Paediatric gastric trichobezoar: the Rapunzel syndrome A report of two cases.

Rapunzel syndrome is a rare case of bowel obstruction resulting from hair ingestion (Trichobezoar). The obstruction can occur in any level of intestinal tract, but usually the stomach is primary involved. This syndrome is usually reported in patients affected by Trichotillomania or Pica syndrome, an obsessive-compulsive disorder that are characterized by an irresistible need to eat body hairs or non-digestible substances 1. When bowel obstruction occurs, it may be treated conservatively, but sometimes surgery is required. We reported two cases of Rapunzel Syndrome in two pediatric patients with different clinical presentation. Both patients were initially treated conservatively but eventually they underwent surgery. KEY WORDS: Bowel obstruction, Rapunzel syndrome, Trichobezoar.

Bilirubin level fluctuation in drain discharge after hepatectomies justifies long-term drain maintenance.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Need for abdominal drains after liver resection is debated. However, unrecognized bile leak is relatively frequent: to prevent bile collection we adopted the use of long-term drains. The aim of this study was to validate this policy checking the bilirubin concentration in the drain discharge and serum along the postoperative course. METHODOLOGY: A prospective cohort study enrolling 58 consecutive patients with liver tumors was carried out. All patients underwent liver resection and received abdominal drains which were maintained for at least 7 days postoperatively. The bilirubin concentration in serum and drain discharge was sampled on the 3rd, 5th and 7th postoperative days. RESULTS: No postoperative mortality and major morbidity were observed. The bilirubin level in drain discharge was higher on the 5th postoperative day than on the 3rd and 7th postoperative days: difference between the 3rd and 5th postoperative days was significant. No differences were observed among serum bilirubin levels on 3rd, 5th and 7th postoperative days. CONCLUSIONS: The bilirubin level in drain discharge increases late in the postoperative course. Therefore, bile leakage should be evaluated between the 5th and 7th postoperative days. The use of long-term drains helps protect against undiscovered collections and thus impacts postoperative course.

Indication and contraindication for hepatic resection for liver tumors without fine-needle biopsy: validation and extension of an Eastern approach in a Western community hospital.

Fine-needle biopsy (FNB) is associated with problems, such as tumor seeding, which are not negligible. The aim of this study was to validate prospectively the accuracy of our diagnostic work-up without FNB, not just to address but also to rule out from a surgical program patients with focal liver lesions (FLLs). From September 2001 to July 2003, 89 patients were seen at an outpatient clinic for FLLs. Nine patients were excluded because of previous FNB and 18 were excluded because carrier of advanced disease. Sixty-two patients with 101 FLLs were included. Preoperative diagnoses were established by means of clinical histories, serum tumor marker levels, ultrasonography (US), and spiral computed tomography (CT). Other imaging modalities were carried out when it was considered necessary. Forty-eight patients underwent surgery, with histological confirmation of the preoperative diagnosis. The remaining 14 patients underwent a close follow-up. The preoperative diagnoses of 47 of the 48 patients who underwent surgery were confirmed (97.9%). All of the 14 patients ruled out for surgical treatment did not show FLL progression at 6-24 months of follow-up. Of the 9 patients who had FNB previously in other centers, 2 had a wrong histological diagnosis. In view of these results, a diagnostic work-up without FNB seems adequate either to include or to exclude patients with potentially resectable FLL from the surgical program and once more highlight the fact that the use of FNB should be drastically limited.

Ultrasound-guided liver resections for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Imaging-guided interventional procedures have modified the approach to hepatocellular carcinoma including the surgical one. In fact, liver resections can be carried out with no mortality even if cirrhosis is associated, combining the needs for oncological radicality and liver parenchyma sparing mainly because of the extensive use of intraoperative ultrasonography either for tumor staging or resection-guidance. The aid of intraoperative ultrasonography is therefore optimizing the balance between the oncological radicality and the sparing of the highest amount of functioning liver parenchyma. Intraoperative ultrasonography allows the accomplishment of anatomical resections otherwise not possible such as the systematic segmentectomy. This is of crucial importance if taking into account that anatomical resections seem able to provide better prognosis than the non-anatomical one. However, if non-anatomical resection is carried out intraoperative ultrasonography guidance allows a better tumor clearance. Precise definition of hepatic vein anatomy and association with color Doppler enables hepatectomies otherwise not possible, expanding the indication at surgical resection. In conclusion, we can affirm that liver resection is an imaging-guided procedure and as every interventional imaging-guided procedure, its features are the highest therapeutic efficacy combined with the minimal invasiveness. Then, with the intraoperative ultrasonography guidance liver resection remains the treatment of choice of hepatocellular carcinoma.