Congenital Morgagni's hernia: A national multicenter study

Background

Congenital Morgagni's hernia (CMH) is rare and represents less than 5% of all congenital diaphragmatic hernias. This is a national review of our experience with CMH outlining clinical presentation, methods of diagnosis, associated anomalies, treatment, and outcome.

Patients and methods

The medical records of all patients with the diagnosis of CMH treated at four pediatric surgery units in Saudi Arabia were retrospectively reviewed for age at diagnosis, sex, presenting symptoms, associated anomalies, diagnosis, operative findings, treatment, and outcome.

Results

During a 20-year period (January 1990–December 2010), 53 infants and children with CMH were treated. There were 38 males and 15 females. Their age at diagnosis ranged from 1 month to 9 years (mean 22.2 months). Forty-three (81%) presented with recurrent chest infection. Twenty-two (44.5%) had right CMH, 15 (28.3%) had left-sided hernia and 16 (30.2%) had bilateral hernia. In 7, the diagnosis of bilaterality was made at the time of surgery. Associated anomalies were seen in 38 (71.7%). Twenty-one (39.6%) had congenital heart disease, 8 (15%) had malrotation, and 15 (28.3%) had Down syndrome. All were operated on. Twenty-nine (54.7%) underwent repair via an open approach. The remaining 24 (45.3%) underwent repair using minimal invasive surgery, laparoscopic-assisted hernia repair (19 patients) or totally laparoscopic approach (5 patients). At the time of surgery, the hernia sac content included the colon in 33 (62.3%), part of the left lobe of the liver in 13 (24.5%), the small intestines in 11 (20.75%), the omentum in 5 (9.4%), and the stomach in 4 (7.5%). In 12 (22.6%), the hernia sac was empty. When compared to the open repair, the laparoscopic-assisted approach was associated with a shorter operative time, an earlier commencement of feeds, less requirement for postoperative analgesia, a shorter hospital stay, and better cosmetic appearance. There was no mortality. On follow-up, 2 (7%) of the open surgical group developed recurrence.

Conclusions

CMH is rare and in the pediatric age group commonly presents with recurrent chest infection and has a high incidence of associated anomalies, commonly congenital heart disease and Down syndrome. We advocate a laparoscopic-assisted approach to repair CMH. This is a simple technique that produces a sound repair, and when compared with the open approach it takes less operative time, requires less analgesia, allows earlier commencement of feeds, is associated with a shorter hospital stay, and has a better cosmetic outcome.     

Neuroendocrine tumor of the small intestine diagnosed with trans-abdominal ultrasonography: A case report

IntroductionTumors of the small intestine are rare. In addition, clinical symptoms are nonspecific and neoplasm-related symptoms occur late. We report a case of neuroendocrine tumor (NET) of the small intestine that was diagnosed early with trans-abdominal ultrasonography (US).Presentation of caseThe patient was a 61-year-old man. Abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) was performed because the patient complained of abdominal pain. The CT showed a tumor lesion in the mesentery. Trans-abdominal US was undertaken to evaluate this tumor lesion, and a tumor lesion of the small intestine was found nearby. A diagnosis of lymph-node metastasis of a small-intestine tumor was made as a preoperative diagnosis. A laparotomy was performed with partial resection of the ileum, together with the small-intestine mesentery including an enlarged lymph node. Histological examination revealed NET of the ileum and lymph-node metastasis.DiscussionWith the application of trans-abdominal US, we could diagnose lymph-node metastasis of a small-intestine tumor relatively early and before surgery.ConclusionTrans-abdominal US is useful in the diagnosis of small-intestine NET.     

腹腔镜经腹腹膜前疝修补术治疗膀胱滑疝一例

正患者,男性,55岁。主因"间断脐周及下腹部疼痛3d"入太原市中心医院。患者于入院前3 d搬动重物后出现脐周及下腹部疼痛,疼痛呈间断性、钝痛,不伴发热,不伴恶心、呕吐,不伴腹胀、腹泻及排气异常;不伴尿频、尿急、尿痛等症状,于2015年4月17日就诊于我院急诊,给予对症治疗后入住我科。入院查体:腹平坦,脐周及右下腹部压痛阳性,肠鸣音略亢进。右腹股沟区可见一肿物,     

Single-incision laparoscopic trans-abdominal pre-peritoneal mesh hernia repair: a feasible approach

Background  

Single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) is aimed at improving the cosmetic outcome following surgery. If the incision is made through the umbilicus, the surgery is almost ‘scarless.’ This is increasingly being used for laparoscopic cholecystectomy with good cosmetic results without compromising the safety of the operation. The challenge of this surgery lies in manipulating instruments within the limitations of the closely inserted ports.     

内镜下经腹Sublay修补术在腹壁疝治疗中的应用

目的初步评估经腹Sublay修补(transabdominal sublay, TAS)修复腹壁疝的可行性、安全性和有效性,并从初步临床实践中总结其手术要点和适应证。 方法回顾研究2016年5月至2019年5月同济大学附属东方医院等四家医院实施的21例中小型原发性腹壁疝和切口疝患者的资料,分析病例资料、疝的情况、手术细节和手术结果。 结果21例计划实施TAS修补的患者中,19例成功完成,另2例中转完成修补。手术中位时间120 min,术后48 h绝大部分患者仅存在轻度疼痛。无术中、术后严重并发症;血清肿是最常见并发症(15.8%),都在6个月内吸收;1例复发。 结论初步结果表明,TAS修补对于治疗中小型原发性腹壁疝和切口疝是可行、安全、有效的;但手术耗时较长,实施手术的外科医师需要更多的耐心和技巧,但成功实施TAS可避免将补片放置入腹腔,患者术后恢复也更快。     

Direct sagittal CT scan: a new diagnostic approach for surgical neonates

Because of their small body size, neonates can be placed in the plane of the CT scanner gantry (aperture diameter 70 cm) instead of across it. This direct sagittal scanning technique allows accurate delineation of surgical lesions, particularly midline ones, unobtainable with conventional axial imaging. In addition, the sagittal image provides a perspective of anatomic arrangement more familiar to the surgeon than that provided by axial sections and therefore allows for easier interpretation. In imperforate anus, sagittal CT identifies the blind rectal end by the meconium tissue interphase and therefore avoids the pitfalls of invertogram, which depends on the bowel gas pattern for interpretation. With this new approach, we correctly classified six cases of imperforate anus into high types (3) and low types (3), visualized the associated fistula and had knowledge of the exact distance of the blind rectal end from the skin level preoperatively. In tracheoesophageal fistula (2), sagittal CT demonstrated the air-filled blind pouch and fistula to allow preoperative classification and assessment of the gap distance. In sacrococcygeal teratoma (3) and laryngeal cyst (1), its use allowed an accurate assessment of possible extension of the lesion into neighboring structures. Our experience with direct sagittal CT scan therefore suggests that this new and noninvasive technique is a useful adjunct in the management of a variety of common neonatal surgical problems.     

Sciatic hernia clinically mimicking obturator hernia, missed by ultrasonography: case report

Sciatic hernia is a rare pelvic floor hernia that occurs through the greater or lesser sciatic foramen. Sciatic hernias often present as pelvic pain, particularly in women, and diagnosis can be difficult. Sciatic hernia is one of the rarest forms of internal hernia, which can present as signs and symptoms of small bowel obstruction, swelling in the respective gluteal region or pelvic pain. Transabdominal and transgluteal operative approaches, including laparoscopic repair, have been reported. We present a case of left-sided sciatic hernia with incarcerated small bowel as its contents. The hernia was missed by ultrasonography and plain abdominal radiography, but the clinical features were suggestive of an obturator hernia.     

CT scan and surgical treatment of traumatic iliacus hematoma with femoral neuropathy: case report

Iliacus hematoma should be suspected as the cause of femoral neuropathy in cases of minor trauma in teenagers, especially when the onset of paralysis is delayed and therefore an acute traction injury of the nerve is unlikely. In our 14-year-old female patient the condition followed minor trauma. In such cases CT scan should be performed. When this reveals a hematoma and the nerve lesion is rapidly progressing or complete, the hematoma should be promptly evacuated.     

A rare cause of intestinal obstruction in the adult: Morgagni's hernia

Morgagni's hernia is a rare congenital diaphragmatic herniation and is usually diagnosed in childhood. It is quite rare in adults, and intestinal obstruction as a complication due to intrathoracic intestinal herniation rarely occurs. We present the plain radiography and computed tomography findings of an adult patient with acute abdomen symptoms due to Morgagni's hernia.     

Preoperative imaging of liver metastases. Comparison of angiography, CT scan, and ultrasonography.

Thirty-one patients with mostly colorectal cancer metastases to the liver had preoperative selective/superselective angiograms (24 cases), computed tomography (CT) [26 cases, mostly enhanced by contrast administered by a peripheral vein (9), the common hepatic artery (9), or the portal vein (5)], and ultrasonography (26 cases). Intraoperative ultrasonography and palpation and examination of the resected specimens revealed 113 tumors. CT detected almost half of the masses smaller than 1 cm, and ultrasonography and angiography about one-third of lesions 1-2 cm in size. Ultrasonography was less powerful for examination of the posterior segment of the liver. CT and ultrasonography placed the tumors into subsegments more accurately than did angiography. Almost 40% of the preoperative plans had to be changed: in two-thirds by extended resections and in one-third by a change from curative to palliative intent. Most changes were due to extrahepatic tumor growth, often within areas screened before surgery. The use of all three imaging modalities for liver metastases is recommended for preoperative planning.     

Clinical outcomes following identification of tip appendicitis on ultrasonography and CT scan

Background/Purpose

With recent improvements in imaging technology, subtler variations in the anatomy of the appendix can be appreciated. We hypothesized that radiographic findings of tip appendicitis may not correlate strongly with a pathologic diagnosis of appendicitis.

Correlation between preoperative CT scan and lung metastases according to surgical approach in patients with colorectal cancer

IntroductionThe number of lung metastases (M1) of colorectal carcinoma (CRC) in relation to the findings of computed tomography (CT) is the object of study.MethodsProspective and multicenter study of the Spanish Group for Surgery of CRC lung metastases (GECMP-CCR). The role of CT in the detection of pulmonary M1 is evaluated in 522 patients who underwent a pulmonary metastasectomy for CRC. We define M1/CT as the ratio between metastatic nodules and those found on preoperative CT. Disease-specific survival (DSS), disease-free survival (DFS), and surgical approach were analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method.Results93 patients were performed by video-assisted surgery (VATS) and 429 by thoracotomy. In 90%, the M1/CT ratio was ≤1, with no differences between VATS and thoracotomy (94.1% vs 89.7%, p = 0.874). In the remaining 10% there were more M1s than those predicted by CT (M1/CT > 1), with no differences between approaches (8.6% vs 10%, p = 0.874). 51 patients with M1/CT > 1, showed a lower median DSS (35.4 months vs 55.8; p = 0.002) and DFS (14.2 months vs 29.3; p = 0.025) compared to 470 with M1/CT ≤ 1. No differences were observed in DSS and DFS according to VATS or thoracotomy.ConclusionsOur study shows equivalent oncological results in the resection of M1 of CRC using VATS or thoracotomy approach. The group of patients with an M1/CT ratio >1 have a worse DSS and DFS, which may mean a more advanced disease than predicted preoperatively.     

Pre-operative ultrasonography guiding minimal, selective surgical approach in primary hyperparathyroidism

BACKGROUND: The traditional surgical approach for the treatment of primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT) has been routine bilateral surgical exploration. Our aim was to evaluate pre-operative ultrasonography (U/S) in altering our practice to selective unilateral neck exploration. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted involving 53 patients who had parathyroidectomy over a 5-year period (1989-1994), 41 of whom with the diagnosis of HPT had pre-operative neck U/S. RESULTS: Thirty-eight patients had a single adenoma, one had parathyroid cancer, and two had multiple adenomas. Thirty-six of 41 (88%) patients were true positives, two (5%) false positives, two (5%) false negatives and one (2%) was true negative. Based on the surgeon's personal preference and U/S results, 21/41 (51%) of patients had bilateral and 20/41 (49%) had unilateral neck exploration. All the 41 patients had resolution of the hypercalcemia postoperatively. Eighteen of 38 (47%) patients with a single adenoma had bilateral neck exploration and only in two patients was this necessary. CONCLUSIONS: Patients undergoing parathyroid surgery for HPT should have preoperative U/S and, if a single enlarged parathyroid gland is found, unilateral U/S guided neck exploration is safe and economical. In all the other patients, bilateral exploration is the preferred approach.