Simultaneous orthotopic liver and heterotopic pancreas-duodenum transplantation in a diabetic patient with end-stage liver disease]

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of combined transplantation of the liver and the pancreas in diabetic patients with end-stage liver disease, and explore the optimal surgical procedure. METHODS: Simultaneous orthotopic liver and heterotopic pancreas-duodenum transplantations were performed in a patient diagnosed as having chronic hepatitis B, hepatocirrhosis, hepatic cellular cancer, and insulin-dependent diabetes. Immunosuppression therapy utilized prednisone, tacrolimus (FK506), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), and simulect. The function of the liver graft, serum amylase and lipase, blood glucose, and C-peptide were monitored after transplantation. RESULTS: Insulin was withdrawn at the 6th day after operation, good liver allograft functional recovery was achieved, without such complications as pancreatitis, thrombosis, and localized infections. CONCLUSION: End-stage liver disease with concomitant insulin-dependent diabetes is the indication for combined liver-pancreas transplantations, for which simultaneous orthotopic liver and heterotopic pancreas-duodenum transplantations may constitute the optimal surgical approaches as the primary choice.     

Long-term survival after removal of a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor originating in the anterior mediastinum

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs; malignant schwannomas) rarely occur in the anterior mediastinum, and their prognosis is poor. A 75-year-old man was referred to our hospital for examination of an anterior mediastinal tumor. A computed tomography-guided percutaneous needle biopsy revealed only fibrosis. The tumor was completely excised via a median sternotomy with partial resection of the pericardium and right upper lobe of the lung. Thereafter, the tumor was diagnosed as a storiform-pleomorphic type of malignant fibrous histiocytoma. At 1 year after the surgery, a distant metastasis was found in the interlobular space between the right middle and lower lobes. The tumor was completely excised via a right posterolateral thoracotomy. Reexamination of the primary and secondary tumors revealed an MPNST. No recurrence was found up to 5 years after the second surgery without adjuvant chemotherapy or radiation therapy. However, he died from multiple lung metastases after 6 years.     

Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor: An Unusual Cause of Intussusception

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST) are defined as any tumor arising from a peripheral nerve or showing nerve sheath differentiation. The majority of these tumors arise on the trunk, extremities, or head and neck region. The literature to date has fewer than 14 cases of MPNST arising in the gastrointestinal tract, and only two cases were ever reported in the small intestine, one of which was a recurrent disease. In this paper, we report the first US case of an MPNST arising in the small intestine and presenting as intussusception.     

A mature cystic teratoma in pineal region mimicking parietal encephalocele in a newborn

Objective Teratoma is the most frequently encountered intracranial tumor at birth and constitutes 18–20% of all germ cell tumors. They are usually located in pineal and suprasellar regions. The authors aim to report an extremely unusual presentation, location, and appearance of a teratoma in a newborn. Case report A soft tissue swelling in the vertex was detected in a 1-month-old girl. Neurological examination was normal. A big, cystic–solid lesion beginning from pineal region and extending to the scalp was detected in magnetic resonance imaging. It is interesting to note that cerebral venous angiography showed that the superior sagittal sinus (SSS) was divided into three branches at the level of the lesion and they joined together distally. The tumor was excised totally. Histopathological examination revealed the diagnosis of a mature cystic teratoma. Conclusion A mature cystic teratoma mimicking parietal encephalocele is extremely rare. Germ cell tumors should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of all midline lesions with unusual radiographic appearance. Cerebral venous angiography or MR angiography must be performed for the diagnosis and the surgical planning in lesions located near SSS.     

Detection of disseminated tumor cells in the lymph nodes of colorectal cancer patients using a real-time polymerase chain reaction assay

Introduction Postoperative treatment for colorectal cancer depends on tumor stage as defined by the International Union Against Cancer (UICC). Adjuvant chemotherapy is not recommended in patients without lymph node involvement (UICC stages I and II). As many as 20–30% of these patients, however, will develop recurrence. Aims and objectives We conducted this study to determine the presence of disseminated tumor cells in the lymph nodes by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (QRT-PCR) for cytokeratin 20 (CK20) in an attempt to provide supplementary information compared to histopathological findings. Materials and methods Using a standard QRT-PCR assay, we examined primary tumors and 391 lymph nodes from 31 patients with completely resected colorectal cancer. Results Of the 31 primary tumors, 29 were positive for CK20 by QRT-PCR. Discussion An examination of the lymph nodes from the 29 patients with CK20-positive primary tumors revealed that 35 (92.1% sensitivity) of the 38 histopathologically positive lymph nodes and 54 (16.7%) of the 324 histopathologically negative lymph nodes were positive by molecular analysis. CK20 expression was detected in 10 (100%) of 10 patients with a histopathologically positive lymph node status (pN1). In 9 (47.4%) of 19 patients with negative histopathological results (pN0), we detected a CK20 mRNA signal in at least one lymph node. Whereas eight patients with histopathologically negative lymph nodes could be upstaged on the basis of the molecular findings, no patient would be downstaged. Conclusion Our results suggest that QRT-PCR for CK20 is a useful tool for the quantitative detection of micrometastases in the regional lymph nodes. We introduce a standardized procedure that integrates a molecular diagnostic technique in the clinical staging.     

Comparison and validation of scoring systems in a cohort of patients treated for perforated peptic ulcer

Background and aims The aim of this study is to evaluate the predictive accuracy of different scoring systems on surgery for perforated peptic ulcer referred to an academic department of general surgery in a tertiary reference center. Patients and methods Seventy-five consecutive patients (Male/female ratio = 64:11; mean age, 44 years; range, 16–85) with perforated peptic ulcer disease were investigated. Disease severity scores and mortality predictions were calculated using the collected data during admission. Discrimination and calibration characteristics of each system, namely, the acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II and III, the simplified acute physiology score II, and the mortality probability models (MPM) II, were determined by using the area under receiver operating characteristics curve and the Hosmer–Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test, respectively. Results Among the 75 patients included, there were eight (10.6%) mortalities. All systems had a reliable power of discrimination and calibration. Among the systems tested, MPM II was the best performing as far as discrimination and calibration characteristics were considered. The parameters of MPM II system that were related to systemic perfusion of the patient were significantly positive in patients who died compared to those who survived. Conclusions MPM II that predicted mortality at admission is better than the other systems in predicting mortality. Results also indicate the importance of maintenance of systemic perfusion of the patient at the early phases of peptic ulcer perforation.     

MR Findings of Intrathecal Chemotherapy-Related Myelopathy in Two Cases: Mimicker of Subacute Combined Degeneration

We report the findings of spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 2 patients who had undergone intrathecal chemotherapy and presented with the subacute onset of ascending numbness and weakness. MRI revealed a symmetric hyperintensity at the posterior columns of the spinal cord from the lower cervical region down to the conus medullaris level on T2-weighted images, and no abnormal enhancement. The imaging findings are similar to those seen in subacute combined degeneration (SCD), but the serum vitamin B(12) levels were normal in these 2 cases.