Endoclip Closure of Jejunal Perforation after Balloon Dilatation

Endoscopy is commonly used in patients undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP) for diagnosis and intervention. Stomal stricture at the gastrojejunostomy occurs in approximately 3% to 17% of patients after laparoscopic RYGBP. The incidence of iatrogenic perforation during stomal balloon dilatation is reported to be 3% to 12% among these patients. Surgery has typically been required for iatrogenic perforation. With the availability of the endoclip, endoscopists are able to manage iatrogenic perforation non-operatively. We report a patient who had jejunal perforation during balloon dilatation after RYBGP, who was successfully closed with endoclip applications and managed non-operatively.     

Management of Sphincter Dyssynergia Using the Sphincter Stent Prosthesis in Chronically Catheterized SCI Men

Abstract

This effort represents a subset analysis of the long-term Multicenter North American Trial of the UroLume sphincter stent prosthesis to determine the effect of the sphincter stent prosthesis in SCI men afflicted with detrusor-external sphincter dyssynergia (DESD) and chronically managed with an indwelling urinary catheter. Forty-one of 153 male patients in this study were evaluated urodynamically before and after placement of the sphincter stent prosthesis. Of the 41 patients, 34 (81 percent) suffered cervical-level injury while 10 patients (25 percent) had been treated previously with external sphincterotomy. Forty patients (98 percent) were troubled with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTI), with a mean of 4.6±3 episodes of UTI per year. Seven patients (17 percent) demonstrated hydronephrosis prior to stent placement.

Follow-up ranged from six to 44 months. Voiding pressures decreased from a mean of 77±23 cmH20 preoperatively to 35±18 cmH20 at 12 months (n=34) and 33±20 cmH2Û at 24 months (n=22) after stent insertion (p=0.001). Post-void residual urinary volume decreased from 202±187 ml preinsertion to 64±69 ml at 24 months (p=0.001) postinsertion. Maximum cystometric capacity remained constant at 201 ±144 ml preinsertion to 203±79 ml at 24 months (p=0.75) postinsertion. No significant changes in any of the urodynamic parameters occurred after 24 months of follow-up between patients with (n=10) and without (n=31) previous external sphincterotomy.

Neither hemorrhage requiring blood transfusion, obstructive hyperplastic epithelial overgrowth, stent encrustation or stone formation, nor soft tissue erosion occurred in any patient. No deleterious effects were observed on erectile function. Hydronephrosis resolved in four, and improved in three, of seven patients with hydronephrosis preoperatively. Eighty-two percent of the patients demonstrated complete stent epithelialization after six months, while 96 percent were epithelialized two years after stent insertion. In three patients, stent migration required repositioning or removal within the first month. In another two patients, the stent prostheses were removed one year postinsertion because of problems with condom catheter drainage.

The sphincter stent prosthesis is an attractive, potentially reversible treatment option for DESD in men managed with an indwelling catheter, even if external sphincterotomy has been performed previously. (J Spinal Cord Med;] 8:88–94)     

Post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disorder in adult liver transplant recipients: a South American multicenter experience

Post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) is a major and potentially life‐threatening complication after solid‐organ transplantation. The aim of this study was to describe the disease characteristics, clinical practices, and survival related to PTLD in adult orthotopic liver transplant (OLT) recipients in South America. We conducted a survey at four different transplant groups from Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. Among 1621 OLT recipients, 27 developed PTLD (1.7%); the mean age at diagnosis was 53.7 (±14) yr with a mean time of 39.7 (±35.2) months from OLT to PTLD diagnosis. Initial therapy included reduction in immunosuppression alone in 23.1% of the patients. Either rituximab or chemotherapy was employed as initial or second‐line therapy in 76.9% of the patients. PTLD location was frequently extranodal (80.7%) and mostly involving the transplanted liver (59.3%). The overall survival at one and five yr post‐PTLD diagnosis was 53.8% and 46.2%, respectively. Significant univariate risk factors for post‐PTLD mortality included lactate dehydrogenase ≥250 U/L (HR 9.66, p = 0.02), stage III/IV PTLD (HR 5.34, p = 0.004), and HCV infection (HR 7.68, p = 0.01). In conclusion, PTLD in OLT adult recipients is predominantly extranodal, and although mortality is high, long‐term survival is possible.     

Functional Evaluation After Reconstruction With Myocutaneous and Fasciocutaneous Flaps for Conservative Oncological Surgery of the Extremities

Background Limb-preservation surgery has evolved during the last two decades through application of pedicled and free flaps and has obtained oncological results similar to those with amputation for malignant neoplasms of the extremities. However, functional evaluation has not been performed comprehensively after these advanced reconstructive procedures. The aim of this study was to describe the oncological, surgical, and functional outcomes achieved in these patients. Methods Patients had malignant neoplasms of the extremities and/or shoulder and hip girdle, underwent resective surgery and reconstruction with limb-preservation purposes, and were treated from 1997 to 2002. Survival analysis was performed, and functional evaluation after resection was performed with the Enneking system 1 year after surgery. Results Thirty-two patients were included. The mean overall survival of the cohort was 5.6 years. Functional evaluation mean rating percentages for the upper and lower extremities were 86.5% and 75.2%. Functional outcomes were better for reconstruction with free flaps than with pedicled flaps in the lower extremities (rating percentages, 67% and 79.6%, respectively; P = .018). Conclusions Limb-preservation surgery is a safe treatment for malignant neoplasms. It can be performed with low morbidity and good oncological outcomes. Functional results in our series were good. Lower limb preservation has superior scores with free flap reconstructions because of their potential to cover extensive defects, and better results were obtained in walking, gait, and weight bearing.     

Acute epidural hematoma: an analysis of factors influencing the outcome of patients undergoing surgery in coma

Mortality due to epidural hematoma is virtually restricted to patients who undergo surgery for that condition while in coma. The authors have analyzed the factors influencing the outcome of 64 patients who underwent epidural hematoma evacuation while in coma. These patients represented 41% of the 156 patients operated on for epidural hematoma at their centers after the introduction of computerized tomography (CT). Eighteen patients (28.1%) died, two (3.1%) became severely disabled, and 44 (68.8%) made a functional recovery. The mortality rate for the entire series was 12%, significantly lower than the 30% rate observed when only angiographic studies were available. A significant correlation was found between the final result and the mechanism of injury, the interval between trauma and surgery, the motor score at operation, the hematoma CT density (homogeneous vs. heterogeneous), and the hematoma volume. The patient's age, the course of consciousness before operation (whether there was a lucid interval), and the clot location did not correlate with the final outcome. The mortality rate was significantly higher in patients operated on within 6 hours or between 6 and 12 hours after injury than in those undergoing surgery 12 to 48 hours after injury. Compared with the patients operated on later, the patients undergoing surgery in the early period were, on the average, older and had more rapidly developing symptoms, more pupillary changes, lower motor scores at surgery, larger hematomas, a higher incidence of mixed CT density clots, more severe associated intracranial lesions, and higher postoperative intracranial pressure (ICP). The mechanism of trauma seems to influence the course of consciousness before and after surgery. Passengers injured in traffic accidents had a lower incidence of a lucid interval and longer postoperative coma than patients with low-speed trauma, suggesting more frequent association of diffuse white matter-shearing injury. The duration of postoperative coma correlated with the morbidity rate in survivors. Forty-eight patients (75%) had one or more associated intracranial lesions, and 70% of these required treatment for elevation of ICP after hematoma evacuation. An ICP of over 35 mm Hg strongly correlated with poor outcome; administration of high-dose barbiturates was the only effective means for lowering ICP in nine of 15 patients who developed severe intracranial hypertension after surgery. This study attempts to identify patients at greater risk for presenting postoperative complications and to define a strategy for control CT scanning and ICP monitoring.     

Extradural hematoma: analysis of factors influencing the courses of 161 patients

The clinical and computed tomographic (CT) findings in a series of 161 consecutive patients operated upon for postraumatic extradural hematoma are analyzed. Thirteen (8%) patients had delayed epidural hematoma formation. The overall mortality for the series was 12%, significantly lower than that observed during the prior "angiographic" period at the same unit (30%). Because all but 1 of the deaths occurred among the 66 patients unconscious at the time of operation (27% mortality in this subgroup), the authors sought differential factors between comatose and noncomatose patients at operation. There were no significant differences between these groups in age, sex, mechanism of injury, preoperative course of consciousness (lucid interval or not), or epidural hematoma location and shape. In contrast, significant differences were seen between the two subgroups in trauma-to-operation interval, hematoma volume, CT hematoma density (mixed low-high CT density vs. homogeneous hyperdensity), midline displacement, severity of associated intracranial lesions, and postoperative intracranial pressure (ICP). Patients comatose at operation usually evidenced a more rapid clinical deterioration (a shorter trauma-to-operation interval) and tended to have a large hematoma volume, a higher incidence of mixed CT density clot (hyperacute bleeding), more marked shift of midline structures, more severe associated lesions, and higher postoperative ICP levels.     

Apical orbital inflammation in giant cell arteritis

CASE REPORT: Our purpose is to describe a case of an acute optic neuropathy with apical muscle thickening in a patient already diagnosed with giant cell arteritis. Loss of visual acuity and perimetric concentric constriction responded rapidly to intravenous glucocorticoid therapy. There has been no relapse during continued long-term therapy with cyclophosphamide. DISCUSSION: Giant cell arteritis is a systemic, idiopathic vasculitis; among its less frequent complications is orbital pseudotumor. Our patient required urgent treatment to avoid visual acuity loss due to compressive neuropathy and perineuritis.