Long-term prognosis of nerve palsy after total hip arthroplasty: results of two-year-follow-ups and long-term results after a mean time of 8 years.

INTRODUCTION: Nerve damage is a rare but serious complication after THA. There exist only little data about the outcome of these patients particularly regarding the long-term results later than 2 years postoperatively. Aim of this study is to answer the following questions: Is the recovery to be expected for light nerve lesions different from the severe ones? Is there a possibility of nerve recovery more than 2 years after THA? Is the potential of nerve recovery depending on the affected nerve? MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study investigates 2,255 primary THA as well as revision surgeries performed from 1988 to 2003 relating to iatrogenic nerve lesion. We classified the nerve lesion according to the core muscle strength in severe (M0-M2) and light (M3-M4) nerve damage and differentiated between femoral, sciatic and superior gluteal nerve, according to the electromyography. RESULTS: We found 34 cases of iatrogenic nerve damage representing an incidence of 1.5 %. 17 of 34 (50 %) patients showed a complete recovery after 2 years. Out of the remaining 17 patients, six out of seven patients with a final examination after a median time of 93 months achieved further improvement. The different nerves showed no significant different potential of recovery. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to the literature, an improvement beyond the limit of 2 years is probable and independent of the nerve affected.

Venous small bowel infarction: intraoperative laser Doppler flowmetry discriminates critical blood supply and spares bowel length.

Introduction. In mesenteric infarction due to arterial occlusion, laser Doppler flowmetry and spectrometry are known reliable noninvasive methods for measuring microvascular blood flow and oxygen utilisation. Case Presentation. As an innovation we used these methods in a patient with acute extensive mesenteric infarction due to venous occlusion, occurring after radical right hemicolectomy. Aiming to avoid short bowel syndrome, we spared additional 110 cm of small bowel, instead of leaving only 80 centimetres of clinically viable small bowel in situ. The pathological examination showed only 5 mm of vital mucosa to be left distal to the dissection margin. No further interventions were necessary. Conclusion. Laser doppler flowmetry and spectrometry are potentially powerful methods to assist the surgeon's decision-making in critical venous mesenteric perfusion, thus having an important impact on clinical outcome.

Subtotal colectomy for malignant left-sided colon obstruction is associated with a lower anastomotic leak rate than segmental colectomy.

AIM: To compare subtotal colectomy to segmental colectomy for malignant left-sided colonic obstruction. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Obstruction was defined by failure to trespass a colonic stenosis during endoscopy, by truncation of the contrast column during contrast enema, by severe colonic dilatation (cecum >10 cm, transverse colon >8 cm, descending colon >6 cm) or by serosal tears. From 53 consecutive patients treated for malignant left-sided colon obstruction at our surgical department from July 2002 to July 2010, 19 patients had subtotal colectomy and 30 patients had segmental colectomy. Four patients were excluded: two of them had non-colorectal primary cancer and the other two had a two-stage procedure. RESULTS: The rate of severe colonic dilatation and serosal tears, the physiological severity score and the expected morbidity were higher in the group with subtotal colectomy than in the group of segmental colectomy (p<0.05). However, the anastomotic leak rate was lower in the group with subtotal colectomy (0/19) than in the group with segmental colectomy (6/30) (p=0.042). Overall, there were no statistically significant differences regarding mortality or morbidity between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Despite worse preoperative conditions, patients who underwent subtotal colectomy for left-sided obstructing colonic cancer had a significantly lower anastomotic leak rate than those who underwent segmental colectomy. This fact supports the concept of subtotal colectomy for this entity. However, perioperative mortality seems to be independent of the presence or absence of an anastomotic leak.

Timing of rectosigmoid resection for diverticular disease: the patient's view.

AIM: The study aimed to determine the patient's view on the timing of elective resection for sigmoid diverticulitis. METHOD: A questionnaire was answered by 162 (69%) of 236 consecutive patients who had a resection of the rectosigmoid for diverticulitis from July 2002 to August 2005. Patients (n=45) having resection at or after the first inflammatory attack were excluded, leaving 117 eligible for analysis. Questions asked included those concerning symptoms before surgery, improvement of symptoms after surgery and the timing of surgery. RESULTS: Patient assessment of symptoms after surgery was as follows: no improvement (2%; n=2), some improvement (10%; n=12), marked improvement (34%; n=39) and complete resolution (54%; n=63). Forty-five (38%) patients would have preferred an earlier operation. Preference for earlier surgery related to the number of previous inflammatory attacks was expressed as follows: 13 (34%) of 38 patients after two inflammatory attacks, 5 (18%) of 28 patients after three, seven (37%) of 19 patients after four, four (44%) of nine patients after five, and 16 (70%) of 23 patients after six or more inflammatory attacks would have preferred earlier surgery. Statistically significant factors influencing this potential choice were number of episodes of pain (P=0.006, OR=1.23, 95% CI: 1.060-1.430) and number of attacks of inflammation (P=0.048, OR=1.27, 95% CI: 1.002-1.598). CONCLUSION: Surgery for recurrent diverticulitis resulted in a marked improvement or complete relief of symptoms in 88% of patients. A large proportion of patients with recurrent episodes of sigmoid diverticulitis would have preferred earlier resection.

A salvage procedure for an accidentally twisted small bowel in orthotopic duodenal reconstruction after pylorus-preserving partial pancreatoduodenectomy.

A case of pylorus-preserving Whipple procedure with an accidentally clockwise 360° rotated small bowel limb in orthotopic duodenal reconstruction is presented. A simple salvage procedure is proposed.

Diagnostic value of inflammation markers in predicting perforation in acute sigmoid diverticulitis.

BACKGROUND: The importance of inflammation markers in predicting perforation in acute sigmoid diverticulitis is not well known. Predicting perforation by clinical examination alone may be hazardous. If perforation is suspected, then appropriate diagnostic tools such as computed tomography (CT) are indicated, and surgical intervention might be necessary. METHODS: A cohort of consecutive patients with acute sigmoid diverticulitis diagnosed by CT and with complete laboratory findings (n = 247) were retrospectively divided into two groups, one with perforation (n = 86) and another without (n = 161). The latest values of C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell count (WBC), and serum bilirubin, as well as the activity of the alkaline phosphatase (AP) measured during the 48 h period before the CT scan, were assessed. RESULTS: In the Wilcoxon rank sum test CRP and WBC correlate significantly (p < 0.05) with perforation in acute sigmoid diverticulitis, whereas the logistic regression model shows only CRP to correlate significantly (p = 0.001) with perforation. The sensitivities/specificities for perforation are 98%/5% for elevated CRP (>5 mg/l), 86%/27% for a CRP higher than 50 mg/l, 44%/81% for a CRP higher than 150 mg/l, 28%/93% for a CRP higher than 200 mg/l, 88%/44% for elevated WBC (>10 × 10(9)/l), 35%/90% for hyperbilirubinemia (>20 µmol/l), and 35%/91% for elevated AP (>110 U/l). CONCLUSIONS: A CRP below 50 mg/l suggests a perforation to be unlikely in acute sigmoid diverticulitis, whereas a CRP higher than 200 mg/l is a strong indicator of perforation.