Video-Assisted Anal Fistula Treatment (VAAFT) for complex anorectal fistula: efficacy and risk factors for failure at 3-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess the 3-year objective and subjective outcomes of patients with complex anorectal fistula treated with Video-Assisted Anal Fistula Treatment (VAAFT). Furthermore, we evaluated the risk factors associated with recurrence. METHODS: All consecutive patients with complex anorectal fistula who underwent VAAFT in Beata Vergine Hospital of Mendrisio, Switzerland, from January 2013 to January 2016, were enrolled. Patients with suspicion or diagnosis of Crohn's disease, malignancy, previous history of radiotherapy or radical pelvic surgery were excluded. Preoperative clinical assessment based upon medical history, physical examination and endosonography, was performed in all patients. Data regarding subjective outcomes (the Patient Global Impression of Improvement, patient satisfaction scores and Wexner score), objective cure rate (absence of fistula at clinical examination), and adverse events were collected during follow-up. Uni and multivariate analysis were performed to investigate outcomes. RESULTS: One hundred and four patients had VAAFT. At 3-year follow-up, 96 patients (92.3%) were available for the evaluation. At 3 years after surgery, 81 of 96 patients (84.4%) declared themselves cured (p = 0.60). Similarly, at 3-year evaluation, 80 of 96 patients (83.3%) were objectively cured (p = 0.52). No serious intraoperative or postoperative complications were reported. All recurrences were treated with a repeat VAAFT procedure resulting in a complete healing. Uni and multivariate analysis of variables potentially involved in the failure of VAAFT showed that age ≥ 50 years was the only factor associated at risk of recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: VAAFT is a highly effective safe procedure for the treatment of anorectal fistula, with a low recurrence rate at 3-year follow-up. However, our study demonstrated that age ≥ 50 years is a risk factor for failure of VAAFT.

Small bowel intussusception due to malignant melanoma: primary lesion or metastases? A case report.

Intussusception is a rare condition in the adult population: it is responsible for 1% of all bowel obstructions. In most of intussusceptions a malignant tumor is involved; a lot of studies show that approximately 50% of malignant metastases causing small bowel intussusception are metastatic melanomas. In present paper a case of a small bowel intussusception probably due to metastases of an occult melanoma, in a 69-year-old patient, is presented. Surgery resection, careful research of possible primitive neoplasms and an accurate follow-up program has been the treatment of choice. All the investigations carried out did not allow to identify a possible primitive neoplasm. The last whole body PET carried out 44 months after surgery resulted disease-free.

Endoscopic pilonidal sinus treatment: a prospective multicentre trial.

BACKGROUND: Pilonidal disease (PD) is a common inflammatory disease of the gluteal fold, resulting in recurrent acute/chronic infection at the level of the natal cleft. In this study, endoscopic pilonidal sinus treatment (EPSiT), a new endoscopic minimally invasive procedure, was evaluated for its effectiveness in treating PD. METHODS: Two hundred and fifty prospective patients with chronic PD were enrolled in a prospective multicentre study conducted at a secondary and tertiary colorectal surgery centre. The primary end-point of this study was wound healing, and the short-/long-term outcomes such as healing time, morbidity rate and recurrence rate were analysed. The secondary end-point of this study was quality of life (QoL). RESULTS: The complete wound healing rate was 94.8%, and the mean complete wound healing time was 26.7 ± 10.4 days. The incomplete healing rate (5.2%) was significantly related to the number of external openings (P = 0.01). There was no difference in the failure rate when EPSiT was performed as the first-line treatment for PD or when it was used after unsuccessful procedures (P = n.s.). Recurrence occurred in 12 cases (5%). The QoL significantly increased from preoperative levels 15 days after the EPSiT procedure (45.3 vs 7.9; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The EPSiT procedure is a safe and effective technique for treating PD. It provides better short- and long-term outcomes than various other techniques that are more invasive. EPSiT is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure, which is associated with a quick recovery and a good QoL outcome.

Laser capture microdissection is a valuable tool in the preoperative molecular screening of follicular lesions of the thyroid: an institutional experience.

OBJECTIVES: The application of molecular tests to thyroid fine needle aspiration (FNA) has been shown to be a valuable tool to better refine the pre-operative malignant risk of patients with indeterminate cytology results. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of using the laser capture microdissection (LCM) technique to obtain DNA and RNA for molecular tests in routine thyroid FNA smears. METHODS: Nine coupled FNA and histological retrospective cases and 31 prospective FNA cases with a follicular neoplasm/suspicious for a follicular neoplasm (FN/SFN) diagnosis were included in this study. Both cytological and histological specimens were investigated by direct sequencing and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for BRAF and RAS mutations and for PAX8/PPARG and RET/PTC rearrangements, respectively. RESULTS: LCM yielded good DNA and RNA quality in all cases (100%) in both series, irrespective of the staining used (Giemsa, Papanicolaou, immunostain for thyroglobulin) and the cytology technique (conventional or liquid-based preparations). Total mutations found in the FNA and in the corresponding histological specimen in both series were: one PAX8/PPARG rearrangement in a follicular carcinoma (FC), four NRAS mutations [in two FCs, one papillary carcinoma and one follicular adenoma (FA)] and one HRAS mutation in one FA. The sensitivity was 67% and the specificity was 91%. CONCLUSIONS: LCM is a valuable tool to obtain good quality DNA and RNA for molecular tests in cytological material from thyroid FNA, and can be a useful option in the management of patients with an FN/SFN FNA diagnosis.

A giant adrenal pseudocyst mimicking an adrenal cancer: case report and review of the literature.

Adrenal pseudocysts are rare lesions that develop within the adrenal glands, generally from vessel ectasia or from degenerative adenomas or hematomas. They are usually non-functional and asymptomatic. The reported potential malignant transformation of an adrenal cyst is ca. 7% and indicates radical excision of these masses. We report the case of a 69-year-old man with hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and obesity in whom microscopic hematuria was detected during a routine examination performed by his family doctor. To investigate the cause of this microscopic hematuria, the patient underwent computed tomography of the abdomen, which showed a well-defined 12-cm lesion of the left adrenal gland with calcification and necrotic components that was compressing the left kidney, pancreas, and spleen. Suspecting adrenal carcinoma, after preoperative staging, a left subcostal laparotomy was performed, with resection of the left adrenal gland, a splenectomy, and resection of the pancreatic tail. The histology showed an adrenal pseudocyst with a fibrous capsule containing amorphous eosinophilic material with calcification and cholesterol crystals. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful, and he was discharged 12 days after surgery.

NPWTid in the treatment of infected diabetic foot.

Negative Pressure Wound Therapy with instillation therapy and dwelling time (NPWTid) represents a good tool to treat severely infected non-healing wounds. This topical treatment consists of negative pressure and retrograde instillation of antiseptic/antibiotic Romasolutions into the wound surface, to promote cleansing and consequently the healing process. We reported our initial experience (five cases) in the treatment of severely infected diabetic foot, that can be considered a life-threatening condition. In our case reports, patients presented with clinical signs and symptoms of severe sepsis. Our treatment based on multidisciplinary approach (surgical, NPWTid, interventional radiology, skin grafts) had satisfying results. NPWT represented an important support to treatment of these diabetic patients.

Meckel diverticulum: one pathology, different clinical presentations. A report of two cases.

Meckel diverticulum is the most prevalent congenital malformation of gastrointestinal tract and usually it remains asymptomaRomatic. Approximately in 25% of cases Meckel diverticulum comes to be symptomatic with various clinical presentations where lower gastrointestinal hemorrhage or intestinal obstruction represent the most frequent clinical outcome. In present paper two cases of complicated Meckel diverticulum in young patients are described; in both cases diagnosis was difficult and initially mistaken with other pathologies. Surgical resection was the treatment of choice.

Total mesorectal excision for cancer of the rectum.

The concept of total mesorectal excision (TME) was first described by R. J. Heald in 1982 as a radical cancer operation based on the anatomy of fascial planes and fibrous spaces of the pelvis. The ampulla recti is invested by a fascia propria which is a part of the visceral pelvic fascia. The fascia propria is separated from the parietal pelvic fascia by the pelvirectal fibrous space, which is a compartment of the subperitoneal space of the pelvis. The lateral ligaments of the rectum divides the pelvirectal space into a prerectal and a retrorectal part. TME is defined as the resection of the rectum with its surrounding fatty and lymphatic tissue contained within the visceral sheet of the pelvic fascia. The dissection proceeds in the nearly avascular cleavage plane between the visceral and the parietal fascial sheets, allowing maximal protection of the hypogastric nerves and the inferior hypogastric plexus. Continuity of the prerectal and retrorectal parts of the field of dissection is established by dividing the lateral ligaments of the rectum slightly inside the point where they swing away from the parietal fascia of the pelvic side wall. By following this plane of dissection it is possible to achieve en bloc excision of the total mass of perirectal lymphatic and fatty tissue down to the pelvic floor.

[Rectal carcinoma. Optimizing treatment by neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy?]. / Rektumkarzinom. Optimierung durch neoadjuvante und adjuvante Therapie?

Despite of improvement of results in rectum cancer treatment after systematical introduction of total mesorectal excision as a standard procedure to control the compartment disease, surgical radicality may be limited in cases with large tumours in ventral position because of eccentric location of the rectum in the perirectal fat. In these cases (neo)adjuvant treatment with a 45-54 Gy dose radiotherapy and 5 FU-based chemotherapy seems to be useful to minimize local recurrence and distant metastases and also to provide a better outcome.

[Symptomatic enterothorax in right-sided dorsal rupture of the diaphragm]. / Symptomatischer Enterothorax bei rechtsseitigem dorsalem Zwerchfellabriss.

Traumatic avulsion of the right diaphragm from the lumbocostal arch is a very rare lesion. The authours report the case of a 27-year-old man who had suffered a severe polytrauma with blunt thoracic injury, fracture of the lumbar spine, Malgaigne-type fracture of the pelvis and fracture of the femoral shaft on the right side, 10 years before. At the time of injury the lesion of the diaphragm went unnoticed. The diagnosis was made 10 years later when the patient was referred for chronic right thoracic pain combined with postprandial abdominal distension and crampy pain in the abdomen. The chest radiogram and CT-scan showed displacement of the right kidney and most of the right colon into the thorax due to avulsion of the diaphragm from its dorsal insertion on the lumbocostal arch. Surgical repair was necessary to obtain relief from pain and to prevent intestinal obstruction. Reduction of the hernia, reinsertion of the diaphragm to the lumbocostal arch and reinforcement of the repair with a prolene mesh prosthesis was performed through a right thoracophrenolumbotomy incision.

["Recurrent appendicitis" 19 years after perityphlitic abscess]. / "Rezidivappendizitis" 19 Jahre nach perityphlitischem Abszess.

We report about a patient who was admitted with acute lower right quadrant pain. She underwent an undetermined operation for appendiceal abscess formation 19 years ago. Our investigations including ultrasound, CT-scan, conventional radiography and finally coloscopy revealed a pericoecal mass formation. Due to worsening of the symptoms, emergency laparotomy was performed. An inflammatory process and a partial necrosis of the coecum wall at the site of the appendix basis were identified und managed by ileocoecal resection and drainage. We took this case to review the literature concerning the treatment of appendiceal abscess and appendiceal mass, and consecutively redesigned our own treatment concept.

[Intramural duodenal hematoma after blunt abdominal injury in childhood. Case report]. / Intramurales Duodenalhämatom nach stumpfem Bauchtrauma im Kindesalter. Fallbeschreibung.

Gastrointestinal injuries after blunt abdominal trauma in childhood are seldom. In 30% of the patients, the site of injury is the duodenum. In 60% associated injuries including other abdominal or extraabdominal lesions are found. Most frequently duodenal damage consists in parietal haematoma, seldom in duodenal laceration. Duodenal haematoma can be resolved non-operatively in 50%. Operation is recommended for children in whom there is no evidence of partial resolution of the obstruction after 10-14 days or in cases with development of a parietal laceration with peritonitis and/or retroperitonitis. For diagnostic computed tomography is the examination of choice.

Anatomical basis and rationale of total mesorectal excision.

The concept of TME for cancer of the mid rectum has been introduced by Heald in 1982. Since then the evidence in favor of routinely applying TME in all operable cases of mid and low rectal cancer has kept growing. TME has been shown to reduce the number of R1 resections and increase the number of R0 resections, resulting in a significantly reduced recurrence rate compared to traditional surgical technique. The authors have produced a video which illustrates the anatomical basis and technical details of TME. TME is the resection of the rectum together with the fatty and lymphatic tissue contained within the visceral sheet of the pelvic fascia. This paper details the anatomical basis of TME, describing the fascial structures and fibrous spaces along which the dissection must proceed.

[Complex distal radius fracture: value of spongiosa-plasty in combination with external fixator treatment]. / Komplexe distale Radiusfraktur: Nutzen der Spongiosaplastik in Kombination mit der Fixateur-externe-Behandlung.

22 Patients with complex fracture of the distal radius (Fernandez III/Frykman VII-VIII/AO 23.C) underwent treatment with external fixation and auxiliary autologous bone grafting in purpose to reconstruct and stabilize the radiocarpal articular surface, reset the radius length, obtain a quicker bone healing and avoid secondary radius shortening after removing of the external fixation. In spite of reassessment of radius length in 80% and reconstruction of the radiocarpal articular surface in 75%, late control showed the development of radiological signs of radiocarpal arthritis. 50% of the patients have a moderate loss of strength and motility in the wrist; this seems to be a good result for a very negative selection of complex fractures of distal radius. We recommend autologous bone grafting in treatment of complex fractures of the distal radius with external fixation.

Minimally invasive video-assisted surgery of the thyroid: a preliminary report.

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic thyroidectomy has not yet met the favor of most endocrine surgeons. We evaluated the technical feasibility of a video-assisted approach to thyroid surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study group comprised 22 females and 5 males, all with a single thyroid nodule. The nodule was "hot" in 4 patients, microfollicular in 17 and with Hürthle cell cytology in 6. A 15-mm skin incision was made above the sternal notch. The midline was opened and a 12-mm trocar inserted into the thyro-tracheal groove. It was inflated with CO2 for 3 min. The trocar was then removed and the procedure performed using external retractors and needlescopic instruments. The upper pedicle was dissected. Identification of recurrent nerve and parathyroid glands was facilitated by endoscopic magnification. The upper gland portion was then retracted out of the operative cavity; inferior veins were ligated and the lobe entirely extracted and dissected. Frozen section was obtained for "cold" nodules. RESULTS: Video-assisted hemithyroidectomy was accomplished in 24 patients; 1 underwent video-assisted total thyroidectomy (positive frozen section). Cervicotomy was required once to achieve hemostasis and once to perform total thyroidectomy (positive frozen section). Mean operative time was 82 min (range 60-120 min). No complications were registered. The cosmetic result was excellent. CONCLUSIONS: Video-assisted thyroid surgery is feasible and may improve cosmetic outcome; total thyroidectomy can be accomplished through the same access point.