Outcomes Following Pelvic Exenteration for Locally Recurrent Rectal Cancer With and Without En Bloc Sacrectomy.

BACKGROUND: Extended radical resection is often the only chance of cure for locally recurrent rectal cancer. Recurrence in the posterior compartment often necessitates en bloc sacrectomy as part of pelvic exenteration to obtain clear resection margins and provide survival benefit. OBJECTIVE: To compare oncological outcomes, morbidity, and quality-of-life outcomes following pelvic exenteration with and without en bloc sacrectomy for recurrent rectal cancer. DESIGN: Comparative cohort study with retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. SETTING: This study was conducted at a high-volume pelvic exenteration center. PATIENTS: Patients who underwent pelvic exenteration for locally recurrent rectal cancer between 1994 and 2022. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Overall survival, postoperative morbidity, R0 resection margin, and quality-of-life outcomes. RESULTS: Of 965 patients, 305 (31.6%) underwent pelvic exenteration for locally recurrent rectal cancer. Among these patients, 64.3% were men and the median age was 62 years (range, 29-86). One hundred eighty-five patients (60.7%) underwent en bloc sacrectomy, 65 (35.1%) underwent high transection, and 119 (64.3%) had sacrectomy below S2. R0 resection was achieved in 80% of patients with sacrectomy and 72.5% of patients without sacrectomy. Sacrectomy patients experienced more postoperative complications without increased mortality. The median overall survival was 52 months; median survival was 47 months with sacrectomy and 73 months without ( p = 0.059). Quality-of-life scores were not significantly different across physical component ( p = 0.346), mental component ( p = 0.787), or Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Colorectal ( p = 0.679) scores at 24-month follow-up. LIMITATIONS: The generalizability of these findings may be limited outside of subspecialist exenteration units. Selection bias exists in a retrospective analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Patients undergoing pelvic exenteration with and without en bloc sacrectomy for locally recurrent rectal cancer experience similar rates of R0 resection, survival, and quality-of-life outcomes. As R0 remains the most important predictor of survival, the requirement of sacral resection should prompt referral to a subspecialist center that performs sacrectomy routinely. See Video Abstract . RESULTADOS DESPUS DE LA EXENTERACIN PLVICA PARA EL CNCER DE RECTO CON RECURRENCIA LOCAL, CON Y SIN SACRECTOMA EN BLOQUE: ANTECEDENTES:La resección radical ampliada es generalmente la única posibilidad de curación para el cáncer de recto con recurrencia local. La recurrencia en el compartimento posterior generalmente requiere sacrectomía en bloque como parte de la exenteración pélvica para obtener márgenes de resección claros y proporcionar un beneficio de supervivencia.OBJETIVO:Comparar los resultados oncológicos, de morbilidad y de calidad de vida después de la exenteración pélvica con y sin sacrectomía en bloque para el cáncer de recto recurrente.DISEÑO:Estudio de cohorte comparativo con análisis retrospectivo de datos recopilados prospectivamente.AMBIENTE AJUSTE:Estudio realizado en un centro de exenteración pélvica de alto volumen.PACIENTES:Aquellos sometidos a exenteración pélvica por cáncer de recto con recurrencia local entre 1994 y 2022.PRINCIPALES MEDIDAS DE RESULTADO:Supervivencia general, morbilidad posoperatoria, margen de resección R0 y resultados de calidad de vida.RESULTADOS:305 (31,6%) de 965 pacientes se sometieron a exenteración pélvica por cáncer de recto con recurrencia local. El 64,3% de los pacientes eran hombres con una mediana de edad de 62 años (rango 29-86). 185 pacientes (60,7%) fueron sometidos a sacrectomía en bloque, 65 (35,1%) fueron sometidos a transección alta, 119 (64,3%) tuvieron sacrectomía por debajo de S2. La resección R0 se logró en el 80% de los pacientes con sacrectomía y en el 72,5% sin ella. Los pacientes de sacrectomía experimentaron más complicaciones postoperatorias sin aumento de la mortalidad. La mediana de supervivencia global fue de 52 meses, 47 meses con sacrectomía y 73 meses sin sacrectomía ( p = 0,059). Las puntuaciones de calidad de vida no fueron significativamente diferentes entre las puntuaciones del componente físico ( p = 0,346), componente mental ( p = 0,787) o la evaluación funcional de la terapia contra el cáncer - colorrectal ( p = 0,679) a los 24 meses de seguimiento.LIMITACIONES:La generalización de estos hallazgos puede estar limitada fuera de las unidades de exenteración de subespecialistas. Existe un sesgo de selección en un análisis retrospectivo.CONCLUSIONES:Los pacientes sometidos a exenteración pélvica con y sin sacrectomía en bloque por cáncer de recto con recurrencia local experimentan tasas similares de resección R0, supervivencia y resultados de calidad de vida. Como R0 sigue siendo el predictor más importante de supervivencia, la necesidad de resección sacra debe provocar la derivación a un centro subespecialista que realice sacrectomía de forma rutinaria. (Traducción-Dr. Fidel Ruiz Healy ).

Comparison of urological outcomes and quality of life after pelvic exenteration: partial vs radical cystectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To compare perioperative morbidity, functional and quality-of-life (QoL) outcomes in patients with partial cystectomy vs radical cystectomy as part of pelvic exenteration. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective analysis of a prospectively maintained database of pelvic exenteration patients (1998-2021) was conducted in a single centre. Study outcomes included postoperative complications, quality-of-life, functional and stoma-related outcomes. The 36-item Short-Form Health Survey Physical and Mental Health Components, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Colorectal questionnaires and Distress Thermometer were available pre- and postoperatively. QoL outcomes were compared at the various time points. Stoma embarrassment and care scores were compared between patients with a colostomy, urostomy, and both. RESULTS: Urological complications were similar between both groups, but patients with partial cystectomy experienced less wound-related complications. Overall, 34/81 (42%) partial cystectomy patients reported one or more long-term voiding complication (i.e., incontinence [17 patients], frequency [six], retention [three], high post-voiding residuals [10], permanent suprapubic catheter/indwelling catheter [14], recurrent urinary tract infection [nine], percutaneous nephrostomy [three], progression to urostomy [three]). The QoL improved following surgery in both the partial and radical cystectomy groups, differences between cohorts were not significant. Patients with two stomas reported higher embarrassment scores than patients with one stoma, although this did not result in more difficulties in stoma care. CONCLUSIONS: Partial cystectomy patients have fewer postoperative wound-related complications than radical cystectomy patients, but often experience long-term voiding issues. The QoL outcomes are similar for both cohorts, with significant improvement following surgery.

Improving Surgical Outcomes in Pelvic Exenteration Surgery: Comparison of Prone Sacrectomy With Anterior Cortical Sacrectomy Techniques.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of changing our sacrectomy approach from prone to anterior on surgical and oncological outcomes. BACKGROUND: In patients with advanced pelvic malignancy involving the sacrum, pelvic exenteration (PE) with en-bloc sacrectomy is the only potential curative option but morbidity is high. Over time sacrectomy techniques have evolved from prone sacrectomy (PS) to abdominolithotomy sacrectomy (ALS, ≤S3) and high anterior cortical sacrectomy (HACS, >S3) to optimize surgical outcomes. METHODS: A retrospective, single institution analysis of prospectively collected data for patients undergoing PE with en-bloc sacrectomy between 1994 and 2021 was performed. RESULTS: A total of 363 patients were identified and divided into PS (n=77, 21.2%), ALS (n=247, 68.0%), and HACS (n=39, 10.7%). Indications were: locally advanced (n=92) or recurrent (n=177) rectal cancer, primary other (n=31), recurrent other (n=60), and benign disease (n=3). PS resulted in longer operating time ( P <0.01) and more blood loss ( P <0.01). Patients with HACS had more major nerve (87.2%) and vascular (25.6%) resections ( P <0.01). Vertical rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap repair was less common following HACS (7.7%) than ALS (25.5%) and PS (27.3%) ( P =0.040). R0 rate was 80.8%, 65.8%, and 76.9% following ALS, PS, and HACS, respectively ( P =0.024). Wound-related complications and re-operations were significantly reduced following ALS and HACS compared with PS. CONCLUSIONS: Changing our practice from PS to an anterior approach with ALS or HAS has been safe and improved overall surgical and perioperative outcomes, while maintaining good oncological outcomes. Given the improved perioperative and surgical outcomes, it would be important for surgeons to learn and adopt the anterior sacrectomy approaches.

Bladder preservation or complete cystectomy during pelvic exenteration of patients with locally advanced or recurrent rectal cancer, what should we do?

INTRODUCTION: In patients with locally advanced (LARC) or locally recurrent (LRRC) rectal cancer and bladder involvement, pelvic exenteration (PE) with partial (PC) or radical (RC) cystectomy can potentially offer a cure. The study aim was to compare PC and RC in PE patients in terms of oncological outcome, post-operative complications and quality-of-life (QoL). MATERIALS & METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort analysis of a prospectively maintained surgical database. Patients who underwent PE for LARC or LRRC cancer with bladder involvement between 1998 and 2021 were included. Post-operative complications and overall survival were compared between patients with PC and RC. RESULTS: 60 PC patients and 269 RC patients were included. Overall R0 resection was 84.3%. Patients with LRRC and PC had poorest oncological outcome with 69% R0 resection; patients with LARC and PC demonstrated highest R0 rate of 96.3% (P = 0.008). Overall, 1-, 3- and 5-year OS was 90.8%, 68.1% and 58.6% after PC, and 88.7%, 62.2% and 49.5% after RC. Rates of urinary sepsis or urological leaks did not differ between groups, however, RC patients experienced significantly higher rates of perineal wound- and flap-related complications (39.8% vs 25.0%, P = 0.032). CONCLUSION: PC as part of PE can be performed safely with good oncological outcome in patients with LARC. In patients with LRRC, PC results in poor oncological outcome and a more aggressive surgical approach with RC seems justified. The main benefit of PC is a reduction in wound related complications compared to RC, although more urological re-interventions are observed in this group.

Peristomal Necrosis Following Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND: Peristomal necrosis is a rare but challenging condition requiring multidisciplinary management involving surgical debridement and intensive WOC nurse management. CASE: Mr T was a 56-year-old man who underwent cytoreductive surgery with intraperitoneal chemotherapy for a high-grade appendiceal neoplasm. As part of the procedure, an Abcarian stoma (end-ileostomy with a distal lumen from the transverse colon brought out flush with skin beside the proximal stoma) was created. Postoperatively there was leakage of effluent under the subcutaneous skin resulting in full-thickness necrosis of the peristomal area requiring surgical debridement. Consequently, a large peristomal skin defect occurred, resulting in difficulty achieving a good seal of the ostomy pouching system. To overcome these challenges, a multidisciplinary approach with WOC nurses, colorectal surgeons, and plastic surgeons was implemented. Initially, the defect was managed with a negative pressure wound therapy system, followed by a primary closure of the peristomal skin by the plastic surgeons. Mr T was discharged to home 58 days after his initial surgery; by that time, the peristomal skin was healed and he was able to manage ostomy pouching changes independently. Eight months later his ileostomy was successfully reversed. CONCLUSIONS: Large peristomal defects are challenging but can be managed successfully via a multidisciplinary approach including WOC nurses, colorectal surgeons, and plastic surgeons.

Understanding the Philosophy, Anatomy, and Surgery of the Extra-TME Plane of Locally Advanced and Locally Recurrent Rectal Cancer; Single Institution Experience with International Benchmarking.

Pelvic exenteration surgery has become a widely accepted procedure for treatment of locally advanced (LARC) and locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC). However, there is still unwarranted variation in peri-operative management and subsequently oncological outcome after this procedure. In this article we will elaborate on the various reasons for the observed differences based on benchmarking results of our own data to the data from the PelvEx collaborative as well as findings from 2 other benchmarking studies. Our main observation was a significant difference in extent of resection between exenteration units, with our unit performing more complete soft tissue exenterations, sacrectomies and extended lateral compartment resections than most other units, resulting in a higher R0 rate and longer overall survival. Secondly, current literature shows there is a tendency to use more neoadjuvant treatment such as re-irradiation and total neoadjuvant treatment and perform less radical surgery. However, peri-operative chemotherapy or radiotherapy should not be a substitute for adequate radical surgery and an R0 resection remains the gold standard. Finally, we describe our experiences with standardizing our surgical approaches to the various compartments and the achieved oncological and functional outcomes.

Factors Associated With Wound- and Implant-Related Complications After Surgical Treatment of Ankle Fractures.

We have described the epidemiology of complications after surgical treatment of ankle fractures and assessed which factors are associated with the most frequent complications. We conducted a retrospective cohort study at 2 level 2 and 1 level 1 trauma center in a single trauma region in the Netherlands. The study variables were collected from the electronic medical patient records; all ankle fractures were classified using the Lauge-Hansen classification, and the complications were recorded. A total of 989 patients were included from 3 hospitals, with 173 complications in 156 patients (15.8%). The most frequent complication was wound related, occurring in 101 patients (10.2%). Implant-related complications occurred in 44 patients (4.4%). Other complications, such as cast pressure spots, posttraumatic dystrophy, nonunion, impingement, and pneumonia occurred in 28 patients (2.8%). The 2 most important complications were further analyzed for risk factors. Multivariate analysis showed the risk factors for wound-related complications were advanced age, increased American Society of Anesthesiologists classification, smoking, right side symptomatic, open fracture, and initial external fixation. Most implant-related complications were caused by malreduction (n = 22) or untreated syndesmotic injury (n = 19). Malreduction was associated with supination eversion fractures (p = .059), and untreated syndesmotic injury occurred more often with pronation external rotation fractures (p < .001). The most frequent complications after ankle fracture surgery were wound- and implant-related complications. Postoperative wound-related complications were multifactorial and dependent on a combination of trauma-, patient-, and treatment-related factors. In contrast, implant-related complications resulted from the interaction between the fracture type and subsequent surgical treatment.

Multipolar radiofrequency ablation for colorectal liver metastases close to major hepatic vessels.

BACKGROUND: Resection of colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) is often hindered by their location close to the major hepatic vessels. So far, radiofrequency ablation for perivascular tumours was thought to be ineffective and unsafe due to either the heat sink effect or vascular thrombosis. The aim of this study was to examine whether RFA using multipolar probes could be a safe and effective option for CRLM adjacent to major hepatic vessels. METHODS: Patients were treated with multipolar RFA during an open procedure using 3 simultaneously placed electrodes. In 52 consecutive patients with CRLM, 144 tumours were ablated with RFA. In 16 out of 52 (31%) patients, metastases were abutting major hepatic vessels. We examined whether perivascular location was a risk factor for local tumour progression. The relation between perivascular location and time to local tumour progression and recurrence free survival was assessed using cox-regression analysis. RESULTS: All patients were followed for at least 3 years after RFA unless they deceased before this time. Local tumour progression following RFA occurred in 17 out of 144 tumours (12%), of which 4 out of 21 were perivascular tumours. Tumour size was the only risk factor for local tumour progression in this study. Proximity to large vessels was neither a risk factor for local local tumour progression, nor for time to local tumour progression or recurrence free survival. DISCUSSION: This study indicates that patients with CRLM abutting any of the large hepatic vessels can be safe and effectively treated with RFA when using a multipolar system.

Liver perfusion in dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI): comparison of enhancement in Gd-BT-DO3A and Gd-EOB-DTPA in normal liver parenchyma.

PURPOSE: Within-patient comparison of the enhancement patterns of normal liver parenchyma after gadobutrol and gadoxetate disodium, with emphasis on the start of hepatocytic uptake of gadoxetate disodium. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-one patients (12 female, 9 male) without chronic liver disease underwent 1.5-T contrast-enhanced MRI twice, once with an extracellular contrast agent (gadobutrol) and once with a hepatospecific agent (gadoxetate disodium), using a T1-weighted keyhole sequence. Fifteen whole-liver datasets were acquired up to 5 min for both contrast agents and two additional datasets, up to 20 min, for gadoxetate. Signal intensities (SI) of the parenchyma, aorta and portal vein were measured and analysed relative to pre-contrast parenchymal SI. RESULTS: After gadoxetate, in 29% of the patients the parenchymal SI decreased by ≥5% after the initial vascular-phase-induced peak, while in the other 71% the parenchymal SI remained stable or gradually increased until up to 20 min after the initial peak. The hepatocytic gadoxetate uptake started at a mean of 37.8 s (SD 14.7 s) and not later than 76 s after left ventricle enhancement. CONCLUSION: Parenchymal enhancement due to hepatocytic uptake of gadoxetate can start as early as in the late arterial phase. This may confound the assessment of lesion appearance as compared to extracellular contrast such as gadobutrol. KEY POINTS: Gadoxetate-enhanced liver MRI results in early enhancement of normal parenchyma in patients The start of the hepatobiliary phase coincides with the late arterial phase. This may confound the assessment of lesion appearance compared to extracellular contrast. Different parenchymal enhancement patterns after gadoxetate were found for normal parenchyma.

Does Radiofrequency Ablation Add to Chemotherapy for Unresectable Liver Metastases?

In patients with unresectable colorectal liver metastases (CRLM), radiofrequency ablation (RFA) might be a good alternative, whenever possible. In contrast to systemic therapy, the aim of RFA is to achieve complete local tumor control in an attempt to provide long-term survival. In this article we discuss the available evidence regarding the treatment of patients with unresectable CRLM, focusing on RFA in conjunction with modern systemic therapies. We observed that the available evidence in the existing literature is limited, and often consists of level 2 and 3 evidence, thereby hampering any firm conclusions. Nonetheless, RFA seems superior to chemotherapy alone in patients with liver-only disease amenable for RFA. However, the combination of RFA and chemotherapy has been demonstrated to be feasible and safe, lending support to the concept of RFA followed by chemotherapy, in order to reduce local recurrence rates and prolong survival.

Preoperative imaging of colorectal liver metastases after neoadjuvant chemotherapy: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy treatment induces parenchymal changes that potentially affect imaging of CRLM. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to provide values of diagnostic performance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), and FDG-PET/CT for preoperative detection of colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) in patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. METHODS: A comprehensive search was performed for original articles published from inception to 2011 assessing diagnostic performance of MRI, CT, FDG-PET, or FDG-PET/CT for preoperative evaluation of CRLM following chemotherapy. Intraoperative findings and/or histology were used as reference standard. For each imaging modality we calculated pooled sensitivities for patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy as well as for chemonaive patients, defined as number of malignant lesions detected divided by number of malignant lesions as confirmed by the reference standard. RESULTS: A total of 11 papers, comprising 223 patients with 906 lesions, were included. Substantial variation in study design, patient characteristics, imaging features, and reference tests was observed. Pooled sensitivity estimates of MRI, CT, FDG-PET, and FDG-PET/CT were 85.7% (69.7-94.0%), 69.9% (65.6-73.9%), 54.5% (46.7-62.1%), and 51.7% (37.8-65.4%), respectively. In chemonaive patients, sensitivity rates were 80.5% (67.0-89.4%) for CT, 81.3% (64.1-91.4%) for FDG-PET, and 71.0% (64.3-76.9%) for FDG-PET/CT. Specificity could not be calculated because of non-reporting of "true negative lesions." CONCLUSION: In the neoadjuvant setting, MRI appears to be the most appropriate imaging modality for preoperative assessment of patients with CRLM. CT is the second-best diagnostic modality and should be used in the absence of MRI. Diagnostic accuracy of FDG-PET and PET-CT is strongly affected by chemotherapy.

Semi-automatic software increases CT measurement accuracy but not response classification of colorectal liver metastases after chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluates intra- and interobserver variability of automatic diameter and volume measurements of colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) before and after chemotherapy and its influence on response classification. METHODS: Pre-and post-chemotherapy CT-scans of 33 patients with 138 CRLM were evaluated. Two observers measured all metastases three times on pre-and post-chemotherapy CT-scans, using three different techniques: manual diameter (MD), automatic diameter (AD) and automatic volume (AV). RECIST 1.0 criteria were used to define response classification. For each technique, we assessed intra- and interobserver reliability by determining the intraclass correlation coefficient (α-level 0.05). Intra-observer agreement was estimated by the variance coefficient (%). For inter-observer agreement the relative measurement error (%) was calculated using Bland-Altman analysis. In addition, we compared agreement in response classification by calculating kappa-scores (κ) and estimating proportions of discordance between methods (%). RESULTS: Intra-observer variability was 6.05%, 4.28% and 12.72% for MD, AD and AV, respectively. Inter-observer variability was 4.23%, 2.02% and 14.86% for MD, AD and AV, respectively. Chemotherapy marginally affected these estimates. Agreement in response classification did not improve using AD or AV (MD κ=0.653, AD κ=0.548, AV κ=0.548) and substantial discordance between observers was observed with all three methods (MD 17.8%, AD 22.2%, AV 22.2%). CONCLUSION: Semi-automatic software allows repeatable and reproducible measurement of both diameter and volume measurements of CRLM, but does not reduce variability in response classification.

Incremental value of arterial and equilibrium phase compared to hepatic venous phase CT in the preoperative staging of colorectal liver metastases: an evaluation with different reference standards.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the incremental value of arterial and equilibrium phase compared to hepatic venous phase multidetector row CT (MDCT) in the preoperative staging of colorectal liver metastases (CLM) and to determine the influence of the reference standard. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-three consecutive CLM patients underwent 16 detector row CT in hepatic arterial, venous, and equilibrium phase before surgery between March 2003 and January 2007. Detected lesions were characterized by three independent radiologists. The reference standard consisted of intraoperative palpation and ultrasound of the liver, and histopathological examination of the resected specimen. Additionally, data of follow-up CT was added. Statistical analysis was performed on a per-lesion basis. RESULTS: According to the reference standard 251 lesions were present, of which 203 (81%) were malignant (mean size: 29.4 ± 22.5 mm), and 41 (16%) were benign (mean size: 8.3 ± 7.7 mm). Sensitivity rates for CLM were comparable between triphasic and hepatic venous phase CT (P>0.05). Sensitivity for the detection of CLM lowered from 60-77% to 52-68% when follow-up CT was added to the reference standard. CONCLUSION: Arterial and equilibrium phase CT have no incremental value compared to hepatic venous phase MDCT in the detection of CLM. Sensitivity rates are, however, influenced by the type of reference standard used.