Noncardiac surgical procedures in patient supported with long-term implantable left ventricular assist device

Background

Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are increasingly used as bridges to transplantation or as destination therapy. As sicker and older patients are more frequently considered for mechanical support, general surgical problems are expected to increase in these patients.

Methods

Anesthesia records and clinical charts were reviewed for 11 recipients of LVADs undergoing 12 general surgical procedures between January 1988 and March 2007.

Results

Eight patients underwent major surgical procedures: 1 intracranial hematoma drainage, 1 right hemicolectomy with ileocolostomy, 1 splenectomy, 1 surgical repair of an iliac-femoral artery pseudoaneurysm, 2 cholecystectomies, 1 pyelolithotomy, and 1 coil embolization of a femoral side-branch disruption. Four patients underwent minor surgical procedures. The mean duration of LVAD support before surgery was 58.7 ± 45.6 days. All patients survived the procedures.

Conclusion

Noncardiac surgery in LVAD recipients is feasible, without significant morbidity or mortality. Intraoperative coagulation management has a key role in safely performing these procedures.     

Induction chemotherapy followed by simultaneous hyperfractionated radiochemotherapy in advanced head and neck cancer

Purpose

To evaluate the feasibility of induction chemotherapy followed by concomitant chemotherapy and hyperfractionated irradiation in locally advanced, inoperable head and neck cancer.

Methods

A pilot study was undertaken comprising 3 cycles of cisplatinum (100 mg/m², day 1) and 5-fluorouracil (1000 mg/m² in continuous intravenous infusion over the first 120 h) followed by bifractionated radiotherapy applied to tumor/involved lymph nodes up to the dose of 74.4 Gy given in 2 fractions of 1.2 Gy daily for 5 days a week combined with concomitant weekly cisplatinum infusion (50 mg/m²).

Results

Six patients were enrolled in the study. All of them completed the protocol therapy. Severe mucositis and myelotoxicity were the most common acute side effects observed in all and in 5 of the patients, respectively. Acute toxicity required interruption of concomitant chemotherapy in 5 cases and in 2 interruption of radiotherapy was necessary. Opioid analgesic parenteral therapy was administered in 4 patients. Three of them had to be hospitalized. One patient experienced cerebral stroke 1 day after the completion of therapy and died 7 days later. Due to high acute toxicity, patient accrual was terminated after 6 patients. At the mean follow-up of 17 months, 4 patients are alive, 3 of them are free of disease and in 1 local progression has been diagnosed.

Conclusions

High acute toxicity of induction cisplatinum and 5-fluorouracil followed by concomitant cisplatinum and hyperfractionated irradiation calls for less toxic treatment schedules in locally advanced inoperable head and neck cancer.     

Heterotopic transplantation of cryopreserved tracheae in a rat model.

INTRODUCTION: The successful use of cryopreserved tracheal allografts in canine models suggests their use in humans. The grade of genetic difference, the mechanism of revascularisation and the method of cryopreservation are not clearly defined. The purpose of our study was to investigate the rejection of tracheal transplants in a standardised heterotopic rat model using different forms of cryopreservation. METHODS: Tracheae from Brown Norway rats were implanted into the omentum from Brown Norway rats or Lewis rats. We transplanted fresh isografts or allografts and pretreated isografts or allografts. Cryopreservation was performed in a medium containing 10% dimethyl sulphoxide at -80 degrees C for 28 days (I) or -196 degrees C for 84 days (II) or without medium at -80 degrees C for 28 days (III). The transplants were excised after 7 and 21 days, respectively. RESULTS: Histological examinations revealed normal structure and function of isografts after 21 days. In the cryopreserved isograft, the epithelium had disappeared and the tracheal lumen was partially obstructed by a non-compact fibrous tissue. In the fresh allografts, the epithelium was replaced by aggressive fibrous tissue, infiltrating the membranous part of the trachea and occluding the tracheal lumen. The cartilage was vital without any sign of rejection. In the cryopreserved allografts, the tracheal lumen was obstructed by dense fibrous tissue with an inflammatory reaction. The cartilage of cryopreserved allografts (II) and (III) had lost the nuclei corresponding to non-vital tissue. Only in the cryopreserved allografts (I) did we find nodular regeneration at the edges of the cartilaginous bow. CONCLUSIONS: The heterotopic transplantation model allows the study of the mechanisms leading to tracheal obstruction. Cryopreservation was found to have no clear advantage in reducing transplant immunogenicity. Cryopreservation leads to significant damage to the cartilage, the intensity of which is dependent on the mode of cryopreservation.     

Assessment of radionuclidic impurities in 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose ([18F]FDG) routine production.

In this paper, radionuclidic impurities generated during the bombardment of [18 O]water in the routine production of 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose ([18F]FDG) were studied. In order to assess such impurities and the efficacy of purification methods through the different steps of the synthesis, samples of the target filters, purification columns, [18 O]water recovered after the synthesis, and the final solution was collected and their activities measured and analyzed by means of a gamma-ray spectrometry system. The data demonstrated that purification methods adopted for the synthesis provide the [18F]FDG radionuclidically pure, as requested by the EU Pharmacopeia.     

Pancreatic fistula: definition and current problems

Postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) is the most common major complication after pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) and it can lead to prolonged hospital stay, increased costs, and mortality. The POPF rate is strictly correlated to the definition applied, but there are so many different definitions in the literature that comparison between published series of patients is difficult. The International Study Group of Pancreatic Fistula (IGSPF) has developed a new definition, with a grading system able to stratify complicated patients into three groups, based upon the clinical implications and costs of their postoperative course.The most important risk factors identified are a soft pancreatic texture and a main pancreatic duct diameter of 3 mm or less. Several surgical techniques have been studied in order to prevent anastomotic leakage, but none has been demonstrated to be superior to others. The use of somatostatin analogues is still matter of controversy. Conservative management of POPF is usually effective, but in patients with deteriorating clinical status with evidence of sepsis, surgical management is needed.     

Transclavicular access as an adjunct to standard cervical incision in the treatment of mediastinal goitre

There are cases in which resection of cervico-mediastinal goitres requires additional thoracic access as an adjunct to standard transverse cervicotomy, and typically this takes the form of sternotomy or thoracotomy. The authors propose transclavicular access as an alternative to thoracotomy or sternotomy access for the removal of such goitres. This technical variant is performed by means of resection of the middle third of the clavicle and extraperiosteal disarticulation. They report a case of cervicomediastinal or "plunged" goitre associated with mediastinal metastasis from a follicular thyroid carcinoma in a 77-year-old woman, in whom this technical variant was used. They conclude by stressing the greater effectiveness, ease of execution and relatively limited "aggressiveness" of the technique in comparison with other ways of reaching the mediastinum. The variant proves effective in solving a number of technical, functional and aesthetic problems.     

Two-stage laparoscopic management of complicated acute diverticulitis. Initial experience

Today no secure consensus exists about the best treatment of complicated diverticulitis. The classic surgical procedures are associated to a high immediate and delayed morbidity. In the last few years several more conservative techniques have been suggested to allow a later elective resection. Laparoscopic exploration, peritoneal lavage, and drain of the abdominal cavity followed by an elective sigmoid laparoscopic resection is a new minimal invasive approach. This approach has been applied in our unit to treat four patients. All patients had an acute abdomen due to complicated diverticulitis and one patient had evidence of free air at the abdomen x-ray. At emergent operation pus was cleaned, a peritoneal lavage was carried out, a drain was placed near the colonic lesion and another one in the pelvis. Patients fully recovered without complication and 2 to 28 weeks after first operation an elective laparoscopic resection of descending and sigmoid colon with a Knight-Griffen colorectal anastomosis was performed. Neither residual abscess nor dense adhesions were found at the second operations. There were no complications and median hospital stay after the second operation was 10 days (range, 8-13 days). Laparoscopic treatment of generalized peritonitis due to perforated diverticulitis is an attractive alternative to the traditional management of this disease. Our initial results are comparable to that published in the literature. This approach can be safe and effective in selected cases of complicated acute diverticulitis.     

One-year follow-up of tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) and trans-obturator suburethral tape from inside to outside (TVT-O) for surgical treatment of female stress urinary incontinence: a prospective randomised trial

OBJECTIVES: To compare tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) and trans-obturator suburethral tape from inside to outside (TVT-O) for surgical treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) for complications (primary end point) and success rate (secondary end point). METHODS: Seventy-two consecutive patients, with a mean age of 53.2 yr (range: 38-69 yr) and affected by SUI, were included in this randomised controlled trial. After preoperative assessment, patients were randomly allocated to the TVT or TVT-O procedure. Operative time, perioperative complications, and hospital stay were prospectively recorded. Cure of SUI was defined as no leakage of urine during the stress test at urodynamic testing at the 12-mo evaluation. The Wilcoxon signed rank sum test, Mann-Whitney U test, McNemar test, and Fisher exact test were used to verify statistical significance, set at p<0.05. RESULTS: All patients were evaluable at the 12-mo follow-up. The characteristics of patients were well balanced between groups after randomisation. The mean operative time was significantly shorter in the TVT-O group. Perioperative complications were significantly more common after the retropubic approach (5% and 27% in TVT-O and TVT groups, respectively, p<0.04). The groups did not differ significantly in intraoperative blood loss, hospital stays, and time to return to normal activities. Sixty-five patients (90%) were successfully treated for SUI 12 mo after the operation (89% and 91% for TVT-O and TVT groups, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Both techniques appear to be equally effective in the surgical treatment of SUI. However, TVT-O had a shorter operative time and lower overall perioperative complication rate.     

Bicalutamide monotherapy versus flutamide plus goserelin in prostate cancer: updated results of a multicentric trial

OBJECTIVES: To compare the efficacy of bicalutamide monotherapy to maximal androgen blockade in advanced prostatic cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Previously untreated patients with histologically proven stage C or D (American Urological Association Staging System) disease were randomly allocated to either bicalutamide (B) or goserelin plus flutamide (G+F). After disease progression, patients treated with B were assigned to castration. The primary endpoint for this trial was overall survival. Prostate cancer-specific survival and progression were included among secondary endpoints. RESULTS: In total 108 patients received B and 112 received G+F. At a median follow-up time of 54 months (range 1-89), 151 patients progressed and 113 died. There was no significant difference in the duration of either progression-free or overall survival. Hazards of progression, death and cancer-specific death, corrected by disease stage, tumor grade and baseline PSA level, showed that patients initially assigned to B had a higher risk of progression but a comparable risk of death and cancer-specific death with the exception of patients with G3 tumors who had an increased risk of death). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with well or moderately well differentiated tumors, B monotherapy followed by castration may offer the same survival chance as maximal androgen deprivation. In those patients it thus represents a reasonable choice that can avoid the side effects of androgen deprivation for considerable periods of time.