Should nurses be allowed to perform the pre-operative surgical site marking instead of surgeons? A prospective feasibility study at a Swiss primary care teaching hospital.

BACKGROUND: Surgical site marking is one important cornerstone for the principles of safe surgery suggested by the WHO. Generally it is recommended that the attending surgeon performs the surgical site marking. Particularly in the case of same day surgery, this recommendation is almost not feasible. Therefore we systematically monitored, whether surgical site marking can be performed by trained nursing staff. The aim of the study was to find out whether surgical site marking can be carried out reliably and correctly by nurses. METHODS: The prospective non-controlled interventional study took place in a single primary care hospital of Uster in Switzerland. During a pilot phase of 3 months (starting October 2012) the nursing staff of a single ward was trained and applied the surgical site marking on behalf of the responsible surgeon. After this initial phase the new concept was introduced in the entire surgical department. 12 months after the introduction of the new concept an interim evaluation was performed asking whether the new process facilitates daily routine and surgical site marking was performed correctly. 22 months after the introduction a prospective data collection monitored for one month whether the nursing staff carried out surgical site marking independently and correctly. Data were collected by a patient-accompanying checklist that was completed by the nursing staff, the staff in the operating room and the responsible surgeons. RESULTS: The stepwise implementation of the new concept of surgical site marking was well accepted by the entire staff. 150 patient-accompanying checklists were analyzed. 22 data sheets were excluded from the analysis. 90% (n = 115/128) of the surgical site markings were correctly performed. For the remaining 10% either a surgical site marking was not necessary or the nursing staff asked a surgeon to mark the correct surgical site. During the whole study time of almost 3 years, no wrong-site surgery occurred. CONCLUSION: Surgical site marking can be performed by trained nurses. However, the attending surgeon remains fully responsible of the correct operation on the correct patient.

Prospective multicenter registration study of colorectal cancer: significant variations in radicality and oncosurgical quality-Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research Protocol SAKK 40/00.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate in a multicenter cohort study the radicality of colorectal cancer resections, to assess the oncosurgical quality of colorectal specimens, and to compare the performance between centers. METHODS: One German and nine Swiss hospitals agreed to prospectively register all patients with primary colorectal cancer resected between September 2001 and June 2005. The median number of eligible patients with one primary tumor included per center was 95 (range 12-204). RESULTS: The following variations of median values or percentages between centers were found: length of bowel specimen 20-39 cm (25.8 cm), maximum height of mesocolon 6.5-12.5 cm (9.0 cm), number of examined lymph nodes 9-24 (16), distance to nearer bowel resection margin in colon cancer 4.8-12 cm (7 cm), and in rectal cancer 2-3 cm (2.5 cm), central ligation of major artery 40-97 % (71 %), blood loss 200-500 ml (300 ml), need for perioperative blood transfusion 5-40 % (19 %), tumor opened during mobilization 0-11 % (5 %), T4-tumors not en-bloc resected 0-33 % (4 %), inadvertent perforation of mesocolon/mesorectum 0-8 % (4 %), no-touch isolation technique 36-86 % (67 %), abdominoperineal resection for rectal cancer 0-30 % (17 %), rectal cancer specimen with circumferential margin ≤1 mm 0-19 % (10 %), in-hospital mortality 0-6 % (2 %), anastomotic leak or intra-abdominal abscess 0-17 % (7 %), re-operation 0-17 % (8 %). CONCLUSION: In colorectal cancer, surgery considerable variations between different centers were found with regard to radicality and oncosurgical quality, suggesting a potential for targeted improvement of surgical technique.

A Life-Threatening Mediastinal Hematoma After Central Venous Port System Implantation.

BACKGROUND: We report a case of surgical central venous port system implantation using Seldinger's technique with a life-threatening mediastinal hematoma due to the perforation of the superior vena cava. CASE REPORT: A 68-year-old woman was admitted to our institution for port implantation. Open access to the cephalic vein and 2 punctures of the right subclavian vein were unsuccessful. Finally, the port catheter could be placed into the superior vena cava using Seldinger's technique. As blood aspiration via the port catheter was not possible, fluoroscopy was performed, revealing mediastinal contrast extravasation without contrasting the venous system. A new port system could be placed in the correct position without difficulties. After extubation, the patient presented with severe respiratory distress and required consecutive cardiopulmonary resuscitation and reintubation. The CT scan showed a significant hematoma in the lower neck and posterior mediastinum with tracheal compression. We assumed a perforation of the superior vena cava with the tip of the guidewire using Seldinger's technique. Long-term intensive treatment with prolonged ventilation and tracheotomy was necessary. The port system had to be subsequently explanted due to infection. CONCLUSIONS: Mediastinal hematoma is a rare but life-threatening complication associated with central venous catheterization using Seldinger's technique. Perforation occurs most often during central venous catheterization in critical care. Mediastinal hematoma is an example of a mechanical complication occurring after central venous catheterization, which has been described only a few times in the literature to date. This case highlights the importance of awareness of possible, rare, life-threatening complications during port implantation, mostly performed in multimorbid patients by surgeons in training.

Atypical Case of a Painful Presacral Tumor.

BACKGROUND: Retention of surgical items after a surgical procedure is not only a medical error, but can also lead to various unexpected complications and additional surgery procedures even years after the initial operation. CASE REPORT: A 59-year old woman was referred to our hospital with intermittent pain in the lesser pelvis for about three months. She had undergone laparotomy for cholecystectomy 24 years ago and adnexectomy more than 30 years ago. CT-scan and MRI indicated a presacral tumor, most likely compatible with a presacral teratoma. A laparoscopic resection of the tumor was performed. Intraoperatively the tumor showed no clear capsule and could only be resected by fragments. The pathological report analyzed textile fibres, diagnosing a textiloma. The patient showed an uneventful postoperative follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Most likely, the textile fibres originated from a sponge, which was retained during adnexectomy 33 years ago. There are numerous reports of retained surgical items discovered years after the initial operation. In literature, there are several reported cases of transmural migration of a sponge into the intestine, stomach and bladder. In our case, the sponge must have migrated to the deepest point of the retroperitoneum, which appears to be quite unusual, as no comparable case reports could be found. This case stresses the importance of the surgeon's awareness to particular appearances of a retained surgical sponge from a surgical procedure performed even decades ago. Additionally, this case report stresses the importance of meticulous analysis of individual patient medical history.

Gastrointestinal quality of life after laparoscopic-assisted sigmoidectomy for diverticular disease.

PURPOSE: Laparoscopic-assisted sigmoidectomy is a widely applied technique in the operative treatment of diverticular disease. Treatment guidelines recommend operation of complicated diverticulitis and after recurrent attacks of uncomplicated diverticulitis. These guidelines have become subject to controversy. The objective of this study was to assess disease-related quality of life after laparoscopic sigmoidectomy. METHODS: Data were collected retrospectively. Patients filled in a form describing their quality of life. All patients undergoing elective operation for diverticular disease between 1999 and 2006 at the Department of Surgery of the Uster Hospital, a regional medical center in Switzerland were included. The measurement tool we used is the Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI). Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test or unpaired t-tests were applied to determine statistical significance of differences observed. RESULTS: A total of 130 patients were included and 120 questionnaires were available for analysis. Mean follow-up was 40 months. Of the total, 48% reported a GIQLI >100 before the operation, which rose to 83% after the operation (p < 0.0001). Mean GIQLI was 95 before and 114 after the operation (p < 0.0001). Female patients reported lower GIQLI rates. Overall, 96% were satisfied with the operation. CONCLUSIONS: The results in this study population show that in a majority of patients who underwent elective laparoscopic-assisted sigmoidectomy for recurrent diverticulitis gastrointestinal quality of life improved with the operation.

Synchronous bilateral ductal carcinoma in situ of the male breast associated with gynecomastia in a 30-year-old patient following repeated injections of stanozolol.

We report a rare case of synchronous bilateral and multifocal ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in a 30-year-old patient operated on for gynecomastia following repeated injections of stanozolol, a non-aromatizable androgen. The familial medical history was negative for breast cancer and work-up of serum hormone levels was normal. The patient underwent a modified radical mastectomy without axilla dissection 6 weeks following the primary procedure and recovered uneventfully. The role of synthetic androgens in the development of male breast neoplasia warrants further scrutiny.

Intussusception as a cause of bowel obstruction in adults.

BACKGROUND: Due to its unspecific presentation, intussusception is often diagnosed with delay in adults. METHODS: From 1986 to 2002, ten patients (men/women: 8/2, median age: 53.6 years) were managed for intussusception. Clinical, radiological and surgical management data were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: All patients presented with abdominal symptoms (pain: 10/10, nausea and vomiting: 3/10, diarrhoea: 2/10, "red-currant jelly stool": 2/10) during a median time of 8.3 months (2 days - 6 years) and with a trend for longer duration of symptoms for benign compared to malignant underlying disease (2 years vs 1 month). Two cases had developed acute bowel obstruction at the time of surgery. CT-scan was always performed, with correct diagnosis in seven cases. Ultrasonography (4/10), contrast enema (5/10) or coloscopy (4/10) either missed the intussusception or served merely to confirm the CT diagnosis. At surgery, an underlying lesion (six malignant and four benign tumours) was identified and removed in all cases (four small bowel, three right colon, two ileocaecal and one left colon resections). Eight were undiagnosed previously. CONCLUSIONS: Intussusception is rare in adults, but should be considered in cases of chronic or acute bowel obstructions. Early surgical management allows detection and potential cure of underlying tumours.