[Prognostic factors in gastric cancer. Our experience and review of the literature]. / Fattori prognostici nel cancro gastrico. Nostra esperienza e revisione della letteratura.

BACKGROUND: This review of the latest literature and retrospective analysis of the authors' series aimed to identify the most relevant prognostic factors for gastric cancer. METHODS: A total of 81 patients were operated in our series from 1980 onwards. Eighteen patients underwent minor surgery and 5 were not treated. All resected patients underwent R2 lymphadenectomy. RESULTS: In the majority of cases the histiotype was found to be adenocarcinoma. Undifferentiated forms were only found in 8 cases. The prognostic factors identified in our series and in the most recent literature were age, lesion sites, histiotype, the number of metastatic lymph nodes and T3. The poor prognosis in younger patients may be explained by late diagnosis and more aggressive tumours. Neoplasms in the upper third of the stomach have a worse prognosis owing to a faster metastasis rate, lymphatic drainage directly into the left para-aortic lymph nodes and lack of serosa in the gastric fundus, meaning that in practice T2 becomes T3. Lymphatic diffusion represents one of the most important factors, in particular the number of lymph nodes affected by the tumour is decisive for prognosis: from the literature, in both T1-T2 and T3-T4, if > or = 5 lymph nodes are positive then survival rates decrease significantly. CONCLUSIONS: From our personal experience, N2 determines the prognosis in both T2 and T3. N2 is important, but survival diminishes in T3, thus demonstrating the importance of serous infiltration. The majority of Western and Japanese authors deem that T3 represents one of the decisive factors.

[Percutaneous pigtail catheter drainage of peripheral breast abscesses]. / Il drenaggio percutaneo con catetere pigtail degli ascessi mammari a localizzazione periferica.

Almost all peripheral non-lactational breast abscesses are staphylococcal in origin and so percutaneous drainage can be a valid alternative to surgical incision. Percutaneous drainage was performed in eight patients with one or more abscesses. A pigtail catheter was inserted only in foci greater than 3 cm. The results were good in 9 out of 10 purulent collections; one recurrence was observed in the smallest focus. All patients but one underwent local anesthesia and were managed as outpatients.

[Combined surgical treatment with prosthesis of recurrent ventral and inguinal hernias]. / Trattamento chirurgico combinato con protesi di laparocele ed ernia inguinale recidivi.

The presence of associated incisional and groin hernias is relatively rare and it represents an important problem in surgical treatment. The authors here report their experience of three patients treated with no reabsorbable prostheses placed according to Rives' technique for incisional hernias, and according to Stoppa's for inguinal hernias.