Assessing the Rates and Reasons of Elective Surgical Cancellations on the Day of Surgery: A Multicentre Study from Urban Indian Hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Cancellations of elective surgeries on the day of surgery (DOS) can lead to added financial burden and wastage of resources for healthcare facilities; as well as social and emotional problems to patients. These cancellations act as barriers to delivering efficient surgical services. Optimal utilisation of the available resources is necessary for resource-constrained low-and-middle-income countries (LMIC). This study investigates the rate and causes of cancellations of elective surgeries on the DOS in various surgical departments across ten hospitals in India. METHODS: A research consortium 'IndSurg' led by World Health Organisation Collaboration Centre (WHOCC) for Research in Surgical Care Delivery in LMICs, India conducted this multicentre retrospective cross-sectional study to analyse the cancellations of elective/planned surgical operations on DOS across urban secondary and tertiary level hospitals. We audited surgical records of a pre-decided period of six weeks for cancellations, documented relevant demographic information and reasons for cancellations. RESULTS: We analysed records from the participating hospitals, with an overall cancellation rate of 9.7% (508/5231) on the DOS for elective surgical operations. Of these, 74% were avoidable cancellations. A majority (30%) of these 508 cancellations were attributed to insufficient resources, 28% due to patient's refusal or failure to show-up, and 22% due to change in patient's medical status. CONCLUSION: We saw a preponderance of avoidable reasons for elective surgery cancellations. A multidisciplinary approach with adequate preoperative patient counselling, timely communication between the patients and caregivers, adequate preoperative anaesthetic assessment, and planning by the surgical team may help reduce the cancellation rate.

Epiploic Appendagitis: A Riddle for Right Lower Quadrant Pain!

Epiploic appendagitis (EA) is inflammation of epiploic appendages, which are pedunculated fatty structures, extend from the cecum to the rectosigmoid junction, and are covered by the peritoneum. Torsion, infarction, and inflammation of it present with acute lower abdominal pain and localized tenderness in a well-looking patient. It poses as diagnostic conundrum due to its rarity and not picked by conventional radiography. A 50-year-old male presented with pain in RLQ for past 1 day, which kept on increasing without any other symptoms. His abdomen was soft with tenderness localized to the right lower quadrant (RLQ), classically at McBurney's point along with mild peritonism. Rest laboratory test, chest, and abdominal X-ray were normal except slight leukocytosis. Ultrasound was inconclusive. A working clinical diagnosis of appendicitis was made. Patient did not consent for surgery and was started on antibiotics with pain killers. With no significant improvement, he underwent CT scan which revealed focal area of soft-tissue attenuation along the lateral wall of ascending colon with fat stranding. He was diagnosed as EA and improved on conservative treatment. EA of RLQ of abdomen mimics acute appendicitis and can be considered as an uncommon differential diagnosis in presence of radiological findings of normal-appearing appendix. CT is the investigation of choice, and treatment is essentially conservative. Further, if appendix is found normal at exploration, surrounding epiploic appendages of the cecum and ascending colon should also be evaluated carefully for inflammation/hematoma/gangrene, besides looking for Meckel's diverticulum.

Fecal Scrotal Abscess Secondary to Spontaneous Retroperitoneal Perforation of Ascending Colon.

INTRODUCTION: Fecal abscess or enterocutaneous fistulas of the scrotum are rare and are invariably the result of incarcerated bowel loop in inguinal hernia. Spontaneous perforation of the colon (SPC) having no definite cause is also rare. Much rarer is posterior colonic perforations causing an extensively large retroperitoneal abscess. Similarly, spread of retroperitoneal abscess to the thigh or scrotum has rarely been reported. We report a case of spontaneous posterior perforation of ascending colon resulting in large retroperitoneal abscess eventually causing scrotal abscess, which resolved on conservative treatment and drainage of the scrotal fecal abscess. Case Presentation. A 20-year-old male presented with gradually increasing noncolicky pain right side abdomen with nonprojectile vomiting, obstipation, and progressive abdominal distension. Clinically, the abdomen was tender with guarding over the right side with signs of inflammation on the right side back with no associated hernia. On conservative treatment, he was gradually improved but developed right side scrotal abscess a week later. CT abdomen showed a large retroperitoneal collection having multiple internal air lucencies, displacing ascending colon and caecum medically with discontinuity in the posterior wall of ascending colon. The large retroperitoneal collection was extending from right pararenal and posterior perihepatic soft tissue planes to the right iliac fossa and thigh. On drainage of the scrotal abscess, about 350 ml of fecal contents was evacuated. The patient gradually recovered and was discharged on conservative treatment with an uneventful 4-year follow-up. CONCLUSION: Diagnosis of retroperitoneal perforation of the colon is often delayed due to the absence of peritoneal irritation. An extensively large retroperitoneal abscess may spread the infection to the scrotum and thigh due to extreme pressure, possibly by dissecting away the transversalis fascia through a deep ring along the side of the spermatic cord. Timely performed CT/MRI can avoid delay in the diagnosis of retroperitoneal abscess and further spread of infection.

Giant Calculus with More than 100 Small Calculi in Choledochal Cysts.

Giant biliary calculus in the common bile duct (CBD) is rare. Giant calculus of choledochal cyst (CC) is even rarer, and no case of giant calculus of CC with more than 100 calculi has been reported in the indexed literature. We present the case of a 8.0 × 4.5 × 4.0 cm sized giant calculus with >100 small calculi in type IVa CCs with heterotopic pancreas in a 45-year-old male, which is a surprisingly rare occurrence. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography showed multifocal irregular dilatation of intrahepatic biliary radicles with multiple filling defects with a giant calculus in CC with cholelithiasis. The case was successfully managed with open cholecystectomy and choledochotomy with retrieval of 1 giant and more than 100 small calculi with excision of CC with Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy. Histopathological examination (HPE) showed inflamed CC identified with focal areas of surface ulceration with increased fibrosis areas in the wall and few pancreatic acini. A bile duct calculus is defined as "giant" when the size is 5 cm or more. Stone formation within is the most frequent complication of CC. Most intracystic calculi have been described as soft, earthy, and pigmented in appearance, supporting bile stasis as a primary etiologic factor. The only treatment for giant calculus of CBD or CC is surgical. Endoscopic treatment is mostly unsuccessful and open surgery is the treatment of choice due to giant size, increased load of calculus, and presence of calculi in the left and right hepatic ducts.