Cancer care in a Western Indian tertiary center during the pandemic: Surgeon's perspective.

INTRODUCTION: Following the nationwide lockdown in India, most hospitals shut down elective surgeries including cancer surgeries. We continued operating on patients with cancer at a tertiary referral center in Western India, which also served as a COVID care center. We also constructed a questionnaire, exclusive to surgeons, to determine the changes in treatment strategies as well as the response to the pandemic. METHODS: The complications of all cases operated in the study period (March 22, 2020-June 30, 2020) were graded using the Clavien-Dindo classification. Also, an anonymous structured questionnaire was constructed and e-mailed to all surgical oncologists working at our institute. RESULTS: Of the 118 patients having an operation, 18 had complications. There were 12 Grade I/II and 6 Grade III complications but none of our patients had Grade-IV/V complications. When the staff of the main operating theater tested COVID positive, the complex was shut down. However surgical oncology work continued at an affiliated institute about 10 km away from the main hospital. CONCLUSION: We had favorable outcomes while operating on cancer patients in a COVID care center. The results of our questionnaire proved that surgeons were willing to risk their personal safety to provide surgical oncology care.

Impact of the pandemic on cancer care: Lessons learnt from a rural cancer center in the first 3 months.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 outbreak and the subsequent declaration of pandemic was an unprecedented event, which created different complex situations for treatment of cancer patients. A critical assessment of the response to this calamity and its impact on healthcare workers (HCWs) and patient care in a dedicated cancer hospital is analyzed. SITE OF STUDY: Indrayani Cancer Hospital, Alandi, Pune, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Due to the pandemic, standard operating protocols were decided on for each department. Analysis of the impact on healthcare was done by comparing the number of patients taking treatment in the lockdown period in India with the previous year's data in the same corresponding period in all three departments. The impact of COVID infection on the HCW and its repercussions were analyzed. RESULTS: There was a marked decrease in the total number of patients during the lockdown period. The most affected department was surgical oncology. None of our patients contracted COVID-19, but one HCW was found to be positive. CONCLUSION: Strict adherence to protocols along with the support of the government authorities can prevent the spread of this virus thus providing optimal patient outcomes. The treatment of patients with cancer should not be delayed, even in times of a pandemic.

Adult with intestinal malrotation and colocolic intussusception: an unusual combo.

Intestinal malrotation is a congenital anomaly that results from an abnormality in the rotation and fixation of the gut as it returns to the abdominal cavity during development. Intussusception is a condition characterised by telescoping of one segment of the bowel into another segment. The combination of malrotation and intussusception is frequently a cause of intestinal obstruction in the paediatric age group. The coexistence of these two conditions is termed as Waugh syndrome and is uncommon in adults. We share our experience with an elderly woman who was admitted with diarrhoea and anaemia. Investigations revealed a large colonic polyp, colocolic intussusception and malrotation. The adenomatous polyp and mobile right colon would have lead to intussusception. The diagnosis was based on the findings of colonoscopy and contrast-enhanced CT scan of the abdomen. She was managed with a transverse colectomy with an uneventful recovery.

Recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding in a patient with type 1 neurofibromatosis.

Type 1 neurofibromatosis (NF1) is a hereditary disorder with an incidence of approximately 1:3000 at birth. Gastrointestinal (GI) lesions occur in approximately one-third of the patients, with most being asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally. Symptomatic lesions leading to GI bleeding are uncommon. We share our experience of an elderly man with NF1, who presented with massive recurrent GI bleeding secondary to jejunal neurofibromas. The lesions were identified on CT scan of abdomen, and the patient was managed with resection of the involved bowel segment.

Secondary omental torsion.

A middle-aged-woman presented with symptoms and signs of acute abdomen. Clinically a suspicion of acute appendicitis was raised, although the abdominal x-ray and ultrasound were normal. She was managed conservatively, which she failed to respond. In the view of persisting pain, a contrast enhanced CT (CECT) was done. CECT showed a whirling mass of fatty and fibrous tissue adherent to the anterior abdominal wall suggestive of omental torsion and the diagnosis was confirmed on laparotomy and she underwent excision of the ischaemic omentum. Omental torsion though rare, should be included in the differential diagnosis of acute abdomen. High index of suspicion is required to diagnose this entity. CECT abdomen shows the classical finding of fatty mass with whirling pattern. It is seldom considered in the differential diagnosis preoperatively based on clinical findings and the diagnosis is only established during the surgical procedure.

Management of a large retroperitoneal primitive neuroectodermal tumour: 'a multimodal approach'.

Retroperitoneal primitive neuroectodermal tumour (PNET) is a rare disease having poor prognosis. Treatment mainly consists of en block resection of the tumour to achieve RO resection, however multimodal approach has also been used with improved survival. The authors report a 40-year-old male with large retroperitoneal PNET adherent to aorta and compressing the inferior vena cava. He was subjected to P6 protocol chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine, ifosfamide and etoposide) in view of borderline operability. Postchemotherapy contrast enhanced CT revealed significant reduction in size of the lesion. He underwent complete resection of the tumour followed by concurrent chemoradiation. He remains asymptomatic on follow-up over a period of 2 years.

Pseudomyxoma peritonea: uncommon presentation.

Pseudomyxoma peritonei is rare being characterized by intraperitoneal accumulation of mucinous ascites produced by neoplastic cells, mostly originating from a perforated appendiceal adenoma. The clinical presentatation of the disease is variable, and preoperative diagnosis is often difficult. We describe the clinical case of a 60-year-old patient who presentated predominantly with urological symptoms. CECT revealed an appendiceal lesion infiltrating and projecting into the urinary bladder. Surgical cytoreduction was performed and patient remains symptomatically better on follow up.

Management of severe acute pancreatitis.

Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) develops in about 25% of patients with acute pancreatitis. Severity of acute pancreatitis is linked to the presence of systemic organ dysfunctions and/or necrotizing pancreatitis. Risk factors independently determining the outcome of SAP are early multiorgan failure (MOF), infection of necrosis, and extended necrosis (>50%). Morbidity of SAP is biphasic, in the first week it is strongly related to systemic inflammatory response syndrome while, sepsis due to infected pancreatic necrosis leading to MOF syndrome occurs in the later course after the first week. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography provides the highest diagnostic accuracy for necrotizing pancreatitis when performed after the first week of disease. Patients who suffer early organ dysfunctions or are at risk for developing a severe disease require early intensive care treatment. Antibiotic prophylaxis has not been shown as an effective preventive treatment. Early enteral feeding is based on a high level of evidence, resulting in a reduction of local and systemic infection. Patients suffering infected necrosis causing clinical sepsis are candidates for intervention. Hospital mortality of SAP after interventional or surgical debridement has decreased to below 20% in high-volume centers.

Analysis of the delayed approach to the management of infected pancreatic necrosis.

AIM: To analyze outcomes of delayed single-stage necrosectomy after early conservative management of patients with infected pancreatic necrosis (IPN) associated with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). METHODS: Between January 1998 and December 2009, data from patients with SAP who developed IPN and were managed by pancreatic necrosectomy were analyzed. RESULTS: Fifty-nine of 61 pancreatic necrosectomies were performed by open surgery and 2 laparoscopically. In 55 patients, single-stage necrosectomy could be performed (90.2%). Patients underwent surgery at a median of 29 d (range 13-46 d) after diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. Sepsis and multiple organ failure accounted for the 9.8% mortality rate. Pancreatic fistulae (50.8%) predominantly accounted for the morbidity. The median hospital stay was 23 d, and the median interval for return to regular activities was 110 d. CONCLUSION: This series supports the concept of delayed single-stage open pancreatic necrosectomy for IPN. Advances in critical care, antibiotics and interventional radiology have played complementary role in improving the outcomes.

An unusual cause of vomiting in a child.

The authors report the case of a 13-month-old male child who presented with sudden onset vomiting and refusal to take solid food. Barium swallow and CT scan of the chest were inconclusive. The cause of symptoms was only evident more than a month later on endoscopy, which revealed an unusual flower-shaped foreign body impacted in the cervical oesophagus. This was successfully removed, and review of imaging made the diagnosis obvious in retrospect. This report is to emphasise the importance of considering the possibility of foreign body ingestion with unusual sudden onset symptoms and vigilant interpretation of findings on imaging studies, especially in the paediatric population.

Major hemobilia--experience from a specialist unit in a developing country.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Hemobilia is a rare but potentially life threatening problem, which can be difficult to diagnose and treat. In the last few decades there has been a change in the etiologic spectrum and management of this problem in the West. The aim of this study was to analyze the etiology, clinical features, management and outcome of major hemobilia in a tertiary referral centre from western India. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was undertaken on 22 patients (16 males, 6 females; mean age 39 years, range 13 to 74) who presented with major hemobilia over a 5-year period. RESULTS: The etiology was iatrogenic in 13 patients (percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage 8, post laparoscopic cholecystectomy 3, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography 1, and liver biopsy 1), liver trauma in 6 and liver tumors in 3 patients. Twenty patients presented with gastrointestinal bleeding (melena 20 patients, hemetemesis with melena 8 patients), 5 with jaundice and 8 had fever. Abdominal angiography was performed in 20 patients. Angiography revealed pseudoaneurysm of the right hepatic artery or its branches in 14 patients, left hepatic artery in 2, an arterio-biliary fistula in 1, tumor blush in 1 and the source could not be located in 2 patients. Seventeen of the 22 patients were treated with radiological intervention, 3 required surgery (liver resection for tumors 2, laparotomy for venous collateral bleeding of portal cavernoma 1) and two were managed conservatively. Radiological intervention involved embolisation with coils and/or glue in 16, and chemoembolisation in 1 patient. Sixteen of 17 patients responded to embolisation. Overall there were two deaths. CONCLUSION: The spectrum of hemobilia seen in India is now similar to that in the developed world with iatrogenic causes being the commonest. Interventional radiology can treat a majority of patients reducing the need and morbidity associated with surgery.

Chronic abdominal pain--a radiological solution.

Chronic mesenteric ischaemia is not an uncommon disorder. It is associated with high morbidity and mortality. It presents with chronic abdominal pain and the diagnosis is often missed because of nonspecific clinical findings and limitations of diagnostic studies. Although surgery has been considered to be the mainstay of treatment, it is associated with significant morbidity. We report two cases of chronic mesenteric ischaemia managed effectively with endovascular therapy with no morbidity and good long term pain relief.

An unusual surgical site infection in a liver transplant recipient.

Mycobacterium abscessus is a rare cause of human infection and is difficult to diagnose unless it is suspected. A 45-year-old woman underwent deceased donor liver transplantation following which she developed non-healing surgical site infection, which did not resolve with routine antibiotics for 2 months. The scraping of the wound revealed M abscessus infection. Definitive identification of this species of mycobacterium was possible by its growth characteristics on culture and reverse line blot hybridisation assay. She was treated with clarithromycin and cotrimaxazole as per sensitivity and showed complete recovery from the infection within 6 weeks of starting the drugs, which were continued for 6 months. We believe that this is the first documented case of surgical site infection by M abscessus in a liver transplant recipient.