Gastric conduit reconstruction after esophagectomy with right gastroepiploic artery absence: a case report.

Gastric conduit reconstruction is the standard choice after esophagectomy. Conduit's vascular supply is of primary importance mainly based on right gastroepiploic vessels. A 57-year-old male with absent right gastroepiploic artery, due to a duodenal bleeding ulcer treated with gastroduodenal artery ligation 10 years ago, was treated for gastroesophageal cancer and required esophagectomy. Surgical merits of this troublesome scenario are highlighted. Previous surgical history is highly important for patients requiring complex surgery as esophagectomy. The use of the stomach as conduit after esophagectomy is always the primary option; however vascular supply of it should not be compromised. Variations are rare and careful planning may overcome obstacles as in this case.

Implications of the presence of the vermiform appendix inside an inguinal hernia (Amyand's hernia): a systematic review of the literature.

PURPOSE: To identify and sum all available evidence pertaining to the management of Amyand's hernia (AH). METHODS: A systematic search of the MedLine, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases was performed for studies published until January 2020. RESULTS: In total, 111 studies incorporating 161 patients were identified, 96 (86.4%) being case reports, 11 (9.9%) case series, and 4 (3.7%) retrospective patient cohorts. Mean patient age was 58.5 ± 19.6 years with 136 (83.9%) being males and 25 (16.1%) females. Furthermore, 149 (92.5%) cases were right-sided hernias while 12 (7.5%) cases were left-sided. Overall, 62.3% of patients presented emergently and 77.3% of patients' cohort were eventually diagnosed with incarcerated AH. Preoperative diagnosis of AH was established in 23.1% of patients and was achieved either by ultrasound (25%) or CT scan (75%). Operative findings consisted of normal appendix in 73 (45.4%) cases, uncomplicated appendicitis in 62 (38.5%) patients, and perforated appendix in 26 (16.1%). Regarding patients with appendicitis, mesh placement was reported for 17 (21.2%), herniorrhaphy was performed for 51 (63.7%) while 12 (15.1%) patients did not undergo hernia repair during the initial operation. Mesh utilization rates were significantly higher in patients with a normal appendix. Seven cases involved AH containing appendiceal neoplasms. Thirteen cases (8.6%) of postoperative complications were documented and a single case of postoperative death. CONCLUSION: AH is a rare type of inguinal hernia usually complicated by appendicitis. Hernia reconstruction should be tailored to each patient individually according to the extent of inguinal canal inflammation.

Phaco-trabeculectomy in controlled, advanced, open-angle glaucoma and cataract: parallel, randomized clinical study of efficacy and safety.

BACKGROUND: To examine the efficacy and safety of combined phaco-trabeculectomy in patients with cataract and controlled, open-angle advanced glaucoma and to identify preoperative predictive factors of postoperative glaucoma course. SETTING: Departments of Ophthalmology, University of Athens, and General Hospital of Lamia, Greece. METHODS: Prospective, interventional, parallel, cluster (units=examinations), randomized clinical study. 60 patients with visually significant cataract, visual field Mean Deviation (MD) worse than -15.0 dB, and preoperative intraocular pressure (IOP), controlled (consistently below 22 mmHg) on topical medications and with no previous ocular surgery, were randomly allocated (1:1) to phacoemulsification alone or phaco-trabeculectomy group. Intention-to-treat analysis was performed to compare the postoperative outcome and adjusted multivariate longitudinal linear regression analysis was performed to identify predictive factors of the main outcome measures, with postoperative visual field MD change up to two years postoperatively. Participant recruiters and data collectors were masked to group assignment. RESULTS: 31 and 29 patients were randomized to phacoemulsification alone and phaco-trabeculectomy groups, respectively. Patients assigned to the phaco-trabeculectomy group experienced a 1.7 mmHg [95% CI:-3.1 to -0.23] reduction in IOP, a 1.4 dB [95% CI: -0.17 to 2.96] improvement in visual fields MD, a 0.6 [95% CI: -1.2 to -0.05] reduction in the number of glaucoma medications needed postoperatively, while the visual acuity improvement was similar between the two groups. Best predictors for visual field MD: degree of nuclear sclerosis, relative afferent pupilary defect (RAPD), preoperative MD deviation from -19.0 dB and preoperative cup-disc ratio deviation from 0.9. The phacoemulsification group experienced more IOP spikes (>25 mmHg) with Odds Ratio (OR) of 0.34 [95% CI: 0.11-1.02]. No patient lost light perception. CONCLUSION: Phaco-trabeculectomy in advanced, controlled, open-angle glaucoma patients with cataract results in better postoperative visual field MD with no major adverse events.

[Ahmed valve in high-risk glaucoma surgery]. / La valve d'Ahmed dans la chirurgie des glaucomes "à haut risque".

We used the Ahmed valve for the treatment of 142 eyes with high-risk glaucoma. The glaucoma was neovascular in 74 cases, aphakic or pseudophakic in 19 eyes and occurred after previous faliure of filtering surgery in 49 eyes. Preoperative mean IOP was 31.6+/-10.4 mmHg under topical and/or systemic treatment. The success rate (IOP<22 mmHg with only topical treatment) was 56.3% with a mean follow-up of 32.4 months. Complications were fewer and milder compared with those reported for other types of drainage implants and for other types of antiglaucoma procedures.

Clinical evaluation of the effect of mitomycin-C in re-operation for primary open angle glaucoma.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of mitomycin-C (MMC) in a second antiglaucoma operation after failure of the first operation. We assessed 46 patients (26 male, 20 female, mean age 64.2 years) with high intraocular pressure (IOP) (mean 32.4 +/- 5.2 mmHg) despite previous trabeculectomy (Tr-Ec) one to three years earlier and topical or systemic medical treatment. All patients underwent a second Tr-Ec and were randomly divided into two groups: group A, 24 patients, underwent a second Tr-Ec with MMC and group B, 22 patients, also underwent a second Tr-Ec but without MMC. Postoperative complications included: shallow anterior chamber (duration > 1 week), group A 29.2%, group B 13.6%; chroidal effusion, group A 8.3%, group B 0%; cystic degeneration of conjunctiva, group A 16.6%, group B 4.5%; transient maculopathy, group A 12.5%, group B 0%. IOP control (< or = 20 mmHg after 18 months) was: group A 20 patients (83.3%) with mean 12.5 +/- 3.2 mmHg and group B 13 patients (63.6%) with mean 19.6 +/- 6.1 mmHg. In conclusion, the use of MMC in re-operation for primary open-angle glaucoma is associated with a higher rate of and more severe postoperative complications than Tr-Ec alone. However, it achieves significantly lower IOP in a larger number of patients.