Incidence and risk factors for secondary failure after acute obstetric sphincter injury repair - an audit of 239 women.

AIM: The rate of secondary failure after obstetric sphincter injury repair is unknown, with the literature reporting rates ranging from 0.1% to 53%. We aimed to perform an audit to identify the rate and risk factors for failure of sphincter repair in a cohort of postpartum women using endoanal ultrasound (EAUS) and manometry, assessing the risk factors and impact of these events. METHOD: Prospective data were collected within a 2 year period from patients who attended the perineal clinic at Eastern Health. Variables of primary repair and presence of postpartum complications were recorded and subsequently analysed. RESULTS: Of 239 patients with obstetric anal sphincter injury (OASI) included, 100 (41.8%) had EUAS evidence of sphincter defects. Only 20% with secondary repair failure were symptomatic with faecal or flatal incontinence at a mean follow-up of 23.4 months postpartum. Patients with secondary repair failure had lower anal resting (p = 0.006) and maximum squeeze pressures compared with patients with intact repairs (p < 0.001). In terms of variables that were investigated, namely location, operator hierarchy, type of repair and material used, none had a statistically significant correlation with secondary repair failure of OASI. Postpartum complications had an overall incidence of 12.7%, and those with any complication were found to have an increased rate of secondary failure of repair (p = 0.157). CONCLUSION: Using EAUS to confirm secondary failure of repair, incidence was 41.4% in this cohort. There were no identifiable modifiable variables that reduced the risk of secondary failure of repair. Further prospective research with increased sample size and longer follow-up periods is required to assess the validity of the findings.

A systematic review of minimally invasive cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in patients with peritoneal malignancy.

BACKGROUND: Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is traditionally a maximally invasive operation with a large abdominal incision and multi-visceral resections. However, to minimize abdominal wall morbidity and improve functional recovery, some centres have adopted a minimally invasive (MI) approach in select cases. The primary aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the evidence for safety and patient selection for minimally invasive approaches to CRS and HIPEC with curative intent. METHODS: A PRISMA-compliant systematic review was performed using three electronic databases: Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Science. Data regarding postoperative morbidity was meta-analysed. RESULTS: Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria (N = 462 MI patients), all of which were retrospective in design. Six studies included an open comparison group. Pseudomyxoma peritonei, mesothelioma and ovarian carcinoma made up the majority of cases (>90%), with a PCI < 10 listed as a prerequisite to selection across all studies. On pooled analysis there was no difference in major morbidity between MI and open groups (OR 0.52 95% CI 0.18-1.46, P = 0.33). There was one perioperative death reported in the MI group. Length of stay appeared shorter in the MI group (median range MI: 4-11 v Open: 7-13 days). Short-term recurrence and overall survival between both groups also appeared no different. CONCLUSION: Minimally invasive CRS and HIPEC appears feasible and safe in appropriately selected patients. Clear histological stratification and longer term follow up is required to determine oncological safety, particularly in more aggressive tumours such as colorectal peritoneal metastases.

Outcomes in octogenarians following elective colorectal cancer surgery.

Background: Colorectal surgery in octogenarians is increasing in prevalence and good surgical outcomes have been demonstrated. However, functional status and independence remain the main patient consideration with limited data on the long-term functional outcomes. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted for all patients aged above 80 undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer (CRC) from January 2018 to December 2019. Functional status assessment was made as part of pre- and post-operative allied health clinic appointments. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance scores were recorded. Loss of independence (LOI) was defined as the reduced capacity to perform pre-morbid activities of daily living (ADL) and requiring increased supports. Results: Forty-one patients aged 80 years or older had elective CRC resections with a median follow-up of 15 months [interquartile range (IQR): 8-20]. The median American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) score was 3 and 90.2% (37/41) of patients had an ECOG score of 0 or 1. There was no 30-day mortality and 2 (4.9%) deaths occurred within 1 year. The median Clavien-Dindo score was 1, and 2 patients (4.9%) required unplanned intensive care unit (ICU) admissions. Twelve re-hospitalizations occurred with falls being the most common reason. LOI occurred in only 2 patients (4.9%) and on multivariate regression analysis, age and pre-morbid requirement of gait aids were predictive of LOI (P=0.042 and P=0.003, respectively). Gait aids were also associated with higher Clavien-Dindo scores (P=0.057) and increased length of stay (LOS) (P=0.009). Conclusions: Patients with advanced age undergoing surgery for CRC surgery can still have good post-operative outcomes and adequate functional recovery with pre-operative optimization and appropriate post-operative supports.

Parenteral nutrition after cytoreductive surgery for peritoneal malignancy: Should it be administered routinely?

PURPOSE/BACKGROUND: Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) is complex abdominal surgery that is used to treat peritoneal malignancy. CRS is associated with major morbidity and efforts to address this include optimisation of perioperative care. There is variation in international protocols on the nutritional management after CRS, in particular whether parenteral nutrition (PN) should be routinely or selectively administered. HYPOTHESIS/AIM: This study assessed parenteral nutrition use, factors associated with PN requirement and nutritional outcomes in a centre that selectively uses PN after CRS. METHODS/INTERVENTIONS: A retrospective analysis was undertaken on patients who underwent cytoreductive surgery ± hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre between 1st January 2015 and 31st December 2020 using data entered into a prospectively maintained database. Patient characteristics, nutritional status, oncological parameters, operative details and postoperative outcome data were retrieved. Categorical variables were compared using the chi-squared test and continuous data was compared using a non-parametric Mann-Whitney U-test. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Cox regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of requiring PN and postoperative weight change over admission. RESULTS: A total of 222 patients who had CRS between were included (mean age 56 years; female 61.3%). Preoperative nutritional characteristics of participants included a mean body mass index (BMI) of 27.6 kg/m2 and the majority (77.9%) were not at nutritional risk pre-operatively with a Patient Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) score of category A. A high proportion of patients had surgery for colonic adenocarcinoma (58.1%), received HIPEC (87.4%) and achieved complete cytoreduction (82%). Postoperative parenteral nutrition was required for 65 patients (29.3%). The most frequent indication for PN was postoperative ileus (63.1%) with the mean (SD) time to commencing PN being postoperative day 5. Factors associated with the requirement for postoperative PN included preoperative albumin (OR 0.89; p = 0.015), weight loss >5% of body weight in the 6 months prior to admission (OR 2.2; p = 0.05), higher PCI score (OR 1.048; p = 0.005), number of anastomoses completed (OR 1.766; p = 0.017) and development of any postoperative complication (OR 2.71; p = 0.009). PN use was not associated with postoperative weight change. CONCLUSION: Most patients undergoing CRS did not require post-operative PN. Nutritional and operative factors may identify patients who are likely to need PN after surgery. Selective use of PN did not impact on postoperative weight change.

Laser hemorrhoidoplasty in the treatment of symptomatic hemorrhoids: a pilot Australian study.

Purpose: Traditional therapeutic approaches to the surgical management of hemorrhoid disease such as hemorrhoidectomies are plagued with severe postoperative pain and protracted recovery. Our pilot study aims to the laser hemorrhoidoplasty (LH) patients with symptomatic hemorrhoid disease that have failed conservative management for the first time in an Australian population. Methods: Thirty patients were prospectively enrolled to undergo LH. Postoperative pain, time to return to function, and quality of life (QoL) were determined through the Hemorrhoid Disease Symptom Score and Short Health Scale adapted for hemorrhoidal disease and compared to a historical group of 43 patients who underwent a Milligan-Morgan hemorrhoidectomy by the same surgeon at 3, 6, and 12 months. Results: The LH group had significantly lower mean predicted pain scores on days 1 and 2 and lower defecation pain scores and lower opioid analgesia use on days 1, 2, 3, and 4. The median time to return to normal function was significantly lower in the LH group (2 days vs. 9 days; P<0.001). Similarly, the median days to return to the workplace was significantly lower in the LH group (6 days vs. 13 days; P=0.007). During long-term follow-up (12 months), hemorrhoid symptoms and all QoL measures were significantly improved, especially among those with grade II to III disease. Conclusion: This pilot study demonstrates low pain scores with this revivified procedure in an Australian population, indicating possible expansion of the therapeutic options available for this common condition. Further head-to-head studies comparing LH to other hemorrhoid therapies are required to further determine the most efficacious therapeutic approach.

The impact of molecular and mismatch repair status on the survival outcomes of surgically treated patients with colorectal peritoneal metastases.

BACKGROUND: Stratification of patients with colorectal peritoneal metastases (CRPM) using RAS/BRAF mutational status may refine patient selection for cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). This study aimed to analyse the association of RAS/BRAF status and their variants, with clinicopathological variables and survival outcomes in patients who have undergone CRS ± HIPEC. METHODS: A single centre, peritonectomy database was interrogated for patients with CRPM who underwent peritonectomy procedures between 2010 and 2020. RESULTS: During the study period, 174 patients were included. Molecular status was obtained on 169 patients, with 68 (40.5%) KRAS, 25 (14.8%) BRAF and 6 (3.6%) NRAS mutations detected. Patients with BRAF mutations were more likely to be mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) (BRAF 20%, KRAS 4.4%, wild type 8.6%, p = 0.015). Most common BRAF and KRAS variants were, V600E (80%) and G12D (39.7%), respectively. BRAF V600E was independently associated with worse overall (median: 28 months, multivariate: HR 2.29, p = 0.026) and disease-free survival (median: 8 months, multivariate: HR 1.8, p = 0.047). KRAS G12V was a strong prognostic factor associated with disease-free survival (median: 9 months, HR 2.63, p = 0.016). dMMR patients (14/161, 8.7%) exhibited worse median overall survival compared to those with proficient MMR (dMMR 27 months, pMMR 29 months p = 0.025). CONCLUSION: This study highlights the importance of molecular analysis in CRPM stratification. BRAF V600E mutations predict poor outcomes post CRS and HIPEC and may help refine patient selection for this procedure. Molecular analysis should be performed preoperatively to characterise prognosis and guide perioperative therapeutic options.

Robotic versus laparoscopic right hemicolectomy: a retrospective cohort study of the Binational Colorectal Cancer Database.

Robotic right hemicolectomy (RRC) may have technical advantages over the conventional laparoscopic right colectomy (LRC) due to higher degrees of rotation, articulation, and tri-dimensional imaging. There is growing literature describing advantages of RRC compared to LRC; however, there is a lack of evidence about safety, oncologic quality of surgery and cost. This study aimed to analyse complication rates, length of stay and nodal harvest in patients undergoing minimally invasive right hemicolectomy for colon cancer from a prospective Australasian colorectal cancer database. This was a retrospective cohort study using nearest neighbour matching. The Binational Colorectal Cancer Audit (BCCA) provided the data for analysis. The primary outcome was length of stay. Secondary outcomes were harvested lymph node count, anastomotic leak, postoperative haemorrhage, abdominal abscess, postoperative ileus, wound infections and non-surgical complications. 4977 patients who underwent robotic (n = 146) or laparoscopic (n = 4831) right hemicolectomy for right-sided colon cancer were included. For RRC, LOS was shorter (5 vs 6.9 days, p = 0.01) and nodal harvest was higher (22 vs 19, p = 0.04). For RRC, surgical complications (5.9% vs 14.2%, p < 0.004) and non-surgical complications (4.6% vs 11.7%, p = 0.007) were lower though there was no difference in return to theatre or inpatient death. Robotic right hemicolectomy is associated shorter LOS and marginally higher lymph node count, though this may reflect anastomotic technique rather than surgical platform. Longer term studies are required to establish differences in overall survival, incisional hernia rates and cost effectiveness.

Early Versus Postoperative Chemical Thromboprophylaxis Is Associated with Increased Bleeding Risk Following Abdominal Visceral Resections: a Multicenter Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Abdominal visceral resections incur relatively higher rates of postoperative bleeding and venous thromboembolism (VTE). While guidelines recommend the use of perioperative chemical thromboprophylaxis, the most appropriate time for its initiation is unknown. Here, we investigated whether early (before skin closure) versus postoperative commencement of chemoprophylaxis affected VTE and bleeding rates following abdominal visceral resection. METHODS: Retrospective review of all elective abdominal visceral resections undertaken between January 1, 2018, and June 30, 2019, across four tertiary-referral hospitals. Major bleeding was defined as the need for blood transfusion, reintervention, or > 20 g/L fall in hemoglobin from baseline. Clinical VTE was defined as imaging-proven symptomatic disease < 30 days post-surgery. RESULTS: A total of 945 cases were analyzed. Chemoprophylaxis was given early in 265 (28.0%) patients and postoperatively in 680 (72.0%) patients. Mean chemoprophylaxis exposure doses were similar between the two groups. Clinical VTE developed in 14 (1.5%) patients and was unrelated to chemoprophylaxis timing. Postoperative bleeding occurred in 71 (7.5%) patients, with 57 (80.3%) major bleeds, requiring blood transfusion in 48 (67.6%) cases and reintervention in 31 (43.7%) cases. Bleeding extended length-of-stay (median (IQR), 12 (7-27) versus 7 (5-11) days, p < 0.001). Importantly, compared to postoperative chemoprophylaxis, early administration significantly increased the risk of bleeding (10.6% versus 6.3%, RR 1.45, 95% CI 1.05-1.93, p = 0.038) and independently predicted its occurrence. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of bleeding following elective abdominal visceral resections is substantial and is higher than the risk of clinical VTE. Compared with early chemoprophylaxis, postoperative initiation reduces bleeding risk without an increased risk of clinical VTE.

Variations in practice of thromboprophylaxis across general surgical subspecialties: a multicentre (PROTECTinG) study of elective major surgeries.

BACKGROUND: Despite guidelines recommending perioperative thromboprophylaxis for patients undergoing general surgery, we have observed significant variations in its practice. This may compromise patient safety. Here, we quantify the heterogeneity of perioperative thromboprophylaxis across all major general surgical operations, and place them in relation to their risk of bleeding and venous thromboembolism. METHODS: Retrospective review of all elective major general surgeries performed between 1 January 2018 and 30 June 2019 across seven Victorian hospitals was conducted. RESULTS: A total of 5912 patients who underwent 6628 procedures were reviewed. Significant heterogeneity was found in the use of chemoprophylaxis, timing of its initiation, type of anticoagulant administered and application of extended chemoprophylaxis. These variations were observed within the same procedure, and between different surgeries and subspecialties. Contrastingly, there was minimal heterogeneity with the use of mechanical thromboprophylaxis. Oesophago-gastric, liver and colorectal cancer resections had the highest thromboembolic risk. Breast, oesophago-gastric, liver, pancreas and colon cancer resections had the highest bleeding risk. CONCLUSION: Perioperative chemoprophylaxis across general surgery is highly variable. This study has highlighted key areas of variance. Our findings also enable surgeons to compare their practices, and provide baseline data to inform future efforts towards optimizing thromboprophylaxis for general surgical patients.

Pre-operative and intra-operative chemical thromboprophylaxis increases bleeding risk following elective cholecystectomy: a multicentre (PROTECTinG) study.

BACKGROUND: Cholecystectomy is commonly performed in general surgery. Despite guidelines recommending chemical thromboprophylaxis in the perioperative period, the most appropriate time for its initiation is unknown. Here, we investigated whether timing of chemoprophylaxis affected venous thromboembolism (VTE) and bleeding rates post-cholecystectomy. METHODS: Retrospective review of all elective cholecystectomies performed between 1 January 2018 and 30 June 2019, across seven Victorian hospitals. Clinical VTE was defined as imaging-proven symptomatic disease within 30 days of surgery. Major bleeding was defined as the need for blood transfusion, surgical intervention or >20 g/L fall in haemoglobin from baseline. RESULTS: A total of 1744 cases were reviewed. Chemoprophylaxis was given early (pre- or intra-operatively), post-operatively or not given in 847 (48.6%), 573 (32.9%) and 324 (18.6%) patients, respectively. This varied significantly between surgeons, fellows, trainees and institutions. Clinical VTE occurred in 5 (0.3%) patients and was not associated with chemoprophylaxis timing. Bleeding occurred in 42 (2.4%) patients. Of this, half were major events, requiring surgical control in 5 (11.9%) patients and blood transfusion in 9 (21.4%) patients. Bleeding also extended length of stay (mean (SD), 3.1 (4.0) versus 1.4 (2.2) days, P < 0.001). One bleeding-related mortality was recorded. Importantly, when compared with post-operative (risk ratio 1.46, 95% confidence interval 1.21-1.62) and no (RR 1.23, 95% CI 1.03-1.35) chemoprophylaxis, early usage significantly increased bleeding risk and independently predicted its occurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Perioperative chemoprophylaxis is variable among patients undergoing elective cholecystectomy. The rate of clinical VTE post-cholecystectomy is low. Early chemoprophylaxis increases bleeding risk without an appreciable additional protection from VTE.