Bowel obstruction in pregnancy.

Intestinal obstruction during pregnancy and in the puerperium is an uncommon complication, although cases are probably underreported. Fortunately, the mortality rate has improved over the decades. Overall, it was greater than 60% in 1900. By the 1930s, maternal mortality had dropped to 21% and fetal mortality decreased to 50%. Modern rates of maternal mortality have shown continued improvement, with Goldthorp reporting an incidence of 12% in 1966. Over the last 30 years the maternal mortality rate has decreased to approximately 6%, as noted in various series published in the English literature. Fetal mortality rates, however, have remained significantly high. They have remained constant at between 20% and 26%. Furthermore, only one third of patients with prenatal bowel obstruction complete term pregnancies after operative resolution of their obstruction. These findings emphasize the importance of remembering that two patients are at risk when intestinal obstruction complicates pregnancy. The delay from presentation to admission and from admission to definitive management continues to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. A high index of suspicion is mandated in this patient population, especially in those women presenting with a history of previous abdominal or pelvic surgery. The high incidence of necrotic bowel found in this subset of patients demonstrates the need for aggressive surgical intervention. Only through diligent and urgent intervention can the morbidity and mortality be decreased. The diagnosis and treatment of a pregnant patient suspected of having a bowel obstruction should be no different from those given to a nonpregnant one.

The consequences of current constraints on surgical treatment of appendicitis.

In this study, we sought to identify changes in the picture of a selected surgical condition during an interval of time that has brought about radical departures from previously established policies and programs. As a direct consequence, the patients take a more circuitous route to the surgeon. A significant number of patients with acute appendicitis in 1986 (37 percent) and 1987 (29 percent) suffered a prolonged delay in hospitalization or surgical referral compared with patients in 1980. This delay was accompanied by a more advanced stage of disease that ultimately caused a markedly increased morbidity (13 percent in 1986 and 24 percent in 1987, compared with 5 percent in 1980) and subsequent extended length of stay. This deterioration in patient care and failure at cost containment had previously been examined for conditions that can be operated electively. This study documents that the constraints also affect the treatment of patients whose initial condition requires urgent operative treatment. With specific relation to patients with acute appendicitis, surgeons recognize the value of the negative appendectomy. It appears the so-called gatekeepers must find a way to accept a certain negative hospitalization to referral rate. If current constraints will not allow this, the policies and programs behind the constraints should be changed.

Management of solitary nonparasitic liver cyst.

Solitary nonparasitic liver cysts are clinically rare and mostly nonsymptomatic. Occasionally, cases present with symptoms mainly because of the presence of a large cyst. In this report, the clinical features, diagnostic modalities, and current management of such cysts are described.

Gastrointestinal lipomas.

We reviewed 15 years of experience with gastrointestinal (GI) lipomas at our institution. A series of eight patients was included, six of whom had lipomas in the colon and two, in the stomach. All eight patients were symptomatic. The diagnosis was not made preoperatively in seven cases, which accounted for surgical intervention in these patients. Colonoscopy was helpful in the diagnosis and treatment of the eighth patient. Advances in the diagnosis and treatment of GI lipomas include the use of computed tomographic scanning and colonoscopy.

Quantitative gallbladder imaging following cholecystokinin.

Quantitative gallbladder imaging with Tc-99m paraisopropylimidodiacetic acid (PIPIDA) was performed and time-activity curves over the gallbladder were obtained following i.v. injection of cholecystokinin (CCK). The gallbladders that failed to contract after CCK were found to be abnormal at surgery. This test appears to be helpful in evaluating patients who have normal oral cholecystograms but have persistent symptoms of gallbladder disease.

The use of photoplethysmography in the assessment of venous insufficiency: a comparison to venous pressure measurements.

In an attempt to develop a noninvasive test to assess objectively the magnitude of venous valvular dysfunction in pathologic states, photoplethysmography (PPG) was compared to venous pressure in the saphenous vein at the ankle. Simultaneous venous pressure and PPG recordings were taken before, during, and after exercise with subjects in the sitting position. In a total of 338 paired measurements in 24 normal, 25 postphlebitic, and 14 varicose limbs, PPG and venous pressure tracings appeared to be identical; data points had a correlation coefficient of great significance (r = 0.898). Postexercise recovery times clearly separated the normal from the postphlebitic limbs. Varicose limbs were assessed accurately regarding results of proposed surgery using an above-knee tourniquet. It appears that the PPG evaluation provides information comparable to venous pressure studies and does so more quickly and noninvasively. The test holds promise in measuring results of direct venous reconstructive surgery as well as in venectomy procedures.

Experience with lobular carcinoma of the breast. Emphasis on recent aspects of management.

A total of 105 patients with lobular carcinoma of the breast were seen at two hospitals between 1966 and 1978. Mammography was found to be of limited value in the preoperative assessment of these patients. As reported by others, there was a high incidence of bilateral lobular neoplasia. In the patients with lobular carcinoma in situ for whom follow-up data were available, all were alive and well. In contrast to this, infiltrating lobular carcinoma was found to be as malignant a lesion as any other infiltrating breast cancer regardless of the operative procedure performed. These latter tumors were found to bind substantial levels of estrogen receptor proteins. From the information gained, it is suggested that early hormonal manipulation and/or chemotherapy may be advantageous in the patient with recurrent infiltrating lobular carcinoma in particular.

Operative choledochoscopy. Results of a prospective study in several institutions.

A prospective study from six surgical units utilizing choledochoscopy in conjunction with primary choledocholithotomyand cholangiography resulted in an incidence of less than 2 per cent unsuspected residual biliary calculi. Total reliance on choledochoscopy without associated operative cholangiography is not justified and fraught with error. When there are no calculi in the common duct, the choledochoscope allows the surgeon to shorten exploration time with confidence that the postexploratory cholangiogram will confirm his negative findings. The choledoschoscope is of additional value in the extraction of calculi. Certain considerations in the management of biliary tract tumors also can be helped by the addition of choledochoscopy. The simultaneous presence of calculous disease and biliary tract neoplasm can coexist can be brought to light by the use of the choledochoscope. The incorporation of choledochoscopy, using a rigid Berci-Shore choledochoscope, as part of routine common duct exploration, appears to be warranted.