Ten simultaneous operations in one patient

In a patient, a woman of 62 years, one surgical team has performed consecutively over 3 h 45 min 10 operations for different diseases: extirpation of the uterus with appendages, removal of retroperitoneal fibrosarcoma, appendectomy, 30 cm-resection of the small intestine, polypectomy from the rectum, creation of sygmorectoanastomosis, plastic reconstruction of postoperative ventral hernia with duplication, sectoral resection of mammary gland, removal of papilloma and lipoma of abdominal wall. The outcome is favorable.     

A comparative analysis of effectiveness of surgical treatment of fibroadenomas in young girls

Results of the examination of young girls (13-17 years of age) who came to consult a doctor for different complaints of the state of their mammary glands are described. Age-dependent peculiarities of the mammary gland tissue in this category of patients imply the thorough preoperative examination. The ultrasonic investigation of the mammary gland is the method of choice. Fibroadenoma was diagnosed in 50 patients, fibrocystic mastopathy in 27, mastopathia cystica in 81, mastitis and other diseases in 5 patients. In 54 patients no pathology of the mammary glands was revealed. A comparative analysis of two groups of patients operated upon is given: a control group (25) with the operations in the volume of a classical sectoral resection and a main group (25) with a sectoral resection performed by a modified method. In the control group the cosmetic effect after the traditional sectoral resection was estimated as dissatisfactory in 76%: there were signs of keloidization of the scar, hypertrophic scar with pigmentation. In the majority of patients there was an atrophic scar with a pronounced deficiency of the volume of the mammary gland and its asymmetry. In the main group patients the complete absence of the signs of postoperative scar was noted in 16 (64%) patients. They were operated on by the modified method (periareolar resection). A conclusion is made that when the operation is thought to be inevitable, the low degree of risk of breast cancer requires a transformation of the surgical strategy towards the reduction of the volume of ablated tissues and employment of modified variants of surgery resulting in the maximum cosmetic effect.     

Surgical management of malignant tumors of the lacrimal gland

Malignant lacrimal gland tumors are rare but serious and life-threatening neoplasms. Patients frequently present with symptoms of less than 1 year duration, often demonstrating rapid change during the 6 months preceding diagnosis. Pain and periorbital sensory changes are also reported by patients. Radiographically, bone destruction is a strong indication of a lacrimal gland malignancy as is ophthalmoplegia. Radical three-dimensional resection utilizing a cranioorbital approach offers the best chance for total tumor removal. Immediate reconstruction with a scalp flap is essential for primary healing, as well as esthetic balance of the orbital region.     

Risks and consequences of incidental parathyroidectomy during thyroid resection

BACKGROUND: Inadvertent removal of the parathyroid glands during elective thyroid surgery occurs more frequently in certain high-risk patients and can lead to symptomatic hypocalcaemia. METHODS: A case-control study was carried out at a tertiary referral, academic medical centre between May 1994 and August 2001. Five hundred and thirteen patients underwent thyroid resection. Pathology reports were reviewed to identify patients who had the inadvertent removal of a parathyroid gland during their thyroid surgery. Thirty-three (6.4%) patients had inadvertent resection of a parathyroid gland. The outcomes of these 33 patients (INCIDENTAL) were compared with the other 480 patients who did not have resection of parathyroid tissue (NO INCIDENTAL). RESULTS: Risk factors for inadvertent parathyroid resection included younger age (P = 0.003), bilateral thyroid resection (P = 0.001) and malignant pathology (P = 0.002). Factors that did not increase the risk of incidental parathyroidectomy included gland weight, sex, presence of a goitre, previous neck exploration and concurrent lymph node dissection. In the INCIDENTAL group 24% had a postoperative calcium levels less than 7.0 mg/dL (P = 0.001). Symptomatic hypocalcaemia developed in 12% of INCIDENTAL patients, compared to 4% in the NO INCIDENTAL group (P = 0.06). CONCLUSION: Incidental removal of parathyroid tissue occurred in 6.4% of thyroid resections. Younger patients undergoing a total or subtotal thyroidectomy for malignancy were at the highest risk. These patients had lower postoperative calcium levels, but the majority (88%) experienced no clinical consequences.     

Brunner’s gland hamartoma of the duodenum

Brunner’s gland hamartoma (BGH) is a rare benign tumour of the duodenum. We present a case of duodenal obstruction caused by a BGH, which required surgical resection after a failed attempt at endoscopic removal.     

"Carcinoma in situ" of the mammary gland (author's transl)

The paper summarizes the available knowledge on the so-called "cancer in situ" of the mammary gland. In 1960 to 1975 61 patients were operated on at the Institute. The diagnosis "carcinoma in situ"--was not established before a microscopic study of the removed specimen was conducted. Following sectoral resections of the mammary gland für "carcinoma in situ" two patients developed cancer in other quadrants of the gland: one--after 45 years, the other after 15 years. The authors believe the term "carcinoma in situ" to be improper for clinical practice due to its inherent contradiction, which not infrequently results in diagnostic, therapeutic and organisational errors.     

经尿道分叶推移切割法治疗前列腺增生

目的采用经尿道前列腺分叶推移切割法以提高前列腺切除效果。方法利用等离子腔内切割系统．分叶推移切割逐叶切除前列腺增生组织。结果120例前列腺增生患均安全干净切除。结论经尿道分叶推移切割法手术进展快．切除干净，手术较安全．且患恢复快。     

Intraoperative total serum calcium levels,unlike intraoperative intact PTH levels,do not correlate with cure of hyperparathyroidism

BACKGROUND: Intraoperative intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) monitoring is useful in the operative management of hyperparathyroidism. Recent studies suggest that measurement of intraoperative total serum calcium (TSC) levels may be a more cost effective and readily available method of intraoperative guidance during neck dissection than iPTH levels, the gold standard. We compared the accuracy of intraoperative TSC to iPTH in predicting surgical cure during parathyroidectomy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From September 1, 2001 to October 31, 2002, 88 parathyroidectomies were performed. iPTH and TSC were measured at the start of the operation, and at 5 and 10 min after gland removal. Data were compared, and trends were analyzed with respect to removal of abnormal parathyroid tissue as confirmed by pathology. One-way analysis of variance was used to determine if decreases in TSC were significant. RESULTS: The mean baseline iPTH level (418 +/- 610 pg/ml) dropped by 70% 5 min after removal of the abnormal glands (86 +/- 102 pg/ml) and by 85% at 10 min (39 +/- 39 pg/ml). The mean baseline TSC level (10.0 +/- 0.8 mg/dl) dropped by 4% at 5 min after removal of the abnormal glands (9.6 +/- 0.9 mg/dl) and remained at 4% at 10 min (9.6 +/- 0.8 mg/dl). iPTH dropped by > or =50% in 73 patients (83%) at 5 min and in 87 patients (99%) at 10 min after gland resection. TSC decreased below baseline at 5 min and remained below baseline at 10 min in only 47 patients (54%). In the remaining patients, intraoperative TSC changes were less predictable and did not respond consistently to resection of abnormal glands. CONCLUSIONS: The decreases in TSC during parathyroidectomy, if present, are minimal. Unlike iPTH levels, TSC levels do not consistently decrease at 5 and 10 min after gland resection. While attractive in terms of cost and availability, intraoperative TSC levels are not clinically reliable in confirming removal of abnormal parathyroid tissue.     

Successful combined resection of carcinoma of the esophagus and adrenal metastasis: Report of a case

We report herein the case of a 56-year-old man who underwent successful combined resection of carcinoma of the esophagus and an adrenal metastasis. The patient presented with carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus, and an adrenal tumor was incidentally detected by computed tomography(CT). Complete removal of the carcinoma was accomplished along with a combined resection of the thoracic esophagus and left adrenal gland. Surgery was followed by the administration of anticancer chemotherapeutic agents. He is currently doing well with a grade 1 performance status and no signs of recurrence 22 months after his operation. To our knowledge, no previous report of the successful simultaneous resection of esophageal carcinoma and an adrenal metastasis has been documented in the literature.     

A case of surgical resection of metastatic multiple lung pheochromocytoma with long-term survival]

A case of resection of metastatic multiple lung malignant pheochromocytoma is presented. Seven years before, total resection of the right adrenal gland and the right kidney was performed to remove a pheochromocytoma. During the post-surgical observation in the urology outpatient clinic, the blood noradrenalin concentration increased and multiple lung metastatic nidi were observed by chest X-ray. An excision was made to remove 3 wedge-shape metastatic nidi from both lungs. In the third year after the removal of the pulmonary metastatic nidi, a resection was again performed due to recurrence in the left retroperitoneal lymph node. Another recurrence was found in the S6 liver 1 year after the removal of the lymph node, and TAE and PEIT were conducted. When the recurrent metastatic nidi were found, the blood noradrenalin concentration was elevated, and it normalized after treatment. In this case, careful and long-term observation including monitoring the blood noradrenalin concentration in the outpatient clinic and positive surgical treatment proved effective. The patient is currently in good health without signs of recurrence 12 years after the removal of the primary adrenal nidus and 6 years after the removal of the pulmonary metastatic nidus.     

Surgical removal of growth hormone-secreting pituitary adenomas with intensive microsurgical pseudocapsule resection results in complete remission of acromegaly

Although some investigators recommended surgical removal of the borders between pituitary adenoma and the surrounding normal pituitary gland, there is so far little documentation of how intensive dissection of the border zone affects the actual clinical remission rate of pituitary adenomas. We investigated the precise histological characteristics of the boundary, using surgical specimens from patients who underwent intensive resection of microsurgical pseudocapsule of growth hormone (GH)-secreting pituitary adenomas. Furthermore, we compared the remission rate of acromegaly between subjects with (Group 1) and without (Group 2) intensive resection of microsurgical pseudocapsule in order to correlate the histological complete resection and endocrinological remission. Histologically, most adenomas were in direct contact with normal pituitary gland that formed an increased fibrous component facing the adenoma, without a true histological pseudocapsule. It was impossible to dissect the tumor at exactly the tumor–normal pituitary interface for the whole extent of the pituitary adenoma during surgery, and complete removal of the tumor inevitably included a portion of normal tissue (microsurgical pseudocapsule). The biochemical remission rate was significantly higher in Group 1 than in Group 2 (90.0 vs 61.1%), and Group 1 showed no additional postoperative pituitary hypofunction. The present results suggested that intensive resection of the microsurgical pseudocapsule is essential to accomplish histological and endocrinological total resection of the GH-secreting pituitary adenomas for remission of acromegaly.     

Image-guided endonasal transsphenoidal microsurgical treatment of recurrent microadenomas of the pituitary gland.

BACKGROUND: Neuronavigation is a commonly used technology that provides continuous, three-dimensional information for the precise localization of and surgical trajectory to brain lesions. This study was performed to evaluate the role that navigation can play in assisting microsurgical transsphenoidal surgery for precise localization and removal of recurrent pituitary tumours while simultaneously preserving pituitary gland function. METHOD: During a 6-month period -- July 2004 until December 2004 -- 9 patients with recurrent pituitary tumours (5 female and 4-male) were treated with navigation-guided transsphenoidal microsurgical resection. Surgery was performed via a paraseptal or endonasal transsphenoidal approach. The navigation system Vector Vision (Brain Lab, Heimstetten, Germany) allowed precise localization of the tumours (7 hormonal active and 2 inactive microadenomas) in respect to the pituitary gland, the carotid arteries and the cavernous sinus. RESULTS: Postoperative MRI investigations of the 9 patients treated with image-guided transsphenoidal microsurgery, showed total tumour removal in 7 (77 %) patients and subtotal removal in 2 patients (23 %). One patient (11 %) developed a cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) leak and was treated conservatively. One patient (11 %) had preoperative insufficiency of the corticotrope axis which remained unchanged postoperatively. Of the remaining 8 patients who did not have preoperative endocrinological disturbance, only one (12 %) developed postoperative insufficiency of the corticotrope axis. Out of the 7 patients with hormone active tumours, 5 (72 %) patients showed no more postoperative hormonal activity. CONCLUSION: Microneurosurgical transsphenoidal techniques combined with image-guided systems can precisely define the localization and removal of lesions in the sella region with respect to the margins of important anatomical structures in the neighbourhood and the endocrinological functionality of the pituitary gland.     

原发性甲状旁腺功能亢进症66例分析

目的：探讨原发性甲状旁腺功能亢进症及合并高钙危象的诊断与治疗。方法：66例原发性甲状旁腺功能亢进症患者均经手术治疗,59例甲状旁腺腺瘤、4例甲状旁腺增生仅行肿物切除,3例甲状旁腺癌同时切除同侧甲状腺、峡部及周围软组织。结果：66例患者均治愈,术后无甲状旁腺功能减低或喉返神经损伤等并发症。合并高钙危象患者经快速大量补液、利尿、降钙并结合手术治疗,术后血钙下降至正常水平。结论：血钙和甲状旁腺素可作为初步诊断方法,B超及99mTc-MIBI可做出定位诊断,甲状旁腺肿物切除术是有效治疗手段。     

The dynamics of pancreatic blood flow ion various methods of pancreatic stump formation in patients operated for gastric cancer

The results of direct rheopancreatography and estimation of the central hemodynamics indexes in 22 patients, operated on for gastric cancer with the pancreatic gland (PG) resection performance, are adduced. The phase changes of pancreatic blood flow (hyperemia, ischemia and normalization), not depending on the method of the PG stump formation are noted.     

Surgeon's strategies in gastroduodenal ulcer hemorrhage

The results of surgical treatment of 1491 patients with gastroduodenal ulcer, complicated by gastrointestinal hemorrhage, were analyzed. Among 757 patients, operated on, there were performed truncal vagotomy, selective proximal vagotomy, pyloroduodenoplasty, duodenoplasty, gastric resection, sectoral gastric resection. Application of elaborated lifesaving active individually-rational tactics have permitted to lower the total and postoperative mortality in occurrence of the ulcer gastroduodenal hemorrhage.     

Metastatic malignant pheochromocytoma of adrenal gland

Malignant pheochromocytoma is a rare disease with a high mortality. Surgical removal is usually curative while chemotherapy and radiotherapy are palliative treatments. A case of metastatic malignant pheochromocytoma of the right adrenal gland is presented who had fluctuating blood pressure with episodic headache and raised urinary VMA levels. Thoraco-abdominal resection of the tumour resulted in control of blood pressure and patient was asymptomatic at 4 months follow-up.     

Transthoracic approach in the thoracic outlet syndrome: an alternate operative route for removal of the first rib

This retrospective study compares the results of two surgical procedures, a transaxillary and a transthoracic (that is, anterolateral thoracotomy) approach, in the treatment of the thoracic outlet syndrome by first rib resection. After transaxillary first rib removal (13 cases), initially our procedure of choice, 84% of conditions were improved, 8% were unchanged, and 8% were worse after 1 year. One permanent, disabling brachial plexus injury occurred after this operation. Transthoracic first rib resection (18 cases), presently our preferred technique, resulted in improvement in 87% of cases, with 13% of symptoms unchanged after 1 year. Although two female patients felt mild paresthesia of the mammary gland, no one has been made worse following this route. These two approaches have achieved similar results in the surgical management of this syndrome. Nevertheless, when first rib resection is indicated, our favored and recommended procedure is transthoracic, because this route appears less hazardous for brachial plexus damage.     

Hormonal activity and morphological changes in the thyroid gland in toxic goiter

The Basedow's and basedowified goiter with proliferation of the follicular epithelium was revealed in 82-88% of patients with severe and mild thyreotoxicosis. These patients, as a rule, have high indices of the thyroid hormones in the blood. In patients with a light form of toxic goiter such histological changes were noted in half of the patients, proliferation of the thyroid epithelium was noted only in 25% of cases. Data of comparison of the hormonal and orphological changes in the thyroid gland were used for choosing the volume of resection of the gland. It allowed the incidence of postoperative recurrences of thyreotoxicosis to be reduced to 0,82% and of stable hypothyrosis to 0,75%.     

Intraoperative parathyroid hormone monitoring fails to detect double parathyroid adenomas: a 2-institution experience.

BACKGROUND: We hypothesized that intraoperative parathyroid hormone monitoring (IOPTH) reliably would detect double parathyroid adenomas. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of 20 patients undergoing conventional parathyroidectomy with resection of exactly 2 abnormal glands. Full exploration was performed regardless of IOPTH values, which were measured after anesthetic induction and 5 and 10 minutes following removal of the first abnormal parathyroid gland. Failure to fall below 50% of baseline value by 10 minutes following resection of the first gland indicated the presence of multiglandular disease. RESULTS: All patients were cured. All excised glands were hypercellular on histology. Mean IOPTH values in 9 of the 20 patients with true negative results (noncurative decrease, another gland present) were 66% +/- 7% at 5 minutes and 83% +/- 15% at 10 minutes. The IOPTH values in 11 of the 20 patients with false positive results (curative decrease, another gland present) were 28% +/- 4% at 5 minutes and 18% +/- 2% at 10 minutes. The false positive rate of IOPTH was 55%. CONCLUSIONS: We found that IOPTH failed to reliably detect the presence of double parathyroid adenomas. These data suggest that caution should be exercised when terminating limited parathyroid exploration based on a curative fall in IOPTH values.     

Serum melatonin levels: a new neurodiagnostic tool in pineal region tumors?

The pineal hormone melatonin (MLT) is secreted in a circadian rhythm with high serum levels during nighttime and low serum levels during daytime. Several authors have reported an altered secretion pattern of MLT in patients with pineal tumors and have proposed that MLT may be used as a tumor marker. In nine patients, a pineal region tumor was diagnosed by computer-assisted tomography. Before and after surgical removal of the tumor, several day- and nighttime serum samples were collected and MLT concentrations were estimated by radioimmunoassay. Before operation, five patients presented a normal circadian pattern of MLT secretion. In the remaining four subjects, MLT levels were undetectable or at the limit of detection, with no signs of a circadian secretion pattern. Eight patients were reexamined after tumor resection, when all but one had undetectable or very low MLT levels. The remaining subject, with a pineomesencephalic pilocytic astrocytoma, dislocating but not involving the pineal gland, presented a normal circadian secretion pattern of MLT after operation; in this case, tumor resection was possible without damaging the pineal gland. Thus, before operation, MLT deficiency rather than exaggerated serum levels may be used as a marker for pineal tumors that destroy the pineal gland. After tumor resection, serum MLT may serve to demonstrate complete pinealectomy.