Surgical management in hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumour thrombosis: is this the end of the road or a chance to expand the criteria for resectability?

Portal vein thrombosis is a common complication associated with malignancies such as hepatocellular carcinoma, with a dismal and negative impact on prognosis. A thorough literature search in Pubmed and Google Scholar, under the terms 'hepatocellular carcinoma AND portal vein thrombosis', regarding the surgical management of portal vein thrombosis was conducted by the authors, and the associated results are presented in this narrative review. Precise classification of portal vein thrombosis and identification of subgroups of patients that will benefit from surgery is of paramount importance. Evolution of novel surgical techniques in liver resection and associated low morbidity and mortality rates in specialized hepatobiliary centres worldwide have been linked with promising results from the adoption of surgical management in these patients, when compared to systemic chemotherapy or arterial chemoembolization management that has traditionally been followed in such cases.

Chyle leak after major pancreatic surgery. Is this an underestimated complication? A narrative review of the literature.

PURPOSE: Postoperative chyle leak, termed 'chylous ascites', is a rare complication with a reported frequency of only one in 20464 abdominal operations. The purpose of this study was to summarize the available scientific data reviewing the most relevant studies for this type of postoperative complication after pancreatic surgery, highlighting at the same time the necessity for pancreatic surgeons to retain a high level of clinical suspicion for the early diagnosis and its therapeutic management. METHODS: A thorough literature search in Pubmed and Google Scholar, under the terms' chylous ascites OR chyle leak AND pancreas OR pancreatic', since the year of inception until 19th of February 2021 was conducted by the authors and the associated results are presented in this narrative review. RESULTS: Chyle leak is a rare complication following pancreatic surgery. Patients may suffer from exudative enteropathy and malnutrition leading to repeated infections and impaired wound healing or even death secondary to sepsis. Several studies have highlighted the issue of increased hospital stay, while others failed to reach statistical significance as far as hospital stay or survival are concerned. Researchers found that patients with diffuse chyle leak tended to have a worse 3-year survival rate (18.8%), which can be attributed to postoperative complications and early demise due to immunosuppression associated with the leak, or delayed adjuvant chemotherapy Conclusion: Further clinical research is needed to enhance prevention, diagnosis, treatment and long-term prognosis of this relevant surgical problem that shows trends of increase due to the great number of major operations which are performed nowadays.

A gelatinous veil inside the abdomen of a pancreatic cancer patient. What lies beneath it?

Chylous ascites following pancreatic surgery results from surgical damage to the cisterna chyli or tributaries, with an incidence in pancreatic surgery of 1.8%-11%. Usually, conservative treatment is effective.

Case Report of a Local Recurrence of Spindle Cell Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma.

INTRODUCTION: Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in children and adolescents. Spindle cell RMS is a rare variant of embryonal RMS that has a predilection for young males. AIM: We are presenting here a case of a local recurrence of an embryonal variant of the spindle cell RMS in a 19-year-old male. CASE REPORT: In this report it is described the study of patient with local recurrence of spindle cell embryonal RMS of the left testis after left orchiectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy. Computed tomography of the abdomen was used to evaluate the tumor. The recurrent mass was about 7,5cm and the patient was operated and discharged after 6 days in a good condition. Six months after the operation the patient had a new recurrence of RMS in the left retroperitoneal space. CONCLUSION: RMS is a malignant tumor of mesenchymal origin that is treated by a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. However, up to one-third of patients experience recurrence.

Metastasectomy of pancreatic and periampullary adenocarcinoma to solid organ: The current evidence.

PURPOSE: Pancreatic and periampullary adenocarcinoma have not generally been included in the tumour types considered for metastasectomy. However, there is an increasing interest that metastasectomy in well-selected patients can prolong survival. This review aims to establish the recent evidence on the surgical management of oligometastatic disease and survival outcome in patients who underwent metastasectomy focusing on isolated hepatic and pulmonary metastases. METHODS: A systematic search was performed in the PubMed database to identify all original articles on the role of metastasectomy for oligometastasis of pancreatic and periampullary adenocarcinoma. Data on methodologies used, 1,3,5 - year survival and median overall survival were summarized, and used to address relevant clinical questions related to the survival outcome in patients who underwent metastasectomy. RESULTS: Sixteen studies were included in this review. All the studies included were retrospective and heterogenous in nature and did not have a uniform reporting on survival outcomes. CONCLUSION: There is insufficient evidence to support a change of current practice in managing metastatic pancreatic and periampullary cancer. However, patients with ampullary cancer as the primary and any patients with first recurrence as isolated pulmonary metastases had better prognosis than patients with synchronous metastasis or metastases to the liver. This need to be explored in future studies.

Avoiding emergency stoma surgery with the use of sugar.

George Theofanis, Mahmud Saedon, Soo Hua Kho, Francesk Mulita, Stylianos Germanos and Edmund Leung discuss the use of sugar as an aid to reducing a stomal prolapse.

Ileosigmoid fistula and delayed ileal obstruction secondary to blunt abdominal trauma: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Abdominal trauma is a source of significant mortality and morbidity. Bowel injury as a result of blunt abdominal trauma is usually evident within hours or days of the accident. CASE PRESENTATION: A 38-year-old Caucasian Greek man presented with a subtle and delayed small bowel obstruction caused by a post-traumatic ileosigmoid fistula and ileal stricture four months after a road traffic accident. CONCLUSION: Delayed occurrence of post-traumatic small bowel stricture and ileosigmoid fistula is an uncommon surgical emergency. General surgeons as well as emergency physicians should bear this manifestation in mind should a patient return to the hospital several weeks or even years after blunt abdominal trauma with symptoms or signs of bowel obstruction.

Management of a large abdominal wall desmoid tumor during pregnancy. Case report.

Desmoid tumors, characterized by aggressive local infiltration of surrounding tissues, are uncommon benign neoplasms with no metastatic potential, that occasionally may attain large size. We report a case of a 37-year-old woman with an abdominal wall desmoid tumor that appeared and grew rapidly during her pregnancy, diagnosed by trucut core biopsy. Complete surgical excision of a 20 x 16 cm in size tumor and immediate reconstruction with mesh was performed in the postpartum period. She had no postoperative complications and no recurrence at 2-year follow-up. Optimal management of large abdominal wall desmoids during pregnancy has to be individualized, with wide surgical excision remaining the treatment of choice.

Control of presacral venous bleeding during rectal surgery.

BACKGROUND: Presacral venous hemorrhage is an uncommon but potentially life-threatening complication of rectal surgery. It is difficult to control presacral venous hemorrhage with conventional hemostatic measures and several alternative methods for hemostasis have been proposed. We described our experience of using the combination of a hemostatic matrix and an absorbable hemostat as an alternative method of hemostasis. METHODS: From September 2007 to March 2009, 83 patients underwent rectal surgery for cancer, ulcerative colitis, or familial adenomatous polyposis. Three patients (3.6%) had severe presacral hemorrhage, which was controlled by the combined use of a hemostatic matrix (FloSeal; Baxter, USA) and an absorbable hemostat (Surgicel Fibrillar; Ethicon, USA). RESULTS: Intraoperative blood transfusion was required in 1 patient. Postoperative blood loss was minimal and drain was removed on day 4 in all 3 patients. CONCLUSIONS: The use of synthetic hemostatic agents is an effective and simple way to arrest presacral bleeding where conventional methods fail.