Potential diagnostic and prognostic significance of plasma prolidase activity in gastric cancer.

AIM: Plasma prolidase activities (PPAs) in cases of gastric cancer. METHODOLOGY/RESULTS: This study was based on a prospective design. 60 patients with gastric cancer (operable cases: 48; inoperable: 12) and 60 healthy controls were included in the study. Prolidase activity was analyzed. The mean PPA levels in the operable, inoperable and control groups were 45.60 ± 4.20, 54.35 ± 4. 9 and 10.92 ± 0.79 U/l, respectively (p < 0.001). PPA decreased significantly after tumor resection. PPA level was significant in differentiating operable cases from inoperable (sensitivity: 91.7%; specificity: 85.2%). DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: PPA was significantly higher in patients with inoperable gastric cancer than in operable cases and the control group. A strong correlation was found between tumor volume and PPA.

Ingested intraabdominal foreign bodies that require surgical intervention.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to review cases that required surgical intervention to remove ingested foreign bodies. METHODS: Medical records of 7 patients who underwent surgical intervention at the Yüzüncü Yil University Department of General Surgery between 2009 and 2014 after ingesting foreign bodies were reviewed. RESULTS: Female:male ratio was 5:2; mean age was 25 (16-35). Four patients had swallowed pins, 1 patient had swallowed a sewing pin, 1 patient had swallowed a safety pin, and 1 patient had swallowed a wristwatch. The patient who had swallowed the wristwatch had psychiatric disorders. All other patients stated that they had swallowed the objects by accident. CONCLUSION: Most ingested foreign bodies pass smoothly through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract within a week, but those that migrate out of the lumen require surgical intervention due to complications including perforation, abscess, fistula, and peritonitis. Early diagnosis and intervention is crucial to reduce morbidity and mortality. It is believed that sharp and pointed objects that migrate outside of the lumen ought to be removed, lest they cause complications.

Successful Treatment of a Large Pelvic Abscess Using Intraluminal VAC: A Case Report.

The most feared complication of the surgical treatment of rectal cancer is anastomotic leakage, which is related to high rates of mortality and morbidity. Here, we present a patient who could not be treated with surgical drainage but treated by intraluminal Vacuum Associated Closure (VAC). A 34-year-old male patient was treated for rectal cancer by low anterior resection, colorectal anastomosis, and diverting ileostomy following neoadjuvant CRT. The patient reported with a postoperative anastomotic disruption and a large pelvic abscess. Due to the continuation of foul-smell drainage inspite of perianal incision and drainage, intraluminal VAC was applied and the pelvic abscess and the foul-smell were successfully treated. The presence of an adequate anal sphincter tonus is a disadvantage in anastomotic leakage, since it prevents the emptying of the intestinal content and also precludes the drainage of the pelvic abscess. The endoluminal application of VAC, similar to the results of application of VAC in open wounds, has been demonstrated to decrease fibrin and necrotic tissue in the pelvic cavity and increase granulation tissue. VAC, which has long been used in the treatment of open wounds, is a promising method in the treatment of large pelvic abscesses due to anastomotic leakage following rectum resection.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor: A rare cause of invagination in adults.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a distinct pseudosarcomatous lesion arising in the soft tissues and interior organs of children and young adults. It is rarely seen in adults. It was first described in lungs. IMT can occur in any location in the body. However, it is seen most commonly in lungs, intestinal mesentery and liver. Non-mesenteric alimentary tract IMT's are quite rare. The presented case is an ileal IMT that caused small bowel invagination. A 38 year-old male patient presented to the emergency department with the complaint of diffuse abdominal pain, distension and no passage of gas or stools for two days. An abdominal examination revealed distension and tenderness in the abdomen with no guarding or rebound tenderness. Computerized tomography (CT) of the abdomen was ordered. CT revealed an image compatible with invagination of the right lower quadrant of the abdomen and a mass inside the lumen measuring 4x3x3cm. The mass causing invagination was detected during the surgical operation. A segmentary small bowel resection and ileoileal anastomosis was performed. The patient was discharged uneventfully on the postoperative sixth day. The diagnosis of IMT was confirmed histologically and immunochemically.

Uncommon Caecum Diverticulitis Mimicking Acute Appendicitis.

Diverticulum of the cecum is a rarely seen reason of acute abdomen and it is difficult to be distinguished from appendicitis. The diagnosis is generally made during operation. We have presented this case in order to remember that it is a disease which should be kept in mind in cases of right lower quadrant pain.

Factors affecting mortality in emergency surgery in cases of complicated colorectal cancer.

AIM: To evaluate retrospectively demographic, clinical and histopathological variables effective on mortality in patients who had undergone emergency surgery due to complicated colorectal cancer. METHODS: A total of 39 patients underwent urgent surgical interventions due to complicated colorectal cancer at the Department of General Surgery, Dursun Odabas Medical Center, between January 2010 and January 2015. Thirty three of these were included in the study. Six patients were excluded because complete medical records had been missing. Medical records of the 33 cases were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: There were 14 (42.5%) male and 19 (57.5%) female patients. Mean age was 60 years (range: 32- 83 years); 14 (42.5%) patients were less than 60 years old , while 19 (57.5%) were 60 years old or older. Operations were performed due to perforation (39.3%) and obstruction (60.6%) in 13 and 20 patients, respectively. Tumor localization was in the right and transverse colon in nine (21.2%) and in the left colon in 24 cases (72.7%). Eleven (33.3%) patients underwent resection and anastomosis, 13 (39.3%) resection and ostomy, and nine (27.2%) patients underwent ostomy alone without any resection. Postoperative mortality occurred in nine cases (27.2%). CONCLUSIONS: High mortality should be expected in females older than 60 years with a left sided colon tumor or with another synchronous tumor and in perforated tumors. Unnecessary major resections should be avoided and primary pathology should be in the focus of treatment in order to decrease the mortality and morbidity rates.

Colon cancer presented with sigmoid volvulus: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Sigmoid volvulus is the most prevalent type of colonic volvulus. Colon cancer is seen less where sigmoid volvulus is common, so it is rare to see that colon cancer is synchronous with sigmoid volvulus. PRESENTATION OF CASE: We would like to present a case of sigmoid volvulus caused by colon cancer in a male patient aged 80 who was referred to the hospital with toxaemic shock presentation. DISCUSSION: Sigmoid cancer can be presented as sigmoid volvulus to the emergency department. In intestinal obstruction early diagnosis is of crucial importance. Computarized tomography is a diagnosis tool that should be preferred both in the diagnosis of obstruction and in detecting its cause, localisation, degree and complications. CONCLUSION: When surgery is performed due to the urgent colonic obstruction in colonic volvulus diagnosed patients, a colon tumour should be considered in the same column loops or in the distal colon. We believe that CT is the method that should be preferred in large-bowel obstruction suspected patients.

A Rare Complication of Biliary Stent Migration: Small Bowel Perforation in a Patient with Incisional Hernia.

Endoscopic biliary stents have been recently applied with increasing frequency as a palliative and curable method in several benign and malignant diseases. As a reminder, although most of the migrated stents pass through the intestinal tract without symptoms, a small portion can lead to complications. Herein, we present a case of intestinal perforation caused by a biliary stent in the hernia of a patient with a rarely encountered incarcerated incisional hernia.

Levels of matrix metalloproteinase-1 and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase-1 in gastric cancer.

AIM: To evaluate the levels of preoperative serum matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) in gastric cancer. METHODS: One hundred gastric cancer patients who underwent gastrectomy were enrolled in this study. The serum concentrations of MMP-1 and TIMP-1 in these patients and in fifty healthy controls were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: Higher serum MMP-1 and TIMP-1 levels were observed in patients than in controls (P < 0.001). Serum MMP-1 and TIMP-1 levels were positively associated with morphological appearance, tumor size, depth of wall invasion, lymph node metastasis, liver metastasis, perineural invasion, and pathological stage. They were not significantly associated with age, gender, tumor location, or histological type. CONCLUSION: Increased MMP-1 and TIMP-1 were associated with gastric cancer. Although these markers are not good markers for diagnosis, these markers show in advanced gastric cancer.