Desmoid tumor of the mesentery in a patient after restorative proctocolectomy as a result of familial adenomatous polyposis - case reports.

Desmoid (desmoid tumor) is a cytologically benign fibrous tumor that originates from musculoskeletal structures of the entire body [1]. The term "desmoid", first introduced by Muller in 1838, derives from the Greek word desmos, which means tendinous [2]. The etiopathogenesis of desmoid is not fully understood, most reports of publications regarding its treatment are based on individual case reports. The prognosis is good, and healing is achieved mainly through surgical excision of the lesion. The aim of the paper is to present a case of a 33-year-old woman with diagnosed familial polyposis in the colon, who has been identified with mesenteric desmoid.ic desmoid.

Adrenal myelolipomas composed with adrenal nodular hyperplasia in the same gland.

Adrenal myelolipoma is a benign neoplasm composed of an admixture of hemopoietic elements and mature adipose tissue. The incidence of adrenal myelolipoma is reported as between 4% and 5% of adrenal incidentaloma. The association of an adrenal myelolipoma and adrenal nodular hyperplasia or adrenal adenoma is rare. Four cases of adrenal myelolipomas in the material of 702 incidentally discovered adrenal lesions treated in our center are presented in this paper (in a group of 294 operated patients). Two myelolipomas have been reported as isolated adrenal masses and two - in association with adrenocortical nodular hyperplasia.

[Orbital decompression for thyroid orbitopathy]. / Dekompresja oczodolu w przypadku orbitopatii tarczycowej.

Thyroid orbitopathy may result in significant proptosis that causes visual lost. Besides pharmacologic and radiotherapeutic procedures surgically decompression of the orbital skeleton occasionally is managed. We present series of 3 patients (5 procedures) who underwent orbital decompressions. The preoperative proptosis ranged from 22 to 31mm. Decompression was performed by an external Walsh-Ogura approach in 3 orbits and in 2 by an endoscopic approach. The reduction in proptosis was 4-6mm in external approach cases and 4-5mm in endoscopic procedures. Diplopia was noted in 2 patients preoperatively, and no one had new postoperative diplopia. Surgical orbital decompression is occasionally necessary procedure or visual lost rescue in thyroid orbitopathy and in cases of diplopia can not improve muscular function. Endoscopic surgery is a safe and effective management in moderate proptosis. Autoimmunologic inflammatory changes in nasal mucosa do not increase postoperative complication risk.

Surgical morphology of the pancreatic isthmus.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic isthmus method anastomosis following pancreatic resection is an important factor of postoperative fistula formation. While the anatomy and vascular supply of the pancreatic head have been studied in detail, little is known about the morphology of the pancreatic isthmus. The authors determine the anatomy and morphology of the pancreatic isthmus. METHODS: 99 consecutive cadaveric pancreatic specimens were taken during standard autopsy. Organs were transected at the isthmus and pancreatograms and microscopic specimens of the transection plane were analyzed. RESULTS: The mean size of the Wirsung duct at the isthmus was 2.89 mm (+/-0.87 mm, from 1.4 to 6 mm). The main pancreatic duct was located approximately in the middle of the pancreatic cross-section plane in almost all specimens. The total number of second-degree pancreatic ducts visible on pancreatograms within the isthmus was 1.77 (+/-1.00, from 0 to 4) and 1.83 (+/-1.4, from 0 to 5) on microscopic analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of second-degree pancreatic ducts at the transection site might favor the use of a pancreaticoenteric anastomosis with stump invagination to reduce the risk of anastomotic leakage. and IAP.

Pancreatic duct diversity.

OBJECTIVES: The formation of the pancreatic duct system is the result of the fusion of 2 embryonic buds, the ventral and dorsal primordia. Frequently, this fusion process is localized in the pancreatic head; variations, however, may account for the structural diversity of the duct system. Pancreatic duct anomalies and diversity of body and tail are thought to be casuistic. METHODS: Ninety-nine consecutive adult autopsies with reference to macroscopic anomalies in the distal part of the gland were evaluated. Pancreatograms were performed after large duodenal papilla cannulation. Ducts parallel to gland axis with a diameter of at least one third of the main pancreatic duct at the junction point and aberrant duct with different shapes and/or abnormal third-degree ductuli architecture were noted. RESULTS: Our study revealed a 9.9% frequency of main pancreatic duct diversity in the pancreatic corpus and tail. Eleven atypical ducts were visible, 9 cranially and 2 caudally from the main pancreatic duct. CONCLUSIONS: The pancreatic duct system in the body and the tail presents abnormal configuration not described in the past.

Pancreatic cross-section: an elliptical model.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic surgery has developed over the last 60 years. A pancreaticoduodenectomy of the pancreatic head and duodenal papilla is the most common procedure. The most popular pancreatic cross-section site of a pancreaticoduodenectomy is the isthmus of the gland. The pancreatic isthmus anatomical configuration is still being considered. STUDY DESIGN: The authors propose a new parametric descriptive system of pancreatic cross-section based on an elliptical model. RESULTS: The pancreatic cross-section was evaluated as a geometric ellipse and the location of the pancreatic duct was based on coordinates. When analyzing the cross-section plane of the pancreatic isthmus, the mean size of the pancreatic isthmus cross-section was 10.46+/-2.34 mm in width (mean+/-SD) and 25.55+/-4.56 mm in length. The mean vertical/horizontal distance ratio was 0.42+/-0.12. The mean size of the main pancreatic duct was 1.02x2.46 mm. The mean distribution coordinates of the main pancreatic duct were: X 51.23; Y 50.60. CONCLUSIONS: A proportional model of pancreatic isthmus cross-section analysis is easy and effective, and could become a valuable tool in future anatomical studies. The system described allows us to analyze data acquired from several investigators.

[Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis--a serious complication of peritoneal dialysis with not characteristic symptoms]. / Stwardniajace zapalenie otrzewnej--ciezkie powiklanie dializy otrzewnowej o nietypowym przebiegu.

Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS) is a serious complication in patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD). We report the case of a 45 years old woman who developed EPS five years after being placed on CAPD. We did not observe any typical abdominal symptoms. Recurrent cloudy and blood stained dialysate as well as deterioration of adequacy were noted few month before histological verification. The results of radiological findings did not allow for precise diagnosis. A patient had undergone an operation because of massive bleeding to the renal cyst during which a completely walled up peritoneal cavity was revealed (the bowel loops were cocooned in thickened peritoneum). Histological examination of peritoneal specimen confirmed the diagnosis. The patient died due to inflammatory and bleeding complications one month after an operation.

Blood supply of colorectal polyps correlates with risk of bleeding after colonoscopic polypectomy.

BACKGROUND: The most common complication of endoscopic polypectomy is hemorrhage. Several factors have been reported to increase the risk of hemorrhage after polypectomy, but controversies still exist. Additionally, the pathomechanism of this complication is not well understood. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk factors of colonoscopic postpolypectomy bleeding in patients without bleeding disorders and the blood supply of resected polyps. PATIENTS: Two hundred forty-five patients (147 men, 98 women; median age, 62.8 +/- 9.5 years [SD]) with 283 colorectal polyps, measuring > or =1 cm in diameter, were included in this prospective study. INTERVENTIONS: The polypectomies were performed using the conventional endoscopic method. Data on the patients' age and sex, as well as polyp location, size, shape, and pathology findings were recorded. The patients were observed for bleeding complications. Microscopic examination of the vascular supply of the removed polyps was performed. RESULTS: Twenty-nine postpolypectomy hemorrhages (10.2%) occurred. The bleeding rate correlated with the size, shape, and pathology results of resected polyps. The microscopic analysis revealed that sessile and thick-stalked pedunculated polyps are supplied with more vessels than other polyps. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with polyps larger than 17 mm, pedunculated polyps with a stalk diameter >5 mm, sessile polyps, and malignant lesions of the colorectal region are at high risk of hemorrhage after endoscopic excision. Moreover, on the basis of microscopic study, broad-based polyps are supplied with a considerable number of blood vessels.

Microvascular density in chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic adenocarcinoma represent two pathologic phenomena with marked production of connective tissue stroma containing numerous small blood vessels. The aim of this study was to characterise quantitatively the vascular supply of pancreatic adenocarcinoma and fragments of the periductal tissue collected from patients with chronic pancreatitis. The study material included 18 cases of pancreatitis and 22 cases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Microvessels were marked using monoclonal anti-CD34 antibodies. The number of blood vessels in the fibrous stroma was significantly higher in the chronic pancreatitis samples compared to the pancreatic carcinoma group (mean vessel count 298 and 194 vessel/mm2; median 251 and 187 vessel/mm2 respectively; p<0.01). Distributions of the vascular diameter in both studied groups were very similar. The obtained results suggest that the development of vascular network accompanying chronic pancreatitis is more effective in some parts of pancreas compared to angiogenic intensity in pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Immunocytes and activated stellate cells in pancreatic fibrogenesis.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Chronic pancreatitis is a progressive chronic inflammatory disease characterized by irreversible destruction of exocrine pancreatic tissue and extensive fibrosis. Excessive alcohol consumption has been identified as the main etiologic factor of this disease in the Western world. Idiopathic pancreatitis accounts for approximately 30% of cases. An autoimmune mechanism may be involved in some patients, but this concept has not been generally accepted as a new clinical entity. The purpose of this work was to investigate the pathogenesis of pancreatic fibrosis and to establish the role of immunocytes and activated stellate cells in chronic pancreatitis, which was categorized into three groups: chronic alcoholic pancreatitis (AP), chronic idiopathic pancreatitis (IP), and chronic pancreatitis in the presence of pancreatic cancer (CA). METHODOLOGY: Fifty-one pancreatic tissue samples were studied histopathologically and immunohistochemically (AP, 16 samples; IP, 12; CA, 12; and samples of tissue with apparently normal pancreatic histology, 11). The following immunohistochemical stains were used: alpha-smooth muscle antibody, desmin, and synaptophysin, as markers of activated stellate cells; and laminin, fibronectin, and collagen IV, as markers of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. Immunocytes were stained with antibody to LCA, CD68 antibody (macrophages), and CD8 antibody (natural killer T cell subset), and mast cells were examined using the Giemsa method. Positively stained macrophages, lymphocytes, and mast cells were counted in three high-power fields of a light microscope. The immunoreactivity of activated stellate cells and ECM proteins was assessed by a semiquantitative method (0, lack of positive staining; 5, numerous cells with strong positive immunostaining). Results were assessed statistically. RESULTS: We found no statistical differences between cases of AP, IP, and CA in terms of total lymphocyte count (mean numbers: 416, 418, and 407 per three high-power fields, respectively). The percentage of CD8+ T cells in IP was statistically higher than that in AP. The macrophage count was significantly higher in the IP group than in the AP and CA groups. The mast cell count was markedly higher in the IP group than in the other groups. The stellate cell markers alpha-smooth muscle antibody and desmin showed slightly higher immunoreactivity in IP. The immunopositivity for synaptophysin was also higher in the IP group. There was a positive correlation between alpha-smooth muscle antibody, desmin, and synaptophysin expression and the degree of fibrosis. ECM protein markers showed no statistically significant differences between the three groups. CONCLUSION: Results of this work show that a significant number of IP cases might have an autoimmune etiology. There was a positive correlation between activated stellate cell marker expression and the degree of fibrosis.