A retrospective analysis of 2000 cases with colorectal carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major cause of death in the western world and a leading cause of cancer-related death. It is one of the most common human malignancies with >300,000 cases both in the United States and in the European Union each year. The present study was conducted to assess differences in various variables of CRC, such as location of the tumor, differentiation, Dukes classification, 5-year survival and possible changes in these patterns during the examined period. METHODS: We collected data on 2000 patients with colorectal cancer, diagnosed and treated from 1960 to 2008 in 1st Propedeutic Surgical Clinic of Aristotle's University, Thessaloniki. RESULTS: Of 2000 cases reviewed, cancer was almost equal presented to both sexes, for all groups. Rectum was the most common tumor location in all analyzed groups (40.1%). The most common tumor differentiation was the moderate one (68.5%). Concerning tumor staging, Dukes' B tumors were most common (42.5%), and the cancer-related 5-year survival was increased by the time from 42 to 71%. CONCLUSION: In the past 20 years, considerable improvements have been made in colorectal cancer therapy, and patients had received more sophisticated and multidisciplinary treatments, resulting in a better 5-year survival rate.

Desmoid tumor of mesentery in familial adenomatous polyposis: a case report.

Our case concerns a 52-year-old male with FAP, who was treated surgically by restorative colectomy and ileal pouch anal anastomosis. Three years later, he presented with acute epigastric pain and obstructive ileum. While a mass in the left lateral abdominal region was palpated. The patient underwent laparotomy, some adhesions were dissected and biopsies were taken from the mass. Pathological examination revealed a desmoid tumor of the mesentery.

Prospective clinical trial comparing sphincterotomy, nitroglycerin ointment and xylocaine/lactulose combination for the treatment of anal fissure.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to compare the ability of three treatments in patients with anal fissure, sphincterotomy, nitroglycerin ointment and combination of gel xylocaine and lactulose. METHODS: Ninety adults divided in three groups of 30 patients each group, received one of the three treatments in a 3-year interval (2007-2009) and the follow-up was for 2 months. Group A received nitroglycerin ointment, Group B underwent sphincterotomy and Group C received gel xylocaine and lactulose. RESULTS: Concerning pain, after treatment 60% of patients in Group A did not complain of pain, 20% had transient pain, another 10% moderate pain and the remaining 10% had severe pain. In Group B, 95% of the patients had no pain and only 5% had mild, transient pain. In Group C 60% of the patients had moderate pain and the other 40% suffered from severe pain. Concerning fissure healing, in 60% of the patients of Group A, the fissure was healed. In Group B fissure healed in 93.3% and in Group C only in 16.6% of the patients. CONCLUSION: The "gold standard" for anal fissure treatment is the lateral internal sphincterotomy and that each one of the three methods has its advantages and disadvantages.

Colorectal cancer in patients over 70 years of age: determinants of outcome.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate operative risk factors, the mortality, morbidity and survival in old patients with colorectal cancer. METHODS: From 1160 patients with colorectal cancer, 398 patients aged 70 years or older, from 1970 to 2000, were followed-up. Dukes' classification, differentiation, sex, anatomical site and survival were compared with patients <70 years old. RESULTS: Long-term results have been proved to be similar both in young and old patients. Relative survival rate for patients aged 70-95 (70.5%) were similar to those for patients less than 70 years old (71.6%) and also comparable between male (72.3%) and female (68%) patients. CONCLUSIONS: Elderly patients have a lower capacity to react to postoperative complications, but the relative survival is similar to younger patients. Advanced age alone should not be used as a criterion to deny surgery for colorectal cancer.

Perforated diverticulum of the caecum. A difficult preoperative diagnosis. Report of 2 cases and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Perforation of a solitary caecal diverticulum is a rare cause of acute abdomen and an uncommon differential diagnosis for acute appendicitis. Nine hundred cases have been described since Potiers' first description of perforated caecal diverticulum in 1912. METHODS: We describe 2 cases of perforated diverticulum of the caecum. The first patient was a 50-year-old man diagnosed by subsequent histology, and the second a 77-year-old woman diagnosed intra-operatively. Radiography, ultrasound and CT scan of the abdomen pointed at the diagnosis in the second case. A right hemicolectomy was performed. RESULTS: There were no complications, apart from a transient faecal fistula in the first patient managed conservatively. In both patients histology revealed a perforated caecal diverticulum. CONCLUSIONS: The surgeon must be familiar with the diagnosis and management of this rare, inflammatory benign caecal entity.

A case of mucinous adenocarcinoma arising in long-standing multiple perianal and presacral fistulas.

Chronic anal fistulas are not rare; however, the development of a carcinoma in long-standing, perianal fistulas is rare. We describe a case of an 85-year-old man with multiple, recurring, perianal fistulas, extending to the natal cleft. The patient underwent en bloc resection of the fistulas which were in direct continuity with the middle rectum. Histological examination revealed a mucinous colonic adenocarcinoma. Abdominal CT and colonoscopy revealed an extramural residual rectal mass. The patient refused a radical colorectal operation. Three years later, because of fistula recurrence, he underwent loop sigmoidostomy and radical en bloc excision of the perianal fistula and rectum, with immediate reconstruction by bilateral gluteal flaps. The patient was discharged on the 12th postoperative day, refusing adjuvant radiotherapy. We present this rare malignant entity, successfully treated by staged operations and without any adjuvant therapy.

Manometric and clinical evaluation of patients after low anterior resection for rectal cancer.

The aim of this study was to examine the anorectal physiological and clinical changes that occur after low anterior resection for rectal cancer. Since 1998, 30 patients underwent laboratory tests of anorectal function, preoperatively and 1 month and 6 months after low anterior resection. Postoperatively all patients presented with increased bowel frequency, 60% of the patients with mild soiling and 30% with urgency for defecation. Six months after surgery there was a significant improvement of these symptoms. The anal resting pressure was significantly decreased postoperatively, while maximum squeezing pressure remained unchanged. The rectoanal inhibitory reflex was absent in 80% of the patients and at 6 months after surgery it tended to recover. Rectal capacity and compliance were reduced in all patients. In the current study, the majority of patients demonstrated manometric anorectal changes and clinical anorectal function disorders during the first year after surgery. We observed that these disorders correlated with the low level of the anastomosis.