Size of the tumor and pheochromocytoma of the adrenal gland scaled score (PASS): can they predict malignancy?

BACKGROUND: Size can predict malignancy in adrenocortical tumors, but the same extrapolation for pheochromocytomas (PCC) is controversial. The goal of this study was to find a correlation between the tumor size and malignant potential of PCC and determine whether the "Pheochromocytoma of the adrenal gland scaled score" (PASS) proposed by Thompson can be applied to predict malignancy. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of patients with PCC operated on from 1991 to 2007 revealed 98 PCC removed from 93 patients. Tumor size was available for 90 tumors. Six (6.4%) patients had proven malignancy. Five familial cases were excluded from the PASS analysis. RESULTS: Of the benign cases, none developed recurrence or metastasis. There were 54 (60%) tumors > 6 cm and 36 (40%) tumors ≤ 6 cm. All 12 PASS parameters were individually present in higher frequency in the >6-cm group; but the difference was not statistically significant except cellular monotony (p = 0.02). Overall, a PASS ≤ 4 was found in 57 patients. Mean PASS was statistically significantly higher in the >6-cm group (4.4 vs. 3.3, p = 0.04). Of the sporadic benign cases, 21 (41%) patients with tumor size > 6 cm had a PASS of >4, and none of them developed metastasis. PASS ≤ 4 was found in 25 (81%) PCC in the ≤6-cm group, and none developed metastases. PASS ≥ 4 was found in six (19%) patients in the ≤6-cm group, and none developed metastases. 68 patients completed 5-year follow-up, and the remaining had a mean follow-up of 28.7 months. No correlation was found between tumor size and PASS > 4 and PASS ≤ 4 (7.8 cm vs. 7.1 cm; p = 0.23). CONCLUSIONS: Presently there is not enough evidence to indict a large (>6 cm) PCC as malignant. Furthermore, PASS cannot be reliably applied to PCC for predicting malignancy.

Giant pseudocyst of the anterior abdominal wall following mesh repair of incisional hernia: a rare complication managed laparoscopically.

UNLABELLED: Giant pseudocyst formation of the anterior abdominal wall, following on-lay polypropylene mesh repair for incisional hernia is an under reported complication. We report an unusual case of a 56-year-old female who underwent a polypropylene mesh repair of incisional hernia 2 years back. Subsequently she developed a giant pseudocyst of the anterior abdominal wall, which was occupying the whole of the abdomen from the xiphisternum to the pubic bone, and over both the flanks. Over a period of one year, the cyst had defied multiple attempts at aspiration. The patient underwent a laparoscopic drainage of the collection with piecemeal excision of the entire cyst wall. Histopathology of the cyst wall revealed necrotic material with intervening areas of hemorrhage. No epithelial lining was seen. There has been no recurrence in the two years of follow-up. CONCLUSION: giant pseudocyst of the anterior abdominal wall is a rare complication following mesh repair of an incisional hernia. Such pseudocysts can be managed successfully by laparoscopic procedures.

Inflammatory variant of a well-differentiated retroperitoneal liposarcoma: case report of a rare giant variety.

Inflammatory liposarcoma is a rare variant of a well-differentiated liposarcoma (WDLPS). We present a case of a 37 years old male who had a giant variety of this inflammatory WDLPS. CT scan revealed a large abdomino-pelvic mass abutting the left kidney and pushing the IVC, Aorta and the left ureter across the midline. CT guided FNAC did not reveal any malignant cells. A large 9-kg fibro-fatty mass, which appeared irregular, congested and bosillated was excised. Microscopic picture revealed foci of fibrosis with mature adipose tissue. Lymphocyte and plasma cell infiltrate was abundant along with multi-nucleate giant cells and few lipoblasts. There are no case reports of a giant inflammatory variant of WD-LPS in world literature and this is the first of its kind from the Indian sub-continent. We present a case report of this rare giant variant of inflammatory WDLPS and discuss the review of literature.

Laparoscopic management of gallstone presenting as obstructive gangrenous appendicitis.

We present an unusual case of a 55-year-old man with symptoms of recurrent appendicitis. Laparoscopy revealed a 1.5 cm gallstone impacted at the base of the appendix, leading to gangrenous appendicitis. This patient did not have any features of gallstone ileus. On imaging he had an inflammatory mass in the region of the right iliac fossa with a hyperintense shadow in the cecal area which was reported as an appendicolith. There was no demonstrable cholelithiasis or biliary-enteric fistula. There were dense omental adhesions in the pericholecystic area on laparoscopy. The case was successfully managed by laparoscopic appendectomy with retrieval of the gallstone. No surgery was undertaken for the gallbladder. Diagnosis was confirmed by biochemical analysis of the stone, which contained calcium bilirubinate and cholesterol. A gallstone obstructing the appendicular lumen is a very rare etiology of gangrenous perforation of the appendix peritonitis. This case was successfully managed laparoscopically.

Two port laparoscopic ventral hernia mesh repair: an innovative technical advancement.

Ventral hernia is a common surgical problem. The traditional open surgical repair has the disadvantage of excessive morbidity, long hospital stay and high recurrence rates. Laparoscopic ventral hernia repair (LVHR) is gaining acceptance but there is no standardized technique for the repair of these hernias. We have introduced an innovative technique of 2-port laparoscopic mesh repair for ventral and incisional hernias. Between January 2002 and September 2008, 168 patients underwent the 2-port repair of ventral hernias at our institution, with Bard polypropylene mesh in 162 cases and Gore-tex expanded polytetrafloroethylene mesh in 6 patients. The average size of the defects was 10.2 cm (6.6-24.8 cm). Mean operating time was 61.4 min (48-102 min). The mean post-operative hospital stay was 1.2 days. Prolonged ileus over one day occurred in 22 patients while 6 patients had urinary retention in the post-operative period. There were 6 recurrences (3.94%) in the mean follow up period of 42 months (6-62 months). Seroma formation occurred in 5.3% cases but all of them subsided within 6 weeks without any active intervention. In conclusion we recommend that the 2-port LVHR is a technically sound procedure which is less invasive and with comparable complication rates to the 3 or 4 port hernia repair.