What is the Prognostic Value of a Discordant Radiologic and Pathologic Response in Patients Undergoing Resection of Colorectal Liver Metastases After Preoperative Chemotherapy?

BACKGROUND: The clinical significance of discordant radiological and pathological response to preoperative chemotherapy of colorectal liver metastases (CLM) is unknown. METHODS: From 2011 to 2016, all eligible patients undergoing resection for CLM after preoperative chemotherapy were included at two centres. Patients were categorized according to radiologic response using RECIST as Rad-responders (complete/partial response) or Rad-non responders (stable disease) and according to Blazer et al. pathologic response grade as Path-responders (complete/major response) or Path-non responders (minor response). Survival outcome was analysed according to radiologic and pathologic response. RESULTS: Among 413 patients undergoing resection of CLM, 119 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Among these, 52 (44%) had discordant radiologic and pathologic response including 27 Rad-non responders/path responders and 25 Rad-responders/Path-non responders. Rad-non responders/path responders and Rad-responders/Path-non responders had similar characteristics except for the proportion receiving more than 6 cycles of preoperative chemotherapy (7/27 vs 16/25; P = 0.017). Median disease-free survival was not different in patients with or without discordant radiologic and pathologic responses (P = 0.195) but the type of discordance had an impact on oncologic outcome as median disease-free survival was 13.9 months (95% CI 5.7-22.2 months) in Rad-non responders/Path responders and 8.6 (6.2 - 10.9 months) in Rad-responders/Path-non responders (P = 0.034). Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that major pathologic response was associated with improved disease-free survival (OR 0.583, 95% CI 0.36-0.95, P = 0.031). CONCLUSION: A discordant radiologic and pathologic response is common after preoperative chemotherapy for CLM. In these patients, pathologic response drives oncologic outcome.

Use of transanastomotic double-pigtail stents in the management of grade B colorectal leakage: a pilot feasibility study.

INTRODUCTION: Anastomotic leakage (AL) is a major complication of colorectal surgery. The leakage is classified as grade B when the patient's clinical condition requires an active therapeutic intervention but does not require further surgery. The management of grade B AL commonly includes administration of antibiotics and/or the placement of a pelvic drainage performed under radiological guidance or transanal drain. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and the efficacy of endoscopic transanastomotic drainage using double-pigtail stents (DPSs) in the management of grade B AL in colorectal surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between September 2011 and December 2014, 650 patients underwent a colorectal procedure in our university hospital; 8.7 % presented with AL, including 42.8 % with grade B. Fourteen patients required endoscopic management and constituted the study population. The study's primary objective was to assess the feasibility and efficacy of DPS placement for the treatment of grade B AL after colorectal surgery. The secondary endpoints were the requirement for radiological drainage, the DPS placement failure rate, the rate of stoma closure and, lastly, feasibility of chemotherapy (if indicated). RESULTS: DPS placement was feasible in 92.8 % of the 14 patients (n = 13). The overall success rate for endoscopic management was 78.5 % (n = 11). The median length of hospitalization after DPS placement was 5 days (3-17). The average duration of drainage through a DPS was 62 days (28-181). Five patients (35.7 %) also underwent drainage with radiological guidance. Of the 10 patients with stoma, closure occurred in 80 %. All patients that required adjuvant chemotherapy were able to receive it. CONCLUSION: The treatment of AL requires multidisciplinary collaboration to save the anastomosis. DPS placement under endoscopic control is associated with AL healing, good clinical tolerance and the ability to undergo chemotherapy and is an alternative to repeat laparotomy when radiological drainage is unfeasible or inefficient.

Gastrointestinal bleeding complication of gastric fistula after sleeve gastrectomy: consider pseudoaneurysms.

BACKGROUND: Gastric fistula (GF) is the most serious complication after longitudinal sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), with an incidence ranging from 0 to 5 %. In this context, concomitant upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) has never been described. Here, we describe our experience of this situation and suggest a procedure for the standardized management of this life-threatening complication. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed all patients having been treated for post-LSG UGIB in our university medical center between November 2004 and February 2012. Data on GF and UGIB (time to onset, diagnosis and management) were assessed. RESULTS: Forty patients were treated for post-LSG GF in our institution, 18 of whom (45 %) had been referred by tertiary centers. Four patients presented UGIB (10 %): two had undergone primary LSG, one had undergone simultaneous gastric band removal and LSG, and one had undergone repeat LSG. The median time interval between GF and UGIB was 15 days. The four cases of UGIB included three pseudoaneurysms (75 %, with two affecting the left gastric artery and one affecting the upper pole of the splenic artery) and one case of bleeding related to stent-induced gastric ulceration. Computed tomography enabled diagnosis of the pseudoaneurysm in all cases. Two of the four patients (50 %) were treated with selective embolization during arteriography, and two (50 %) were treated surgically with arterial ligation. One of the surgically treated patients died during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: UGIB after LSG was investigated in the context of a postoperative GF and was found to have been caused by a pseudoaneurysm in 75 % of cases. When looking for a pseudoaneurysm, a primary angiography should be preferred to endoscopy allowing selective arterial embolization in hemodynamically stable patients, whereas surgery should be reserved for treatment failures or hemodynamically instability.

Effect of perioperative management on short-term outcomes after sleeve gastrectomy: a 600-patient single-center cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Reports on the postoperative outcomes of sleeve gastrectomy (SG) have only been from small, single-center series and meta-analyses of studies with variable SG management. The objective of this study was to evaluate post-SG outcomes in a specialized bariatric surgery center with a routinely performed standardized procedure. METHODS: The postoperative complication rate, operating times, and postoperative data were evaluated from all patients undergoing a primary SG between November 2004 and February 2012. Results were analyzed for 3 separate surgical periods, which differed with perioperative management. RESULTS: Of 600 patients (mean age: 41.8±11.3; mean body mass index [BMI]: 47.2±16 kg/m²; 80% were women who underwent primary SG), 26.8% had a BMI≥50 kg/m². The mean operating time was 84 minutes. The rate of conversion was 1%. There were no postoperative deaths. The overall complication rate was 8.5%; the major complication rate was 5.6%; the revisional surgery rate was 4.6% and the gastric leak rate was 2.5%. Over the course of the 3 study periods, the operating time fell from 91±32 to 79±22 minutes (P≤.001); the length of hospital stay decreased from 4.5±4.9 to 3.4±4.3 days (P = .02); the major complication rate fell from 6.4% to 5.5% (P = NS); and the gastric fistula rate decreased from 4.6% to 1.9% (P = NS). CONCLUSION: In a specialist bariatric surgery center, SG had an acceptable complication rate. Modifications in the perioperative management of SG were associated with a shorter mean operating time and hospital stay and did not increase the major complication or gastric fistula rates.