Forty years after the first totally implantable venous access device (TIVAD) implant: the pure surgical cut-down technique only avoids immediate complications that can be fatal.

AIM: Even though TIVADs have been implanted for a long time, immediate complications are still occurring. The aim of this work was to review different techniques of placing TIVAD implants to evaluate the aetiology of immediate complications. METHODS: A systematic literature review was performed using the PubMed, Cochrane and Google Scholar databases in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. The patient numbers, number of implanted devices, specialists involved, implant techniques, implant sites and immediate complication onsets were studied. RESULTS: Of the 1256 manuscripts reviewed, 36 were eligible for inclusion in the study, for a total of 17,388 patients with equivalent TIVAD implantation. A total of 2745 patients (15.8%) were treated with a surgical technique and 14,643 patients (84.2%) were treated with a percutaneous technique. Of the 2745 devices (15.8%) implanted by a surgical technique, 1721 devices (62.7%) were placed in the cephalic vein (CFV). Of the 14,643 implants (84.2%) placed with a percutaneous technique, 5784 devices (39.5%) were placed in the internal jugular vein (IJV), and 5321 devices (36.3%) were placed in the subclavian vein (SCV). The number of immediate complications in patients undergoing surgical techniques was 32 (1.2%) HMMs. In patients treated with a percutaneous technique, the number of total complications were 333 (2.8%): 71 PNX (0.5%), 2 HMT (0.01%), 175 accidental artery punctures AAP (1.2%) and 85 HMM (0.6%). No mortality was reported with either technique. CONCLUSION: The percutaneous approach is currently the most commonly used technique to implant a TIVAD, but despite specialist's best efforts, immediate complications are still occurring. Surgical cut-down, 40 years after the first implant, is still the only technique that can avoid all of the immediate complications that can be fatal.

Small bowel lymphoma presenting as inguinal hernia: case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Inguinal hernia is one of the most common benign pathologies that primarily affects men. Primary gastrointestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (PGI NHL) is the most common type of extranodal lymphoma. This study reports a rare case in which these two conditions co-exist. CASE PRESENTATION: An 85-year-old male complained of bowel movement pattern change, abdominal distension and loss of weight, without vomiting but with nausea. A computed tomographic scan of the abdomen showed a small bowel obstruction caused by a migration of a small bowel loop in the right inguinal canal, with a clinically non-reducible inguinal hernia. The patient underwent surgery. The histopathological report showed small bowel large B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. CONCLUSION: When the diagnosis of the contents of an inguinal hernia is not well-established, surgery should be performed as soon as possible to ensure the cure of the disease and the correct diagnosis of the contents.

Gallbladder cancer: results achieved and future challenges.

26th World Congress of International Association of Surgeons Gastroenterologists and Oncologists, Seoul, South Korea, 8-10 September 2016 This year, the 26th World Congress of the International Association of Surgeons, Gastroenterologists, and Oncologists (IASGO) was hosted by Seoul in South Korea. The congress was extremely well organized, and the quality of the submissions and the relevance of the speakers were excellent. This report highlights the newest and most interesting results regarding the treatment of gallbladder tumors from the conference.

Liver surgery: a long journey to improve results.

25th World Congress of the International Association of Surgeons, Gastroenterologists and Oncologists, Fuzhou, China, 4-6 September 2015 Fuzhou, China hosted the 25th World Congress of the International Association of Surgeons, Gastroenterologists and Oncologists (IASGO). This was the first Congress after the passing away of Nicolas J Lygidakis, the founder of the International Association, who was a surgeon and an energetic secretary general of the association for 25 years. All members of the association are grateful for his message of medicine beyond the frontiers and health for all. The president of the association remains Professor Masatoshi Makuuchi, Emeritus Professor Of Surgery at The University of Tokyo (Japan), with Professor Dan Dunda from Harvard Medical School (MA, USA) and Professor Kyoichi Takaori from Kyoto University (Japan), as the secretaries general of the association. The President of the 2015 IASGO World Congress was Professor Yupei Zhao, Professor of Surgery at the University of Beijing and President of the Chinese Society of Surgery. The Congress was held under the auspices of IASGO president Masatoshi Makuuchi from Japan and both secretaries general. Fuzhou is a pleasant city that is well organized, but not as busy compared with other Chinese cities. All of the city's people were very kind and welcoming to the attendees at the meeting. The congress focuses on the major advancements in diagnosis and treatment of the gastroenterological diseases, here we report the most important progress in the field of hepatic surgery.

Rare occurrence of metastasis from lung cancer to the anus: case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Anal metastases from lung cancer are infrequent, and there are only 10 published cases. Life expectancy is no longer than 1 year after diagnosis because of the typically advanced stage of disease. Treatment, which is typically inefficient, is administered with the intent to cure or avoid local complications. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a patient with non-small cell lung cancer presenting with perianal metastasis mimicking an abscess. CONCLUSIONS: Because perianal masses may be misdiagnosed, patients with lung and other cancers should be evaluated for metastatic disease.

Giant cavernous liver hemangiomas: is it the time to change the size categories?

BACKGROUND: Four different sizes (4, 5, 8 and 10 cm in diameter) can be found in the literature to categorize a liver hemangioma as giant. The present review aims to clarify the appropriateness of the size category "giant" for liver hemangioma. DATA SOURCES: We reviewed the reports on the categorization of hemangioma published between 1970 and 2014. The number of hemangiomas, size criteria, mean and range of hemangioma sizes, and number of asymptomatic and symptomatic patients were investigated in patients aged over 18 years. Liver hemangiomas were divided into four groups: <5.0 cm, 5.0-9.9 cm, 10.0-14.9 cm and ≥15.0 cm in diameter. Inclusion criteria were noted in 34 articles involving 1972 (43.0%) hemangiomas (>4.0 cm). RESULTS: The patients were divided into the following groups: 154 patients (30.0%) with hemangiomas less than 5.0 cm in diameter (small), 182 (35.5%) between 5.0 cm and 9.9 cm (large), 75 (14.6%) between 10.0 and 14.9 cm (giant), and 102 (19.9%) more than 15.0 cm (enormous). There were 786 (39.9%) asymptomatic patients and 791 (40.1%) symptomatic patients. Indications for surgery related to symptoms were reported in only 75 (3.8%) patients. Operations including 137 non-anatomical resection (12.9%) and 469 enucleation (44.1%) were unclearly related to size and symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The term "giant" seems to be justified for liver hemangiomas with a diameter of 10 cm. Hemangiomas categorized as "giant" are not indicated for surgery. Surgery should be performed only when other symptoms are apparent.

The enigma of primary and secondary encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Encapsulating Peritoneal Sclerosis (EPS) describes a variety of diseases that are frequently confused with different names and different etiopathogeneses. The aim of this article is to report personal experience of focusing on correct classification and the status of current diagnosis and treatment. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed. Age, sex, ethnic origin, past medical history, symptoms and their duration, radiological tools and signs, laboratory tests, preoperative diagnosis, surgical approach, intraoperative findings, pathological findings, hospital stay, morbidity and mortality were studied. RESULTS: A total of seven patients, including six males and one female, aged from 24 to 72 years were observed. Four patients had recurrent abdominal colic pain for 3 months, 1, 2 and 9 years; two patients also reported recurrent attacks but without any specification of the duration. All seven patients presented at the emergency department with abdominal pain that was mainly diffused over the entire abdomen. Six patients were submitted to a CT scan. Only in two patients was the diagnosis of EPS made preoperatively. All seven patients were submitted to open surgery. The hospital stay was between 4 and 60 days. One patient had morbidity, and one patient died of MOF. CONCLUSIONS: Currently, the correct identification of EPS is more easily possible than in the past, but the diagnosis is still a challenge. Surgery must be performed as soon as possible to avoid a poorer quality of life.

Unusual presentation of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans in a male patient's breast: a case report and review of the literature.

We herein present a case report and literature review of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans in the breast of a male patient. A 27-year-old man presented with a painless lump in his right breast with areas of bluish skin discoloration. The diagnostic work-up comprised clinical examination, ultrasonography, core biopsy, mammography, and magnetic resonance imaging. After surgical excision, the preoperative diagnosis of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans was proven by pathological examination and immunohistochemistry. The patient was still free of recurrence 1 year after surgical excision. This extremely rare case is, to the best of our knowledge, the fifth such case reported in the literature.

Hepatic tumors: a continuous challenge to achieve further improvements.

Bucharest (Romania) hosted this year's annual meeting of the International Association of Surgeons, Gastroenterologists and Oncologists. The president of the Congress was Irinel Popescu of the University of Bucharest (Romania) and the meeting was held under the auspices of the International Association of Surgeons, Gastroenterologists and Oncologists president Masatoshi Makuuchi (Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan) and its general secretary, Nicolas J Lygidakis (Athens Medical Center, Greece). The organizing committee of the Congress has made considerable efforts to promote the globalization of medical knowledge and to maintain the values of Médecins Sans Frontières. The Congress was a model of scientific professionalism, and was attended by more than 850 delegates. Approximately 250 specialists from 43 countries on five continents described their most recent advances, providing the delegates with an intense and very rich program. The program included symposia, video presentations, free papers and poster presentations. This article highlights the newest and most original results concerning the treatment of liver tumors, particularly in cirrhotic patients.

Totally implantable vascular access devices 30 years after the first procedure. What has changed and what is still unsolved?

The first placement of a totally implantable central venous access device (TIVAD) was performed in 1982 at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston by John Niederhuber, using the cephalic vein­exposed by surgical cut-down­as route of access to central veins. After that, TIVADs proved to be safe and effective for repeated administration of drugs, blood, nutrients,and blood drawing for testing in many clinical settings, especially in the oncologic applications. They allow for administration of hyperosmolar solutions, extreme pH drugs, and vescicant chemotherapeutic agents,thus improving venous access reliability and overall patients' quality of life. Despite the availability of a variety of devices, each showing different features and performances, many issues are still unsolved. The aim of this review article is to point out what has changed since the first implant of a TIVAD, and what it is still matter of debate, thus needing more investigation. Topics analyzed here include materials, choice of the veins and techniques of implantation, role of ultrasound (US) guidance in central venous access, position of catheter tip assessment, TIVAD-related infection and thrombosis, and quality of life issues.