Can We Measure the Quality of Breast Surgical Care?

Many studies have demonstrated gaps in healthcare quality for all medical and surgical specialties including breast surgical care. How to optimally measure and improve quality has generated debate at the local, state, and national level. Attempts to judge medical performance by private companies using non-risk-adjusted administrative databases may not be accurate and may unfairly penalize surgical care. An overview of concepts to measure and improve quality of breast cancer care is presented with specific examples relevant to breast surgeons. Breast surgeons and their professional organizations need to take ownership of quality measure programs because others will surely do so if we do not. Participation in one or more of these programs is beneficial because peer performance comparison allows identification of potential areas for individual or institutional improvement and demonstrates the commitment of breast surgeons to quality improvement. This commitment may gain even greater importance if trends continue toward performance-based physician payment, patient steerage, licensure, and board certification.     

How Wide Should Margins Be for Phyllodes Tumors of the Breast?

The surgical management of phyllodes tumors (PTs) is still controversial. Some studies have suggested surgical margins ≥1 cm, but recent studies suggested that negative margins could be appropriate regardless of their width. To evaluate recurrence rates of PTs following surgery according to margins. Retrospective study of women who attended a tertiary breast cancer reference center between 1998 and 2010: 142 patients with a PT diagnosis, either at minimally invasive breast biopsy or at surgery, were identified. Clinical, pathologic and follow‐up characteristics were assessed. Among 140 patients who underwent surgery, 64.3% of biopsies accurately predicted the final PT diagnosis at surgery. Forty‐two (42/87, 48.3%) PTs had positive margins. Twenty‐one (21/42, 50.0%) patients had a surgical revision of margins. Only one (1/42, 2.4%) had margins greater or equal to 1 cm. After a median follow‐up of 1.29 years in benign PTs, 4.99 years in borderline PTs, and 5.42 years in malignant PTs, there were five local recurrences, three in originally benign PTs and two in borderline PTs. All were managed with surgery. Four had initial margins ≤1 mm. One patient with borderline PT had a local recurrence and later progressed to regional recurrence and metastasis. Free surgical margins are necessary to treat PT, and margins of at least 1 mm might be sufficient to prevent recurrence. Core needle biopsy might not be the best diagnostic tool for PTs.     

How to improve the incorporation of massive allografts?

The incorporation of a bone graft is the result of creeping and substitutional activities that remove the original grafted bone and replace it by newly formed bone from the host cells. However, this intricate process is very limited in time and space. A bone allograft is poorly remodeled and is almost non viable even after several years of implantation. This lack of vitality accounts for the high rate of complications such as non union and fracture. One way to minimize the allograft complications is to improve its incorporation. The process of incorporation in animals and human beings is reviewed as well as the various avenues for a biologic improvement either through modulation on the host: the immune response, the inhibition of bone resorption, the use of bone morphogenetic proteins, the autogenous cell augmentation or through processing the bone allograft: bisphosphonate adsorption or bone perforations. In 2002, biologic enhancement of the incorporation is still in its infancy but will be in a near future a reality through influence on both the host and the allograft.     

How to Improve the Outcomes of LVAD Implantation?

BackgroundHeart transplantation is the treatment of choice for selected patients with end-stage heart failure. Persistent donor organ shortage has resulted in a growing interest in mechanical circulatory support not only as a bridge to transplantation but also as a destination therapy.MethodsThe aim of the study was to analyze the indications, comorbidities, operative technique, complications, and follow-up of all patients undergoing left ventricular assist device implantation in one of the most experienced clinics in Poland between 2015 and 2020 and state the best timing of the procedure.ResultsThis study included 78 individuals (72 males, 92%; 6 females, 8%) with a median age of 57 years (range, 50-62 years). The median body mass index was 27.12 (range, 25.2-29.5). The etiology of cardiomyopathy was ischemic (n = 31, 39%), dilated cardiomyopathy (n = 47, 60%), and others. Sixty-four patients presented with New York Heart Association class IV (82%). Leading heart rhythm was sinus (n = 31, 40%) and pacemaker rhythm (n = 47, 60%). Sixty-four patients had implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation (82%). Preoperative echocardiography revealed a median left ventricle ejection fraction of 14.5% (range, 10%-15%) and LV dimension 7.55 cm (range, 6.9-8.275 cm). In 51 patients (65%), imaging confirmed pulmonary hypertension. The intensive care unit stay was 6 days (range, 4.25-11.75 days). Median time to extubation was 25 hours (range, 23.75-70 hours). The median time to discharge was 31.5 days (range, 25-31.85 days). In-hospital mortality was 12 patients (15%). Median follow-up time was 19.5 months (range, 11.25-31 months) months, with the longest follow-up of about 53 months.ConclusionsAppropriate selection of candidates and timing of left ventricular assist device implantation are critical for improved outcomes of destination therapy.     

The Management of Prostatic Obstruction: How to Determine the Best Options?

The two drug types commonly used to treat symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), 5α-reductase inhibitors and α₁-blockers, have been shown to have different long-term effects on outcomes such as incidence of acute urinary retention (AUR) and BPH-related surgery. In addition, a comparative study of α₁-blockers and 5α-reductase inhibitors in men with lower urinary tract symptoms showed that the treatment discontinuation rate is higher with α₁-blockers. The risk of treatment failure with α₁-blocker therapy has been shown to be related to baseline prostate volume, with greater failure rates with larger prostate sizes. Clinical data are now available on the dual 5α-reductase inhibitor, dutasteride. Three 2-year phase III randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies have been performed in 4325 men with lower urinary tract symptoms, prostatic enlargement and likely bladder outlet obstruction due to BPH. Compared with placebo, dutasteride significantly improved symptoms from 6 months onwards (p<0.001). Q_max improved significantly in dutasteride-treated patients from 1 month, and dutasteride treatment reduced the risk of AUR by 57% and the risk of BPH-related surgical intervention by 48% compared with placebo. Prostate volume was reduced by a mean of 25.9% and 28.5% at 1 and 2 years, respectively, in dutasteride-treated patients. The most common drug-related adverse events for dutasteride vs. placebo were erectile dysfunction (7% vs. 4%), decreased libido (4% vs. 2%), ejaculation disorders (2% vs. <1%) and gynaecomastia (2% vs. <1%). Adverse events occurred mostly in the first 6 months and their occurrence diminished with time.     

Primary Neuroendocrine Carcinoma of the Breast Metastatic to the Bones,Which Chemotherapy?

The primary neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) of the breast is defined as immunohistochemical expression of neuroendocrine markers (chromogranin and synoptophysin) in more than 50% of the neoplastic cells according to World Health Organization (WHO) classification of tumors in 2003 (Tumours of the Breast and Female Genital Organs, 2003, Lyon: IARC Press). It accounts for less than 5% of all cancers arising from the breast (Tumours of the Breast and Female Genital Organs, 2003, Lyon, France: IARC Press). However, based on the study conducted by Wang et al., the primary NEC of breast comprises less than 0.1% of all mammary carcinomas (Frankf Z Pathol, 73 , 1963, 24). Because of the rarity of the disease and absence of the prospective trials, there is no standard treatment for primary NEC of the breast. Herein, we report the case of a middle age woman with primary NEC with bone metastasis.