Impact of gastrectomy for incurable advanced gastric cancer in urgent situations in the elderly.

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy is the standard treatment for incurable advanced gastric cancer; however, its indications are limited in elderly patients. Furthermore, the efficacy of chemotherapy and surgery as well as the treatment strategy for incurable gastric cancer in elderly patients with urgent conditions are unclear. In these situations, palliative gastrectomy or gastrojejunostomy is often performed. Less invasive surgical procedures should be performed on elderly patients in consideration of their condition; however, gastrectomy may be preferable if it can improve the prognosis. Therefore, we investigated the significance of palliative gastrectomy in elderly patients with incurable advanced gastric cancer who underwent surgery due to stenosis or bleeding. METHODS: Fifty-six patients aged >80 years with stage IV incurable advanced gastric cancer who underwent surgery at our department between February 1992 and July 2021 were included in the study. The patients underwent gastrectomy (distal and total gastrectomy) or gastrojejunostomy. We examined the association between the clinicopathological factors and overall survival after surgery. RESULTS: The subjects included 43 men and 13 women. Twenty-nine patients underwent distal gastrectomy or total gastrectomy, and 27 underwent gastrojejunostomy. The median follow-up duration for all patients was 297 days. The univariate analysis indicated significant differences in the surgical procedure and blood loss. Multivariate analysis showed a significant difference only in the surgical procedure (hazard ratio, 5.32; 95% confidence interval, 2.43-11.6; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Gastrectomy as a palliative surgery for incurable advanced gastric cancer in elderly patients may improve their prognosis.

Pericecal hernia manifesting as a small bowel obstruction successfully treated with laparoscopic surgery.

A pericecal hernia is a type of internal hernia, which rarely causes small bowel obstruction (SBO). At our institution, a 92-year-old man presented with vomiting and abdominal pain. He was conservatively treated with a diagnosis of SBO. After 2 weeks of copious drainage output, he was taken to the operating room. Laparoscopy revealed a pericecal hernia that was successfully reduced. We conclude that laparoscopic surgery is an effective way to treat SBOs secondary to pericecal hernias.

Adult intussusception: a retrospective review.

BACKGROUND: Intussusception is common in children but rare in adults. The goal of this study was to review retrospectively the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of intussusception in adults. METHODS: From 1997 to 2013, we experienced 44 patients of intussusception in patients older than 18 years. The patients were divided into enteric, ileocolic, ileocecal, and colocolonic (rectal) types. The diagnosis and treatment of these patients were reviewed. RESULTS: Of the 44 patients of adult intussusception, 42 were diagnosed with abdominal ultrasonography and abdominal computed tomography. There were 12 patients of enteric intussusception, six patients of ileocolic intussusception, 16 patients of ileocecal type intussusception, and 10 patients of colonic (rectal) intussusception. Among them, 77.3 % were associated with a tumor. Among 12 patients of enteric intussusception, three were associated with a metastatic intestinal tumor, and one was associated with a benign tumor. Among six patients of ileocolic intussusception, two patients were associated with malignant disease. Also, 93.8 % of ileocecal intussusceptions were associated with tumors, 80.0 % of which were malignant. Similarly, 90.0 % of colonic intussusceptions were associated with malignant tumors. Intussusception was reduced before or during surgery in 28 patients. Surgery was performed in 41 patients, and laparoscopy-assisted surgery was performed for ab underlying disease in 12 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative diagnoses were possible in almost all patients. Reduction greatly benefited any surgery required and the extent of the resection regardless of the underlying disease and surgical site.