Quality of life and outcomes after rubber band ligation for haemorrhoidal disease.

PURPOSE: The main objective of this study was to assess the impact on quality of life after rubber band ligation (RBL) in patients with symptomatic grade II-III haemorrhoids who did not improve after 6 months of conservative treatment, using quality of life scores. METHODS: This was a prospective cohort observational study where patients with haemorrhoidal disease and indication for RBL were included between December 2019 and December 2020. RBL was offered as first-line treatment in this group. Patient´s quality of life was assessed by scores: HDSS (Hemorrhoidal Disease Symptom Score) and SHS (Short Health Scale).Secondary objectives were: to evaluate the rate of patients requiring one or more RBL procedures, to establish the overall success rate of RBL and to analyse complications. RESULTS: A total of 100 patients were finally included. Regarding the impact on quality of life after RBL, a significant reduction was found in the HDSS and SHS scores (p < 0.001). The main improvement was found in the first month and it was maintained until the sixth month. A high degree of satisfaction with the procedure was reported by 76% of patients. The overall success rate of banding was 89%. A 12% complication rate was detected, the most frequent complication was severe anal pain (58.3%) and self-limiting bleeding (41.7%). CONCLUSION: Rubber band ligation, as a treatment for symptomatic grade II-III haemorrhoids that do not respond to medical treatment, leads to a significant improvement in patients' symptoms and quality of life. It also has a high degree of satisfaction between patients.

Role of negative pressure wound therapy in the prevention of surgical site infection in colorectal surgery. / Papel de la terapia presión negativa en la prevención de infección del sitio quirúrgico en cirugía colorrectal.

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most frequent complications in colorectal surgery. It is diagnosed in 10 - 20% of colorectal procedures. Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) has shown efficacy in the treatment of chronic and traumatic wounds, wound dehiscence, flaps and grafts. The main objective of this study is to assess NPWT in the prevention of SSI in colorectal surgery. Hospital stay reduction and SSI risk factors are secondary objectives. METHODS: We present a prospective case-control study including 80 patients after a colorectal diagnosis and surgical procedure (elective and non-elective) in 2017. Forty patients were treated with prevention NPWT for one week. Forty patients were treated according to the standard postoperative surgical wound care protocol. RESULTS: No significant differences were found in demographic variables, comorbidities, surgical approach, elective or non-elective surgery, mechanical bowel preparation and surgical procedure. Three patients has SSI in the NPWT group (8%) (95%CI 0 - 17.5). Ten patients presented SSI in the control group (25%) (95%CI 12.5 - 37.5) (p=0.034); OR 0.7 (95%CI 0.006-0.964). Hospital stay in the NPWT group was 8 days versus 12 days in the non-NPWT group (p=0.22). In the multivariate analysis, mechanical bowel preparation was found to be the only risk factor for SSI (p=0.047; OR: 0.8, CI 0.45-0.93). CONCLUSIONS: NPWT is a useful SSI prevention treatment in colorectal surgery.

Management of Esophageal Perforation: 28-Year Experience in a Major Referral Center.

Esophageal perforation constitutes a surgical emergency. Despite its gravity, no single strategy has been described as sufficient to deal with most situations to date. The aim of this study was to assess the etiology, management, and outcome of esophageal perforation over a 28-year period, to characterize optimal treatment options in this severe disease. A retrospective clinical review of all patients treated for esophageal perforation at Ramón y Cajal Hospital between January 1987 and December 2015 was performed (n = 57). Iatrogenic injury was the most frequent cause of esophageal perforation (n = 32). Abdominal esophagus was the main location (23 patients; 40.4%). Eight patients (14%) were managed with antibiotics and parenteral nutrition. In seven patients (12.3%), an endoscopic stent was implanted. Surgical therapy was performed in 38 patients (66.7%). Morbidity and 90-day mortality rates were 61.4 and 28 per cent, respectively. Five patients were reoperated (8.8%). Median hospital stay was 23.5 days. The mortality rate was higher among patients with spontaneous and tumoral perforation (54.5 and 100%; P = 0.009), delayed diagnosis (>24 hours; P = 0.0001), and abdominal/thoracic location (37.5%; P = 0.05). No statistical differences were found between surgical and conservative/endoscopic management (31% vs 20%; P = 0.205) although hospital staying was longer in surgical group (36.30 days vs 15.63 days; P = 0.029). Esophageal perforation was associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Global outcomes depend on etiology, site of perforation, and delay in diagnosis. An individualized approach for each patient should be chosen to prevent septic complications of this potentially fatal disease.

Comparative study between open and minimally invasive approach in the surgical management of esophageal leiomyoma.

INTRODUCTION: Leiomyomas are the most common benign tumors of the esophagus. Although classically surgical enucleation through thoracotomy or laparotomy has been widely accepted as treatment of choice, development of endoscopic and minimally invasive procedures has completely changed the surgical management of these tumors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of all esophageal leiomyoma operated at Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal (Madrid, Spain) between January 1986 and December 2014, analyzing patients' demographic data, symptomatology, tumor size and location, diagnostic tests, surgical data, complications and postoperative stay. RESULTS: Thirteen patients were found within that period, 8 men and 5 women, with a mean age of 53.62 years (range 35-70 years). Surgical enucleation was achieved in all patients. In 8 cases (61.54%) a thoracic approach was performed (4 thoracotomies and 4 thoracoscopies), and in 5 cases (38.56%) an abdominal approach was performed (3 laparotomies and 2 laparoscopies); enucleation was carried out through a minimally invasive approach in 6 patients (46.15%). There were no cases of endoscopic resection alone. Surgery mean length was 174.38 minutes (range 70-270 minutes) and median postoperative stay was 6.5 days (range 2-27 days). There was neither mortality nor cases of intraoperative complications were described. No postoperative major complications were reported; however one patient presented important pain in his right hemithorax that required management and long term follow-up by the Pain Management Unit. With a mean follow-up of 165.57 months (median 170; range 29-336 months) no recurrences were reported. CONCLUSION: Enucleation is the treatment of choice for the majority of esophageal leiomyomas. In our experience, duration of the surgical procedure through minimally invasive approach was longer than surgery through open approach; however, postoperative stay was shorter in the first group. Paradoxically, incision pain after surgery (thoracic neuralgia) was found to be higher in the minimally invasive approach group. Nevertheless, none of the results obtained in the study reached statistical significance, probably due to the small simple size.

The role of serum osteoprotegerin and receptor-activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand in metabolic bone disease of women after obesity surgery.

Metabolic bone disease may appear as a complication of obesity surgery. Because an imbalance in the osteoprotegerin and receptor-activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand system may underlie osteoporosis, we aimed to study this system in humans in the metabolic bone disease occurring after obesity surgery. In this study we included sixty women with a mean age of 47 ± 10 years studied 7 ± 2 years after bariatric surgery. The variables studied were bone mineral density, ß-isomer of C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen cross-links (a bone resorption marker), the bone formation markers osteocalcin and N-terminal propeptide of procollagen 1, serum osteoprotegerin and receptor-activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand. Serum osteoprotegerin inversely correlated with the bone remodeling markers osteocalcin, ß-isomer of C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen cross-links and N-terminal propeptide of procollagen 1. The osteoprotegerin and receptor-activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand ratio also correlated inversely with serum parathormone and osteocalcin. Bone mineral density at the lumbar spine was associated with age (ß = -0.235, P = 0.046), percentage of weight loss (ß = 0.421, P = 0.001) and osteoprotegerin and receptor-activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand ratio (ß = 0.259, P = 0.029) in stepwise multivariate analysis (R 2 = 0.29, F = 7.49, P < 0.001). Bone mineral density at the hip site was associated only with percentage of weight loss (ß = 0.464, P < 0.001) in stepwise multivariate regression (R 2 = 0.21, F = 15.1, P < 0.001). These data show that the osteoprotegerin and receptor-activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand system is associated with bone markers and bone mineral density at the lumbar spine after obesity surgery.

Effects of bariatric surgery on male obesity-associated secondary hypogonadism: comparison of laparoscopic gastric bypass with restrictive procedures.

Bariatric surgery results in the complete resolution of male obesity-associated secondary hypogonadism (MOSH) in many patients. However, the effects of different bariatric surgical procedures on male sexual hormone profiles and sexual dysfunction have not been compared to date. We compared the pre- and post-operative (at least 6 months after initial surgery) sex hormone profiles of 20 severely obese men submitted to laparoscopic gastric bypass (LGB) with 15 similar patients submitted to restrictive techniques (sleeve gastrectomy in 10 and adjustable gastric banding in 5). We calculated free testosterone (FT) levels from total testosterone (TT) and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations. Fasting glucose and insulin levels served for homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMAIR). MOSH was present in 25 and 16 of the 35 patients when considering TT and FT concentrations respectively, resolving after surgery in all but one of them. When considering all obese men as a whole, patients submitted to LGB or restrictive procedures did not differ in terms of excess weight loss, in the decrease of fasting glucose and insulin, HOMAIR and waist circumference, or in the increase of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, TT and FT levels. The improvement in TT correlated with the decrease in fasting glucose (r = -0.390, P = 0.021), insulin (r = -0.425, P = 0.015) and HOMAIR (r = -0.380, P = 0.029), and with the increase in SHBG (r = 0.692, P < 0.001). The increase in FT correlated with the decrease in fasting glucose (r = -0.360, P = 0.034). LGB and restrictive techniques are equally effective in producing a remission of MOSH.

[Littré hernia: an unusual cause of intestinal obstruction.

BACKGROUND: Littre's hernia is the presence of a Meckel diverticulum within an orifice in the abdominal wall. There are few cases published in the literature and its frequency is not well described. CLINICAL CASE: We present the case of a 74-year-old patient who arrived at the emergency service with clinical signs of intestinal obstruction caused by an incarcerated right inguinal hernia. Emergency surgery was performed using a preperitoneal approach. Within the hernia, 5 cm of small bowel containing a Meckel diverticulum was found. Therefore, we decided to extirpate the diverticulum and repair the hernia placing a polypropylene mesh. CONCLUSIONS: Meckel diverticulum is the persistence of the omphalomesenteric duct. It is usually asymptomatic, producing bleeding, infection or intestinal obstruction as the main symptoms.

Fístula faringoesofágica tras paratiroidectomía por abordaje mínimamente invasivo / Pharyngoesophageal fistula after minimally invasive parathyroidectomy

Introduction: Focused lateral approach is widely accepted for the surgery of solitary parathyroid adenomas, because it is a minimally invasive approach and its aesthetic advantages. Notwithstanding, when the pathlogical gland is not easily recognized, this approach difficults the search and makes more susceptible for iatrogenic lesions. Sometimes, PTH levels do not decrease up to 75 percent of initial values 15 minutes after the gland resection; a smaller decreasement do not exelude that the pathological gland has been already resected. Case report: A 69-years old man underwent a minimally invasive parathyroidectomy. Surgical act is complex, because of a difficult identification of the gland. In the postoperative course, the patient developed a pharyngoesophageal fístula that was successfully managed with a conservative approach.

Introducción: El abordaje unilateral en la cirugía del adenoma solitario de paratiroides está ampliamente aceptado por sus ventajas estéticas y ser un procedimiento mínimamente invasivo. Sin embargo, cuando la glándula patológica no es fácilmente detectada, dificulta mucho su búsqueda y facilita la iatrogenia. En ocasiones, los niveles de PTH no descienden al 75 por ciento del valor inicial 15 minutos después de la paratiroidectomía; un descenso menor del 75 por ciento no excluye que la glándula patológica haya sido extirpada. Caso clínico: Varón de 69 años es sometido a paratiroidectomía a través de un abordaje mínimamente invasivo. La cirugía es compleja y prolongada al no identificarse fácilmente la glándula paratiroides. En el postoperatorio el paciente presenta una fístula faringoesofágica que se se maneja satisfactoriamente de forma conservadora.

Chyle fistula in right cervical area after thyroid surgery.

Thoracic duct injury is an infrequent (1-2.5%) but severe complication after neck surgery, leading to nutritional, metabolic and immunologic deficiencies. We report a case of a 34-year-old woman with a right thoracic duct injury after surgery of a thyroid medullar cancer effectively treated with conservative management (parenteral nutrition and intravenous somatostatin). Optimal treatment of these patients is unclear, without a clear limit between conservative and surgical treatment.