Laparoscopic gastrectomy for remnant gastric cancer: a comprehensive review and case series.

BACKGROUND: Remnant gastric cancer is increasing with the earlier detection of gastric cancer and improved medical care. Laparoscopic gastrectomy for remnant gastric cancer has been reported sporadically in association with the increased use of minimally invasive techniques. However, because of the rarity of remnant gastric cancer, the number of cases reported per study has been small. We therefore reviewed all published English-language reports, including our experience, to better characterize the technical aspects of currently used procedures. METHODS: Ten patients who underwent laparoscopic gastrectomy for remnant cancer between August 2005 and March 2014 were retrospectively studied. A comprehensive literature search was performed using the PubMed database to identify English-language studies on laparoscopic gastrectomy for remnant gastric cancer that were published before May 2014. RESULTS: There was no conversion to open surgery. The mean operating time was 325 min, and mean intraoperative blood loss was 55 g. The mean number of retrieved lymph nodes was 22, and mean postoperative hospital stay was 13 days. There was only one minor wound infection (overall morbidity rate, 10%). From the literature review, all comparative studies revealed that laparoscopic gastrectomy for remnant gastric cancer required a longer operating time, and most studies reported less intraoperative blood loss, an equivalent number of harvested lymph nodes, and a shorter postoperative stay as compared with open surgery. CONCLUSION: Proficiency in advanced laparoscopic surgical techniques, such as proper adhesiolysis and stable laparoscopic anastomosis, will allow laparoscopic gastrectomy for remnant gastric cancer to be performed with satisfactory short-term results. This minimally invasive approach can be one treatment option for remnant gastric cancer.

"Early esophageal rim enhancement": a new sign of esophageal cancer on dynamic CT.

OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively assess a new CT finding of esophageal cancer, "early esophageal rim enhancement". MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-two patients with pathological proven esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who underwent dual phase CT imaging (arterial and venous phases) were enrolled. Two blinded observes independently evaluated presence of partial or circumferential enhancement of the esophageal periphery on arterial (early esophageal rim enhancement) and venous phase CT images. The radiological assessment was compared with the pathological T-stages. Agreement between the observers was also evaluated with a Cohen' kappa value. RESULTS: Pathologic results found 19, 12, 30 and 1 lesions, respectively for T1, T2, T3 and T4 stages. Agreement between two readers was substantial (κ=0.71). Esophageal rim enhancement was observed in 0, 4, 24 and 1 lesions respectively for T1, T2, T3 and T4 stages at the arterial phase, whereas no esophageal rim enhancement could be detected at the venous phase. Early esophageal rim enhancement was more frequently observed in T3/T4 lesions than T1/T2 lesions with statistical significance (p<0.0001). The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for the diagnosis of T3 or T4 lesion were 80.6%, 87.1% and 83.9%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Early esophageal rim enhancement may be helpful for assessing invasion into the adventitia.

Non-contrast-enhanced MR venography of the upper limb: a comparative study of acquisitions with fresh blood imaging vs. time-of-flight methods.

Non-contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance venography (MRV) of the upper limb acquired by fresh blood imaging (FBI) was compared with time-of-flight (TOF)-MRV. Visualization of three veins (basilic, brachial, and cephalic veins), small branches, and fat suppression was evaluated with a four-point scale (0-3). FBI-MRV was significantly superior for the basilic veins and small venous branches and equivalent for the brachial and cephalic veins to TOF-MRV, with no difference in fat suppression. FBI-MRV would be useful in venous mapping and detection of thrombus.

Myocardial metastasis from squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus.

A 62-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of cancer of the middle thoracic esophagus. We performed a right transthoracic subtotal esophagectomy with systemic three-field lymphadenectomy. Histopathological findings resulted in a diagnosis of well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma staged as pT3N0M0, pStage IIA, with clear surgical margins. Although she had no clinical symptoms, solitary cardiac metastasis located in the ventricular septum close to the apex was detected on the follow-up computed tomography scans during postoperative month 6. Regardless of chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy, she died of the cancer 17 months after the initial operation. An autopsy revealed metastatic lesions to the heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver. There were two metastatic masses in the heart without direct invasion from the outside of the heart. In cases of esophageal cancer, tumor spread to the heart is usually caused by direct invasion; thus, solitary hematopoietic cardiac metastasis is quite rare.

Thrombosis of the left brachiocephalic vein after subtotal esophagectomy with reconstruction using a retrosternally shifted gastric tube: Report of a case.

We performed a right transthoracic subtotal esophagectomy with systemic three-field lymph node dissection, followed by reconstruction with a gastric tube shifted retrosternally into the left side of the neck, for esophageal cancer in a 62-year-old woman. The patient had an uneventful postoperative course until postoperative day (POD) 9, when a venous thrombosis originating from the left brachiocephalic vein and elongating to the left subclavian vein was detected occasionally on computed tomography scans, although there were no clinical symptoms. The left brachiocephalic vein seemed narrowed by compression from the reconstructed gastric tube, and this was considered the cause of the thrombosis. The patient was commenced on thrombolytic therapy, using urokinase, and on anticoagulation therapy, using heparin and warfarin. The thrombus had disappeared completely by POD 38. The anticoagulation therapy was continued for 6 months and no recurrence of the thrombosis has been detected in the 4 months since its completion.