A laparoscopic radical inguinal lymphadenectomy approach partly preserving great saphenous vein branches can benefit for patients with penile carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Inguinal lymphadenectomy (iLAD) is effective for penile carcinoma treatment, but usually results in many complications. This study aims to clinically evaluate the feasibility and clinical significance of a laparoscopic radical iLAD approach partly preserving great saphenous vein branches for penile carcinoma patients. METHODS: A total of 48 patients with penile cancer who underwent laparoscopic radical iLAD with retention of the great saphenous vein in Henan Cancer Hospital from 2012 Jan to 2020 Dec were included in this study. Sixteen penile carcinoma patients who underwent laparoscopic radical iLAD preserving parts of superficial branches of the great saphenous vein were identified as the sparing group, and the matched 32 patients who incised those branches were identified as control group. This new procedure was performed by laparoscopy, preserving parts of superficial branches of the great saphenous vein, superficial lateral and medial femoral veins. Clinicopathological features and perioperative variables were recorded. Postoperative complications, including skin flap necrosis, lymphorrhagia, and lower extremity edema were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: We found that the operative time of the sparing group is significantly longer than the control group (p = 0.011). There was no statistical difference in intraoperative blood loss, the lymph node number per side, average time to remove the drainage tube and postoperative hospital stay between the two groups. Compared to the control group, the sparing group showed a significantly decreased incidence of lower extremity edema (p = 0.018). The preservation of parts of superficial branches of the great saphenous vein was mainly decreased the incidence of edema below ankle (p = 0.034). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that the iLAD with preserving parts of superficial branches of the great saphenous vein, with a decreased incidence of postoperative complications, is a safe and feasible approach for penile cancer.

The effect of 3D carbon nanoadditives on lithium hydroxide monohydrate based composite materials for highly efficient low temperature thermochemical heat storage.

Lithium hydroxide monohydrate based thermochemical heat storage materials were modified with in situ formed 3D-nickel-carbon nanotubes (Ni-CNTs). The nanoscale (5-15 nm) LiOH·H2O particles were well dispersed in the composite formed with Ni-CNTs. These composite materials exhibited improved heat storage capacity, thermal conductivity, and hydration rate owing to hydrogen bonding between H2O and hydrophilic groups on the surface of Ni-CNTs, as concluded from combined results of in situ DRIFT spectroscopy and heat storage performance test. The introduction of 3D-carbon nanomaterials leads to a considerable decrease in the activation energy for the thermochemical reaction process. This phenomenon is probably due to Ni-CNTs providing an efficient hydrophilic reaction interface and exhibiting a surface effect on the hydration reaction. Among the thermochemical materials, Ni-CNTs-LiOH·H2O-1 showed the lowest activation energy (23.3 kJ mol-1), the highest thermal conductivity (3.78 W m-1 K-1) and the highest heat storage density (3935 kJ kg-1), which is 5.9 times higher than that of pure lithium hydroxide after the same hydration time. The heat storage density and the thermal conductivity of Ni-CNTs-LiOH·H2O are much higher than 1D MWCNTs and 2D graphene oxide modified LiOH·H2O. The selection of 3D carbon nanoadditives that formed part of the chemical heat storage materials is a very efficient way to enhance comprehensive performance of heat storage activity components.