Single-Incision Laparoscopic Surgery for Colon Cancer in Patient with Situs Inversus Totalis: Report of a Case

A preliminary experience with single-incision laparoscopic colectomy for colon cancer with situs inversus totalis (SIT) is reported. An 87-year-old man was admitted because of a fecal occult blood. A colonoscopy revealed cecal cancer. An air-barium and a computed tomography contrast enema showed the right-sided descending colon and the left-sided ascending colon and cecum. The surgical procedures were as follows: First, a Lap protector was inserted through a 2.5-cm transumbilical incision. Three 5-mm ports were placed in the Lap protector. We successfully performed ileocolectomy with lymph node dissection by using a single-incision laparoscopic approach without any technical problems. The operative time was 125 min, and blood loss was negligible. Postoperative follow-up did not reveal any umbilical wound complications and recurrences.     

Noninvasive diagnosis of dual AV nodal physiology in patients with AV nodal reentrant tachycardia by adenosine triphosphate test

Atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) is a relatively common paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. This study investigated whether adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) injection during sinus rhythm might be useful in the noninvasive diagnosis of dual AV nodal pathways. The study group consisted of 9 patients with slow/fast AVNRT and 11 control patients without antegrade dual AV nodal physiology (DAVNP). ATP (2.5 to 30 mg, in 2.5-mg increments was injected during sinus rhythm until signs of DAVNP (> or = 50 msec increase or decrease in AH or PR interval in two consecutive beats) or > or = second-degree AV block was observed. DAVNP was diagnosed by ATP test in all 9 patients with slow/fast AVNRT. DAVNP was observed by ATP test in 3 of the 11 control patients. Thus, the test had a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 73%. ATP test given during sinus rhythm is useful for identifying patients with dual AV nodal pathways who are prone to AVNRT.     

Left atrial conduit function for left ventricular filling dynamics in patients with myocardial infarction

This study observed the left atrial function in determining filling dynamics of the left ventricle in patients with myocardial infarction. The study consisted of eight control subjects and ten patients with myocardial infarction. The left ventricular filling volume is considered to be composed of the left atrial passive emptying, active emptying, and conduit volumes. The change of left ventricular filling volume was correlated with that of conduit volume (r = .87, P < .01). However, the change of left ventricular filling volume did not have any correlation to those of left atrial passive emptying and active emptying volumes. These results suggested that the left atrial conduit function was important in determining filling dynamics of the left ventricle.     

Diagnosing infection of extracardiac conduit in children

Summary Between August 1985 and July 1992, at our center, 142 Japanese children had an extracardiac conduit operation to reconstruct the right ventricular outflow tract. The study group consisted of 22 of these 142 children who had a persistent fever and whose serum was positive for acute-phase reactants after the operation. We present the diagnostic findings for 10 children with infection of an extracardiac conduit that had been placed to restore the continuity of the right ventricle-pulmonary artery. They were part of the group of 22 children who were followed over the past 7 years with blood cultures, echocardiography, and⁶⁷Ga imaging. All 10 developed a persistent fever and were seropositive for acute-phase reactants. Conduit infection was diagnosed in only 2 patients by the detection of vegetation on echocardiography and was diagnosed in 9 of the 10 patients by an abnormal⁶⁷Ga uptake in the area of the artificial vessels used to reconstruct the pulmonary artery. The present study compared the use of blood cultures, echocardiography, and⁶⁷Ga imaging in diagnosing an infection of the extracardiac conduit. The sensitivity of blood cultures in diagnosing an extracardiac conduit infection was 70% (7/10), and the specificity was 92% (1/12).⁶⁷Ga imaging showed a higher sensitivity than echocardiography in diagnosing infection of an extracardiac conduit.     

Noncardiac chest pain due to acute gastric anisakiasis

Summary This paper described the first confirmed case of acute anginalike chest pain caused by gastric anisakiasis. A 55-year-old male, with a history of a sudden onset of chest pain and also a history of eating raw mackerel and tuna 9 hr prior to the onset of chest pain, was found upon endoscopy to have an imbedded parasite in the mucosal lining of his stomach. The chest pain disappeared after the endoscopic removal of larva. Endoscopy is highly recommended at the earliest possible time for patients who are suspected to have acute gastric anisakiasis.     

Cicatricial Pemphigoid of the Oropharynx after Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation for Relapsed Follicular Lymphoma

A 44-year-old woman with refractory follicular lymphoma underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) and achieved complete remission. Grade III acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) developed on day 23, but no chronic GVHD occurred. The patient developed severe erosion with bullous lesions in the oral cavity 18 months after SCT. At that time, the lymphoma remained in complete remission, and she had no clinical or laboratory findings suggesting chronic GVHD. A biopsy of the oral mucosa showed moderate lymphoplasmacytic infiltration and subepidermal bullae, and direct immunofluorescence staining demonstrated linear deposition of C3 at the dermo-epidermal junction. An immunoblotting assay using human epidermal extracts confirmed the presence in her serum of an antibody against the 230-kd bullous pemphigoid antigen 1 (BPAG1). A diagnosis of cicatricial pemphigoid (CP) was made, and complete resolution of the CP was achieved with pred-nisolone therapy. The occurrence of autoimmune blistering diseases is rare after allogeneic SCT.