Laparoscopic gastrostomy.

Laparoscopic gastrostomy was performed successfully on six consecutive patients after the procedure was developed using a porcine model. These patients were unable to undergo percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomies because of obstruction from cancer or anatomical blockage. Operative time averaged less than 18 min. Three patients underwent the procedure under local anesthesia with intravenous sedation, and two patients were operated on in a strictly outpatient setting. No complications or deaths occurred. Laparoscopic gastrostomy appears to be a safe alternative to open gastrostomy in patients who cannot undergo percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy.

Endoscopic Nd-YAG laser treatment of colorectal neoplasms. A four-year longitudinal study.

In order to gain a longitudinal perspective of the benefits, complications, and role of the neodymium yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd-YAG) laser in the treatment of colorectal neoplasms, we performed a review of endoscopies using the laser during a 53-month period ending in January 1989. We reviewed the records of 100 patients for details of the endoscopic procedure and demographic data. Performance status and survival were critically assessed. We performed 275 procedures on 57 men and 43 women with an average age of 76.5 years. An average of 2.75 procedures, each lasting an average of 45 minutes, were performed per patient. Half of the patients had fulgurations of rectal tumors with the common indication being bleeding. Thirteen morbid events and no deaths occurred. Ninety-six per cent of the procedures were performed with the patient under intravenous sedation. The Karnofsky performance scale applied to surviving patients revealed that 90 per cent were able to care for themselves and scored greater than 70. Average survival was 5.58 months. Our results indicate that the Nd-YAG is a safe and effective tool in the treatment of colorectal neoplasms offering palliation as well as maintenance of quality of life.

The laser: an alternative for palliative treatment of obstructing intraluminal lesions.

Twenty nine patients with carcinoma obstructing the colon, six obstructing the gastroesophageal junction, six obstructing the tracheobronchial tree, and one patient with recurrent transitional cell cancer of the bladder invading the rectum, not amenable to surgical resection, were treated by laser photocoagulation. Forty were treated with the Nd:YAG laser and two with the CO2 laser. There were 26 men and 16 women with an average age of 73.8 years. The locations of the tumors were 17 rectal, six rectosigmoid, one transverse colon, two descending colon, four ascending colon, six gastroesophageal, and six in the tracheobronchial tree. Symptoms consisted of obstruction and/or bleeding. Seventeen patients were poor surgical candidates, 25 were unresectable due to widespread disease, two had recurrence at the anastomosis, and three patients had another primary site not controlled by their previous surgical procedure. There were seven complications--three perforations, a rectovaginal fistula, two failures in therapy, and lower GI bleeding. Nineteen patients have died of their disease. Tumors were eradicated in two patients. Forty patients had remained free of referring symptoms of obstruction and bleeding.

Nd-YAG laser applications in surgical endoscopy: a single center comprehensive experience.

A retrospective review of endoscopic procedures using the Nd-YAG laser was carried out for patients treated between September 1984 and November 1986. Two hundred twenty two procedures were performed on 104 patients (58M:46W) during this 26 month period. The study encompasses a unique period of time in this center, as it includes the initial use of the endoscopic laser technique, the learning curves associated with its application, and finally, the time when its use became routine. Treatment of tumors was the indication in 47 per cent of the cases. Gastrointestinal bleeding of benign cause was the indication in nearly half of the patients; arteriovenous malformations were the most common causes of bleeding. Laser photocoagulation of hemorrhoids was performed in 11 cases. Upper endoscopy was the route in 33 per cent of procedures. Anoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy, and colonoscopy were the routes in the remainder. The time spent on the procedure and the energy delivered were found to be variables of the type of lesion and the endoscopic route. Nd-YAG laser endoscopy can be used safely and effectively for a variety of bleeding and obstructive gastrointestinal conditions. Appropriate certification for granting of privileges to laser endoscopists is of utmost importance.

Partial gastric resection by surgical stapler.

This technique of gastric resection is easily applied and is useful for benign lesions or complicated lesions in poor risk patients. For lesions of the fundus, it may obviate an esophagogastric anastomosis. To our knowledge, the procedure has not been described in gastric resection.

Gastric cancer in the elderly.

The surgical treatment of gastric cancer in the elderly (over 65 years of age) was retrospectively studied in the department of surgery, at the Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, Florida. The authors found 22 patients who were operated on for gastric cancer between 1979 and 1982. Ages ranged from 69 to 90 years of age. The male-to-female ratio was 1:1. Twenty of 22 patients were found to have carcinoma. Eleven of 20 had regional spread to the perigastric nodes, transverse colon, omentum, spleen, and liver. Stage of disease was: stage I--four patients, stage II--five patients, stage III--eight patients, and stage IV--three patients. Two of 22 patients had lymphoma. The mean hospital stay was 17.1 days, but decreased to 12.4 days if no complications occurred. Postoperative complications were minimal and included pneumonia, urinary tract infection, wound infection, and dumping syndrome. There were two postoperative deaths (9%) due to sepsis and myocardial infarction, respectively. Six of the remaining 18 patients died within 1 year. Seven of 18 were alive after 2 years, and six patients survived greater than 36 months (33%). Of the six long-term survivors, two had stage III and one had stage IV disease at the initial exploration. The average survival was 23.5 months. The authors conclude that gastric resection should not be withheld in the elderly. The elderly have the same morbidity and mortality from surgery for gastric cancer as patients under age 65.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Is an anesthesiologist's presence justified during therapeutic laser endoscopy?

Diagnostic endoscopy has generally been done under intravenous sedation. Diazepam and meperidine are the two most frequent drugs used. Even though these drugs produce sedation, analgesia, and amnesia, they do not provide a quiet field. Therapeutic laser endoscopy requires a quiet field. We conclude that an anesthesiologist is needed at the head of the table. Despite the increased cost of the procedure, the anesthesiologist is able to tailor the anesthesia to fit the needs of both the patient and the endoscopist.

Laser smoke effect on the bronchial system.

The photoresection of endobronchial tumors produces smoke which is partly inhaled by the patient as well as the surgical staff. In an animal study we investigated whether a single exposure or repetitive exposures to smoke might have harmful side effects on the airways. Eleven sheep were exposed to smoke produced by laser-vaporizing (6,500 J) sections of bronchial tissue (1 cm3) in a Plexiglas chamber. The smoke analysis revealed 0.92 mg/liter particles with a mean particle size of 0.54 micron. Carbon monoxide content was estimated as 0.04%. We measured the effects of one or three separate ten-minute exposures on airway resistance, gas exchange, and mucociliary clearance rate in the trachea. We found that the smoke inhalation resulted in a decrease of arterial PO2 with relatively little change in airway mechanics. Tracheal mucus velocity, a marker of lung mucociliary clearance, was significantly depressed in a dose-dependent manner with increasing smoke exposures. Results of bronchoalveolar lavages performed before and one day after the exposure showed that the smoke inhalation induced a severe inflammation with dramatic increases of inflammatory cells. The total number of cells per milliliter lavage return increased from 3.2 million to 25 million; percent neutrophils increased from 2.3 to 45.6% and percent macrophages decreased from 86 to 41%. These findings indicate that the side effects of smoke inhalation during intrabronchial laser surgery should not be neglected. The impairment of the defense mechanism of the lung combined with the inflammation as well as hypoxia might be fatal in compromised patients. Effective smoke removal devices should be developed to protect the patient as well as the surgeon.

Neodymium-YAG laser. A new palliative tool in the treatment of colorectal cancer.

Twenty-four patients with colorectal carcinoma and one patient with a recurrent, transitional-cell, vesical tumor invading the rectum but not amenable to surgical resection underwent neodymium-YAG laser therapy. There were 16 men and nine women with an average age of 75.6 years (range, 35 to 93 years). There were 14, 6, 1, 1, and 3 tumors found in the rectum, rectosigmoid colon, transverse colon, descending colon, and ascending colon, respectively. Symptoms consisted of bleeding or partial obstruction. Twelve patients were high-risk surgical candidates, 11 patients had widespread disease, and two patients had another primary tumor not controlled by a previous surgical procedure. The tumor was eradicated in two patients. There were two complications, namely, a perforation and a rectovaginal fistula. Thirteen patients died from their disease. The remaining patients have been kept free from obstruction and bleeding.

Human pancreatic carcinoma (MIA PaCa-2) in continuous culture: sensitivity to asparaginase.

An undifferentiated human pancreatic carcinoma has been established in continuous culture and is grown in Dulbecco's modified. Eagle's medium fortified with 10% fetal calf serum and 2.5% horse serum. The established cell line (MIA PaCa-2) has a doubling time of 40 h. The cells are large with abundant cytoplasm, exhibit a high degree of aneuploidy and have a tendency to grow on top of other cells. MIA PaCa-2 grows in soft agar with a colony-forming efficiency of 19%. Both MIA PaCa-2 cells and a cell line from another pancreatic carcinoma obtained from National Cancer Institute (NCI) are sensitive to asparaginase, a property not shared by several other human tumor cell lines tested.