Quality of life and voice following endoscopic resection or radiotherapy for early glottic cancer

Objectives: To assess whether proposed voice and quality of life (QoL) outcome measures were likely to be acceptable to patients previously treated for early glottic cancer by either radiotherapy or endoscopic resection, as well as looking for differences in QoL and voice between treatments. Design: Questionnaire‐based cohort study. Setting: Secondary care, three centres. Participants: All patients treated for T1a or in situ glottic carcinoma between 1997 and 2003. Fifty‐three patients were identified; those who had undergone salvage surgery or radiotherapy were excluded. A proportion refused to participate or could not be contacted and two patients had died of unrelated causes. Thirty‐six patients completed the trial with 18 from each treatment arm. Main outcome measures: Quality of voice as assessed by three questionnaires, Voice Handicap Index (VHI), Vocal Performance Questionnaire (VPQ), Voice Symptom Score (VoiSS) and perceptual analysis of voice by Grade, Roughness, Breathiness, Asthenia and Strained (GRBAS) assessment of vocal recordings. Quality of life as assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire (UW‐QoL), and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) questionnaire. Results: All patients included in the trial were able to complete the questionnaires; however, 19% required assistance of some kind. GRBAS assessment showed no difference between groups for any criteria. All QoL questionnaires gave equivalent good scores. All of the voice questionnaires showed no statistical difference between groups except for the emotional subscale of the VoiSS which showed a significantly better score for the radiotherapy arm (P = 0.04). Conclusion: All outcome measures were applicable and acceptable to the patient group. Overall QoL and voice appears similar despite treatment arm, apart from the emotional subscale of the VoiSS. A randomized controlled trial is required to further assess this question.     

Staged anterior resection and TEM to preserve rectal function in synchronous malignant and benign rectal lesions

BACKGROUND: Traditionally patients with a high rectosigmoid carcinoma and a synchronous large distal rectal adenoma would be treated by low anterior resection with associated loss of rectal function. METHOD: Four patients with a carcinoma of the upper rectum or distal sigmoid colon and a synchronous distal rectal adenoma were treated by high anterior resection followed by staged Transanal Endoscopic Microsurgery (TEM) thus conserving the distal rectum. Preoperative and postoperative rectal function was assessed using the St. Mark's incontinence score. RESULTS: The proximal carcinomas and distal adenomas were 12-18 cms and 0.5-9 cms respectively from the dentate line. The mean surface area of the distal adenomas was 9.7 cms2. There were no deaths or major complications. There were no recurrences after a mean follow-up of 31.5 months. Rectal function was unchanged in three patients with a minor increase in the score in one. CONCLUSION: Staged high anterior resection and 'rEM offers effective treatment of synchronous rectosigmoid carcinoma and distal rectal adenoma with preservation of rectal function.     

Local anesthesia for inguinal hernia repair in adolescents

Background Many centers use local anesthesia for adult inguinal hernia surgery in the setting of day-case surgery. There are no reports on, or guidelines for, use of anesthesia for inguinal hernia surgery in adolescents. We describe our initial experience with the use of local anesthesia and intravenous sedation for inguinal hernia surgery in adolescents in the setting of a day-surgery facility. Methods The charts of 14 consecutive adolescent patients (aged 12–17) who had inguinal hernia surgery from July 2004 to March 2005 were reviewed retrospectively. Intravenous sedation was administered 1–3 min before injection of local anesthetic. Sedation consisted of midazolam 0.085 mg kg⁻¹ and either fentanyl 0.85 μg kg⁻¹ or ketamine 0.085 mg kg⁻¹, according to the preference of the anesthesiologist. Additional sedation with half the initial dose was administered if required. Local anesthesia using a combination of lignocaine and bupivacaine was administered by the surgeon with infiltration in the skin and deep tissues. Results Fourteen adolescents aged 12–17 years (mean 14.8 ± 1.37), weighing 34–100 kg (mean 61.2 ± 16.5), had 15 inguinal hernia repairs with sedation and local anesthesia. All the patients were male. All completed the surgery with sedation and local anesthesia. None required conversion to general anesthesia. There were no immediate or subsequent complications. Mean time from the end of surgery to discharge home was under 2 h (mean 106 ± 36 min). Examination of patient charts did not reveal any complaints regarding the surgery or the postoperative course at the postoperative follow up visit. Conclusions The use of local anesthesia with intravenous sedation for inguinal hernia repair in the adolescent age group seems feasible and requires further prospective study.     

Effects of gastric bypass procedures on bone mineral density,calcium, parathyroid hormone,and vitamin d

Weight loss after gastric bypass procedures has been well studied, but the long-term metabolic sequelae are not known. Data on bone mineral density (BMD), calcium, parathyroid hormone, and vitamin D were collected preoperatively and at yearly intervals after gastric bypass procedures. A total of 230 patients underwent preoperative BMD scans. Fifteen patients were osteopenic preoperatively, and three patients subsequently developed osteopenia postoperatively within the first year. No patient had or developed osteoporosis. At 1 year, total forearm BMD decreased by 0.55% (n = 91; P = .03) and radius BMD had increased overall by 1.85% (n = 23; P = .008); both total hip and lumbar spine BMD decreased by 9.27% (n = 22; P < .001) and 4.53% (n = 31; P < .001), respectively. By the second postoperative year, BMD in the total forearm had decreased an additional 3.62% (n = 14; P<.001), whereas radius BMD remained unchanged. Although total hip and lumbar spine BMD significantly decreased at 1 year, by year 2 both total hip and lumbar spine BMD only slightly decreased and were not significantly different from before the operation. Serum calcium decreased from 9.8 mg/dL to 9.2 during the first year (not significant [NS]) and then to 8.8 (NS) by the second year. Parathyroid hormone increased from 59.7 pg/mL (nl 10-65 pg/mL) preoperatively to 63.1 during year 1 (NS) and continued to increase to 64.7 by year 2 (NS). No difference was noted among levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D preoperatively (25.2 ng/mL; nl 10-65 ng/mL), at 1 year (34.4), and at 2 years (35.4). Our data indicate that bone loss is highest in the first year after gastric bypass with stabilization, and that, in some cases, there is an increase in bone density after the first year. Presented at the Forty-Sixth Annual Meeting of The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, Chicago, Illinois, May 14–18, 2005 (oral presentation).     

Pseudotumor associated with polytetrafluoroethylene sleeves

We report the case of a patient who was operated on in February 2001. We performed a wedge resection of the upper right lobe. The pathologic examination demonstrated a lung adenocarcinoma (pT2N0M0, R0). We used staple line reinforcement material (ePTFE) during the operation because the patient had an important emphysema. We re-operated in January 2005 because during follow-up we observed a suspicious image that suggested a tumoral relapse. Histopathological study showed extrinsic material compatible with the one used in the original resection.     

ENDOSCOPIC MUCOSAL RESECTION AND SUBMUCOSAL DISSECTION METHOD FOR LARGE COLORECTAL TUMORS

The goal of endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) is to allow the endoscopist to obtain tissue or resect lesions not previously amenable to standard biopsy or excisional techniques and to remove malignant lesions without open surgery. In this article, we describe the results of conventional EMR and EMR using an insulation‐tipped (IT) electrosurgical knife (submucosal dissection method) for large colorectal mucosal neoplasms and discuss the problems and future prospects of these procedures. At present, conventional EMR is much more feasible than EMR using IT‐knife from the perspectives of time, money, complication, and organ preservation. However, larger lesions tend to be resected in a piecemeal fashion; and it is difficult to confirm whether EMR has been complete. For accurate histopathological assessment of the resected specimen en bloc EMR is desirable although further experience is needed to establish its safety and efficacy. Further improvements of in EMR with special knife techniques are required to simply and safely remove large colorectal neoplasms.     

小儿腹腔镜下疝囊高位结扎术的麻醉处理

目的探讨小儿腹腔镜下疝囊高位结扎术的麻醉处理方法和安全性。方法本组80例腹腔镜下疝囊高位结扎术患儿,ASAⅠ~Ⅱ级,以气管全麻下行术式,入室后连续监测HR、MAP、SpO2、气道峰压(PIP)、PETCO2及体温,并分别记录术前、气腹后5min、气腹后10min、放气后10min的各项监测指标。结果所有患儿麻醉均满意,无一例出现麻醉意外、并发症,CO2气腹后10、20min HR、MAP、PETCO2、PIP显著升高(p<0.05,p<0.01),SpO2无显著变化,放气后10min各项指标与术前相比差异无显著意义。结论面对小儿特殊的解剖、生理和CO2气腹对生理产生的影响,做好术前准备,选择正确的麻醉方法和合适的麻醉药物,维持稳定的循环,小儿可安全实施腹腔镜疝囊高位结扎手术。