Intracorporeal versus extracorporeal anastomosis in right colectomy - a protocol for a randomised trial.

INTRODUCTION: A minimally invasive approach in colorectal surgery reduces surgical stress compared with open surgery. Today, the gold standard in the treatment of right-sided colonic cancer is a minimally invasive approach, which can be performed with either a "minimally invasive assisted" technique - a combination of open and minimally invasive surgery with an extracorporeal anastomosis (ECA) or with a "totally minimally invasive" technique with intracorporeal anastomosis (ICA). The prevailing technique is ECA, but there is no conclusive evidence on the superiority of one technique over the other, and randomised trials comparing ICA with ECA are warranted. We hypothesised that ICA will yield improved recovery compared with ECA. METHODS: This is a triple blind, multicentre, randomised controlled trial comparing robotic right colectomy with ECA with robotic right colectomy with ICA. We plan to include 100 patients undergoing elective minimally invasive right colectomies in two colorectal centres in Denmark. The primary outcome is patient-reported post-operative recovery, and secondary outcomes are additional measures of post-operative recovery (pain, analgesics, nausea and vomiting, time to first flatus/bowel movement, length of hospital stay), operative time, intraoperative complications, conversions, readmissions, reoperations, 30- and 90-day morbidity and mortality. CONCLUSION: The results of this randomised controlled trial will contribute with valuable knowledge on the best surgical management of right-sided colonic cancer. FUNDING: The study has received unrestricted grants from the Louis-Hansen Foundation, Jacob & Olga Madsen's foundation, Trigon Foundation, Toyota Foundation, Dagmar Marshalls Foundation, Vissing Foundation, The Kjaer Foundation and the Nyegaard foundation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT03130166.

Hartmann's procedure or primary anastomosis?

Perforation following acute diverticulitis is a typical scenario during the first attack. Different classification systems exist to classify acute perforated diverticulitis. While the Hinchey classification, which is based on intraoperative findings, is internationally best known, the German Hansen-Stock classification which is based on CT scan is widely accepted within Germany. When surgery is necessary, sigmoid colectomy is the standard of care. An important question is whether patients should receive primary anastomosis or a Hartmann procedure subsequently. A priori there are several arguments for both procedures. Hartmann's operation is extremely safe and, therefore, represents the best option in severely ill patients and/or extensive peritonitis. However, this operation carries a high risk of stoma nonreversal, or, when reversal is attempted, a high risk in terms of morbidity and mortality. In contrast, primary anastomosis with or without loop ileostoma is a slightly more lengthy procedure as normally the splenic flexure needs to be mobilized and construction of the anastomosis may consume more time than the Hartmann operation. The big advantage of primary anastomosis, however, is that there is no need for the potentially risky stoma reversal operation. The most interesting question is when to do the Hartmann operation or primary anastomosis. Several comparative case series were published showing that primary anastomosis is feasible in many patients. However, no randomized trial is available to date. It is of note, that all non-randomized case series are biased, i.e. that patients in better condition received anastomosis and those with severe peritonitis underwent Hartmann's operation. This bias is undoubtedly likely to be present, even if not obvious, in the published papers! Our own data suggest that this decision should not be based on the extent of peritonitis but rather on patient condition and comorbidity. In conclusion, sigmoid colectomy and primary anastomosis is feasible and safe in many patients who need surgery for perforated diverticulitis, particularly when combined with loop ileostomy. Based on our own published analysis, however, we recommend performing Hartmann's operation in severely ill patients who carry substantial comorbidity, while the extent of peritonitis appears not to be of predominant importance.

Robot-assisted stenting of a high-grade anastomotic pulmonary artery stenosis following single lung transplantation.

PURPOSE: To report robot-assisted stenting of a stenosis at the pulmonary artery anastomosis following lung transplantation, a rare complication that conveys poor prognosis even after surgical correction. TECHNIQUE: The technique is illustrated in a 72-year-old man with end-stage lung disease who received a left single lung transplant. On postoperative day 54, he was evaluated for recurrent dyspnea on exertion that was due to a severe stenosis at the site of the pulmonary artery anastomosis. Balloon angioplasty was performed, and a 10-mm stent was deployed, with marked clinical improvement. Fourteen months later, he presented with recurrent symptoms due to in-stent restenosis. Multiple attempts at catheterization and balloon angioplasty of the stent failed. Due to the technical difficulty involved in maneuvering the balloon while maintaining stability, it was decided to repeat the angioplasty with the assistance of a Hansen Sensei remote robotic navigation system. The robotic arm markedly enhanced stability and facilitated successful navigation of the stented site. A 16-mm-diameter Wallstent was placed through the previously placed balloon-expandable stent and postdilated. CONCLUSION: A remote robotic catheter navigation system was able to assist stenting of an anastomotic pulmonary artery stenosis following failure of conventional interventional techniques.

Modification of the "wrap around" tendon anastomosis of fascia lata graft with a slim double tendon of palmaris longus.

A modification of Brand's "wrap around" technique of anastomosis is described, which allows joining a double tendon or split tendon of palmaris longus to fascia lata graft, when one of the slim tendons would not allow performance of the Brand tendon anastomosis. Four such cases have been done successfully.