Endoscopic internal drainage by double pigtail stents in the management of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy leaks

BackgroundLeaks and fistulas after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (SG) are major adverse events of bariatric surgery. Endoscopic management of post-SG leaks has evolved from closure with covered self-expanding metallic stents to endoscopic internal drainage (EID).ObjectiveTo report our experience with the management of post-SG leaks treated with EID, either as primary therapy or after failure of closure therapy with self-expanding metallic stents.SettingSingle-center observational study.MethodsA retrospective study of 20 patients treated for post-SG leaks with EID by deployment of double pigtail stents across the leak orifice, positioning one end inside the collection and the other end in the lumen of the stomach.ResultsThere were 13 (65%) males and 7 (35%) females with a mean age of 34.2 ± 11.6 years. EID was performed after a mean 62 days after SG. Three patients had gastrobronchial fistula. Seventeen (85%) patients had failed some form of prior therapy for the leak. The mean duration of EID was 83 days and 17 (85%) patients had complete healing of the leak with a mean follow-up of 16 months. There were 2 (10%) adverse events and no mortalities. The success of EID in healing post-SG leak was significantly associated with the absence of a gastrobronchial fistula (P < .05).ConclusionsEID is an effective and safe endoscopic treatment of leaks after SG and is well tolerated. It allows early feeding and has fewer adverse events than other techniques. The presence of a gastrobronchial fistula is associated with higher failure rates. Long-term follow-up confirms a good outcome with no mortality.     

内镜下胰管支架置入术后支架内移位的处理

目的 探讨内镜下胰管支架置入术后支架内移位的处理方法及安全性.方法 回顾性分析2011年5月至2014年5月我院245例内镜下胰管支架置人术后发生支架内移位的7例患者的临床资料.结果 内镜下胰管支架置入术后支架内移位发生率2.9％.其中支架移位至十二指肠乳头壶腹2例、移位至胰头部4例、移位至胰体部1例.7例内移位支架均成功取出,使用取石球囊取出5例,2例未取出的胰管支架使用取石网篮取出.术后出现高淀粉酶血症3例,药物治疗2～3d恢复正常.结论 胰管支架内移位是内镜下胰管支架置入术后罕见并发症,应用取石球囊及网篮取出内移位胰管支架是安全有效的.     

Posterolateral transforaminal selective endoscopic discectomy and thermal annuloplasty for chronic lumbar discogenic pain: a minimal access visualized intradiscal surgical procedure.

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Chronic lumbar discogenic pain (CLDP) impairs the patient's physical abilities to function within the normal physiologic loading ranges of activities of daily living. The pathogenesis of CLDP is multifactorial and not well understood. Conservative therapeutic regimens often fail to achieve sufficient pain relief. Surgical options vary greatly in surgical invasiveness as well as outcome. Definitive surgical treatment is often 360-degree fusion. The morbidity associated with this approach is significant, considering that only 65% to 80% of patients obtain satisfactory clinical results. This has spawned interest in minimally invasive surgical options, such as intradiscal electrothermal therapy (IDET; ORATEC Interventions, Inc., Menlo Park, CA), but results are conflicting. PURPOSE: The authors describe their surgical technique of minimal access posterolateral transforaminal selective endoscopic discectomy (SED) and bipolar radiofrequency thermal annuloplasty to treat CLDP. The procedure's rationale is based on the hypothesis that annular defects are the focal points of chronic exposure between neural sensory receptors in the defect and the inflammatogenic nucleus pulposus. In contrast to other percutaneous procedures, this technique allows direct visualization and targeting of the disc nucleus and annular fissures. Our 2-year clinical result is reported. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING: This is a retrospective review of consecutive surgical cases performed by one surgeon (ATY). The procedures were carried out from January 1997 to December 1999. Each patient has a minimum postoperative follow-up of 2 years. PATIENT SAMPLE: A total of 113 patients met the generally accepted clinical criteria for chronic lumbar discogenic pain and were selected for the procedure. OUTCOME MEASURES: Two outcome measures were used for clinical assessment: a surgeon-based modified MacNab method and a patient-based questionnaire. A mandatory poor result was given to any patient who had repeat spine surgery at the same level or has indicated dissatisfaction with the surgical result on the questionnaire response. METHOD: After meeting CLDP selection criteria, provocation contrast/indigo carmine dye discography was performed. This test was used to confirm the suspected discs as pain generators. The subject surgery then followed. Only cases with one and two levels of confirmed painful discs were entered into the study. The nonoperating author (PMT) analyzed the data. RESULTS: Using the surgeon assessment method, 17 patients (15%) had excellent results, 32 patients (28.3%) had good results, 34 patients (30.1%) had fair results and 30 patients (26.5%) had poor results. Of the 30 patients in the poor result group, 12 reported either no improvement or worsening, and refused further surgical treatment. Of the remaining 18 patients in the poor group, 8 had spinal fusion, 3 had laminectomy and 7 had repeat spinal endoscopic surgery. The patient-based questionnaire yielded similar percentages in each category. However, only 73.5% of the 113 patients returned the survey questionnaire. There were no aborted procedures, unexpected hemorrhage, device-related complications, neurologic deficits, perioperative deaths or late instability. CONCLUSIONS: Posterolateral transforaminal SED and radiofrequency thermal annuloplasty were used to interrupt the purported annular defect pain sensitization process, thought to be necessary in the genesis of chronic lumbar discogenic pain. Lack of clinical benefit from the subject procedure did not degrade any subsequent surgical or nonsurgical treatment options. The experience gained from this study warrants further investigation into the cellular and molecular processes that provided back pain relief in these patients.     

Role of stents and stent grafts in management of hemodialysis access complications

Different types of complications may occur during a percutaneous vascular access procedure and the majority of these complications are caused by balloon angioplasty. These balloon angioplasty-induced complications include venous rupture, venous dissection, and the development of an acute pseudoaneurysm. Balloon tamponade is the traditional percutaneous technique for management of these complications. However, insertion of a stent or stent graft has become an increasingly popular method to quickly and effectively repair a venous injury. A stent or stent graft may provide a more effective and durable method to treat balloon angioplasty-induced complications. Unfortunately, there are few, if any, clinical studies to substantiate the advantages and cost-effectiveness of these devices and so their use remains controversial.     

Stent placement in the management of oesophageal leaks

Objective: To examine retrospectively the patients of our department who had a self-expandable totally covered metal stent placed for oesophageal leak. METHODS: Patients hospitalised in our department for oesophageal cancer and/or oesophageal perforation between 2004 and 2006. All medical records were retrospectively reviewed. Seventy-two patients underwent oesophageal resection for oesophageal cancer and 16 were managed for oesophageal perforations. RESULTS: Eight out of 72 patients submitted to resection for oesophageal cancer had postoperative leaks, while one patient developed tracheo-oesophageal fistula (TEF) due to prolonged mechanical ventilation. Six of them had stent placement in first intention, whereas two received the procedure after an unsuccessful repeat operation. The mean stent placement time was 18.4 days (SD=15.2 days), whereas the median was 14 days. The leak was managed efficiently by the stent in seven patients, whereas two patients needed repeat operations (one with TEF). The mean stent removal time was 56.8 days (SD=30.5 days) and the median was 40 days. None developed anastomotic stricture. On the other hand, three out of 16 patients with perforation had a stent, two of them for Boerhaave syndrome and one for iatrogenic rupture after bariatric surgery. One of them required the stent 17 days after surgical repair with excellent results, while the other two patients had the stent placed immediately, but still needed thoracotomy to control the leak. CONCLUSIONS: Stent placement can prove very useful in the management of post-oesophagectomy anastomotic leaks, but its contribution needs to be evaluated with caution in cases of oesophageal perforations or TEF. Larger series and prospective comparative clinical trials could eventually clarify the role of stents in clinical practice of surgical patients.     

Future of endoscopic surgery--German health law and minimal access surgery in an university hospital

The future development of endoscopic surgery depends on a medical and economical benefit. Medical advantages are demonstrated under professional conditions of practice in a retrospective study: endoscopical repair of the groin (TEP n = 44) vs. conventional Shouldice- (n = 17) and Lichtenstein (n = 19) method, laparoscopical hemifundoplication (n = 7) vs. traditional Nissen-Rosetti procedure (n = 3) and also resection of the sigmoid (lap. n = 26) vs. open surgery (n = 12). The overall hospital stay is shortend dramatically (primary hernia of the groin 8.8 (Shouldice) and 7.4 (Lichtenstein) vs. 3.1 days (TEP); (hemi-) fundoplication 11.1 (open) vs. 5.0 days (lap.); resection of sigmoid 19.0 (open) vs.17.0 days (lap.)) At the same time quality of care is held or improved. Comparison of real cost analysis revealed a better economical result (593-970 DM lower cost for TEP, 1.256 DM lower costs for lap. hemifundoplication, and 1.918 DM in case of lap. resection of sigmoid) for minimal-access-surgery (MAS), although particular costs for the endoscopic surgical procedure are increasing up to 100%, especially at the beginning (learning curve). The German payment-system does not regard the special conditions of MAS. There is no case-related payment for MAS due to the lower overall costs. Therefore the financial result is worse than for conventional treatment.     

Comparison of endoscopic laser therapy and self expanding metal stents for palliation in patients with non-resectable oesophageal carcinoma

Background

There are currently limited data on the comparative success of endoscopic laser therapy (NLT) and self expanding metal stents (SEMS) as palliative measures in patients with non-resectable oesophageal cancer. This study aims to assess and compare the outcomes of these methods of endoscopic palliation.

RAVECAB: improving outcome in off-pump minimal access surgery with robotic assistance and video enhancement.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of using the harmonic scalpel and robotic assistance to facilitate thoracoscopic harvest of the internal thoracic artery (ITA). DESIGN: A case series. SETTING: London Health Sciences Centre, University of Western Ontario, London, Ont. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifteen consecutive patients requiring harvest of the ITA for coronary artery bypass grafting. INTERVENTION: Robot-assisted, video-enhanced coronary artery bypass (RAVECAB) through limited-access incisions, using the harmonic scalpel and a voice-activated robotic assistant. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Ease and duration of the harvesting technique, complications of the procedure, graft flow and patency, and duration of postoperative hospitalization. RESULTS: RAVECAB facilitated thoracoscopic dissection of the ITA with the harmonic scalpel in all cases. There were no conversions to a standard approach and no reoperations for bleeding. The mean (and standard deviation) ITA harvest time was 64.1 (22.9) minutes (range from 40 to 118 minutes). Robotic voice command capture rate was greater than 95%. Mean (and SD) intraoperative graft flows were 33.1 (26.8) mL/min (range from 14 to 126 mL/min). There was 100% graft patency on postoperative angiography. There were no deaths, perioperaive myocardial infarction or arrhythmias. Mean (and SD) postoperative hospitalization was 3.3 (0.8) days. CONCLUSIONS: RAVECAB is a demanding procedure that addresses many of the disadvantages of the "conventional" minimally invasive coronary artery bypass. It allows complete pedicle dissection with minimal ITA manipulation and assures sufficient conduit length and a tension-free coronary artery anastomosis. All anastomoses were performed under direct vision through a 5- to 8-cm inferior mammary incision.     

The role of endoscopic stents in the management of chronic anastomotic and staple line leaks and chronic strictures after bariatric surgery

BackgroundThe use of endoluminal stents has been proposed for the management of fistulas and anastomotic strictures after bariatric surgery. The objective of our study was to determine the success of endoscopically placed, self-expandable metal stents (SEMS) in bariatric patients specifically with either chronic persistent anastomotic or staple line leaks/fistulas or chronic, persistent anastomotic strictures.MethodsWe treated 21 patients including 5 with chronic staple line leaks/fistulas (4 from the gastric sleeve after biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch [BPD/DS] and 1 after removal of an eroding laparoscopic adjustable gastric band) and 16 with chronic anastomotic strictures (15 at the gastrojejunostomy after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and 1 at the duodenoileal anastomosis after BPD/DS). Patients with early leaks or anastomotic strictures were excluded.ResultsAll but one of these patients had been referred to our institution after chronic treatment elsewhere was unsuccessful with prior stent placement for fistulas or multiple endoscopic dilations for strictures. Their bariatric operations had been performed a mean of 386 days beforehand. Stent placement was performed successfully in all patients without complications but was successful in only 4 of 21 patients (19%)—2 with chronic fistulas and 2 with chronic anastomotic strictures. Stent migration occurred in 10 patients (47%); the migrated stents were removed/replaced endoscopically in 7 patients but required elective operative removal in 3 with concomitant correction of the leak, fistula, or anastomotic stricture; none were operated emergently.ConclusionOnly 4 of 21 patients with a chronic persistent leak or anastomotic stricture were treated definitively using a SEMS. Although endoluminal stents may not lead to resolution of a chronic leak or stricture, SEMS may suppress ongoing sepsis and allow patients to undergo nutritional resuscitation orally before operative correction.     

A novel approach for the treatment of pelvic abscess: transrectal endoscopic drainage facilitated by transanal endoscopic microsurgery access

Background

Postoperative pelvic abscesses in patients submitted to colorectal surgery are challenging. The surgical approach may be too risky, and image-guided drainage often is difficult due to the complex anatomy of the pelvis. This article describes novel access for drainage of a pelvic collection using a minimally invasive natural orifice approach.

Methods

A 37?year-old man presented with sepsis due to a pelvic abscess during the second postoperative week after a Hartmann procedure due to perforated rectal cancer. Percutaneous drainage was determined by computed tomography to be unsuccessful, and another operation was considered to be hazardous. Because the pelvic fluid was very close to the rectal stump, transrectal drainage was planned. The rectal stump was opened using transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) instruments. The endoscope was advanced through the TEM working channel and the rectal stump opening, accessing the abdominal cavity and pelvic collection.

Results

The pelvic collection was endoscopically drained and the local cavity washed with saline through the scope channel. A Foley catheter was placed in the rectal stump. The patient’s recovery after the procedure was successful, without the need for further intervention.

Conclusions

Transrectal endoscopic drainage may be an option for selected cases of pelvic fluid collection in patients submitted to Hartmann’s procedure. The technique allows not only fluid drainage but also visualization of the local cavity, cleavage of multiloculated abscesses, and saline irrigation if necessary. The use of TEM instrumentation allows safe access to the peritoneal cavity.     

Role of palliative endoscopic drainage in patients with malignant biliary obstruction

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic biliary drainage for malignant obstructive jaundice is a viable palliative alternative, but its role and cost-effectiveness compared to percutaneous drainage or surgical bypass are subject to debate. AIM: To review the evidence in the literature with regard to the settings in which endoscopic drainage favorably compares with and affords palliation and quality of life comparable to percutaneous drainage or surgical bypass in malignant obstructive jaundice patients. METHOD: Using PubMed, Embase, Current Contents, and Medline, a literature search was performed for papers published from 1979 to April 2004. All retrieved papers comparing endoscopic drainage with percutaneous or surgical drainage, with special reference to the level of obstruction, were rated according to the strength of evidence and carefully analyzed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Palliative drainage affords improved quality of life. The outcome of endoscopic and percutaneous drainage was similar, but data were few and inconsistent. Due to fewer late complications, surgical bypass is an alternative to metal stents (Wallstenttrade mark) which remain patent longer than plastic stents (large-bore polyethylene), with an overall median of 180 and 109 days, respectively, in patients who survive longer than about 6 months, which cannot be accurately predicted though. Overall early and late morbidity, stent patency, and survival were similar in patients treated for hilar compared to distal obstruction.     

Self-expanding stents in treatment of esophageal leaks post bariatric surgery

The Alimaxx self-expanding metal stents were used in two morbidly obese patients with esophageal leaks complicating reoperative bariatric surgery. Although the patients could be maintained on oral intake with their sepsis controlled, surgery was ultimately required for non-healing after 3 weeks of conservative management. Self-expanding metal stent should be considered the preferred treatment in small esophageal leaks less than 1 cm in morbidly obese patients who generally pose a higher operative risk due to concomitant co-morbidities. Stents are also useful adjuncts in patients with larger leaks that are either inoperable or need further stabilization at presentation and those preferring an initial 2–3 weeks trial of conservative management before contemplating surgery.     

Role of endoscopic ultrasound in the preoperative assessment of patients with oesophageal cancer.

Despite encouraging results from Europe and America, endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has yet to become established in the United Kingdom. The aims of this prospective study were to investigate its value in the assessment of patients with benign and malignant oesophageal conditions, and in particular to assess its reliability for local tumour (T) and lymph node (N) staging in patients with oesophageal cancer. EUS was performed in 90 patients: 23 were normal controls, 17 had benign oesophageal diseases and 50 had operable oesophageal cancer. Detailed measurements of the oesophageal wall and regional nodes were made and the accuracy of EUS for locoregional tumour staging was compared with final histology. EUS visualised the normal oesophageal wall as a multilayered structure, thicker distally than proximally. Distal stenotic conditions caused thickening of the proximal wall and loss of this gradient. EUS was highly accurate for both local tumour (92% correct) and lymph node staging (86% correct) and was better than computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and open staging performed by the surgeon. Fine needle aspiration biopsy using radial scanning EUS guidance was shown to be feasible. EUS is a valuable technique for investigation of both benign and malignant oesophageal conditions. It provides highly accurate local tumour and regional lymph node staging data in patients with oesophageal cancer.