[POEMS-syndrome: diagnostic difficulties].

POEMS syndrome is a rare paraneoplastic syndrome whose name is an acronym formed from the initial letters of the names of the symptoms originally used to determine it: polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal protein and skin changes. Due to the rarity of the disease and the small number of cases described in the literature, its diagnosis is difficult. The average time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis is 18 months. Moreover, the prognosis of the disease depends on the early onset of specific treatment. The article describes a clinical case of POEMS-syndrome in a 53-year-old man, which illustrates the difficulties associated with the timely recognition of this unusual disease.

[Laparoscopic cystoprostatvesiculeectomy with orthotopic excentric ileal bladder substitution].

There are numerous options for forming an orthotopic bladder by the source tissue and the shape of the urinary reservoir. In our practice, we use the technique reported by Karolinska Institute (Sweden). This technique allows us to form a neobladder most resembling the natural urinary bladder in the shape and volume. The article presents a clinical observation describing this technique in a 63 year old patient who was initially diagnosed with bladder cancer pT2N0M0G3 and underwent transurethral resection of the bladder wall with the tumor. Thereafter, the patient underwent laparoscopic cystoprostatvesicleectomy with extended pelvic lymph node dissection and orthotopic ileal bladder substitution. His upper urinary tract on both sides was drained by ureteral stents with external diversion. The eccentric suturing technique makes it possible to form an oval-shaped urinary reservoir that is anatomically and functionally most comparable to a healthy man's bladder.

[Duodenogastric reflux and gastric pathology in the elderly patients].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of duodenogastric reflux (DGR), and to assess the changes in the gastric mucosa in the presence of bile reflux. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our study includes the results of 1371 gastroduodenoscopies carried out in 2008, for patients between 65 and 92 years old, the study includes both kind of patients who were admitted to hospital and those who were investigated on an outpatient basis. The main group includes 695 patients with various level of DGR severity, and the control group consists of 676 patients without DGR. RESULTS: DGR was diagnosed in 14.8% more in women. In case of the presence of DGR we have found changes in the antrum mucosa as congestion, and minor erosion, hyperplasia, metaplasia of gastric and esophageal mucosa, and stomach polyps. And we have not noticed such changes when DGR was absent. We have found that the high frequency of antral hyperplasia is correlated to the DGR severity. CONCLUSION: DGR is diagnosed in more than 10% of patients who undergo gastroduodenoscopy. DGR is an indicator of conditions often associated with various morphological changes in gastric mucosa; therefore this finding has to be taken in consideration in the further investigations and management of such patients.