Reconstruction using pedicled jejunal segments after resection for carcinoma of the cervical esophagus

During the past 21 years, 45 (76.3 per cent) of 59 instances of cervical and hypopharyngeal carcinomas were treated by resection. The standard operative procedure for reconstruction after resection was interposition of pedicled jejunal segments between the cervical esophagus or the hypopharynx and the upper part of the thoracic esophagus with or without total laryngectomy, a procedure developed by one of the authors. The five year survival rate of 11 patients who underwent this operation which preserves the larynx was 33.3 per cent and that of 19 patients who underwent the operation with laryngectomy was 19.7 per cent. Therefore, the interposition of jejunal segments preserving the larynx is shown to be an appropriate operation for carcinoma localized in the cervical esophagus. In addition, reconstruction with free jejunal segments using microvascular operations in instances of recurrent malignant tumors of the thoracic esophagus in the cervical esophagus is introduced.     

Actual role of Hartmann's resection in elective surgical treatment for carcinoma of rectum and sigmoid colon

A consecutive series of 50 patients who underwent Hartmann's resection from 1967 to 1981 because of carcinoma of the rectum and sigmoid colon is reported upon herein. Indications for Hartmann's resection were palliation because of advanced disease (62 per cent of the patients), poor risk conditions and advanced age (24 per cent) and intraoperative complications or difficult primary anastomosis (14 per cent). The overall operative mortality and morbidity rates were 8 and 80 per cent, respectively--pelvic sepsis accounted for 37.5 per cent of the complications. The five year survival rate for patients with radical operations was 46 per cent. The choice of Hartmann's resection for patients with advanced disease was unfair because of the high postoperative morbidity and the discomfort of colostomy. The indications for intestinal resection without primary anastomosis because of general conditions or technical difficulties to perform the anastomosis are actually reduced by the improved perioperative care and by the confidence in using stapling guns. Hartmann's resection is still indicated in elderly patients, in instances of locally advanced tumors and when the primary anastomosis is judged to be unfeasible.     

Liver cell carcinoma during the prime of life.

During a 23 year period at Memorial Hospital, the diagnosis of liver cell carcinoma was made in 42 patients who were 11 to 40 years old. Ninety per cent were Caucasian, mostly born in the United states. No occupational hazard was detected. Serum hepatitis antigen was demonstrated in only one patient. Alpha fetoprotein was found in the serum of 55 per cent of nine patients tested. Eight-three per cent were Rh positive, 43 per cent were ABO groups, A or O, respectively. Twenty-three per cent of 13 patients with sufficient material for study had an associated cirrhosis. Of these, active hepatitis with cirrhosis was present in one patient; postnecrotic cirrhosis was present in another. Approximately 7 per cent had a history of previous liver disease. One patient had infectious mononucleosis, and nearly 13 per cent gave a family history of cancer. Weight loss or pain in the right upper abdominal quadrant was present in 65 per cent, and hepatomegaly was found in 88 per cent. Only one patient presented with hemoperitoneum simulating an acute condition within abdomen. The liver profile examinations characteristically revealed an elevation in serum alkaline phosphatase, 5 nucleotidase, and Bromsulphalein retention with normal bilirubin level. The most common finding, upon roentgenographic examination, was an elevated right hemidiaphragm. Selective celiac and superior mesenteric angiography and 99mTc sulfur colloid liver scans were both done in 13 patients. There was a 75 per cent accuracy rate in localization of the tumor. At laparotomy, the tumor was found to be confined to one lobe in seven patients and involved both lobes in ten. Twenty-seven patients were thought to have multicentric tumors and 15 unicentric lesions. Only ten were found to be candidates for hepatic lobectomy. Five and ten years survival rates were 20 per cent; the operative mortality rate was 40 per cent. Twenty per cent died within a year, ten per cent, one patient, is alive with disease at 28 months and another is free of disease at 31-months. Paraneoplastic syndromes were erythrocytosis in two patients, terminal stage of hypoglycemia in one patient, and hypocholesterolemia with associated excess beta globulin in one patient.     

Electrocoagulation of selected carcinoma of the rectum

Abdominoperineal resection for the treatment of carcinoma of the rectum has been the benchmark for all other forms of therapy since Miles described the procedure in 1908. During the past 25 years, 81 patients have had carcinoma of the rectum treated curatively by electrocoagulation and have been observed for five years or more. Treatment was selectively applied to those patients whose tumors were less than 7.5 centimeters from the anal verge with less than 50 per cent of the rectum involved. All of the tumors were freely movable. The over-all five year survival rate was 47 per cent. Thirty-one of the 81 patients underwent conversion to abdominoperineal resection because of recurrence. The survival rate for those treated by electrocoagulation alone was 58 per cent and for those converted to abdominoperineal resection, 29 per cent. The survival rate was 65 per cent for those with lesions less than 4 centimeters in diameter versus 30 per cent for those with lesions more than 4 centimeters. The morbidity rate was 21.0 per cent and the mortality rate was 2.7 per cent. There were an additional 33 patients treated for palliation with only one five year survivor. Electrocoagulation for the treatment of carcinoma of the distal part of the rectum is a reasonable alterative to abdominoperineal resection when selectively applied.     

Hepatic resection in patients with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatic resection can be performed safely in carefully selected patients with cirrhosis. To minimize morbidity and mortality, it is essential to reliably estimate functional hepatic reserve and the extent of tumor before resection is performed. Child's classification is a reliable predictor of long term survival, but a more sensitive measure of hepatic function is needed to predict early morbidity and mortality. Child's classification can also be used to stratify patients and exclude those at high risk from hepatic resection. Promising predictors of operative mortality focus on the mitochondrial function of hepatocytes and include cytochrome a (+a3) contents and the redox tolerance index. Patients with advanced cirrhosis are not candidates for extensive hepatic resection and require careful evaluation before consideration for any hepatic resection. In patients with well-compensated cirrhosis and unifocal tumors, the procedure of choice is an anatomic resection of the tumor. If tumor size and location allows, a segmentectomy offers the best outcome, minimizing postoperative liver dysfunction while offering a long term outcome not dissimilar to a major liver resection. In highly selected patients with incidental tumors, a central tumor and perhaps in patients with multifocal hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatic transplantation may be of benefit. By using the appropriate predictors of hepatic function, refined surgical techniques and optimal postoperative care, a mortality rate of less than 10 per cent is achievable in cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who require resection.     

Operative and functional results of total mesorectal excision with ultra-low anterior resection in the management of carcinoma of the lower one-third of the rectum.

Eighty-one patients underwent anterior resection with curative (n = 57) or palliative (n = 24) intent for tumors below 7 centimeters from the anal verge. If a right angled clamp could be applied below the tumor at operation after full mobilization of the mesorectum and rectum, the procedure was performed in preference to abdominoperineal excision. The mean follow-up time was 4.8 years. Of the curative group, 26 had lesions within 5 centimeters of the anal verge. Thirty-one per cent were Dukes' A; 37 per cent, B, and 32 per cent, C lesions. The margin of distal clearance ranged from 2 to 35 millimeters. In five patients, squamous mucosa was observed in the distal doughnut. Serious postoperative complications occurred in 17 per cent of the curative series, one-half of which occurred within the first two years of the study period. In six patients, the temporary colostomy has not been closed. The incidence of local recurrence in the curative series was 3.5 per cent, and the over-all survival rate was 81 per cent at five years. Full continence was achieved within two years of closure of the colosomy in 85 per cent of the patients. In the palliative group, 11 of the 19 patients had temporary colostomies and 80 per cent were continent within six months of operation. The technique of total mesorectal excision and sphincter preservation by stapled coloanal anastomosis in the treatment of carcinomas of the lower one-third of the rectum may be an alternative to abdominoperineal excision. The final decision in such instances is made intraoperatively. The operative and functional results are satisfactory, but it is difficult to anticipate the patients who will not do well by preoperative criteria. Even in palliative procedures, low anterior resections provided satisfactory continence. Serious postoperative complications were more likely to occur if full mobilization of the splenic flexture was not routinely performed.     

Surgical treatment for spontaneous rupture of hepatocellular carcinoma

Twenty-seven patients with spontaneous rupture of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) underwent surgical treatment during the past ten years. The indications for emergent laparotomy were hemoperitoneum in 14 and unspecified peritonitis in 13. Twelve were found to have noncirrhotic HCC. The incidence of associated cirrhosis was 55.56 per cent. Surgical procedures included hepatic resection in 14, hepatic arterial ligation in six and packing, suture and electrocauterization in seven. Seven died within one month postoperatively, a surgical mortality rate of 28 per cent. Recently, palliative resection has been used more frequently. The group of patients who underwent resection have a better prognosis.     

Results of resection and proposed guidelines for patient selection in instances of non-colorectal hepatic metastases

Resection of hepatic metastases from carcinomas of the colon and rectum appears to extend the survival time in appropriately selected patients. Selection criteria have been widely published. Similar data for patients with hepatic metastases from primary sites other than the colon and rectum are lacking. To determine which, if any, patients in the latter category benefit from resections, we reviewed ten such instances treated at our institution plus 141 instances of resection for noncolorectal hepatic metastases previously reported. The over-all five year survival rate after resection of noncolorectal hepatic metastases is 20 per cent. When Wilms' tumor is excluded, the five year survival rate is 15 per cent. Approximately four of ten patients with metastases to the liver from Wilms' tumor or carcinoid survived five years after resection. Similar benefit is rarely obtained after resection of hepatic metastases of the breast, kidney, adrenal gland and carcinomas of the stomach; malignant melanoma, and leiomyosarcoma. No extension of survival is apparent for resection of hepatic metastases of gynecologic malignancies or carcinoma of the pancreas. Specific guidelines for selection are discussed in view of the limited prognosis when tumors other than carcinomas of the colon and rectum metastasize to the liver. Careful patient selection and minimization of complications are required.     

Repeat hepatic resection for primary and metastatic carcinoma of the liver

During the last 15 years, 19 patients underwent repeated hepatic resections for malignant lesions of the liver. The first hepatic resection had been performed four to 40 months earlier for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (nine patients) or hepatic metastases (ten patients), eight of which were of colorectal origin. Repeat resection was an extensive hepatectomy in six, a segmentectomy in six and a local excision in seven. In one patient, three wedge resections and, finally, hepatic transplantation were subsequently performed after an initial extended right lobectomy. The operative mortality rate was 5.2 per cent. The three year actuarial survival rate was 64 per cent after the second resection.     

Assessment of pattern and treatment of intrahepatic recurrence after resection of hepatocellular carcinoma.

From 1980 to 1988, 161 patients underwent total extirpation of primary hepatocellular carcinoma. There were 18 operative or hospital deaths. Recurrence of tumor was diagnosed in 69 of the remaining 143 patients during follow-up treatment with monthly serum alpha-fetoprotein measurements and imaging studies that were performed every three months. There were 61 men and eight women whose ages ranged from 33 to 78 years. The histologic factors noted were cirrhosis of the liver in 60 patients and chronic hepatitis in nine. There were multiple or diffuse recurrences (Type A) in 34 instances, one to three nodular recurrences (Type B) in 21, marginal recurrences (Type C) in 11 and a mixed form of the latter two in three instances. Two-thirds of the recurrences were found within 1.5 years and the second peak was noted between 2.0 and 2.5 years. Sex of patient, hepatitis B virus, type of tumor, capsule, extent of hepatic resection and postoperative chemotherapy did not influence the rate of recurrence, but cirrhotic livers had a significantly higher recurrence rate. A second hepatic resection was performed upon 20 patients with a five year survival rate of 26.8 per cent. Good results were obtained by chemoembolization of the hepatic artery. Prevention and adequate treatment of intrahepatic recurrence are of paramount importance in achieving better surgical results for hepatocellular carcinoma.     

Intestinal anastomosis after preoperative radiation therapy for carcinoma of the rectum

A retrospective review was conducted on 133 patients who underwent anterior resection and primary intestinal anastomosis for adenocarcinoma of the rectum from 1973 to 1983 at the Baystate Medical Center. Forty patients received a moderate dose, 4,500 rads, of radiation therapy preoperatively. Twenty-six of these patients (65 per cent) underwent protective colostomy at operation. An additional 93 patients underwent an operation without radiation and 38 of these (42 per cent) had a colostomy. We found no significant difference between patients who did or did not undergo radiation therapy in the over-all rate of complications (25 per cent for those who underwent radiation and 29 per cent for those who did not). Furthermore, there was no significant difference in anastomotic leak rates between the two groups (10 and 7 per cent respectively), even after controlling for the presence of a protective colostomy. We did find that leak rates for both groups were markedly higher for patients with a colostomy (14 per cent) than for patients without (1 per cent) (p less than 0.005). We conclude that a moderate dose of radiation therapy preoperatively does not increase the risk of anastomotic leakage or other operative complications with anterior resection. Colorectal intestinal anastomosis may be safely performed without routine colostomy after planned preoperative adjuvant radiation therapy if the anastomosis is technically satisfactory.     

Surgical treatment of hilar carcinoma of the bile duct

The operative results of hilar carcinoma of the bile duct are extremely poor and there are few long term survivors. During the past seven years and six months at our clinic, 26 of 32 patients with hilar carcinoma were operated upon and 24 of these patients underwent resection with a resectability rate of 92.3 per cent. There was one operative death and the mortality was 3.8 per cent in 26 patients operated upon and 4.2 per cent in 24 patients who underwent resection. Seven are still alive postoperatively. The longest survival time is five years and seven months without a recurrence after right trisegmentectomy for carcinoma of the intrahepatic bile duct with hilar invasion. Curative resection was performed upon ten of 26 patients who underwent operation. Of the patients who were operated upon, 12 had invasion of the parenchyma of the liver at the hilum and 11, invasion of the caudate lobe, including direct invasion in three and invasion of the bile ducts in eight. Therefore, the caudate lobe should be resected for radical operation for hilar carcinoma. In this study, the anatomy of the hilar area, including vascular structures of the caudate lobe, was evaluated in 106 cadavers, concerning radical operation for hilar carcinoma.     

Patterns of recurrence after curative resection for carcinoma of the thoracic part of the esophagus

Two hundred patients with a previously untreated carcinoma of the thoracic portion of the esophagus and who underwent curative or noncurative resection were retrospectively evaluated. The patterns of recurrence were compared with the pathologic findings at operation. In 30 of 90 (33.3 per cent) patients in the curative resection group and 68 of 110 (61.8 per cent) of those in the noncurative resection group, there was a recurrence. Hematogenic recurrence was most frequent in instances of blood vessel invasion of the carcinoma detected at the time of the operation, and death occurred during the early postoperative period. Lymph node recurrence was most frequent in instances of lymphatic invasion or blood vessel invasion, or both, and the postoperative survival time in such patients was double that seen in those with a hematogenic-related recurrence.     

Prognosis of patients after palliative surgical procedures for carcinoma of the stomach

From 1965 to 1980, 294 (33 per cent) of 885 patients admitted to the Istituto Nazionale Tumori of Milan with carcinoma of the stomach did not undergo a radical operation. Forty-eight patients were not considered suitable for operation due to their poor general status and spread of disease. One hundred and five patients underwent simple exploratory laparotomy, 80 underwent bypass procedure and 61, noncurative resection, and the operative mortality rate was 4.7, 10.0 and 11.5 per cent, respectively. Median survival time was 2.4 months for patients who did not undergo an operation, 2.8 months after exploratory laparotomy and 3.5 months after bypass procedures. Median survival time after nonradical resections was 8.0 months and 6 per cent of these patients survived for more than five years. To perform the analysis within relatively homogeneous groups, patients with different treatments were further stratified into three groups according to the spread of disease: local, distant and local plus distant spread. It is noteworthy that the benefit after bypass procedures in comparison to exploratory laparotomy was limited to those patients with local spread of disease; the advantage of nonradical resection was apparent in all groups. Survival time was finally analyzed with reference to the extent of liver involvement in patients with metastatic disease confined to the liver. The data suggest that a limited sporadic survival time is possible only after gastric resection in patients with liver involvement of less than 50 per cent.     

Examination of patient selection and outcome for hepatic resection for metastatic disease

Hepatic resection for metastatic disease is now an accepted therapeutic option in a selected group of patients. A series of 56 patients undergoing hepatic resection at a single institution from 1974 to 1985 are presented. Resection was carried out in 27 women and 29 men who ranged in age from 23 to 87 years (a mean of 56 years). The site of primary disease was: colorectal in 41, adrenal gland in two and other sites in 13. Of the 56 hepatectomies, 21 were done for synchronous secondary disease discovered before or at operation for the primary disease. Metachronous lesions were found in 35 patients, from two months to 17 years (a mean of 34 months) after excision of the primary tumor. Estimated five year survival rates using the Kaplan-Meier method was 25 per cent in the patients with colorectal primaries and 35 per cent in the entire group. No difference was demonstrated between synchronous and metachronous resections. Patients with multiple hepatic lesions did much poorer than those with solitary tumors. Patients with metastatic tumor consisting of one large lesion with surrounding satellite nodule or nodules had an expected survival time resembling that for those with true solitary metastases and were included in that group. No difference in survival time was observed in patients with carcinoma of the colon and rectum who had involvement of regional nodes at the time of the primary resection, as compared with patients with negative nodes. Hepatic resection for a secondary malignant growth can be performed safely with a real chance for cure in selected instances. We continue to recommend an aggressive approach to hepatic metastases, especially those of a colorectal origin.     

Renal cell carcinoma with inferior vena cava tumor thrombi

Renal cell carcinoma is a unique neoplasm because of its common propensity to propagate into the renal vein and inferior vena cava (IVC) as tumor thrombus. Historically, the surgical difficulties encountered in removal of these cancers limited the ability of a single institution to obtain experience with large numbers of instances. Between January 1956 and July 1987, 68 patients with renal cell carcinoma extending into the IVC or right atrium underwent radical nephrectomy with vena cava thrombus extraction at the Cleveland Clinic. Twenty-five patients had partial resection of the IVC with reconstruction. Fifteen patients had partial resection and reconstruction of the IVC; however, because of narrowing of the infrarenal IVC, persisting bland thrombus in the proximal IVC or iliac veins or concern regarding postoperative pulmonary emboli, the infrarenal IVC was either ligated or clipped. Seven patients underwent cavectomy with division of the IVC. A right atriotomy was performed upon 14 patients and cardiopulmonary bypass was used in 20 patients, with 17 also having deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. The tumor thrombus was removed intact in 64 per cent of the patients and in multiple small fragments ("piecemeal") in 36 per cent of the patients. The mortality rate was 7 per cent. Survival was examined relative to extent of vena caval thrombus. Patients with extension into the atrium had a significantly worse prognosis than those with other levels of vena caval involvement. Other factors, such as lymph node status, perinephric fat involvement, resection of IVC and intact or "piecemeal" extraction, did not influence the survival rate. Patients with pre-existing metastases preoperatively had an extremely poor survival rate. The techniques now available for surgical resection of all levels of tumor thrombus of the IVC make resection feasible in most patients. In our opinion, the addition of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest has been a significant advance.     

Mammographic and histopathologic correlation of nonpalpable lesions of the breast and the reliability of frozen section diagnosis

During a period of ten years, 118 (32.9 per cent) instances of carcinoma were found in 359 specimens taken at biopsy for nonpalpable mammographic lesions. In recent years, the positive predictive value has increased from 68 per cent due to the development of magnification mammography and the use of a mammographic grid. Correlating mammographic and histopathologic data, the rate of malignant disease was 12.7 per cent for instances of a circumscribed or nodular mass, 32.4 per cent for clustered microcalcifications as the only suspect finding, 28.6 per cent when a mass with microcalcifications was present and 66.7 per cent when a stellate-shaped mass was found. Of 188 instances of carcinoma, 40 were noninvasive: 32 instances of ductal carcinoma (27.1 per cent) and eight of lobular carcinoma in situ (6.8 per cent). The possibility of frozen section diagnosis was studied retrospectively by comparison with the paraffin section reports. A correct diagnosis, whether benign or malignant, was achieved in 68 per cent. No frozen section examination was done in 17.3 per cent and the diagnosis was deferred to results of paraffin section in 12.2 per cent. False-negative results were encountered in seven patients (1.9 per cent) and false-positive results in two (0.6 per cent). Both of these patients had florid sclerosing adenosis. Although frozen section diagnosis is feasible in nonpalpable lesions of the breast, it is recommended that this method not be used in instances of pure microcalcifications and tiny solid masses of 5 millimeters or less.     

Second look operation in managing carcinoma of the pancreas and periampullary region

From a total of 153 patients with carcinoma of the periampullary region and of the head of the pancreas, 127 underwent surgical treatment. There were 79 men and 48 women with a mean age of 65 years (a range of 39 to 90 years). Of these, 26 had resectional operations. Fifteen were carried out at the initial laparotomy and 11 at a second look operation (SLO). Of the 112 patients who had a palliative bypass at the initial laparotomy, 30, who were less than 65 years of age and were fit and remained so when assessed at six and 12 weeks postoperatively, were re-evaluated for SLO. Of these, 12 had evidence of metastases and, therefore, were not considered for SLO. Eleven had a successful resection, and in seven, attempted resection had to be abandoned because of local invasion. The five year survival rate was 50 per cent for carcinoma of the periampullary region and 9 per cent for carcinoma of the head of the pancreas after primary resection. The comparable rates after SLO were 33.3 and 12.5 per cent, respectively. Based on our experience, SLO should be considered in young, fit patients as associated pancreatitis can make some tumors seem locally invasive and, hence, appear unresectable at the initial laparotomy.     

Portacaval shunt as emergency procedure in unselected patients with alcoholic cirrhosis.

A prospective evaluation of emergency portacaval shunt has been conducted during a 12 year period in 138 unselected, consecutive patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and bleeding esophageal varies. An extensive diagnostic evaluation was completed within seven hours of hospital admission, and the shunt operation was undertaken within a mean of 8.5 hours. Follow-up study was conducted in a special clinic, and the current status of 97.1 per cent of the patients had jaundice, ascites or encephalopathy alone or in combination on admission. Systemic intravenous administration of posterior pituitary extract temporarily controlled the hemorrhage in 94 per cent of the patients, and the emergency portacaval shunt promptly and permanently controlled the varix bleeding in 96 per cent of the patients. Contrary to recent proposals, patients with the highest portal perfusion pressure and, presumably, the largest hepatopetal portal flow had the highest survival rate and those who were presumed from pressure measurements to sustain the smallest portal flow diversion from the shunt had the lowest survival rate. The operative survival rate was 51 per cent, the predicted seven year survival rate for those operated upon seven or more years ago was 42.5 per cent. Encephalopathy requiring dietary protein restriction developed at some time in 17 per cent of the survivors. Sixty per cent of the survivors abstained from alcohol, and 53 per cent resumed gainful employment or full time housekeeping. Preoperative factors that adversely influenced survial rate were ingestion of alcohol within one month of bleeding, ascites, severe muscle-wasting and a small liver. Postoperatively, the single most important factor that compromised long term survival was resumption of alcoholism. In comparisons with our previous prospective studies, emergency portacaval shunt resulted in a significantly greater long term survival rate than did either emergency medical therapy or emergency varix ligation, followed by elective shunt. It is concluded that emergency portacaval shunt is the most effective treatment of bleeding esophageal varices in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis. Criteria for exclusion of those patients who are unlikely to derive long term benefits from portacaval shunt remain to be defined by further studies.