Pelvic reservoir with S-pouch: can surgeons evaluate the results of their own operations?

PURPOSE: This study was designed to evaluate whether operating surgeons could follow up the functional outcome of their own operations, without bias, by using standardized methods at follow-up. METHODS: Fifty-five patients who received a pelvic reservoir with an S-pouch were evaluated regarding functional outcome after at least one year postoperative follow-up. The functional surgical outcome was evaluated by an internist especially trained in gastroenterology and the operating surgeon by using a standardized scale comprising eight functional variables. RESULTS: None of the variables analyzed reached statistically significant difference between the two observers, and a high degree of agreement could be shown by using kappa and weighted kappa analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that it is possible for an operating surgeon to assess the postoperative surgical outcome using standardized methods at follow-up.

A prospective study of personality as a predictor of quality of life after pelvic pouch surgery.

BACKGROUND: Surgeons often "know" preoperatively which patients will achieve good postoperative quality of life (QOL). This intuition is probably based on impressions of the patient's personality. The present aim was to examine whether preoperative personality traits predict postoperative QOL. METHODS: In 53 patients undergoing pelvic pouch surgery for ulcerative colitis the relationship between preoperative personality traits, and surgical functional outcome and QOL was examined at a median of 17 months postoperatively. Personality assessment instruments (KAPP and KSP), and specific measures of alexithymia were used. Postoperatively, the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale (PAIS), and surgical functional outcome scales were used. RESULTS: Using multiple correlation/regression, analysis lack of alexithymia, poor frustration tolerance, anxiety proneness, and poor socialization (resentment over childhood and present life situation) were found to predict poor postoperative QOL. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest personality traits, in addition to surgical functional outcome, to be important for the patient's postoperative QOL.

Perineal excision of the rectum.

An intersphincteric and perimuscular approach was employed for perineal excision of the rectum in 33 patients who had previously undergone total colectomy with preservation of the rectum. Laparotomy was avoided in 28 of the 29 patients who had had closure of the rectal stump with ileostomy. Of the four patients (two with ileorectal anastomoses and two with sigmoid mucous fistulas) for whom laparotomy was planned, this was considered to be much less extensive than would otherwise have been required. It is concluded that in patients who have previously undergone total colectomy for inflammatory bowel disease, subsequent perineal excision of the rectal stump without laparotomy is frequently possible.

Paneth cell-rich flat adenoma of the rectum: report of a case.

A patient having familiar adenomatosis polyposis and an ileo-rectal anastomosis developed a flat mucosal lesion in the rectum. A punch biopsy revealed a villous adenoma with high-grade dysplasia. The subsequent surgical specimen indicated that the flat villous adenoma was rich in Paneth cells. Special stains included lysozyme muramidase (to visualize Paneth cells), MIB1 proliferation monoclonal antibody and single and multilabel immunohistochemistry for Paneth cells. Other methods included transmission electron microscopy and quantification with an image quantifier (Program Optilab 2.1) of lysozyme-stained Paneth cells. The subjective evaluation of hematoxylin-eosin-stained preparations demonstrated that the Paneth cells were mainly located in the lower half of the villi. Sections labeled with a specific stain (lysozyme muramidase) revealed more Paneth cells in the villi and electron microscopy showed even more in lysozyme-negative areas. Obviously some migrating dysplastic Paneth cells had retained their characteristic granules on their way towards the tip of the villi. Quantitative studies indicated that the lysozyme muramidase-positive material accounted for 41% of the adenomatous tissue. MIB1 revealed intense cell proliferation at the base of the adenoma and in the entire slopes of the villi. Despite the wide distribution of Paneth cells in intestinal metaplasia of the stomach, in the normal small intestine and in the large bowel with chronic inflammatory diseases, it is surprising that tumors arising in Paneth cells are extremely rare. The causes of the apparent natural resistance of Paneth cells to tumor development deserve to be investigated. This is the first case of Paneth cell-rich flat adenoma of the rectum in the literature.

To dress or not to dress surgical wounds? Patients' attitudes to wound care after major abdominal operations.

OBJECTIVE: To find out what patients' attitudes were to wound care after abdominal operations to ensure that patients' own views were not violated by introducing a new method of wound care. DESIGN: Randomised study. SETTING: University hospital, Sweden. PATIENTS: 68 consecutive patients operated for benign gastrointestinal disease. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomised to have their abdominal wounds dressed or exposed. On their last day in hospital their attitudes were assessed by visual analogue score and questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Attitudes to wound care. RESULTS: There were no differences between the two groups in any of the variables studied. The visual analogue scores for postoperative pain were higher than had been anticipated. CONCLUSION: Most patients do not mind whether their wounds are covered with a dressing or not after abdominal operations.

A prospective study of the quality of life after pelvic pouch operation.

BACKGROUND: For surgeons familiar with pelvic pouch operation, it is disappointing that the patients, although very satisfied to have a pouch instead of an ileostomy, often have difficulty in specifying exactly how their quality of life really has improved. The present study is an attempt to examine this situation. STUDY DESIGN: In 48 patients with ulcerative colitis undergoing pelvic pouch operation, quality of life (QOL) was studied prospectively when the patients had an ileostomy, and at follow-up evaluation at least one year after restitution of anal defecation. The surgeons' evaluation of functional outcome was compared with those of three independent evaluators (the patient, a psychiatrist, and a psychologist). The Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale, the Well-being Profile, the Global Assessment of Function Scale, and surgical evaluation scales were used. RESULTS: As assessed by surgeons using the surgical evaluation scales, functional outcome correlated significantly with most of the assessments of QOL done by the three independent evaluators (the patient, a psychiatrist, and a psychologist). Quality of life did not improve with increasing time, either with an ileostomy or with a functioning pelvic pouch. On most evaluations, there was no further significant improvement in QOL after restitution of anal defecation. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that QOL is already satisfactory after "cure" of the disease, and restitution of normal defecation does not yield much further improvement.

Sexual life in women after colectomy-proctomucosectomy with S-pouch.

In a consecutive series, 30 women were interviewed and gynecologically examined after pelvic pouch operation because of inflammatory bowel disease. The examination displayed: colpitis in two, bacterial vaginosis in one and cervical cancer in situ in one of the women. Unwanted infertility was reported by five women, probably due to female factors in three. Sixteen women had felt sexually unattractive by the temporary ileostomy. At follow-up, after closure of the ileostomy, 23 women experienced a considerable sexual desire, 28 could experience orgasm and 20 nearly always had orgasm at intercourse. Insufficient vaginal lubrication during intercourse was reported by seven women. This could be explained by hormonal or other factors in four women and might be owing to side-effects of the operation in three. Four women reported slight deep dyspareunia and one superficial dyspareunia. The result indicated a low frequency of sexual problems after pelvic pouch operation.

[Upper gastrointestinal bleeding--diagnosis and treatment guidelines]. / Ovre gastrointestinal blödning--diagnostik och handlingsprogram.

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding is often an emergency condition requiring immediate treatment. With the introduction of acute endoscopy, the efficacy of diagnosis and treatment in such cases has been greatly improved. General guidelines for the treatment of upper gastrointestinal bleeding are given in the article.

Surgery after colectomy for ulcerative colitis.

The need for surgery after colectomy in patients with ulcerative colitis in Stockholm County over a 30-year period, 1955 to 1984, was investigated. During this time 483 patients were discharged from the hospital after colectomy. The mean period of observation from colectomy was 11.6 years. In 325 (67 percent) of the 483 patients there was need for further surgery (932 surgical procedures) during the period of observation. In 95 (20 percent) patients 115 small intestinal obstructions requiring surgery developed. The 2-year and 15-year cumulative probabilities of a first small intestinal obstruction were 11 percent (confidence intervals [CI] 8-14 percent) and 23 percent (CI 19-27 percent), respectively. In 42 (16 percent) of 255 patients treated by proctocolectomy and ileostomy there was need for 64 ileostomy revisions. The 2-year and 15-year cumulative probabilities of a first ileostomy revision were 9 percent (CI 6-12 percent) and 19 percent (CI 14-24 percent), respectively. Ninety-one Kock's pouches were constructed and a total of 125 revisions of Kock's pouch were performed. The 2-year and 15-year cumulative probabilities of a first Kock's pouch revision were 52 percent (CI 41-63 percent) and 57 percent (CI 46-68 percent), respectively. In 75 patients a pelvic pouch and ileoanal anastomosis was constructed. In 32 patients 73 surgical procedures due to pouch-related dysfunction were performed. Alterations in ileoanal pouch technique and increasing surgical experience has resulted in a markedly decreasing frequency of complications during the last years. There was no need for further surgery in 116 (45 percent) of the 255 patients treated by proctocolectomy and ileostomy, in 31 (34 percent) of the 91 patients with Kock's pouch, in 20 (39 percent) of the 51 patients with ileorectal anastomosis, and in 43 (57 percent) of the 75 patients with pelvic pouch and ileoanal anastomosis (closure of loop ileostomy excluded).

Colectomy-proctomucosectomy with S-pouch: operative procedures, complications, and functional outcome in 69 consecutive patients.

Sixty-nine patients were operated upon in a three-stage procedure. Early complications occurred in 29 percent after colectomy-ileostomy, in 25 percent after proctomucosectomy with ileoanal anastomosis and loop ileostomy, and in 9 percent after closure of loop ileostomy. Only three of these were considered serious. Seventy-one percent of the patients were readmitted into the hospital between the three operations or after the last one. Total hospital stay was 49 days (median); the range was 20 to 345 days. Reconstruction of the reservoir was performed in four patients owing to defecation problems, with satisfying functional results in two patients, while two emptied by catheter. There was no postoperative mortality or pelvic sepsis, and no pouches were excised. Ileostomy was re-established in two patients. At histopathologic re-evaluation of colectomy specimens, the diagnosis was changed from ulcerative colitis to Crohn's disease in three patients and to indeterminate colitis in five. Median follow-up was 4.3 years. Continent anal defecation without ileostomy was achieved in 67 patients (97 percent), with 4.1 bowel movements per day and 0.6 per night. Perfect continence was achieved in 55 percent in the daytime and in 43 percent at night. The low rate of reservoir-threatening complications is attributed to the three-stage procedure and the technical details in the surgical procedures.

Crohn's disease and adenocarcinoma of the intestinal tract. Report of four cases.

Four patients with intestinal adenocarcinoma complicating Crohn's disease are reported. The youngest of the four patients was a 21-year-old female with a 9-year history of Crohn's disease of the terminal ileum as well as of the entire colon. She developed mucus-producing moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma in the cecum. Of the remaining three patients with Crohn's disease, one presented an adenocarcinoma in the ascending colon, one in the rectum and the remaining one in the duodenum. All three colorectal adenocarcinomas originated in areas of high-grade dysplasia and all four in areas with chronic transmural inflammation. The review of the literature indicates that a total of 174 small and large bowel cancers occurring in Crohn's disease have been recorded (including the four reported herein). The vast majority of the reported cases have been found in the North American subcontinent. Only in a few instances were bowel adenocarcinoma and Crohn's disease observed in the European continent. It is therefore remarkable that three of our four cases were seen within a period of 12 months. Interestingly, six patients having colorectal adenocarcinoma in association with Crohn's disease were recently reported from a single hospital in England. The question therefore arises whether our cases and those reported recently from England are unrelated and merely coincidental or whether carcinomas are now also affecting European CD patients. If the latter is the case, the surveillance policy for patients with CD should be reconsidered at this hospital.

Intraepithelial bodies in colorectal adenomas: Leuchtenberger bodies revisited.

The presence of intraepithelial inclusion bodies (Leuchtenberger bodies) was recorded in rectal or colonic specimens from 130 patients. Large to moderate number of intraepithelial bodies were recorded in 81.8 percent of 55 colorectal adenomas from patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). Conversely, none of the 55 non-FAP adenomas or of the 20 specimens with ulcerative colitis (10 with dysplasia) had similar amounts of intraepithelial granules. Feulgen studies demonstrated that the granules contain DNA and are probably nuclear fragments of destroyed lymphocytes. Although the pathogenesis of this phenomenon remains obscure, it appears that the presence of large to moderate number of intraepithelial bodies in colorectal adenomas should strongly raise the suspicion of FAP.

The function of the intestinal microflora in patients with ulcerative colitis before and after colectomy.

The function of the intestinal microflora was studied in patients with ulcerative colitis before and after colectomy. The following six microflora-associated characteristics (MACs) were investigated: formation of coprostanol and urobilinogen; degradation of mucin, water-soluble protein, and beta-aspartylglycine; and presence of faecal tryptic activity. In 12 unoperated patients without sulphasalazine as maintenance therapy the six MACs were similar to those in normal subjects. In 12 unoperated patients receiving sulphasalazine the formation of coprostanol and urobilinogen was significantly lower (p less than 0.01 and p less than 0.001, respectively) and the level of faecal tryptic activity was significantly higher (p less than 0.01) than in normal subjects. The functional capacity of the microflora in operated patients treated by colectomy combined with one of four surgical procedures (ileorectal anastomosis, ileoanal anastomosis with pelvic pouch, Kock's continent ileostomy, or conventional ileostomy) was disturbed with regard to all six MACs. The disturbance was most pronounced in patients with conventional ileostomy.

Comparison of gamma camera and withdrawal methods for the measurement of gastric emptying.

In ten healthy volunteers the emptying of 300ml 15% glucose solution from the stomach was determined with two independent methods; a gamma camera method using 99mTc-DTPA as indicator and a withdrawal method, modified after Hunt, with PEG as indicator. At 40 min the gastric contents were withdrawn, and the stomach washed out. The quantity of indicator in the withdrawal and washout fluids was determined with both methods. A close correspondence was found between the methods.