Congenital cyst of common bile duct: an unusual cause of obstructive jaundice.

Congenital cysts, sometimes referred to as nonparasitic biliary cysts, are not unusual findings in the liver parenchyma, but they have not been previously described in the common bile duct. This clinical report describes a 41-year-old woman with obstructive jaundice that was caused by congenital cysts. The patient had obstruction of the middle portion of the common bile duct; therefore the major differential diagnostic considerations were cholangiocarcinoma, cancer of the pancreas, or true biliary cysts. Congenital cysts, retention cysts, and neoplastic cysts cannot be differentiated from other true cysts preoperatively. Diagnosis can only be established by microscopic examination after surgical excision.

Carcinoma involving the gallbladder in elderly patients presenting with acute cholecystitis.

BACKGROUND: The unexpected intraoperative finding of a cancerous gallbladder has become particularly problematic, because cancer recurs rapidly after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. It would be desirable to identify the patients of greatest risk for gallbladder cancer before operation. After several elderly patients presenting with acute cholecystitis were found to have gallbladder cancer, we performed the following study. METHODS: Records of patients (60 years of age or older, 1987 to 1995) with an admitting diagnosis of acute cholecystitis and symptoms including right upper quadrant pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, and leukocytosis were reviewed. RESULTS: Eighty patients were included in the study. Carcinoma involving the gallbladder was found in seven patients; six had primary and one had metastatic carcinoma. The 73 patients without cancer underwent cholecystectomy. The differences between the noncancer and cancer patients included age (68 +/- 7 versus 74 +/- 8 years, p < 0.05), total bilirubin (mg/dl, 1.5 +/- 1.5 versus 3.7 +/- 3.4, p < 0.01), alkaline phosphatase (IU/L, 179 +/- 132 versus 369 +/- 226, p < 0.01), and aspartate aminotransferase (IU/L, 77 +/- 93 versus 158 +/- 157, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Additional work-up and open cholecystectomy should be considered in elderly patients presenting with apparent acute cholecystitis, especially when liver functions are abnormal.

Proximal gastric vagotomy with drainage for obstructing duodenal ulcer.

The optimal treatment for obstructing duodenal ulcer is controversial because of questions about the efficacy of proximal gastric vagotomy (PGV) in controlling the primary ulcer diathesis. Impressed with the theoretic advantages of PGV with drainage as a primary treatment for this problem, we have treated 37 suitable patients by this approach. All patients underwent endoscopic examination and barium meal study that proved the diagnosis. PGV, including division of the gastroepiploic nerves as indicated by intraoperative testing, was followed by Jaboulay gastroduodenostomy (18), Finney pyloroplasty (12), Heineke-Mikulicz pyloroplasty (3), anterior hemipylorectomy (2), duodenoplasty (1), and gastroenterostomy (1). No recurrent ulcers were seen during a mean follow-up of 4.6 years. Three patients had mild early dumping at infrequent intervals. Bilious vomiting, alkaline gastritis, and other postgastrectomy complaints were recorded infrequently. PGV with drainage is a good treatment for the obstructing ulcer and does not have as many morbid risks as alternative operative procedures.

Proximal gastric vagotomy versus selective vagotomy with antrectomy: results of a prospective, randomized clinical trial after four to twelve years.

This prospective, randomized study of selective vagotomy with antrectomy (SVA) versus proximal gastric vagotomy (PGV) for patients with duodenal ulcer compares the incidence of recurrent duodenal ulcer and postoperative morbidity during a 4- to 12-year follow-up period. In 46 patients with SVA there were no recurrent ulcers, but 26% of these individuals had serious digestive problems that were not amenable to medical treatment. The 40 patients with PGV had eight recurrent ulcers (20%), but five of these were found in the first 15 patients (33%) compared with three in the 25 patients (12%) who had operations after the need for extensive periesophageal denervation was discovered in the mid-1970s. Most recurrent ulcers were amenable to medical treatment, but 5% of the patients who had PGV had postoperative dysphagia that required periodic bougienage. The data are consistent with several interpretations, depending on the bias of the individual. However, based upon the fact that recurrent ulcers could be managed nonoperatively after PGV versus the lack of effective treatments for postgastrectomy complaints after SVA, it is reasonable to consider wider use of PGV. There are reasons to believe that the variable ulcer recurrence rates after PGV can be explained by subtle differences in operative technique, including those based upon use of the Congo red test for completeness of vagotomy. Unlike SVA, PGV remains an operative procedure in evolution that requires further clinical investigation. At this time either operation can be applied if both the surgeon and the patient have a clear understanding of the possible effects.

Esophagocardiomyotomy--floppy Nissen fundoplication effectively treats achalasia without causing esophageal obstruction.

BACKGROUND: Effective surgical treatments for achalasia of the esophagus facilitate swallowing by division of muscles that fail to relax normally during swallowing. If esophagocardiomyotomy is performed, a complementary antireflux procedure is mandatory to prevent postoperative gastroesophageal reflux. We evaluated patients who had undergone a circumferential antireflux procedure after esophagocardiomyotomy to determine the effects of this procedure in patients with an aperistaltic esophagus. METHODS: During the past 15 years we treated 94 patients with achalasia by use of pneumatic dilation (66), esophageal myotomy (19), or esophagocardiomyotomy with floppy Nissen fundoplication (24). Achalasia was defined by radiographic and manometric criteria until 1986 when computerized axial manometry of the esophagus was initiated, providing information about the three-dimensional contour and "volume" of the lower esophageal sphincter in addition to the usual manometric data. RESULTS: Dysphagia was effectively relieved in all, and neither postoperative reflux nor esophageal obstruction was observed after esophagocardiomyotomy followed by floppy Nissen fundoplication. The measured lower esophageal sphincter pressures and sphincter volume were markedly reduced. CONCLUSIONS: Esophagocardiomyotomy with floppy Nissen fundoplication is an effective treatment for achalasia; clinical evidence of obstruction of the esophagus was not seen, and manometric data were typical of a weakened sphincter.

Comparative accuracy of operative ultrasonography and cholangiography in detecting common duct calculi.

Operative ultrasonography and operative radiographic cholangiography were compared for diagnostic effectiveness with regard to their ability to screen the common bile duct for the presence of calculi. We performed real-time B-mode ultrasonography and cholangiography using two injections of contrast material. In 350 patients, 349 ultrasonic and 285 cholangiographic examinations were performed with technically satisfactory results. The sensitivity, specificity, efficiency, and predictability of a negative test were at a high and comparable level for the two diagnostic procedures. However, the predictability of a positive test for ultrasonography of 91.8% was significantly greater (P less than 0.02) than the predictability of 73.2% for cholangiography. Since predictability of a positive test is based on common duct exploration rather than presumptive evidence of a clinical course, this test may be more valid than the other measures to determine diagnostic effectiveness. The advantages of ultrasonography, which are superior accuracy, favorable image qualities, reduced invasiveness, increased safety, avoidance of contrast material, and lower cost, were contrasted with the problems of ultrasonography, which included a slow learning curve for performance and interpretation of the technique and the limited availability of dedicated ultrasound equipment for surgical operations. We concluded that the advantages outweighed the problems and that operative ultrasonography of the common duct warrants wider application in clinical surgery.

Pancreatic abscess after alcoholic pancreatitis.

Primary pancreatic abscess should be suspected in patients with acute or subsiding pancreatitis who have a tender abdominal mass with evidence of local and systemic sepsis. These individuals have a prolonged course of illness compared with patients with uncomplicated pancreatitis. Another group of patients without overt signs of sepsis may have abdominal masses thought to be pseudocysts, with unexplained temperature elevation and leukocytosis. This latter group may also have pancreatic suppuration, termed secondary because of its natural history. The distinction between primary and secondary abscesses is difficult unless time of onset of the preceding pancreatitis is known. Both groups of patients require early, thorough operation. Signs of sepsis or progressive deterioration in patients with acute pancreatitis must be recognized early since untreated abscess is usually fatal. Extensive debridement and external drainage of all abscess cavities present, preferably via posterolateral flank drain sites, are essential to successful surgical treatment of pancreatic abscess.

The floppy Nissen fundoplication. Effective long-term control of pathologic reflux.

In 1976 we defined a technique of "floppy" Nissen fundoplication (FNF) that prevented experimental pathologic reflux without preventing gaseous eructations or vomiting (normal reflux) when appropriate. This report describes the one- to eight-year follow-up of the 77 patients operated on since that time. The FNF has been completely effective in preventing pathologic reflux in 75 of 77 patients and has been partially effective in two others who are now subjectively asymptomatic. Adverse side effects were reported by two patients, one with gas-bloat and one with inability to belch or vomit. The lower esophageal sphincter pressure of patients postoperatively was increased to low normal values from a mean of 8.94 +/- 1.66 to 14.31 +/- 0.7 mm Hg (normal, 21.2 +/- 4.2 mm Hg). Since FNF does not cause greatly increased lower esophageal sphincter pressure, the inference that the FNF prevents reflux by altering the physiology of a reflux event is supported. In conclusion, the floppy fundoplication has been an effective operation with a low incidence of adverse side effects and without a tendency for late failure.

Vasoactive drugs in acute pancreatitis.

Experimental evidence has shown that pancreatic blood flow is severely diminished during acute pancreatitis, but it is unclear whether a decrease in blood flow is a critical event in the evolution of complications of this disease. When an episode of edematous pancreatitis is complicated by necrosis of part of the gland, there is a risk of both acute and chronic complications, including sepsis, hemorrhage, and abscess. One of the questions that remains is whether the decreases in blood flow alluded to are primary or secondary causes. If primary, treatments that preserve pancreatic blood flow during pancreatitis might have a salutary effect on observed morbidity and mortality. This study determined whether two vasoactive drugs, oxidopamine (6-hydroxydopamine) and dihydroergotamine tartrate, given prior to experimentally induced pancreatitis in rats, affected observed mortality. After oxidopamine treatment, rats had a higher survival rate and greater pancreatic blood flow than untreated controls. The association of greater pancreatic blood flow and reduced mortality did not exclude other possible effects of oxidopamine treatment but was consistent with the hypothesis that vasoactive therapy may have a role in this disease.

Complete vagotomy. The evolution of an effective technique.

In the 36 years since the reintroduction of truncal vagotomy for the treatment of duodenal ulcer, recurrent ulcer at a rate of between 7% and 12% has become accepted as the most serious long-term postoperative complication. Although techniques for performance of complete vagotomy have been described, many of these principles of technique have been either forgotten or discarded. The new techniques of vagotomy, that is, selective and highly selective vagotomy, have realerted us to the necessity of performing a careful and wide anatomic dissection of all periesophageal tissue of the esophagogastric junction.

Detection of pancreatic tumors by ultrasound during surgery.

Real-time B-mode ultrasonic scanning was performed during 14 operations for pancreatic tumors. All operations were for adenocarcinoma, except in one patient with a Zollinger-Ellison tumor. The ultrasonic tissue appearance of pancreatic carcinoma was not specific. However, ultrasonic signs of pancreatic duct dilation, striction or invasion of the superior mesenteric veins, and common bile duct involvement may help to establish the diagnosis of malignancy. A triad of ultrasound signs indicative of malignant obstruction of the common bile duct consisted of (1) dilation, (2) absence of biliary stones, and (3) a distinctive termination pattern of the duct. Operative ultrasound was used to guide a biopsy needle to obtain pancreatic tissue samples. The Zollinger-Ellison tumor of the pancreas produced a sonolucent appearance that clearly distinguished it from the surrounding tissue.

Ultrasonic assistance during surgery for pancreatic inflammatory disease.

Real-time B-mode ultrasound scanning was used during 35 operations for inflammatory disease of the pancreas. In 21, ultrasonography was considered helpful in operative management of pancreatic pseudocysts, abscesses, and chronic pancreatitis. Assistance consisted of establishing a diagnosis not made during preoperative testing, more precisely localizing pancreatic abnormalities, and excluding the presence of pseudocyst, abscess cavities, and dilated ducts. Operative ultrasound is a safe and simple technique that may reduce the use of tissue dissection, contrast material injections, and radiation.

Labeling of nerve cells in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus of rats by retrograde transport of Fluoro-Gold.

Nerve cells in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (dmnX) were identified by retrograde axonal transport after injections of a fluorescent tracer, Fluoro-Gold, into the anterior gastric wall. The intramural injection resulted in labeling of cells in the medial half of the left dmnX. These observations were contrasted with the diffuse (mediolateral and rostrocaudal) and bilateral distribution of labeled cells after Fluoro-Gold solution was dripped onto the stomach. In comparison with other neurotracers, the advantages of Fluoro-Gold are that (1) it can be visualized without the chemical reaction with chromogen, thereby allowing better reproducibility, and (2) it does not fade up to one year.

A 50-year perspective upon selective gastric vagotomy.

BACKGROUND: The occurrence of postvagotomy complications was initially considered an unavoidable but acceptable consequence of duodenal ulcer surgery. Following the description of "selective" vagotomy procedures, however, it became apparent that effective ulcer surgery might be accomplished without unpleasant sequellae. METHODS: In 1957 the experimental basis for "highly" selective vagotomy (HSV), which preserved antral innervation, was reported. HSV was performed in several European centers between 1960 and 1968, and was widely accepted there. Surgeons in the United States, in contrast, were largely reluctant to use HSV, an operation which had an excessive ulcer recurrence rate compared to vagotomy-antrectomy. More recently, HSV is recognized as a successful operation, due to more complete division of preganglionic gastric vagal nerves ("extended" HSV) and the liberal use of pyloric reconstruction in patients with juxtapyloric ulcers. RESULTS: HSV is performed with minimal morbidity, with an incidence of recurrent ulcer which is less than 5%. Complications such as dumping, diarrhea, and gastric atony are quite rare. CONCLUSIONS: HSV is an ideal procedure for most patients with duodenal ulcer. Because most operations for ulcer are performed for urgent or life-threatening problems, the most common operation performed in the United States today is truncal vagotomy combined with pyloroplasty or gastric resection. Earlier operation for chronic ulcer has many potential advantages.

Endoscopic Congo red test during proximal gastric vagotomy.

Although proximal gastric vagotomy is widely performed as an elective treatment for duodenal ulcer, the incidence of recurrent ulcer is troublesome. There are several theories to explain recurrent ulcers, and important technical steps should be considered when performing proximal gastric vagotomy. The use of an intraoperative test may allow more accurate performance of the operation and more complete vagotomy of the parietal cell mass. This report describes the use of the endoscopic Congo red test in patients during proximal gastric vagotomy. The test allows rapid and accurate mapping of areas of the stomach with intact vagus and secretory nerves after operative vagotomy, and can be repeated several times if necessary to verify completion of the vagotomy. The use of universally available equipment and the potential for intraoperative and postoperative use are other attractive features of the test. Use of the endoscopic Congo red test provides physiologic evidence that vagus secretory nerve fibers traverse the right and left gastroepiploic nerves, leading us to believe that the gastroepiploic nerves should be routinely divided during proximal gastric vagotomy. In patients with recurrent duodenal ulcer requiring reoperation, the endoscopic Congo red test allows preoperative demonstration of the site of the intact vagal nerve trunks. The endoscopic Congo red test deserves further investigation and wider application during operations for chronic duodenal ulcer.

Trovafloxacin in the treatment of intra-abdominal infections: results of a double-blind, multicenter comparison with imipenem/cilastatin. Trovafloxacin Surgical Group.

BACKGROUND: Trovafloxacin, a new broad-spectrum fourth-generation quinolone, has in vitro activity against most gram-negative and gram-positive anaerobes and aerobes. Trovafloxacin is available as both an intravenous formulation, alatrofloxacin, and a single daily oral tablet. Excellent tissue pharmacokinetics and oral bioavailability suggest usefulness in the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections. Thus, the efficacy of alatrofloxacin followed by oral trovafloxacin was compared with the standard regimen of intravenous imipenem/cilastatin followed by oral amoxicillin/clavulanic acid in this prospective, multicenter, double-blind trial. METHODS: Patients were randomized to receive either 300 mg alatrofloxacin daily followed by 200 mg oral trovafloxacin daily or 1 g imipenem/cilastatin intravenously thrice daily followed by 500 mg oral amoxicillin/clavulanic acid thrice daily for up to 14 days following surgical intervention of a documented intra-abdominal infection. Efficacy was assessed at the end of therapy and at follow-up (day 30). RESULTS: At the end of the study, cure or improvement occurred in 83% (129/156) and 84% (127/152) of clinically evaluable patients in the trovafloxacin and comparative groups, respectively. Pathogen eradication rates, adverse-event profiles, and significant laboratory abnormalities were comparable between groups. CONCLUSION: Intravenous alatrofloxacin with or without oral trovafloxacin was as effective as intravenous imipenem/cilastatin followed by oral amoxicillin/clavulanic acid in complicated intra-abdominal infections.

Ultrasonic imaging during biliary and pancreatic surgery.

Real-time ultrasound scanning was used during operations on the biliary tract and pancreas. The principal application in biliary surgery was to evaluate the common bile duct for presence of calculi. Our initial experience indicates that operative ultrasonography compares favorably with operative cholangiography. In pancreatic operations, ultrasound has been helpful in the management of pseudocysts and chronic pancreatitis. For pseudocysts, ultrasonography has indicated cyst wall thickness and the presence of adjacent anatomic structures. Ultrasound has distinguished the fluid loculations of the pseudocyst from swelling due to inflammatory edema. In surgery for chronic pancreatitis, ultrasonography has revealed the size and location of pancreatic ducts. This information has been useful in helping select sites for internal drainage of pseudocysts and in chronic pancreatitis with ductal dilatation. Operative ultrasonography is a relatively simple procedure which has the potential for providing the surgeon with early information and decreasing the need for dissection and radiographic imaging.

Basic considerations in gastroesophageal reflux disease.

The cause of foregut symptoms is often quite uncertain until a comprehensive evaluation has been performed. The critical elements of this evaluation include historic, radiographic, endoscopic, and physiologic data, and most importantly, the insight of a mature diagnostician. Patients who are not evaluated in a comprehensive way are at risk for serious postoperative problems; surgeons who perform interventions without appropriate diagnostic support may have to deal with these unhappy patients. In the long run, a complete workup provides the guidance for treatment and is cost-effective.

The vagus nerve and its vagaries.

Without any further comments we advise the surgeon performing open or laparoscopic vagotomy to know the anatomy and the vagaries of the vagus nerve. In view of the demonstration that the nerves of the greater curvature, identified as a concern in achieving a "complete" PGV, are projected from up to 20% of the nerve cell bodies of the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve in the brain stem, we believe it is appropriate to adopt the technique of EHSV as a means of avoiding the high recurrence rates reported with conventional highly selective vagotomy or proximal gastric vagotomy. When pyloric stenosis or outlet obstruction is present, anterior hemipylorectomy provides a solution. If surgeons adopt a laparoscopic approach to EHSV, they must be cognizant of all sites of preganglionic innervation, and (ideally) attempt to verify the "completeness" of vagotomy by Congo red testing. We look forward, also, to the work of Andrus and Schneider, who are evaluating alternative methods of achieving complete vagotomy.

Gluconeogenesis in the livers of diet-restricted rats--a 13C nuclear magnetic resonance study.

BACKGROUND: Gluconeogenic activity is reduced during starvation. However, it is less clear whether the utilization of gluconeogenic substrates is diminished with mild but prolonged diet restriction and, if so, whether there are intrinsic changes in the gluconeogenic pathway. We examined gluconeogenesis in the livers of diet-restricted rats with 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. METHODS: Fischer 344 rats were given 88% (DR group) of what was consumed by the weight-matched ad libitum-fed normal rats (CL group). At the end of 5 weeks, the removed livers were perfused with [3-13C] alanine while 13C NMR spectroscopy was performed. RESULTS: The final body and liver weights were the same for the two groups. In DR rats, both intrahepatic [3-13C] alanine and metabolites generated via pyruvate and oxaloacetate, including aspartate and carbamoyl aspartate, appeared in significantly reduced amounts. There was also marked diminution in the production of glucose. CONCLUSIONS: In the livers of DR rats, alanine uptake through System A transport, the fluxes through pyruvate carboxylase, the biosynthesis of pyrimidine nucleotides, and the production of glucose from alanine were all significantly decreased with mild intake restriction. Attenuated protein synthesis in the liver of diet-restricted animals may be the cause for this decreased utilization of alanine for gluconeogenesis.