Evaluation of Immediate Inflammatory Response in Thoracoscopic Esophageal Resection versus Open Approach - A Prospective Study.

Introduction: There is an immune response after major surgery and inflammatory complications following complex surgery have a direct impact on morbidity and mortality. Currently, we do not have clinical tools to predict in which subset of patients a major complication will occur. The aim of this study was to evaluate the immediate dynamics of C-reactive protein (CRP), presepsin and procalcitonin in patients in which esophagectomy was performed either through video assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) or open approach. Methods: We conducted a prospective study on 27 patients with a mean age of 61.48 +-6.80 years, 13 patients with VATS and 14 with open approach, most of the patients were on stage III esophageal cancer (81%) and in all cases neoadjuvant treatment was performed. Results: There were increased levels of CRP, presepsin and procalcitonin after both arms of the study with significantly higher values for the open approach and with the same dynamic curves. In 3 cases there were extremely elevated levels of procalcitonin in the absence of a septic complication, in all cases a major complication occurred. Conclusion: Video assisted thoracoscopic esophageal mobilization induces a less immune response, even with the association of laparotomy. An elevated postoperative procalcitonin level can be an early indicator of a major postoperative complication.

Giant androgen-producing adrenocortical carcinoma with atrial flutter: A case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), the second most aggressive malignant tumor, lacks epidemiological data worldwide; therefore, every new case can improve the understanding of the pathology and treatment of this malignancy. CASE SUMMARY: We present the case of a 66-year-old Caucasian woman with a giant androgen-producing ACC (21 cm × 17 cm × 12 cm; 2100 g), without metastases, which unusually presented with an acute onset of atrial flutter and congestive heart failure. The cardiac complications observed in our case support the hypothesis that androgen excess in women is a cardiovascular risk factor. Androgen excess in women can be a rare cause of reversible dilated cardiomyopathy, therefore a comprehensive approach to the patient is essential to improve the recognition of androgen-secreting ACC. The atrial flutter was remitted after initiation of drug treatment during admission. The severe heart failure was totally remitted at 6 mo after radical open surgery to remove the giant ACC. CONCLUSION: Radical open surgery to remove a giant androgen-producing ACC was the first-line treatment to cure the excess of androgen, which determined the total remission of cardiac complications at 6 mo after surgery in the women of this case report.

Surgical Treatment of Gastric GIST: Feasibility of Laparoscopic Resection and Postoperative Outcome.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to evaluate clinical manifestations and the possibility of laparoscopic treatment of large gastric stromal tumors. STUDY DESIGN: A case-series. Place and Duration of the Study: Ist Surgical Unit, Saint Spiridon Hospital Iasi and the Ist Oncological Surgical Unit, Regional Institute of Oncology Iasi, Romania, from May 2012 to May 2017. METHODOLOGY: Patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) who underwent surgery were selected. The clinical manifestations, type of surgical treatment, postoperative assessment of the risk factors, and follow-up for at least two years were analysed. Tumors longer than 5 cm were classified as large tumors. RESULTS: Forty-eight patients with GIST were seen, of which 25 (52.08%) had gastric tumor. Nine laparoscopic resections and 16 open interventions were performed on tumors up to 10 cm in size. The histopathological examination revealed 10 patients (40%) as class risk 3a / 3b. Complications were more frequent in open surgery, with an overall rate of 43.75% (7 patients)  vs. 33.33% (3 patients) in laparoscopic surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic surgical procedures performed in experienced centres can also be applied  to gastric tumors over 5 cm in well-selected cases without repercussions on survival. Key Words: Laparoscopy, Gastrointestinal stromal tumor, Gastric, Resection.

Management of Gastric Stromal Tumour - Multicenter Observational Study.

Background: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors are some of the most common mesenchymal tumors of the gut. The aim of this study is to asses the clinical manifestation and treatment of gastric GISTs. Methodology: We performed a retrospective 5-year multicenter study conducted on a prospective collected database, which includes all the patients diagnosed with GIST in which surgery was performed. We selected all the pateients with gastric GISTs and we analyzed the clinical manifestation, treatment and prognostic factors. Results: There were 42 patients with GISTs of which the gastric GISTs were encountered in 23 cases (54.76%). There were 7 laparoscopic resections and 16 open surgery resections. Pathological examination showed that many of the patients were in group 6a and 6b (30.43%). CD117 was positive in 91.3% of cases. Regarding postoperative morbidity, there were 4 cases of pulmonary complications, 3 cases of surgical site infection and one postoperative hemorrhage. Conclusions: In our experience surgery for gastric GIST must be performed by a highly trained team, the keyset for a improved survival is the multidisciplinary approach that includes an accurate diagnosis, prognostic risk stratification and accurate treatment.