Saphenous-sparing laparoscopic inguinal lymphadenectomy.

INTRODUCTION: Inguinal lymphadenectomy is an integral part in the management of penile cancer. Video endoscopic in-guinal lymphadenectomy (VEIL) is emerging as a minimally invasive treatment to reduce postoperative complications. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 62 years old man underwent glansectomy for a squamous cell carcinoma (pT1b). At the physical examination one left inguinal lymph node was detectable (cN1). The chest-abdomen-pelvis CT was negative for me-tastasis. A 10-mm optical trocar and two 5mm operating trocar were placed. The optical trocar was placed in the apex of Scarpa's triangle after a skin incision and after the creation of a subcutaneous space by blunt finger dissection. The pCO2 was 8-10mmHg. The surgical technique involved the removal of superficial lymph nodes according to the scheme described by Deseler and of the deep lymph nodes. Sparing main venous structures and closing lymphatic vessels is im-portant to reduce post operative complications. At the end of the procedure, a suction drain was placed per side. RESULTS: Operative time was 90 minutes per side. Drains were removed on the seventh postoperative day. Hospital stay was 8 days and no postoperative complications occurred. The total number of nodes removed was 16 (8 per side) with 2 superficial positive nodes on the left side. CONCLUSION: ILND is burned by a high complication rate. VEIL provides a less invasive approach and a saphenous-sparing technique ensures a lower complication rate, reducing lymphorrhea, skin necrosis and wound complications (1-3). In experienced laparoscopic hands, VEIL is a safe and effective treatment.

Hemosuccus pancreaticus due to primary splenic artery aneurysm: a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge.

CONTEXT: Hemosuccus pancreaticus is a rare cause of upper chronic and intermittent gastrointestinal hemorrhage which cannot be easily detected by endoscopy. It is usually due to the rupture of a visceral aneurysm into the main pancreatic duct; splenic artery pseudoaneurysm associated with chronic pancreatitis represents the leading cause of this condition. The diagnosis is based on direct visualization of the hemorrhage through the main pancreatic duct at angiography. Given its rarity, difficulties in determining the source of bleeding can result in delayed treatment. CASE REPORT: We present a rare case of true splenic artery aneurysm fistulized in the main pancreatic duct and misdiagnosed as a bleeding pancreatic pseudocyst on preoperative examination which included CT and MRCP. CONCLUSIONS: Our experience confirms that the diagnosis of bleeding from the main pancreatic duct is very difficult. It requires careful and repeated evaluation by a team of specialists.

Selection criteria for non-surgical treatment of liver injury in adult polytraumatized patients.

Conservative treatment of hepatic trauma is currently implemented in 80-90% of cases with a success rate of 92.5% and is mainly based on the haemodynamic status of the patients. We conducted a retrospective study of 71 patients with hepatic trauma from January 1993 to April 2001 and reviewed our experience with surgical and conservative treatment, also considering associated extrahepatic lesions. Fifty-three (74.6%) patients with liver trauma underwent celiotomy and 18 (25.3%) were treated conservatively. Haemodynamic instability was the most common indication for surgery (34 patients). Eighteen (52.9%) patients required an extrahepatic surgical procedure. Nineteen (35.8%) patients were haemodynamically stable and the indications for surgery in these cases were penetrating trauma in 6, large haemoperitoneum in 12, and diaphragmatic rupture in 1. The overall mortality in the operated group was 15%, but the liver-related mortality rate was 7.5%. The success rate for conservative management was 88.8%, with mortality 0% and morbidity 11%. The patients managed conservatively had grades of injury (I-III) similar to the haemodynamically stable operated patients (94.4% vs 94.7%), whereas the haemoperitoneum was larger in the operated group (63.1% vs 11.1%). Non-operative management is the preferred treatment option in haemodynamically stable patients with limited haemoperitoneum, regardless of the grade of the hepatic lesion, and without severe intra-abdominal injuries.

Obesity is a risk factor for multifocal disease and recurrence after colorectal cancer surgery: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have demonstrated that obesity is a risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC), but few data are available regarding its role in multifocal disease and postoperative recurrence. The present study aimed to assess the role of obesity as a risk factor for multifocal disease and postoperative recurrence in patients with CRC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The records of 940 consecutive patients with CRC admitted to three surgical centres between January 2006 and January 2011 were retrospectively analysed. The 595 individuals whose preoperative body mass index (BMI) values were available were included in the study. Following WHO guidelines, the patients were stratified into four groups depending on their BMI values. Age at disease onset, clinical presentation, tumor invasiveness, the presence of multiple foci, and the colon cancer recurrence rate in the four groups were assessed and compared. RESULTS: At multivariate analysis, diagnosis of familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and a BMI>30 were found to be independent predictors of synchronous polyps (Odd Ratio [OR]=10.7, 95% Confidence interval (CI)=2-75, p=0.005; and OR=2.2, 95% CI=1.3-3.9, p=0.003, respectively). The cancer recurrence rate in the patients with stage 2 CRC was significantly higher in the obese with respect to the non-obese (p=0.05). At multivariate analysis, BMI>30, FAP, and positivity by the Bethesda criteria were found to be independent predictors of recurrence after CRC surgery. CONCLUSION: Obese patients diagnosed with CRC require thorough colonic exploration prior to surgery and necessitate more frequent postoperative endoscopic examinations with respect to patients without any risk factors.

Acute appendicitis: what is the gold standard of treatment?

McBurney's procedure represented the gold-standard for acute appendicitis until 1981, but nowadays the number of laparoscopic appendectomies has progressively increased since it has been demonstrated to be a safe procedure, with excellent cosmetic results and it also allows a shorter hospitalization, a quicker and less painful postoperative recovery. The aim of this editorial was to perform a review of the literature in order to address controversial issues in the treatment of acute appendicitis.

Management of ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma: implications for therapy.

AIM: To assess the treatment and tumor-related variables associated with outcome after treatment of spontaneously ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: Patients with ruptured HCC were identified. The complications, mortality and survival were assessed. The relationship between tumor size and the severity of hemoperitoneum and between tumor size and grade were examined. RESULTS: From January 1993 to January 2008, 556 patients with HCC with or without cirrhosis were evaluated; of which, 16 (2.87%) presented with spontaneous rupture. All but 1 patient had cirrhosis. Twelve patients underwent surgical resection while 4 underwent trans-cutaneous arterial catheter embolization (TAE) (trans-cutaneous arterial embolization). Early mortality (< 30 d) was 25% (4 of 16) and was inversely related to Child-Pugh score; 3 of the 4 early deaths occurred in patients treated with TAE with 1 of 12 occurring in the resected group. There was no correlation between tumor size and grade or between size and severity of hemoperitoneum. CONCLUSION: Tumor size did not correlate with severity of the hemoperitoneum. There was an inverse relationship between G1-G3 (grade of cellular differentiation) HCC and dimensions.

Telerobotic-assisted laparoscopic cholecystectomy: our experience on 29 patients.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: The role of computer-assisted surgery (CAS) is still debated and not clearly defined. METHODS: The authors report their initial experience with CAS, comparing 29 patients submitted to cholecystectomy, using a Zeus remote-controlled robot and an Aesop remote voice-activated endoscope robot, with 29 patients submitted to standard laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). The surgical field and the arms of the robot were under the direct and real-time control of the surgeon, who stayed at the workstation and maneuvered the Zeus, using joysticks. The workstation was in the same room as the patient. RESULTS: Twenty-nine patients underwent telerobotic-assisted cholecystectomy (TLAC); 1 procedure was converted to standard LC and 1 to open cholecystectomy. The conversions were due to choledocholithiasis and cholecystitis. During TLAC, the mean operating time and transition time (from the induction of anesthesia to incision of the skin) were, respectively, 75 min (range, 60-170 min) and 45 min (range, 25-60 min). We did not observe any complications related to TLAC. The limitations of TLAC were the lack of tactile feedback, the increase in surgical time, and the expensive cost of the procedure to reach the same result as that of LC. CONCLUSIONS: After this initial experience, we believe that TLAC could be considered only for training in CAS, but that it is without advantages in terms of its higher cost compared with LC.

Usefulness of both operative cholangiography and conversion to decrease major bile duct injuries during laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: We evaluated the role of operative cholangiography and of conversion to decrease major bile duct injuries. METHODS: We report 1074 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy, out of a total of 1195 patients who underwent laparoscopy, over an 8-year period. The planned laparoscopic operative procedure in all the patients was the standard four-port technique with the operator on the left side of the patient. Operative cholangiography was performed with Olsen's pliers. RESULTS: We performed 993 (83%) operative cholangiographies; 121 (10.1%) patients were converted from laparoscopic to open cholecystectomy. Despite a prolonged time of dissection, 54 (4.5%) patients were converted because of unclear anatomy of Calot's triangle. One hundred and ninety patients suffered acute cholecystitis and, of those, 52 (27.3% of 190 patients) were converted. Fifteen patients showed intraoperative biliary duct stones and they were converted. Seven (0.58%) bile duct injuries (one stricture and six fistulas) are reported. CONCLUSIONS: The low number of major bile duct injuries reported in our study showed the value of operative cholangiography during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Moreover, another important factor found to reduce major bile duct injuries was conversion when, despite accurate dissection, the anatomy of Calot's triangle remained unclear.