operation time was significantly reduced compared with our previous approach which was a time-consuming procedure. Furthermore, a reduced risk of complications (pelvic sepsis, haemorrhage) was observed.

Proctocolectomy and stapled ileo-anal anastomosis without mucosal proctectomy.

The present study compared the outcome of a small series of patients (7 cases) who underwent total proctocolectomy without mucosal proctectomy and stapled ileal pouch-anal anastomosis made at the apex of the anal transitional zone, with our previous experience (17 cases) in which the ileal pouch was anastomosed at the dentate line after mucosectomy. Though not statistically significant, our limited experience showed excellent clinical results with better continence and discriminating ability of flatus from faeces in the former group. The resting anal pressure profile was not changed postoperatively. The operation time was significantly reduced compared with our previous approach which was a time-consuming procedure. There was an indication that risk of complications (pelvic sepsis and haemorrhage) was less.