Low anterior resection with transanal transection and single-stapled anastomosis: technical aspects and initial results.

BACKGROUND: Rectal cancer (RC) is a surgical challenge due to its technical complexity. The double-stapled (DS) technique, a standard for colorectal anastomosis, has been associated with notable drawbacks, including a high incidence of anastomotic leak (AL). Low anterior resection with transanal transection and single-stapled (TTSS) anastomosis has emerged to mitigate those drawbacks. METHODS: Observational study in which it described the technical aspects and results of the initial group of patients with medium-low RC undergoing elective laparoscopic total mesorectal excision (TME) and TTSS. RESULTS: Twenty-two patients were included in the series. Favourable postoperative outcomes with a median length of stay of 5 days and an AL incidence of 9.1%. Importantly, all patients achieved complete mesorectal excision with tumour-free margins, and no mortalities were reported. CONCLUSION: TTSS emerges as a promising alternative for patients with middle and lower rectal tumours, offering potential benefits in terms of morbidity reduction and oncological integrity compared with other techniques.

New Perspectives in Multiple Primary Colorectal Cancer: A Surgical Approach.

BACKGROUND: We identify the features of multiple primary colorectal cancer (MPCC), synchronous colorectal cancer (SCRC) and metachronous colorectal cancer (MCRC), and distinguish between the cases that require a more extensive surgery and those where the parameters of SCRC might be important to prevent the development of MCRC. METHODS: We gathered up consecutive individuals with MPCC, 50 for each category, and 100 consecutive individuals diagnosed with 'single' colorectal cancer. Clinical and familiar information was obtained. We classified both SCRC and MCRC according to locations. RESULTS: MPCC were associated with polyps, both in earlier stages and as sporadic forms. SCRC located in the right colon were most frequently of the mucinous type. MCRC developed SCRC in 24%, along the entire colon, with familiar cancer antecedents. SCRC patients undergoing a total colectomy were younger, with the cancer spread throughout the entire colon and a larger number of polyps, whereas MCRC were predominantly adenomatous polyps. We found 2 risk factors for SCRC that led to the development of MCRC: rectal location and higher number of polyps. CONCLUSIONS: SCRC possibly involves more than an environmental component. MCRC appears to be the producer of polyps that evolve into cancer at different times, emphasising the idea of a genetic predisposition. Studies are required to find biomarkers that define patients with higher risk of developing MCRC within SCRC.

Minimally Invasive Elective Surgery as a Treatment of Bowel Invagination in a Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome Case.

We present a case of a 24-year-old woman with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, recurrent colic abdominal pain, and lower gastrointestinal bleed for the last 5 years. Colonoscopy showed hamartomas without any dysplasia. In the enteral magnetic resonance imaging, a distal jejunum and ileum invagination, secondary to hamartomas was detected. The patient was referred to the Surgery Department and despite few symptoms, elective surgery was proposed. By laparoscopic surgery approach, the entire bowel was carefully revised, 3 intussusceptions and bowel volvulus were found, 2 in jejunum and 1 in ileum, causing incomplete obstruction and intestinal dilatation, with a diameter of 6 cm. These intussusception areas were marked with a silk filament, after achieving devolvulation and disinvagination. A 5-cm laparotomy was done, to externalize the entire bowel, to explore it manually, to verify the absence of other lesions, and locate silk points. By longitudinal enterotomies on the antimesenteric intestinal border where silk filaments were located, the polyps were removed through their stalk, and the enterotomies were transversely closed. Postoperative evolution was favorable, starting oral tolerance on the fourth day and being discharged from the hospital on the seventh day. Eight months later, the patient was asymptomatic with a better quality of life.

PEDIATRIC APPENDICITIS: AGE DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of patient age on the diagnosis and management of appendicitis, as well as to evaluate the rate of complications according to the age group. METHODS: We undertook a retrospective analysis of 1,736 children who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy in our center between January 2000 and December 2013. Patients were divided in groups taken into account their age: group A were infants, group B were preschoolers, group C were those ones older than five years old, and group D were those ones younger than five years old. A p value of 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: We found higher incidence of misdiagnosis and atypical symptoms in the youngest patients. The rate of perforation was similar between group A and B (p=0.17). However, it was higher in group D than in group C (p<0.0001). The incidence of postoperative complications was higher in the youngest patients too (p=0.0002). CONCLUSIONS: The age does make a difference in acute appendicitis. Because of its unusual presentation in children younger than five years old, it is often misdiagnosed, which leads to an increased morbidity. Although clinical presentation varies between infants and preschoolers, no statistically significant differences were observed in the rate of perforated appendix or postoperative complications.

Methylation alterations are not a major cause of PTTG1 misregulation.

BACKGROUND: On its physiological cellular context, PTTG1 controls sister chromatid segregation during mitosis. Within its crosstalk to the cellular arrest machinery, relies a checkpoint of integrity for which gained the over name of securin. PTTG1 was found to promote malignant transformation in 3T3 fibroblasts, and further found to be overexpressed in different tumor types. More recently, PTTG1 has been also related to different processes such as DNA repair and found to trans-activate different cellular pathways involving c-myc, bax or p53, among others. PTTG1 over-expression has been correlated to a worse prognosis in thyroid, lung, colorectal cancer patients, and it can not be excluded that this effect may also occur in other tumor types. Despite the clinical relevance and the increasing molecular characterization of PTTG1, the reason for its up-regulation remains unclear. METHOD: We analysed PTTG1 differential expression in PC-3, DU-145 and LNCaP tumor cell lines, cultured in the presence of the methyl-transferase inhibitor 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine. We also tested whether the CpG island mapping PTTG1 proximal promoter evidenced a differential methylation pattern in differentiated thyroid cancer biopsies concordant to their PTTG1 immunohistochemistry status. Finally, we performed whole-genome LOH studies using Affymetix 50 K microarray technology and FRET analysis to search for allelic imbalances comprising the PTTG1 locus. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that neither methylation alterations nor LOH are involved in PTTG1 over-expression. These data, together with those previously reported, point towards a post-transcriptional level of misregulation associated to PTTG1 over-expression.

Response to endothelin-1 in arteries from human colorectal tumours: role of endothelin receptors.

To examine the reaction of tumour arteries to endothelin-1, we obtained arteries supplying blood flow to colorectal tumours from patients, as well as mesenteric arteries supplying the normal colon tissue from the same patients and mesenteric arteries from patients without a colorectal tumour pathology. The contraction in response to endothelin-1 and the relaxation produced by bradykinin was recorded in each of these arteries. Accordingly, the sensitivity to endothelin-1 but not the maximal response, was higher in the arteries supplying colorectal tumours than in mesenteric arteries supplying normal colon or in mesenteric arteries from patients with no tumour pathology. The contraction produced by endothelin-1 was not modified by exposure to L-NAME or meclofenamate in arteries supplying both the tumour and the normal colon. The endothelin ET(A) andET(B) receptors were expressed similarly in arteries supplying the tumour or normal colon. However, the antagonist of the endothelin ET(B) receptors BQ788 (10(-6) M) decreased the contractions in the arteries supplying the tumour but not in those supplying the normal colon. By contrast, the antagonist of endothelin ET(A) receptors BQ123 (10(-6) M) reduced the contraction equally in both these types of arteries. Likewise, in arteries precontracted with U46619, the relaxation in response to bradykinin was similar in all three types of arteries. Together, these results suggest that the arteries supplying human colorectal tumours are more sensitive to endothelin-1, which could be due to the enhanced activity of endothelin ET(B) receptors in the absence of any change in the modulatory effect of nitric oxide or prostanoids in the arterial response to this peptide.

La cirugía en el tratamiento de la crisis tirotóxica / Surgery for the Treatment of Thyrotoxic Crisis

RESUMEN La crisis tirotóxica es una complicación de la tirotoxicosis mal tratada y se asocia con una elevada mortalidad. Requiere tratamiento médico urgente en unidades de cuidados intensivos. Mujer de 42 años, con antecedentes personales de hipertensión arterial y nódulo tiroideo hiperfuncionante desde hace 18 años, con abandono del tratamiento médico hace dos años, que acude a urgencias con disnea paroxística nocturna, taquicardia, hipertensión arterial, gran bocio y anasarca. Ingresa en la unidad de cuidados intensivos con diagnóstico de crisis tirotóxica e inicia el tratamiento médico con medidas de soporte precisas, la que incluye intubación orotraqueal. Debido a la dificultad de manejo clínico y respiratorio de la paciente, se decide realizar tratamiento quirúrgico urgente. Se practica una tiroidectomía total de bocio multinodular parcialmente intratorácico y una traqueostomía preventiva. El resultado de anatomía patológica fue: bocio multinodular tóxico. La paciente fue dada de alta con función tiroidea normal, cierre de traqueostomía y buena fonación, tras mes y medio de hospitalización. A pesar de que un tratamiento médico conservador es el adecuado de la tirotoxicosis, los síntomas y signos sistémicos de la crisis tirotóxica y sus manifestaciones órgano-específicas, asociados a una persistente dificultad respiratoria por síntomas compresivos derivados del gran bocio, se consideró que la tiroidectomía urgente en este caso estaba indicada, dato que se corroboró ante la buena evolución posoperatoria. El tratamiento de la tirotoxicosis es fundamentalmente clínico, sin embargo, la cirugía puede ser útil ante la dificultad en el manejo clínico(AU)

Abstract The thyrotoxic crisis is a complication of poorly treated thyrotoxicosis and is associated with high mortality. This condition requires urgent medical treatment in intensive care units. A 42-year-old woman, with a personal history of high blood pressure, hyperfunctioning thyroid nodule for 18 years, and abandonment of medical treatment since two years ago, presented to the emergency department with paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, tachycardia, high blood pressure, large goiter, and anasarca. She was admitted into the intensive care unit with a diagnosis of thyrotoxic crisis and started to receive medical treatment under precise support measures, including orotracheal intubation. Due to the patient's difficult clinical and respiratory management, it was decided to perform urgent surgical treatment. She was performed a total thyroidectomy of partial intrathoracic multinodular goiter and a preventive tracheostomy. The result of pathological anatomy was toxic multinodular goiter. The patient was discharged with normal thyroid function, tracheostomy closure, and good phonation, after a month and a half of hospitalization. Despite the fact that conservative medical treatment is the adequate one for thyrotoxicosis, the systemic symptoms and signs of the thyrotoxic crisis, and its organ-specific manifestations, associated with persistent respiratory distress due to compression symptoms derived from large goiter, urgent thyroidectomy needed to be indicated in this case, a fact corroborated after good postoperative evolution. The treatment of thyrotoxicosis is fundamentally clinical; however, surgery can be useful given the difficulty in clinical management(AU)

Pediatric appendicitis: age does make a difference / Apendicite em pediatria: a idade é importante

ABSTRACT Objective: To investigate the influence of patient age on the diagnosis and management of appendicitis, as well as to evaluate the rate of complications according to the age group. Methods: We undertook a retrospective analysis of 1,736 children who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy in our center between January 2000 and December 2013. Patients were divided in groups taken into account their age: group A were infants, group B were preschoolers, group C were those ones older than five years old, and group D were those ones younger than five years old. A p value of 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: We found higher incidence of misdiagnosis and atypical symptoms in the youngest patients. The rate of perforation was similar between group A and B (p=0.17). However, it was higher in group D than in group C (p<0.0001). The incidence of postoperative complications was higher in the youngest patients too (p=0.0002). Conclusions: The age does make a difference in acute appendicitis. Because of its unusual presentation in children younger than five years old, it is often misdiagnosed, which leads to an increased morbidity. Although clinical presentation varies between infants and preschoolers, no statistically significant differences were observed in the rate of perforated appendix or postoperative complications.

RESUMO Objetivo: Investigar a influência da idade do paciente no diagnóstico e tratamento de apendicite, bem como avaliar a frequência de complicações dependendo da faixa etária. Métodos: Análise retrospectiva dos 1.736 pacientes pediátricos que foram submetidos à apendicectomia laparoscópica em nosso hospital de janeiro de 2000 a dezembro de 2013. Os pacientes foram divididos em grupos de acordo com sua idade: grupo A eram crianças, grupo B eram pré-escolares, grupo C eram maiores de cinco anos de idade e grupo D eram menores de cinco anos de idade. Considerou-se estatisticamente significante p-valor <0,05. Resultados: Encontramos maior incidência de diagnóstico incorreto e sintomas atípicos em pacientes mais novos. A taxa de perfuração foi semelhante entre os grupos A e B (p=0.17); foi maior, porém, no grupo D que no grupo C (p<0.0001). A incidência de complicações no pós-operatório também foi maior em pacientes mais novos (p=0.0002). Conclusões: A idade faz diferença em casos de apendicite aguda. Por causa da sua apresentação rara em crianças menores de cinco anos, é frequentemente diagnosticada incorretamente, o que aumenta a morbidade. Apesar de sua apresentação clínica variar entre lactentes e pré-escolares, não foram observadas diferenças estatisticamente significativas na proporção de apêndices perfurados nem na de complicações pós-operatórias.

Tyrosine phosphorylation modulates the vascular responses of mesenteric arteries from human colorectal tumors.

The aim of this study was to analyze whether tyrosine phosphorylation in tumoral arteries may modulate their vascular response. To do this, mesenteric arteries supplying blood flow to colorectal tumors or to normal intestine were obtained during surgery and prepared for isometric tension recording in an organ bath. Increasing tyrosine phosphorylation with the phosphatase inhibitor, sodium orthovanadate produced arterial contraction which was lower in tumoral than in control arteries, whereas it reduced the contraction to noradrenaline in tumoral but not in control arteries and reduced the relaxation to bradykinin in control but not in tumoral arteries. Protein expression of VEGF-A and of the VEGF receptor FLT1 was similar in control and tumoral arteries, but expression of the VEGF receptor KDR was increased in tumoral compared with control arteries. This suggests that tyrosine phosphorylation may produce inhibition of the contraction in tumoral mesenteric arteries, which may increase blood flow to the tumor when tyrosine phosphorylation is increased by stimulation of VEGF receptors.