Haemostatic sealants in nephron-sparing surgery: what surgeons need to know

Surgical haemostatic agents have been increasingly applied for the control of bleeding, and have excellent potential in laparoscopy. Several factors are important when evaluating the use of sealants. We present a brief overview of the history, composition and mechanism of action of sealants, together with a report on experimental studies and clinical experience with haemostatic sealants. We searched for reports on haemostatic agents and their use in renal parenchymal haemostasis; 15 animal models studies and 11 papers on clinical experience were included. The development of haemostatic agents and instruments is allowing the wider diffusion of challenging procedures. Several experimental animal studies have shown the efficacy and safety of sealants for haemostasis during nephron-sparing surgery. Clinical studies confirm the effectiveness of synthetic or fibrin glue, in particular during laparoscopic surgery. Sealants are effective and safe topical agents to control bleeding during nephron-sparing surgery. They should not be viewed as an alternative, but as complementary agents to be used to improve surgical outcomes. Further prospective studies are necessary to validate their role in relation to other haemostatic support techniques.     

Regional anesthesia for orthopedic procedures: What orthopedic surgeons need to know

Regional anesthesia is an integral component of successful orthopedic surgery. Neuraxial anesthesia is commonly used for surgical anesthesia while peripheral nerve blocks are often used for postoperative analgesia. Patient evaluation for regional anesthesia should include neurological, pulmonary, cardiovascular, and hematological assessments. Neuraxial blocks include spinal, epidural, and combined spinal epidural. Upper extremity peripheral nerve blocks include interscalene, supraclavicular, infraclavicular, and axillary. Lower extremity peripheral nerve blocks include femoral nerve block, saphenous nerve block, sciatic nerve block, iPACK block, ankle block and lumbar plexus block. The choice of regional anesthesia is a unanimous decision made by the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, and the patient based on a risk-benefit assessment. The choice of the regional block depends on patient cooperation, patient positing, operative structures, operative manipulation, tourniquet use and the impact of post-operative motor blockade on initiation of physical therapy. Regional anesthesia is safe but has an inherent risk of failure and a relatively low incidence of complications such as local anesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST), nerve injury, falls, hematoma, infection and allergic reactions. Ultrasound should be used for regional anesthesia procedures to improve the efficacy and minimize complications. LAST treatment guidelines and rescue medications (intralipid) should be readily available during the regional anesthesia administration.     

Cation Exchange Resins and colonic perforation. What surgeons need to know

IntroductionSince 1961 the use of Cation Exchange Resins has been the mainstream treatment for chronic hyperkalemia. For the past 25 years different kind of complications derived from its clinical use have been recognized, being the colonic necrosis the most feared and lethal of all.Presentation of caseWe report a case of a 72-year-old patient with chronic kidney disease, treated with calcium polystyrene sulfonate for hyperkalemia treatment who presented in the emergency department with constipation treated with hypertonic cathartics. With clinical deterioration 48 h later progressed with colonic necrosis requiring urgent laparotomy, sigmoidectomy and open abdomen management with subsequent rectal stump perforation and dead. The histopathology finding: calcium polystyrene sulfonate embedded in the mucosa, consistent with the cause of perforation.DiscussionLillemoe reported the first case series of five uremic patients with colonic perforation associated with the use of SPS in sorbitol in 1987 and in 2009 the FDA removed from the market the SPS containing 70% of sorbitol.The pathophysiologic change of CER goes from mucosal edema, ulcers, pseudomembranes, and the most severe case transmural necrosis.Up to present day, some authors have questioned the use of CER in the setting of lowering serum potassium. Despite its worldwide use in hyperkalemia settings, multiple studies have not demonstrated a significant potassium excretion by CER.ConclusionDespite the low incidence of colonic complication and lethal colonic necrosis associated with the CER clinical use, the general surgeon needs a high index of suspicion when dealing with patients treated with CER and abdominal pain.     

Markers for perioperative myocardial ischemia: what both interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons need to know

All novel markers of myocardial ischemia (ischemia-modified albumin, choline, unbound free fatty acids) lack cardiac specificity. Therefore, for the specific detection of myocardial ischemia selective blood sampling from an inserted coronary sinus catheter is needed, which limits the applicability of these markers in most clinical routine settings. In addition, the superiority of these novel markers over the calculation of myocardial lactate production, the current criterion standard for the laboratory diagnosis of myocardial ischemia, has not been demonstrated so far, and even comparative data is frequently lacking. Further the superiority of these new candidate markers over lactate determination for the diagnosis of myocardial ischemia in peripherally drawn blood samples has not been demonstrated either, and these novel parameters appear not to be a breakthrough for laboratory diagnosis of myocardial ischemia during or after percutaneous coronary interventions or coronary artery bypass grafting. The determination of cardiac troponin I or troponin T is the current criterion standard for the laboratory diagnosis of myocardial damage due to their higher sensitivities and specificities compared to creatine kinase isoenzyme MB. According to current knowledge, troponin increases in peripherally drawn blood samples must be regarded as an indicator of myocardial necrosis which, however, may be limited, only detectable by troponin and may be missed by creatine kinase isoenzyme MB determination. After on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting the generally applied troponin discriminator limits are not valid as there is limited, inevitable cardiac tissue damage occurring during the surgical procedure. Therefore, troponins are significantly increased after reperfusion of the arrested heart over values seen before bypass and also in patients without complications. Perioperative myocardial infarctions can be reliably identified by their characteristic troponin time courses, and both peak concentrations and time of peak values are diagnostic criteria. Troponin release is lower in off-pump compared to on-pump bypass surgery. Despite the controversy over the significance of troponin elevations after clinically uncomplicated and successful procedures, it is tempting to postulate that less myocardial damage as detected by troponin release is beneficial for the patient. After elective percutaneous coronary interventions, only troponin increases >8-fold the upper reference limit were associated with increased mortality in long-term follow-up.     

肝门部胆管癌手术治疗34例临床分析

目的探讨肝门部胆管癌的诊断、手术方式的选择及其疗效。方法回顾性总结分析1994年1月~2004年7月手术治疗的肝门部胆管癌34例的临床资料。结果34例中手术切除22例(64.1%),根治性切除15例(44.1%),姑息性切除7例;内、外引流12例。围手术期死亡9例(26.5%)。出院25例中获得随访21例(84%),平均生存9.6个月。根治性切除10例,平均生存16.1个月,现仍存活6例,分别为5、7、16、24、26、32个月。姑息性切除和引流11例,平均生存5个月,无1年生存者。结论早期诊断和根治性切除是肝门部胆管癌获得根治的唯一途径。选择合理的术式,提高手术技巧和加强围手术期的处理是提高手术疗效的重要措施。     

Pregnant adolescents living with HIV: what we know,what we need to know,where we need to go

Introduction : HIV‐infected pregnant and breastfeeding adolescents are a particularly vulnerable group that require special attention and enhanced support to achieve optimal maternal and infant outcomes. The objective of this paper is to review published evidence about antenatal care (ANC) service delivery and outcomes for HIV‐infected pregnant adolescents in low‐income country settings, identify gaps in knowledge and programme services and highlight the way forward to improve clinical outcomes of this vulnerable group. Discussion : Emerging data from programmes in sub‐Saharan Africa highlight that HIV‐infected pregnant adolescents have poorer prevention of mother‐to‐child HIV transmission (PMTCT) service outcomes, including lower PMTCT service uptake, compared to HIV‐infected pregnant adults. In addition, the limited evidence available suggests that there may be higher rates of mother‐to‐child HIV transmission among infants of HIV‐infected pregnant adolescents. Conclusions : While the reasons for the inferior outcomes among adolescents in ANC need to be further explored and addressed, there is sufficient evidence that immediate operational changes are needed to address the unique needs of this population. Such changes could include integration of adolescent‐friendly services into PMTCT settings or targeting HIV‐infected pregnant adolescents with enhanced retention and follow‐up activities.     

Effectiveness of surgery for recurrent cholangiocarcinoma: A single center experience and brief literature review

BackgroundIn this study, we reviewed our experiences and previous studies on surgery for recurrent cholangiocarcinoma (CCA).MethodsWe analyzed outcomes of 117 patients with recurrent CCA between 2000 and 2015. Twenty-one patients (17.9%) underwent surgical resection for recurrence, and the remaining 96 patients (82.1%) did not undergo resection. We evaluated patients’ clinicopathological features and prognoses between the two groups.ResultsPatients who underwent surgery were significantly associated with better overall survival after recurrence (HR = 0.22, P < 0.0001). In patients with recurrent CCA, surgery for recurrence was an independent better prognostic factor after recurrence (HR = 0.27, P = 0.0002), and in patients who underwent surgery for recurrent CCA, the presence of lymph node metastasis of primary cancer was an independent worse prognostic factor (HR = 9.45, P = 0.04).ConclusionsSurgery for recurrent CCA may provide good survival impact in selected patients. Patients with lymph node metastasis of primary CCA should not undergo surgery for recurrent CCA.     

Isolated hydatid cyst of spleen: A rare case with rare presentation

Hydatid cyst is a common health problem of world in sheep grazing area. Liver is the most commonly involved organ. Splenic hydatid cyst is uncommon and its isolated involvement is very rare. We are presenting a case of isolated hydatid cyst of spleen in a sixty one year old female patient with complaints of pain in the left hypochondrium, dyspepsia and features of gastritis for the last 1 year. The diagnosis was confirmed by Contrast enhanced CT scan (CECT). Laparoscopic splenectomy was performed. The aim of this case report is to emphasize that the most important factor in diagnosing splenic hydatid cyst is the awareness of its possibility and the intraoperative precautions which will decrease morbidity and mortality in the postoperative period.     

Multiple giant intra abdominal lipomas: A rare presentation

INTRODUCTION

Solitary or multiple lipomas, composed of mature fat, represents by far the most common benign mesenchymal neoplasm occurring throughout the whole body, but they rarely originate in the intestinal mesentery.

PRESENTATION OF CASE

A 60-year-old male presented with left sided abdominal distension and pain since 4 months, ultrasonography and computerized tomography abdomen was suggestive of multiple well-defined fat density lesions in the lower abdomen and pelvis. USG guided fine needle aspiration cytology was conclusive of a spindle cell lesion. Exploratory laparotomy was performed and multiple major fat tissue swellings were excised. Histopathology confirmed it to be spindle cell type of lipoma.

DISCUSSION

Because of the silent nature the exact prevalence of lipomas is unknown. It can arise in any location in which fat is normally present, reported intra abdominal lipomas have been very rare. Clinical manifestations depend on the size and location of the growth. In most patients, symptoms are few or absent. USG and CT scan abdomen are used for the diagnosis. Complete surgical excision being the only treatment.

CONCLUSION

Intra abdominal lipoma is a very rare entity, and many cases might be ignored due to their silent nature. They might or might not present with any symptoms. Complete surgical excision being the only treatment, with a very good prognosis.     

Left axillary lymphadenopathy as initial presentation of metastatic prostate cancer: A rare case report

Introduction and importanceAdvanced prostate cancer often presents with lower urinary tract symptoms together with features of cancer on digital rectal examination. The commonest sites of metastasis include bone, liver and lungs. Metastasis to axillary lymph nodes is extremely unusual particularly as initial presentation of the disease.Case presentationWe report an atypical case of a 40-year male patient presented with left axillary mass and normal initial urological evaluation. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry of the biopsies from the axillary mass and prostate confirmed the diagnosis of prostate adenocarcinoma. The patient declined anti-androgen monotherapy treatment and succumbed two months after establishment of the diagnosis.Clinical discussionProstate cancer contributes significantly to the overall global cancer burden. Lymphatic metastasis to axillary lymph nodes is a very rare manifestation of prostate cancer and only a few cases have been reported in the literature. Therefore, clinical diagnosis of patients presenting with axillary lymphadenopathy may cause diagnostic delay. Careful physical and imaging examinations combined with pathological analysis are essential in the diagnosis of advanced prostate cancer with unusual presentation.ConclusionIn theory, prostate cancer can cause metastatic spread to any part of the body. However, metastasis to axillary nodes has not been frequently noticed. Our report highlights the importance of considering prostate cancer among differential diagnoses in Afro-Caribbean males presenting with symptoms suggestive of chest and abdomino-pelvic cancer.