23-hour stay outcomes for laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in a small, teaching community hospital.

The goal of every surgery is a successful outcome with the shortest hospital stay. Morbidly obese patients with their myriad of comorbidities have confounded surgeons over the years, usually leading to an increased length of hospital stays after complicated surgeries. Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) has proven to be an effective treatment for the morbidly obese with a usual length of stay of 3 days. The purpose of this article is to review our experience with 23-hour stays for LRYGB over a 13-month period and to apply a recently published risk score to these patients. A single surgeon performed 173 bariatric surgeries of which 96 were LRYGB, the study group. The demographics of this group found the overwhelming majority were female, white, slightly older than the men but with a somewhat smaller body mass index (BMI). The ethnic breakdown was 67.7 per cent white, 22.9 per cent black, and 9.4 per cent Hispanic. The average for all patients was 41.7 years and the BMI was 49.25 kg/m2. Using the Obesity Surgery Mortality Risk Score, 62.5 per cent of our patients were low risk or Class A, 37.5 per cent intermediate risk or Class B, and none of our patients qualified as high risk or Class C. Our average patient score was 1.3. In terms of length of stay, 91 of the 96 patients (94.8%) were discharged within 23 hours of surgery without mortality or 30-day readmission. The remaining five patients (5.2%) had unexplained, sustained tachycardia and were re-explored on the first postoperative day laparoscopically. Three of these patients had negative explorations. One had a jejunojejunostomy revision and the other was found to have a small bowel injury, which was laparoscopically repaired. All five patients were discharged within the next 23 hours. All patients were discharged on a clear liquid diet and advanced to a regular diet over the next month. No diet intolerance was noted nor were any patients converted to an open operation. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that a comprehensive bariatric program in a small teaching community hospital can successfully perform LRYGB and discharge a high percentage of patients within 23 hours with a very low complication rate. We also believe the Obesity Surgery Mortality Risk Score will help bariatric programs to risk-stratify their patients preoperatively. This will contribute to decision-making and further inform patients of their risk as part of their education preoperatively.

A retroperitoneal bleed induced by enoxaparin therapy.

Retroperitoneal bleeding is one of the most serious, potentially lethal complications of anticoagulation therapy. Although well documented in fully heparinized and coumadinized patients, there are only few reports of life-threatening hemorrhages in low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH)-treated patients. We present a case of almost fatal spontaneous retroperitoneal bleeding in a 71-year-old woman with pneumonia and acute coronary syndrome. After receiving combination therapy with Lovenox (enoxaparin), aspirin, and Plavix for 5 days, she developed acute hemorrhagic shock and possible intra-abdominal compartment syndrome. Urgent computed tomography scan of the abdomen and pelvis was performed and showed a left retroperitoneal hematoma. The patient's condition continued to deteriorate, which prompted emergent exploration. After evacuating 3 L of free blood from the peritoneal cavity, we managed to stabilize the patient. Our case of spontaneous retroperitoneal bleeding adds to the growing number of cases in which enoxaparin has been associated with severe bleeding. A high index of suspicion is necessary if the patient displays any of the signs and symptoms that suggest major hemorrhage. It appears that those at highest risk receive doses approaching 1 mg/kg subcutaneously every 12 hours, have renal impairment, are of advanced age, and receive concomitant medications that can affect hemostasis. On average, a retroperitoneal hematoma occurs within 5 days of therapy with enoxaparin. In high-risk patients, enoxaparin activity (anti-factor Xa) should be carefully monitored.

Right-sided diverticulitis--surgical and nonsurgical treatment: two case reports and review of the literature.

Right-sided diverticulitis is difficult to distinguish from other sources of right-sided abdominal pain. Diverticula localized to the right colon occur at a rate of 6.6 to 14 per cent. Two types of diverticula have been described in the right colon on the basis of etiologic and pathologic features: multiple diverticula and solitary diverticulum of the cecum. The most common clinical presentation of right-sided colonic diverticula is an acute inflammatory complication, which is difficult to distinguish from other causes of right iliac fossa pain. We present two case reports on right-sided diverticulitis with one treated surgically and the other treated nonsurgically. The clinical manifestations, differential diagnosis and management options are discussed including a review of the literature.