Aortic fistula after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and esophagectomy for esophageal carcinoma: an unusual cause of sudden death.

Aortic fistula to the enteric tract is an uncommon but recognized complication of esophagectomy, whereas an aortorespiratory fistula is usually described in the setting of aortic disease or previous aortic surgery. We describe 2 cases of fatal aortic fistula occurring after esophagectomy and neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, both encountered at autopsy.The first case is an aortobronchial fistula occurring in a 47-year-old male in the early postoperative setting. Death was caused by rupture of the fistula into the posterior mediastinum with transhiatal extension and hemoperitoneum. The tissue adjacent to the fistula showed radiation effect, and an esophageal stent had been placed before surgery. The second case is an aortogastric tube fistula occurring in a 50-year-old male 2 years after surgery and resulting in fatal gastrointestinal hemorrhage. The fistula involved the site of anastomosis and a surgical clip was present in the adjacent soft tissue.The development of aortic fistula after esophagectomy for esophageal carcinoma is rare, but should be considered at autopsy as a potential cause of unexpected, sudden death in these patients. Possible inciting mechanisms in this setting include the presence of foreign material (stent placement and surgical clips) and previous chemoradiation.

[Considerations in the surgical treatment of enterogenic mediastinal cyst]. / Mediastinalis enterogen cysta sebészi kezelésének dilemmái.

INTRODUCTION: Mediastinal alterations causing esophageal dysfunctions originate from malignant or inflammatory diseases and in a few cases from congenital anomalies. CASE REPORT: The authors report the medical history of a 27-year-old woman whose large (35-40 mm in diameter) cystic lesion was causing compression of the middle third esophagus and dysphagia. Because of subjective complaints resection was made from a right posterolateral "muscle-preserving" thoracotomy. Histological examination verified an intramural, esophageal cyst. After the 7th postoperative day the patient was discharged from the hospital, currently she is without symptoms and complaints. DISCUSSION: In the background of esophageal dysfunctions can be a mediastinal lesion causing external compression. This lesion, in a few cases, is a congenital anomaly, which develops during the separation of the respiratory- and the digestive apparatus. Probably the effect of increased divisional tendency can create the partial duplication of developing organs, i.e. trachea, esophagus. Later these are described as bronchogenic or enterogenic cysts. Literature mentions cases about ciliated columnal epithelium, ventricular mucosa or malignancy covering the inner surface of the cyst. Preoperative examinations are not enough to describe a mediastinal cyst. According to the surgical guidelines a case without complaints is only a relative indication to operate. If it is followed, an occasional malignant transformation will not be recognized, or will be recognized too late. CONCLUSION: As we know, a mediastinal cystic lesion never regresses. Because of the tendency of malignant transformation, in the absence of operative contraindication, surgical resection is the method of choice even in symptom-free cases.

[Antral ectopic pancreas causing gastric outlet obstruction]. / Gyomorürülési zavart okozó antrális ectopiás pancreas.

Ectopic pancreas is an uncommon clinical finding. It is rare for heterotopic pancreas tissue to cause symptoms, however every disease of the pancreas may develop in it. The most common sites for ectopic pancreas are the submucosal layer of the stomach and the small intestine. Symptomatic ectopic pancreas usually causes diagnostic difficulties. Surgical excision is recommended if the patient has complaints. We report the case of a 32-year-old man. We performed subtotal gastrectomy because of a submucosal, antral tumour, that caused gastric outlet obstruction. The histological examination verified ectopic pancreas tissue. The patient recovered without any complications.

Serotonin receptor subtype and p11 mRNA expression in stress-relevant brain regions of suicide and control subjects.

OBJECTIVE: Studies comparing people suffering from depression who committed suicide with control subjects have yielded inconsistent results regarding serotonin (5-HT) involvement in pathology, possibly owing to procedural factors. Our objective was to investigate which 5-HT receptor subtypes might be associated with depression and suicide, whether receptor differences vary across brain regions and whether they are moderated by sex. METHODS: We assessed messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression of several 5-HT receptor subtypes and that of p11, a protein involved in the functional expression of 5-HT(1B), in several stress-relevant brain regions. Tissue was obtained soon after death, and RNA integrity and pH was confirmed to be appropriate. Brain tissue from suicide subjects suffering from depression and from control subjects who had died from other causes (10 men and 10 women in each condition) was obtained within 6.5 hours postmortem. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction analyses determined mRNA expression of 5-HT receptor subtypes and p11 within the frontopolar cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala and paraventricular nucleus. The 5-HT transporter (5-HTT) was also assessed in the raphe nucleus. RESULTS: Differences of 5-HT(1A), 5-HT(1B) and p11 mRNA expression between people who committed suicide and control subjects were relatively widespread, whereas 5-HT(2A) and 5-HT(2C) variations were restricted to the frontopolar cortex and amygdala. Within the dorsal raphe nucleus, neither 5-HT(1A) nor 5-HTT mRNA expression differed between those who committed suicide and control subjects. CONCLUSION: Several 5-HT receptor subtypes are associated with depression and suicide, but these receptor differences vary across brain regions and are moderated by sex.