Perineal Rectosigmoidectomy (Altemeier Procedure) as Treatment of Strangulated Rectal Prolapse

Incarceration of a rectal prolapse is an unusual entity that represents a surgical emergency. Even more rarely, it becomes strangulated, requiring emergency surgery. When surgery becomes inevitable, the choice of procedure varies. A 57-year-old man who presented with strangulated rectal prolapse is described. The patient underwent emergency perineal proctosigmoidectomy, the Altemeier operation, combined with diverting loop sigmoid colostomy. The postoperative course was uneventful. After a 6-month follow-up, there was no recurrence, but the patient continued with fecal incontinence. This case underlines the importance of the Altemeier procedure as treatment in the patient with a strangulated prolapsed rectal segment.     

Lung cancer in a health area of Spain: incidence,characteristics and survival

GARCÍA PRIM J.M., GONZÁLEZ BARCALA F.J., PAZ ESQUEJE J., POSE REINO A., FONDEVILA LÓPEZ A. & VALDÉS CUADRADO L. (2010) European Journal of Cancer Care 19 , 227–233
Lung cancer in a health area of Spain: incidence, characteristics and survival To examine the incidence, characteristics, therapeutic approach and survival of diagnosed lung cancer (LC) in the Santiago de Compostela Health Area. A retrospective study was carried out on LC for a period of 3 years. Of the 481 cases collected, 92.7% were male. The median age was 66.93 years. The crude incidence for men and women was 80.71 and 5.84 per 100 000 inhabitants respectively. Among the non‐small cell lung cancers (NSCLC), 68.1% were diagnosed in stage IIIB or IV. The cancer had already spread in 62.2% of the small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Chemotherapy was used in 51.6% of patients. The survival probability from the first to the fifth year was 47.7%, 24.3%, 12.9%, 10% and 8.9% respectively. The median survival at 5 years was 12.12 months for NSCLC, rising to 29.8 months in stage I, and 8.85 months in SCLC. In our Health Area LC occurs more often in men, in whom the prevalence of smoking is very high. The most common histology type was squamous cell carcinoma. In the majority of cases, the diagnosis is made in the advanced stages, which accounts for the low percentage of surgical treatments and the short survival.