Atypical vulvar lipoma - A case report and literature review.

Atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumors of the vulva are rare masses. We report a case of atypical spindle cell lipoma of the vulva and provide a succinct review of the current understanding of these benign masses. Specifically, this report describes a case of a 20-year-old nulligravid female who presented for evaluation of a labial mass that had been growing for one year. A pelvic MRI revealed a 7 cm fatty growth. The vulvar mass was surgically resected. This case report describes the pathologic staining pattern for these masses and reviews characteristics of these benign tumors such that they are not mistaken for malignancy.

Association between pathological positivity rate of endometriosis, demographics, and concomitant gynecological conditions.

Background: To date, there remains a paucity of present-day literature on the topic of demographics and the biopsy-proven pathological positivity rate of endometriosis. Objective: The goal of this study was to explore the association between patients' demographics and other concomitant gynecological conditions or procedures and the pathological positivity rate of excision of endometriosis. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: All women >18 years old who underwent laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis at a tertiary care hospital from October 2011 to October 2020. Women were classified into two groups: (1) Study group: women with >80% pathological positivity rate of endometriosis and (2) Control group: women with <80% pathological positivity rate. Results: A total of 401 women were included in the analysis. No difference was noted in the 80% pathological positivity rate based on body mass index [BMI; 68.7% in normal BMI versus 80% in underweight, versus 74.5% in overweight, and 74.1% in obese patients (p = 0.72)]. The percentage of patients reaching 80% pathological positivity of endometriosis was lower in women who had undergone previous laparoscopy for endometriosis compared to surgery naïve women (66.5% versus 76.5%, p = 0.03). In addition, a higher percentage of women who underwent concomitant hysterectomy (83.5% versus 68.8% for non-hysterectomy, p = 0.005) or bilateral oophorectomy (92.7% versus 70.0% for non-oophorectomy, p = 0.002) reached 80% pathological positivity. Women with an associated diagnosis of fibroids (79.7% versus 70.5%) or adenomyosis (76.4% versus 71.7%) were more likely to reach 80% pathological positivity compared to women without any other coexisting pathology; however, the observed differences were not statistically significant. After applying a log-binomial regression model, compared to White non-Hispanics, Hispanic patients were 30% less likely to reach 80% positivity (RR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.49-1.02), although not statistically significant. Conclusion: No significant racial difference was found when comparing the rates of 80% pathological positivity of suspected endometriosis lesions among groups. Endometriosis pathological positivity rate was unaffected by patients' BMI and the presence of concomitant pathologies. In addition, prior laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis might cause tissue changes that result in a decrease in the observed pathological positivity rate of endometriosis lesions during subsequent surgeries.

Tobacco Smoking and Survival Following a Diagnosis with Ovarian Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the influence of smoking on ovarian cancer survival. We investigated this relationship in a hospital-based study. METHODS: Analyses included 519 women with ovarian cancer. We used multivariable adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models to estimate HRs and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: Risk of all-cause mortality was increased for current smokers (HR = 1.70; 95% CI: 1.09-2.63) versus never smokers, especially for those with ≥15 cigarettes per day (HR = 1.92; 95% CI: 1.15-3.20). Results were largely similar after additional adjustment for debulking status (current vs. never smokers, HR = 2.96; 95% CI: 1.07-8.21) or neoadjuvant chemotherapy (comparable HR = 2.87; 95% CI: 1.02-8.06). Compared with never smokers, smoking duration ≥20 years (HR = 1.38; 95% CI: 0.94-2.03) and ≥20 pack-years (HR = 1.35; 95% CI: 0.92-1.99) were suggestively associated with worse outcomes. Current smoking was also positively associated with the risk of mortality among patients with ovarian cancer recurrence (current vs. never/past smokers, HR = 2.79; 95% CI: 1.44-5.41), despite the null association between smoking and recurrence (HR = 1.46; 95% CI: 0.86-2.48). Furthermore, no association was observed for smoking initiation before age 18 (HR = 1.22; 95% CI: 0.80-1.85), or either environmental smoke exposure at home (HR = 1.16; 95% CI: 0.76-1.78) or at work (HR = 1.10; 95% CI: 0.75-1.60). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest active tobacco smoking is associated with worse ovarian cancer outcomes, particularly after a recurrence. IMPACT: Our findings support structured smoking cessation programs for patients with ovarian cancer, especially in recurrent settings. Further research to confirm these findings and examine the interplay between smoking and the tumor immune microenvironment may help provide insight into ovarian cancer etiology.

Association of individual surgeon volume and postoperative outcome in esophagomyotomy for achalasia.

BACKGROUND: Many surgical disciplines have demonstrated superior outcomes when procedures are performed at "high-volume". Esophagomyotomy is commonly performed for achalasia, however it's unclear what constitutes "high-volume" for this procedure, and if individual procedure volume and outcome are related. We identified physicians performing esophagomyotomy, stratified them by individual case volume, and examined their outcomes with the hypothesis that high-volume surgeons will be associated with improved outcomes as compared to low-volume surgeons. METHODS: The 2015-2019 Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) inpatient dataset was queried for esophagomyotomy. Surgeons who performed ≥ 10 procedures during the study period were placed into the high-volume cohort, and those performing < 10 into the low-volume cohort. Groups were compared by length of stay, discharge disposition, and postoperative complications. Patient demographics were evaluated using student's t test and chi square test, p < 0.05 considered significant. RESULTS: Six hundred and sixty-two procedures performed by 135 surgeons were identified. The mean number of esophagomyotomies per surgeon was 4.9 (Range 1-147). The high-volume group (n = 12) performed 362 of the 662 procedures (55%), while the low-volume group (n = 123) performed the remaining 300 (45%). Patients of high-volume physicians had decreased length of stay (1.4 ± 0.8 days vs 4.9 ± 6.7 days, p = 0.01) and were more likely to be discharged to home following surgery (92.8% vs 86.0, p = 0.04). High volume physicians also had statistically significant differences in rates of urinary tract infection (1.4% vs 4.0%, p = 0.034), postoperative malnutrition (5.8% vs 11.0%, p = 0.015), and postoperative fluid and electrolyte disorders (5.5% vs 13.3%, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Surgeons who perform higher volumes of esophagomyotomies are associated with decreased length of stay, higher likelihood of patient discharge to home, and decreased rates of some postoperative complications. This research should prompt further inquiry into defining what constitutes a high-volume center in foregut surgery and their role in improving patient outcomes.

How Big Is Too Big?: The Effect of Defect Size on Postoperative Complications of Vertical Rectus Abdominis Flap Reconstruction.

BACKGROUND: The vertical rectus abdominis myocutaneous (VRAM) flap has been frequently used for perineal reconstruction given the high potential for wound complications associated with direct closure of this area. However, the relationship between defect size and postoperative complications remains undefined. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of the last 20 years for VRAM flaps was performed. Defect size, age, body mass index (BMI), cause of defect, sex, radiation, and flap donor laterality were recorded. Complications of infection, partial flap loss, total flap loss, minor wounds, treated nonoperatively, and major wound, which required reoperation, were analyzed with respect to defect size. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the demographic and clinical characteristics of the included patients. Associations were assessed using binary logistic regression analysis, and difference in means for compared groups was assessed using the independent samples t test. P values were set at 5% for all comparisons. RESULTS: There were 65 patients with VRAM flaps identified during the review period. Mean defect size was 204.71 cm2. Mean age was 63.97, and mean BMI was 27.18. History of prior radiation was noted in 90.77% of patients (n = 59). When adjusted for age and BMI, mean defect area was significantly different for patients with minor or major wounds. Larger perineal defects were associated with increased risk of major wound complications (odds ratio, 1.012; 95% confidence interval, 1.003-1.022). CONCLUSIONS: The vertical rectus abdominis flap has been a workhorse flap for perineal reconstruction. Defect size does not affect risk of partial flap necrosis, complete flap loss, infection, abdominal fascial dehiscence, ventral hernia, or seroma, which supports the utility of VRAM flap for perineal reconstruction. Larger perineal defects are associated with increased risk for major wound complications, which required reoperation, regardless of age or BMI. Future studies should be performed to determine if there is a maximum defect size cutoff that limits the utility of VRAM flap reconstruction or to develop a predictive model to assess the risk of major wound complications based on defect size.

Sweet's syndrome associated with hematological malignancies.

BACKGROUND: Sweet's syndrome, or acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis, is often mistaken for a skin infection given its similar clinical presentation. OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical presentations and management of a rare dermatologic condition associated with hematological malignancies. METHODS: Case series; Chart review of patients at Moffitt Cancer Center between 2017 and 2020. RESULTS: The subjects are a 79 year-old man (Patient 1) with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS), a 66 year-old woman (Patient 2) with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), a 56 year-old man (Patient 3) with AML, and a 69 year-old man (Patient 4) with MDS. Patient 1 was initially misdiagnosed with neutropenic fever. Patient 2 was incidentally discovered to have erythematous skin lesions prior to initiating chemotherapy. Before starting second line chemotherapy, patient 3 developed pathergy at the site of a PICC line. Patient 4 developed erythema around a newly placed port before initiating chemotherapy. Only patients 1 and 3 received glucocorticoids. Patients 2, 3, and 4 were able to initiate chemotherapy without further complications. LIMITATIONS: Heterogeneity of subjects in terms of prognostic factors, stage at diagnosis, and treatment strategies. CONCLUSION: Early recognition and treatment of malignancy-associated Sweet's syndrome is imperative to limit patient morbidity and expeditiously provide anti-cancer treatments.