Hernia diafragmática traumática / Diaphragmatic traumatic hernia

Introducción: las hernias diafragmáticas traumáticas comúnmente ocurren posteriores a trauma penetrante cerrado. Debido a las lesiones coexistentes y a la naturaleza silenciosa de las lesiones diafragmáticas, el diagnóstico fácilmente se omite. El objetivo de este estudio fue describir las características clínicas de pacientes consecutivos con hernias diafragmáticas traumáticas tratadas quirúrgicamente en nuestra institución. Material y métodos: cohorte prospectiva de pacientes tratados durante un periodo de seis años. Evaluamos edad, sexo, tipo de mecanismo del trauma, tipo de hernia, método diagnóstico, órganos herniados, lesiones asociadas, tiempo de evolución, morbilidad y mortalidad. Los resultados se describen como frecuencias y medidas de tendencia central y de dispersión. Se empleó χ2 y prueba exacta de Fisher para explorar asociación y riesgo. Resultados: se incluyeron 23 pacientes, 19 fueron hombres (82.6 %) y cuatro mujeres (17.4 %). En nueve pacientes (39.1 %) fueron diagnosticadas hernias diafragmáticas agudas y en 14, hernias crónicas (60.9 %). En 18 (78.3 %) el diagnóstico se hizo mediante radiografía de tórax y la mayoría correspondió a hernias crónicas. La historia médica de trauma toracoabdominal cerrado estuvo presente en 95.7 %, en la mayoría relacionado con accidentes vehiculares. Las principales lesiones asociadas fueron trauma encefálico, fracturas costales y contusión pulmonar. La morbilidad se observó en seis pacientes, todos con hernias crónicas. No hubo mortalidad. Conclusiones: la hernia diafragmática traumática es una entidad clínica poco frecuente y constituye un verdadero desafío debido a las dificultades para el rápido y correcto diagnóstico. En etapa crónica hay mayor riesgo para complicaciones tardías como estrangulamiento y necrosis de vísceras.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic diaphragmatic hernias commonly occur after blunt and penetrating trauma. Due to coexisting injuries and the silent nature of the diaphragmatic injuries, the diagnosis is easily missed. We undertook this study to describe the clinical characteristics of consecutive patients with traumatic diaphragmatic hernias treated surgically at our institution. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort of patients treated during a 6-year period. We assessed variables such as age, gender, type of mechanism of trauma, type of hernia, methods of diagnosis, herniated organs and associated lesions, time of evolution, morbidity and mortality. Results are described as frequencies, dispersion and central tendency measures. Chi(2) and Fisher's exact tests were used to explore association and risks. RESULTS: Twenty three patients were included, 19 men (82.6%) and 4 women (17.4%). Acute DTH were diagnosed in nine patients (39.1%) and 14 cases presented as chronic DTH (60.9%). In 18 cases (78.3%) the diagnosis was made by chest x-ray and most corresponded to chronic hernias. Medical history of blunt thoracoabominal trauma was present in 95.7% of the cases, most related to car accidents. The principal associated lesions were head injuries, rib fractures and lung contusion. morbidity was observed in six patients, all with chronic hernias. there was no mortality. CONCLUSIONS: DTH is a rare clinical entity and constitutes a true challenge due to difficulties for a rapid and correct diagnosis. In the chronic stage there is an increased risk for late complications such as visceral strangulation and necrosis.

[Diaphragmatic traumatic hernia]. / Hernia diafragmática traumática.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic diaphragmatic hernias commonly occur after blunt and penetrating trauma. Due to coexisting injuries and the silent nature of the diaphragmatic injuries, the diagnosis is easily missed. We undertook this study to describe the clinical characteristics of consecutive patients with traumatic diaphragmatic hernias treated surgically at our institution. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort of patients treated during a 6-year period. We assessed variables such as age, gender, type of mechanism of trauma, type of hernia, methods of diagnosis, herniated organs and associated lesions, time of evolution, morbidity and mortality. Results are described as frequencies, dispersion and central tendency measures. Chi(2) and Fisher's exact tests were used to explore association and risks. RESULTS: Twenty three patients were included, 19 men (82.6%) and 4 women (17.4%). Acute DTH were diagnosed in nine patients (39.1%) and 14 cases presented as chronic DTH (60.9%). In 18 cases (78.3%) the diagnosis was made by chest x-ray and most corresponded to chronic hernias. Medical history of blunt thoracoabominal trauma was present in 95.7% of the cases, most related to car accidents. The principal associated lesions were head injuries, rib fractures and lung contusion. morbidity was observed in six patients, all with chronic hernias. there was no mortality. CONCLUSIONS: DTH is a rare clinical entity and constitutes a true challenge due to difficulties for a rapid and correct diagnosis. In the chronic stage there is an increased risk for late complications such as visceral strangulation and necrosis.

[Academic medicine and gender: women in surgical specialities]. / Medicina académica y género. La mujer en especialidades quirúrgicas.

Scientific advances have always been used as a measure to place societies in the context of developed and developing countries. This circumstance has directly influenced the division among the sexes and among social strata. Traditionally women have been relegated to an inferior status and in some instances their role as active participants in social and economic development has been annulled. In professional spheres, women have reached positions that previously seemed unattainable due to social and cultural limitations imposed by men and sometimes by women themselves. Medical school is currently no longer an obstacle for women to gain entry to, approximately 50% of medical students are women. On the other hand, surgical residences constitute a more complex situation. In order for women to decide to apply to a surgical residence, they have to take into account a variety of factors, among them, the difficulty of joining a male dominated environment where women have to demonstrate they are able and capable of performing sometimes at the expense of having to carry an additional work load. Women admitted to surgical residences will have to face gender discrimination, pregnancy and family responsibilities as well as salary inequities and sometimes even sexual harassment. We aimed to show the circumstances and obstacles that women are confronted with during surgical training and the influence these have in their personal and professional development.

[Peritoneal and intestinal tuberculosis: an ancestral disease that poses new challenges in the technological era. Case report and review of the literature]. / Tuberculosis peritoneal e intestinal: una enfermedad ancestral que impone nuevos retos en la era tecnológica. informe de un caso y revisión de la literatura.

UNLABELLED: Tuberculosis is a public health problem. The most common presentation is pulmonary disease. The diagnosis of any extrapulmonary forms are quite difficult. Clinical manifestations of gastrointestinal tuberculosis are non-specific and compatible with pathologies such as inflammatory bowel disease, advanced ovarian cancer, deep mycosis, yersinia infection and amebomas. Abdominal form is located at 6th place of the extrapulmonary forms, after lymphatic, genitourinary, osteoarticular, miliary and meningeal infections. Eventually, 25 to 75% of patients with abdominal tuberculosis will require surgery. These procedures should be limitated with the purpose to preserve small bowel. Resection should be limitated for complicated cases. The surgical indications include: Intestinal occlusion (15-60%), perforation (1-15%), abscesses and fistulas (2-30%) and hemorrhage (2%). CONCLUSIONS: In most of the cases, the diagnosis of peritoneal or intestinal tuberculosis is made during a laparoscopy or laparotomy even during surgery performed by different purposes. Excessive manipulation of the intraabdominal organs may produced unexpected bowel lesions, increasing morbidity and mortality. Medical treatment is highly effective in the resolution of moderate complications such as bowel obstruction. Resectional procedures should be reserved for complications like perforation, bleeding or stenosis non-suitable for stricturoplasty.

[Restorative proctocolectomy with J-pouch reservoir. Experience in a national medical center]. / Proctocolectomía restaurativa con reservorio ileal en "J". 10 años de experiencia en un centro de especialidades.

OBJECTIVE: To present the experience for morbidity and mortality of surgical treatment of chronic ulcerative colitis (CUC) and familiar adenomatous polyposis (FAP) with restorative proctocolectomy with J-pouch. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We used a cases series of patients treated consecutively from January 1993 to December 2003. Selection criteria were patients with J-pouch restorative proctocolectomy with CUC and FAP who were treated and assessed prospectively. RESULTS: There were 16 cases treated with restorative proctocolectomy (nine males and seven females). Diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease was established in 12 patients, and 4 with familiar adenomatous polyposis. Age average was 33 years. All cases had protective ileostomy. Seven patients developed at least one complication such as pelvic abscess, uretheral transection, pulmonary thromboembolism, hemoperitoneum, persistent transrectal bleeding, wound infection and sexual impotence. Only four patients required surgical reintervention. The median hospital stay was 11.9 days. Average bowel movements at 3 month-follow-up was 10.1, at 6 months 6.6. Medium average follow-up was 44.25 months. There was no mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study demonstrated adequate quality of life and appropriate functional results; rate of morbidity was acceptable with no mortality.independent of morbidity there was no mortality. Long-term follow up is necessary to identify long-term-late complications.

[Bursting pressure in normal and ischemic colonic anastomoses in rats; using biological and synthetic adhesives]. / Presión de estallamiento en anastomosis de colon normal e isquémico en ratas, con adhesivos tisulares biológicos y sintéticos.

OBJECTIVE: We wanted to determine bursting pressure in normal and ischemic colonic anastomoses in rats as well as the frequency and type of complications with the use of biological and synthetic adhesives. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We designed an experimental study using 80 Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing between 200 and 250 g, divided into four groups: one control group and three study groups. Anastomoses were realized using one layer of interrupted 6-0 polypropylene sutures. Each group was divided into two categories: normal colon (n = 10) and ischemic colon, induced by dividing mesenteric blood vessels (n = 10). Group 2 used octyl-cyanoacrylate, group 3 used N-2-butyl-cyanoacrylate, and group 4 used 40 mg/ml fibrinogen with 1000 u/ml of thrombin. Bursting pressure was measured with a manometer creating pressure in the anastomotic bowel using an infusion pump at 1 ml/min of NaCl 0.9%. Statistical analysis was performed with Student's t test, one-way ANOVA, chi square test or Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: Group 1: (control) normal 127.8 +/- 16.21 versus 109 +/- 17 with ischemia (p < 0.05); group 2: normal 145.5 +/- 89 versus ischemic colon 97.6 +/- 40 (p = 0.136); group 3: normal 145.7 +/- 34 versus 130.8 +/- 15.33 with ischemia (p = 0.22); group 4: normal 239 +/- 26.4 versus 196.5 +/- 14.3 with ischemia (0.000). Bursting pressure was statistically significant in group 4, showing greater pressures (p < 0.001). Bursting segment was shown to be higher outside the anastomoses. Complications such as adhesions and intestinal obstruction were seen more frequently in both cyanoacrylate groups. CONCLUSIONS: An increased bursting pressure was shown in the fibrinogen groups, having a greater tensile strength of the anastomoses. Pressures similar when anastomoses were treated with any of the other two synthetic adhesives.

[The role of long-acting release (LAR) depot octreotide as adjuvant management of short bowel disease]. / Papel de la octreotida LAR en el manejo adyuvante de pacientes con síndrome de intestino corto.

INTRODUCTION: Short bowel syndrome (SBS) comprises sequelaes of nutrient, fluid, and weight loss that occur subsequent to greatly reduced functional surface area of small intestine. Maintenance of fluid and electrolyte homeostasis in patients with SBS is often difficult; additional intravenous (i.v.) fluid and electrolytes are often required to cover unabsorbed secretory losses. The recent development of the synthetic long-acting release (LAR) depot octapeptide analog, octreotide, has rendered somatostatin therapy a practical alternative in patients with SBS who have become entrapped in a vicious cycle with chronic dehydration, thirst, and excessive fluid or food consumption. METHODS: During an 8-month period, adult patients of either sex with SBS and total parental nutrition (TPN) dependent on III adaptation intestinal phase were included in a prospective, open-label study. We used single-subject research. Patients were divided into two groups: intestinal reinstated patients, group A (n = 6), and patients with high stomal output, group B (n = 4). Octreotide depot (20 mg intramuscularly [i.m.] at 0-8 months) was administered. Baseline and post-treatment measurements of nutritional status and stool losses were analyzed. RESULTS: Treatment with octreotide depot significantly reduced intestinal output (group A, p = 0.002, group B, p = 0.823), hospital stay, i.v. fluid and electrolyte requirements, in 80% TPN was not required. CONCLUSIONS: Octreotide depot is effective in diminishing i.v. fluid and electrolyte requirements by reducing stool losses in SBS patients. Multicenter studies with control group and larger sample size are required.

[Detection of thyroid pathology during surgical exploration of the neck for primary hyperthyroidism]. / Detección de patología tiroidea durante exploración quirúrgica de cuello por hiperparatiroidismo primario.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to determine prevalence of incidental thyroid pathology during surgical treatment of primary hyperparathyroidism and to compare sensitivity and specificity of surgical neck exploration with histologic study of resected thyroid gland to confirm unsuspected pathologies. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was prospective cohort study performed at the Specialty Hospital's Department of Endocrine Surgery at the Mexican Institute of Social Security's (IMSS's) Centro Médico de Occidente in Guadalajara, Jalisco State between 1995 and 2003. All were submitted to bilateral neck exploration under general anesthesia. According to the surgeon's criteria, any suspected thyroid anomaly was resected for transoperative frozen sections as well as definite histopathologic study. RESULTS: Preoperatively from a total of 44 cases of hyperparathyroidism, only four cases with thyroid anomalies were detected with neck ultrasound and/or computer tomography (CT) scan; additionally, 13 patients had thyroid anomalies found during neck exploration according to surgeon criteria. All were biopsied. Final study revealed thyroid disease in 16 cases; three had well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma and the remaining 13 patients had different benign entities. In one case, the thyroid specimen was considered normal. Sensitivity and specificity of surgeon criteria were 100 and 96%, respectively, to establish thyroid disease during neck exploration for another purpose. CONCLUSIONS: Association of hyperparathyroidism and benign and malignant thyroid disease is a common phenomenon. Independently of the ability of preoperative imaging procedures to detect unsuspected findings, we suggest exploration neck bilaterally and resection of any suspicious lesion.

[Surgical reinterventions in neck after elective procedures]. / Reintervenciones quirúrgicas en cuello posteriores a procedimientos electivos.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to determine the frequency of surgical reinterventions for recurrence or disease persistence after elective surgical procedures of the neck. METHODS: We used a transversal and comparative study, accomplished during a 6-year period. Emergency initial surgical procedures were excluded. The patients were divided according to the type of hospital where the initial surgical procedure was performed--those treated at a specialized medical center and those operated on in general hospitals. The variables evaluated were preoperative and pathological diagnosis, previous surgical procedures, and the time between the primary surgery and the definitive procedure. RESULTS: Three hundred sixty-two cases were included. Of these, 27 patients (7.45%) required surgical reinterventions. Time elapsed between the first and the definitive procedure was 1 to 19 years. Diagnostic concordance between the initial and final diagnosis was 89%. According to the type of hospital where the initial procedure was performed (specialized vs. general hospitals), we observed the following reintervention frequencies: parathyroid, 12.2% vs. 12.2% (p = 0.6); thyroid, 1.63% vs. 5.88% (p <0.05); thyroglossal duct cyst, 1.65% vs. 5.83% (p = 0.41), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The specialized hospital admits patients with multiple problems, poor response, or inadequate therapeutic indication. For thyroid pathologies the odds ratio established a probability of 6.8 for major reintervention in those patients treated in non-specialized hospitals.