Appendicitis Caused by Endometriosis Within the Bowel Wall.

Acute appendicitis is one of the most common causes of acute abdominal pain seen in the emergency room. Common etiologies include obstructing appendicolith and lymphoid adenopathy. Appendiceal endometriosis is rare and typically involves the serosal layer. This case report describes an unusual case of appendicitis secondary to endometriosis in the musclularis mucosa of the appendix in the 36-year-old lady with no prior history of endometriosis.

What are the outcomes of reoperative restorative proctocolectomy and ileal pouch-anal anastomosis surgery?

PURPOSE: Restorative proctocolectomy and ileal pouch-anal anastomosis is the current surgical treatment of choice for most patients with ulcerative colitis. Complications of the ileal pouch may necessitate additional operations to salvage the pouch. The aims of this study were to review the outcomes of reoperative restorative proctocolectomy and ileal pouch-anal anastomosis surgery and to define any predictors of successful pouch salvage surgery. METHODS: The medical records of all patients who underwent reoperative ileoanal pouch surgery for either pouch salvage or pouch excision between 1988 and 2007 were reviewed. Successful ileoanal pouch salvage was considered to be an intact functioning pouch, after resolution of problem, with a follow-up of at least six months and good to excellent patient satisfaction and continence. RESULTS: Fifty-one patients underwent reoperation for pouch-related complications (44 mucosal ulcerative colitis, 6 familial adenomatous polyposis, and 1 indeterminate colitis), in addition to 8 patients with Crohn's disease. An additional 17 patients had primary pouch excision. Thirty-eight (74.4 percent) of the 51 patients who underwent pouch salvage had a successful outcome. Twenty-three patients had pouch reconstruction or revision via an abdominal approach with a 69.5 percent success rate. The remainder of patients had local perineal procedures for control of perianal sepsis, with 75 percent success rate. Patients required a mean of 2.1 procedures to achieve pouch salvage; there was no correlation between the number of ileoanal pouch salvage procedures and failure. Crohn's disease was ultimately diagnosed in more than half of the patients who underwent primary pouch excision. Among the patients with Crohn's disease who underwent pouch salvage only three retained their pouches, for a success rate of only 37 percent. CONCLUSION: Ileal pouch-anal anastomosis salvage surgery can save a considerable number of patients from pouch excision and permanent ileostomy. Both local perineal and abdominal approaches yield acceptable results. The choice of procedure is based on the etiology and anatomy of the problem and the surgeon's preference and patient-related factors such as diagnosis.

Platelet-derived growth factor (subtype BB) is elevated in patients with colorectal carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Platelet-derived growth factor-BB plays a role in the development of vascular and lymphatic vessels in tumors. In this study plasma levels of platelet-derived growth factor-BB were assessed preoperatively in patients with adenomas and colorectal cancer to determine whether platelet-derived growth factor-BB is a useful marker or prognostic indicator. METHODS: Patients with adenomas and colorectal cancer undergoing resection were assessed. Clinical and pathologic data and preoperative blood samples were collected. Plasma platelet-derived growth factor-BB levels (median, 95 percent confidence interval for median) were determined and the Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U test were used for analysis. RESULTS: One hundred seventy-nine patients were studied (91 with colorectal cancer, 88 with adenomas). Preoperative colorectal cancer platelet-derived growth factor-BB levels were higher (1,771.1 pg/ml; confidence intervals, 1,429-2,065) than in the benign neoplasm group (1083 pg/ml; confidence intervals, 933-1,192, P < 0.001). In patients with colorectal cancer, a direct relationship was noted between platelet-derived growth factor-BB levels and disease severity. Despite the increase in platelet-derived growth factor-BB noted with increasing stage, the differences between the Stages 1, 2, 3, and 4 groups were not significant. CONCLUSION: Platelet-derived growth factor-BB levels were greater in patients with colorectal cancer (vs. patients with adenoma) and rose with increasing disease severity. Unfortunately, however, the modest differences between categories do not permit accurate stage determination.

Abdominal Apoplexy: A Case Study of Idiopathic Spontaneous Lesser Sac Hematoma.

Idiopathic spontaneous intraperitoneal hemorrhage (ISIH) is a rare event associated with high mortality. There have been multiple case reports of spontaneous rupture of middle colic pseudoaneurysms in the literature. Herein, we present a case of a 51-year-old female that presented with spontaneous rupture of the middle colic artery and associated massive intraabdominal hematoma without findings of a pseudoaneurysm. The patient underwent a computed tomography (CT) scan as an outpatient 24 hours prior to the onset of the bleeding due to abdominal pain without findings of hematoma or aneurysm of the mesenteric vessels. Subsequently, the patient underwent emergent exploratory laparotomy with findings of a massive hematoma in the lesser sac and spontaneous bleeding from the middle colic artery that was ligated. The patient had an uneventful postoperative course and fully recovered. To our knowledge, this is the second reported case of idiopathic bleeding from the middle colic artery without evidence of a pseudoaneurysm based on a current review of the literature.

Major abdominal surgery increases plasma levels of vascular endothelial growth factor: open more so than minimally invasive methods.

INTRODUCTION: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent inducer of angiogenesis that is necessary for wound healing and also promotes tumor growth. It is anticipated that plasma levels would increase after major surgery and that such elevations may facilitate tumor growth. This study's purpose was to determine plasma VEGF levels before and early after major open and minimally invasive abdominal surgery. METHODS: Colorectal resection for cancer (n = 139) or benign pathology (n = 48) and gastric bypass for morbid obesity (n = 40) were assessed. Similar numbers of open and laparoscopic patients were studied for each indication. Plasma samples were obtained preoperatively and on postoperative days (POD) 1 and 3. VEGF levels were determined via ELISA. The following statistical methods were used: Fisher exact test, unmatched Student t test, Wilcoxon's matched pairs test, and the Mann Whitney U Test with P < 0.05 considered significant. RESULTS: The mean preoperative VEGF level of the cancer patients was significantly higher than baseline level of benign colon patients. Regardless of indication or surgical method, on POD3, significantly elevated mean VEGF levels were noted for each subgroup. In addition, on POD1, open surgery patients for all 3 indications had significantly elevated VEGF levels; no POD1 differences were noted for the closed surgery patients. At each postoperative time point for each procedure and indication, the open group's VEGF levels were significantly higher than that of the matching laparoscopic group. VEGF elevations correlated with incision length for each indication. CONCLUSION: As a group colon cancer patients prior to surgery have significantly higher mean VEGF levels than patients without tumors. Also, both open and closed colorectal resection and gastric bypass are associated with significantly elevated plasma VEGF levels early after surgery. This elevation is significantly greater and occurs earlier in open surgery patients. The duration and clinical importance of this finding is uncertain but merits further study.

Rectal prolapse following posterior sagittal anorectoplasty for anorectal malformations.

PURPOSE: Rectal prolapse is a known postoperative problem in children with anorectal malformations. The aims of this study were to determine the incidence of significant rectal prolapse (>5 mm), to objectively quantify its predisposing factors, and to offer recommendations as to its prevention and surgical treatment. METHODS: The authors reviewed their series of 1619 patients with anorectal malformations; 1169 underwent primary posterior sagittal anorectoplasty (PSARP) at their institution between 1980 and 2002, and complete records were available for 833. The series was analyzed for incidence of prolapse, type of anorectal malformation, status of the sacrum, muscle quality, associated vertebral and spinal anomalies, and postoperative constipation. A specific technique for prolapse repair was used. RESULTS: Of 833 patients, 45 developed significant rectal prolapse (3.8%). The mean age at the time of PSARP was 0.73 years (range, 0.19-5 years). The average time to recognition of prolapse following PSARP was 13.1 months. Of these 45 patients, 32 required surgical repair and of those, 3 required a second surgical repair. The incidence of prolapse varied by complexity of anorectal defect: cloaca (6.2%), rectobladder neck fistula (6.8%), rectourethral fistula (5.4%), rectovestibular fistula (1.2%), rectal atresia (0%), and rectoperineal fistula (0%). There was a significantly increased incidence of prolapse in patients with a low muscle quality score and in patients with vertebral anomalies (20% vs 3.2%). The presence of a tethered cord and an abnormal sacral ratio did not correlate with an increased incidence of prolapse. Twenty-two patients developed prolapse following colostomy closure, and of these, 12 (55%) suffered from constipation. CONCLUSIONS: The overall incidence of significant rectal prolapse following PSARP is low. Prevention of prolapse with the PSARP technique may be because of key technical steps. Patients with higher anorectal malformations, poorer muscle quality, and vertebral anomalies had a greater risk of developing postoperative rectal prolapse. The presence of tethered cord and quality of the sacrum were not predictive of postoperative prolapse. Constipation seems to be a factor in the development of prolapse.

Rapid increase in serum levels of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) postoperatively is associated with a decrease in the amount of intracellular MMP-9.

We have previously demonstrated a significant decrease in the serum concentration of intact insulin-like growth factor-binding protein (IGFBP-3) after laparotomy. IGFBP-3, a major IGF binding protein, inhibits the growth of tumor cells via several mechanisms. Our goal was to determine, in a murine model, whether matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), a known protease of IGFBP-3, is responsible for the postoperative decrease in serum IGFBP-3 levels. Six IGFBP-3 transgenic mice on a CD-1 background were used in this study. These mice over-express human IGFBP-3. Sham laparotomy, in the form of a midline abdominal incision, was the test procedure. General anesthesia was established using ketamine and xylazine immediately before a 30-minute sham laparotomy and before preoperative blood sampling, done via retro-orbital venipuncture, 48 hours before surgery. The animals were sacrificed and blood was drawn 24 hours postoperatively. Plasma MMP-9 activity was measured using zymography at each time point (48 hours before and 24 hours after operation). MMP-9 activity was also measured in mononuclear cell lysates at both time points. Zymography analysis demonstrated significantly higher plasma levels of MMP-9 postoperatively compared with preoperative levels (81 RU vs 40 RU; P < .05). In contrast, mononuclear cell levels of MMP-9 were significantly higher preoperatively compared with postoperative levels (37.5 RU vs. 0.75 RU, P < .05). Plasma levels of MMP-9, a known protease of IGFBP-3, are significantly elevated postoperatively. In addition, mononuclear cells that store MMP-9 are depleted of it postoperatively. This suggests that rapid MMP-9 release by mononuclear cells leads to an increase in serum levels of this protease postoperatively. Further studies will elucidate mechanisms of MMP-9-related IGFBP-3 depletion.