Pancreaticojejunostomy. Report of a 25 year experience

Surgical therapy for 88 patients operated on between 1958 and 1982 has been reviewed. Ninety-three operative procedures were performed including pancreaticojejunostomy in 56, pancreaticocystojejunostomy in 12, pancreaticojejunostomy with resection of less than 10 percent of the pancreas in 16, and pancreaticojejunostomy with resection of more than 50 percent of the pancreas in 9. Operative mortality was 7.5 percent and operative morbidity was 25 percent. Overall, 63 percent of the patients had an excellent or good result in the postoperative follow-up period which averaged 4 years. In the nonalcohol-induced pancreatitis group, ductal diameter was a good predictor of postoperative success, whereas in the alcoholic patient population, abstinence from further alcohol intake was a more accurate predictor of the success of pancreatic drainage.     

Scribner shunt conversion to arteriovenous fistula.

Scribner shunts were converted to arteriovenous fistulas in twenty-six patients, with long-term success in twenty patients. Infection with loss of the fistula was a problem in two patients. The fistulas were used for home as well as center dialysis and as a primary blood access site as well as a backup site.     

Choledochal cysts presenting in late childhood and adulthood

Primary excision is well accepted in children. Although the length of follow-up is inadequate, our review of the literature and experience with five patients suggests primary excision as the procedure of choice in older children and adults. Although the number of cases is too small and the follow-up too sporadic to draw statistically valid conclusions, excision has a lower morbidity, mortality and reoperation rate than internal cyst drainage, and definitive removal of tissue at risk for malignant degeneration seems intuitively more appealing.     

The St. Jude experience

This paper covers our experience with the use of the St. Jude prosthetic heart valve from November 1979 through August 1983 in 91 patients operated on for aortic and mitral valve replacement. Nonfatal complications included hemorrhagic sequela due to anticoagulation, with an annual rate of 1 percent (1.4 percent per 100 patient years), thromboembolism with an annual rate of 0.8 percent (0.87 percent per 100 patient years), sternal infection 1 percent, operative cardiovascular accident 1 percent, and pericardial tamponade 1 percent.Operative mortality was 1 percent, early mortality (within 30 days) was 3 percent, and late mortality was 3 percent, with a total overall mortality of 7 percent. Excluding two patients who died from noncardiac causes, the overall mortality was 5 percent. The mortality rate per year was 2 percent. The survival rate 3.8 years postoperatively was 89 percent for mitral valve replacement patients and 93 percent for aortic valve replacement patients, for an overall 38 year survival rate of 92 percent. All patients were anticoagulated with warfarin. There were no instances of valve failure, replacement, or serious hemolysis. Eighty-three percent were active or working with a New York heart functional class I.In our experience, the complication rate with the St. Jude valve is as low or lower than that for any other mechanical prosthetic cardiac valve available in the world today.     

The middle scalene muscle and its contribution to the thoracic outlet syndrome

The predisposing anatomic alterations or features of thoracic outlet syndrome have been tallied to better define this difficult and inchoate issue. In the last 34 supraclavicular operations involving 33 patients (for a total operative experience of 128 procedures), we have found the anterior insertion of the middle scalene muscle to be present in 48 percent of our patients. This insertion, forward on the first rib, closes an already small interscalene triangle, so that the posteriorly placed brachial plexus is entrapped or irritated by the anterior edge of this muscle, which may be very sharp and firm. In addition, 10 percent of our patients had a middle scalene band intimately associated with the middle scalene muscle, often-times inseparable, for a 58 percent incidence of middle scalene involvement in the thoracic outlet syndrome. With data such as those presented herein, a more simplified operation than the heretofore popular all-out attack on the first rib may well be in the offering.     

Enhanced survival in patients with variceal bleeding after elective portal decompression

In a retrospective study of 49 patients who had bled from esophageal varices but who survived and did not require emergency portal decompression, 24 patients were discharged without surgical consultation and 25 underwent portal decompression using a small-stoma portacaval shunt. Shunted and nonshunted patients were similar both demographically and in clinical and chemical criteria for preoperative hepatocellular function. Among nonshunted patients, survival was 33 percent during a follow-up period of up to 39 months, whereas shunted patients had an 83 percent survival during a follow-up period of up to 43 months. This difference in survival was statistically significant (p = 0.03). Shunted patients showed a 10.5 percent incidence of hepatic encephalopathy. We conclude that survival after variceal hemorrhage may be significantly increased by a portacaval shunt procedure, especially if it is carried out semielectively in stable patients.     

Role of intraoperative pancreatography in patients with injury to the pancreas

Over a 10 year period, 54 patients presented with pancreatic trauma. During the first 5 years of the study, when pancreatography was not utilized for the assessment of pancreatic duct injury, 55 percent of the patients had major pancreatic complications. During the subsequent 5 years, suspected proximal duct injury was evaluated by intraoperative pancreatography. This resulted in a decrease of postoperative morbidity to 15 percent. In addition, there were no postoperative deaths during this period. The reduction in adverse sequelae after pancreatic trauma leads us to support the following principles of treatment: early recognition of pancreatic injury with immediate surgical intervention, complete exploration of the pancreas with the liberal use of intraoperative pancreatography to determine the presence of major duct injury, and the use of techniques which ensure control of duct disruption.     

Prehospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation of the critically injured patient

Prehospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation combined with endotracheal intubation, vigorous fluid resuscitation, and rapid transport can be effective in resuscitating trauma patients in cardiopulmonary arrest. Survival does not correlate with the injury severity score or transport time once the patient has arrested but does correlate with the mechanism of injury, endotracheal intubation, and placement of intravenous lines.     

The implanted pump in metastatic colorectal cancer of the liver. Risk versus benefit

Forty patients with colorectal cancer metastatic to the liver were treated with an implanted pump for hepatic artery perfusion. Regional chemotherapy utilized floxuridine with half of patients also receiving monthly cisplatin. Follow-up was 13 to 29 months. Responses to treatment occurred in 19 patients (47 percent) and correlated with survival of more than 1 year. Several factors produced significant reductions in survival: presence of extrahepatic disease, large tumor volume, jaundice, ascites, or both, and elevated liver chemistry values. These prognostic factors should govern patient selection. Toxicity included gastritis, peptic ulcer, disruption of arterial integrity, and severe chemical effects on the hepatic cells, the bile ducts, and the gallbladder. Over half of the patients had serious toxicity. Two died from biliary strictures without autopsy evidence of tumor. Steps to avoid life-threatening toxicity include ligation of all hepatic artery branches to the stomach, prophylactic cholecystectomy, and reduction of chemotherapy at the first sign of toxicity.     

Gastric pH monitoring as a prognostic indicator for the prophylaxis of stress ulceration in the critically III

Previous studies have documented the efficacy of prophylaxis in the prevention of stress ulceration and bleeding in critically ill patients. In an effort to determine whether all critically ill patients require prophylaxis, 144 patients admitted to an intensive care unit were monitored by continuous indwelling nasogastric or gastrostomy tubes. Any patient with a measured gastric pH of less than 4 was treated with prophylactic cimetidine or antacids to maintain a pH of 4 or greater. One hundred twenty-three (85 percent) met this criterion. The gastric pH of 21 patients (15 percent) never fell below 4 during continuous monitoring for 26 ± 4.2 hours. There was a significantly lower incidence of hypotension and respiratory failure in this group (p < 0.05). Mortality was higher in the patients who required prophylaxis (15 percent) than in those who did not (0 percent). No bleeding was encountered in any patient in either group. These data suggest that patients who do not require prophylaxis may be determined by continuous monitoring of intragastric pH. If, within 24 hours, intragastric pH does not fall below 4, minimal indications for prophylaxis exist. Intragastric pH monitoring is a simple, effective tool in the care and management of critically ill or traumatized patients.     

Clinical predictors of the adult respiratory distress syndrome

One hundred thirty-six patients meeting our criteria for one or more of eight clinical conditions were prospectively observed for the development of the adult respiratory distress syndrome. A high risk population was identified, including those with sepsis syndrome (38 percent), documented aspiration of gastric contents (30 percent), multiple emergency transfusions (24 percent), and pulmonary contusion (17 percent). The risk from multiple major fractures appeared low but contributed to the risk from other factors. The risk associated with just one factor (25 percent) was compounded by the presence of two (42 percent) and three (85 percent) simultaneous factors, and this finding was more predictive of ARDS than the injury severity score or initial arterial oxygenation. Of the ARDS cases, 76 percent occurred in the initial 24 hours after meeting the criteria. ARDS did not occur after 72 hours unless there was late development of sepsis (3 of 136 patients).     

The role of peritoneal lavage in the management of stab wounds to the abdomen

In a 2 year period, 237 patients presented with stab wounds to the lower chest and anterior abdomen. Ninety-six patients were discharged from the emergency room after negative findings on wound exploration. There were no apparent missed injuries but two wound infections in this group for an overall morbidity of 2.1 percent. One hundred forty-one patients underwent exploratory laparotomy. Seventy-seven required emergency laparotomy because of hemodynamic signs of blood loss or peritonitis. Sixty-four patients whose only indication for laparotomy was penetration of the anterior abdominal wall fascia by local wound exploration underwent peritoneal lavage before laparotomy. If 50,000 red blood cells/mm³ in the lavage fluid had been used to select patients for observation, the incidence of negative laparotomy would have been reduced from 58 to 3.2 percent, and only one significant visceral injury would have been missed.Peritoneal lavage in properly selected patients, used in combination with local wound exploration and careful clinical observation, can be a useful diagnostic modality both in predicting significant visceral injury and in lowering the incidence of negative findings at laparotomy in patients with stab wounds to the abdomen.     

Noninvasive carotid bifurcation mapping. Its relation to carotid surgery

The carotid bifurcation can be studied accurately by a noninvasive Doppler mapping procedure. Areas of plaquing and stenosis can be located and flow patterns and alterations in velocity can be assessed equally.The technic described is valuable in many clinical settings to aid in the detection and prevention of potential stroke. It is not designed to subordinate standard cerebral angiography but to complement it. The Doppler carotid survey is easy to perform, reliable in its reproducibility, and designed to detect not only morphologic changes but also functional abnormalities of blood flow.     

Fine needle aspiration in the diagnosis and management of solid breast lesions

Follow-up data were obtained for 449 fine needle aspirations of solid breast masses from January 1979 through December 1980. The accuracy with which a concordant benign or malignant diagnosis was made was 92 percent. There was a 9.6 percent false-negative rate and a 0.9 percent false-positive rate. Emphasis was placed on the utility of fine-needle aspiration for assessing patients with chronic fibrocystic disease. In 104 cases, patients with a benign cytologic report were followed clinically for 12 months or more. There was a 1.7 percent false-negative rate in this group of patients.We stress that a biopsy should be immediately performed on any worrisome mass, despite the repeatedly negative results of fine needle aspiration. Guidelines for the prevention of false-negative and unsatisfactory cytologic reports have been presented herein. We believe that by careful clinical assessment of the mass, careful performance of the procedure, and close follow-up of the patient, the number of inaccurate fine needle aspirations can be kept at a minimum.     

Gastric emptying and gastroesophageal reflux: Effects of surgery and correlation with esophageal motor function

A new method of measuring gastric emptying for solids was developed and validated. With this new method, gastric emptying of solids was evaluated in 40 patients with gastroesophageal reflux. Gastric emptying of solids was delayed in 42 percent of patients independent of the severity of the reflux symptoms. Liquids emptied in a normal fashion, supporting the observations of others that liquid emptying is not a valid measure of gastric emptying. A high incidence of esophageal motor abnormalities was present in these patients when tested with radionuclide transit studies using a liquid bolus. The coexistence of esophageal and gastric emptying abnormalities was present in 45 percent of patients who had delayed gastric emptying of solids. Three months after surgical correction of reflux as measured by pH study, abnormalities in both the esophagus and stomach remained unchanged. Since the symptoms were corrected, delayed gastric emptying is not adequate indication for a gastric emptying procedure at the time of antireflux surgery.     

Effect of obesity on esophageal transit

Esophageal transit time as measured by radionuclide scintigraphy using a swallowed technetium sulfur colloid bolus was measured in obese patients with gastroesophageal reflux, lean patients with reflux, and lean volunteers without reflux. The esophageal transit time was significantly prolonged in the obese group compared with both lean groups (p less than 0.001). Esophageal manometric measurement also confirmed that obese patients have an elevated gastroesophageal pressure gradient, presumably caused by increased intraabdominal pressure resulting from the mechanical burden of excess fat. The esophageal transit time is significantly related to the gastroesophageal pressure gradient. This finding, coupled with those in previous manometric investigations showing that esophageal muscle has a decreased maximum velocity with increasing afterload, explains in part why obese patients have delayed esophageal transit time. Therapy for reflux in obese patients should be aimed at improving esophageal transit.     

Hepatocellular carcinoma. A 5 year institutional experience

Liver cancer is the most common of all malignancies worldwide, its incidence reaching almost epidemic proportions in some countries. However, its significance in North America has generally been underemphasized. In a 5 year period, hepatocellular carcinoma was diagnosed in 35 adult patients in our institution. Preexisting liver inflammation was present in 27 of the patients (77 percent). Although most patients had symptoms, they included only poorly defined pain or cachexia in most cases, and 10 patients (29 percent) were totally asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. Five patients presented with hemoperitoneum due to intraabdominal tumor rupture. Examinations useful in confirming the diagnosis included alpha-fetoprotein determination, liver scan, and computerized tomographic scanning. Eight patients (23 percent) had associated visceral or other malignancies. The outlook was poor, with a mean survival of 5 months, and only two patients survived more than 1 year. Hepatocellular carcinoma is uncommon but not at all rare in the Pacific Northwest. It arises from chronic liver inflammation, is diagnosed late, and has a grim prognosis. Prevention of various forms of chronic liver inflammation, and mass serial screening of populations at high risk for the development of hepatocellular malignancy will probably have the greatest role in reducing the lethality of this disease.     

Early surgical excision versus conventional therapy in patients with 20 to 40 percent burns: A comparative study

Using the records of 72 patients treated at the University of Washington Burn Center, this study compared the results of early surgical excision (by 14 days postburn) and autografting to those of autografting after spontaneous separation and bedside debridement of burn eschar. Excised patients had shorter hospitalizations and lower rates of burn wound sepsis and serious burn wound contamination, and less use of potentially toxic antibiotics (p < 0.05) than did the prognostically equivalent group treated before the introduction of early excision. Excised patients required more blood transfusions (p < 0.05), but did not differ significantly from controls in rates of mortality or other inpatient complications, in the number of operations performed, or in the adjusted hospital costs. Evaluation of patients treated over the entire study period for more shallow burns indicated no concurrent change in other aspects of burn care which might account for the observed results. We conclude that early excision and grafting in young, otherwise healthy patients with 20 to 40 percent total body surface area burns that are not likely to heal within 3 weeks is more effective than the more traditional management of slow wound separation and debridement.