Meckel's diverticulum--a rare cause of intestinal obstruction in adults.

Although many people have Meckel's diverticulum, only some experience any symptoms, most under the age of 10. In adults it is usually asymptomatic but approximately 4% develop complications. Meckel's diverticulum is usually diagnosed in the first years of life and after that the risk of the complications decreases with increasing age, with no predictive factors for the development of complications. We describe the case of a 34-year-old man admitted in the emergency department with diffuse abdominal pain, nausea, flatulence and lack of transit for feces and gas. The patient had been previously operated for peritonitis due to a perforated ulcer. Clinical examination and paraclinical investigations (abdominal radiography and ultrasound) suggested the diagnosis of intestinal obstruction, probably produced by adhesions due to previous abdominal intervention. The diverticulum was resected using a linear stapler and the patient recovered without any complications. Small bowel obstruction due to Meckel's diverticulitis may be caused by entangled loop of small bowel around a fibrous cord, intussusception, volvulus, or incarceration within a hernia sac. The discovery of a Meckel's diverticulum complication in a mid thirties patient represented an intra-operatory surprise and is the peculiarity of the case.

Spontaneous rupture of a splenic hydatid cyst with anaphylaxis in a patient with multi-organ hydatid disease.

Hidatid cysts of the spleen are a rare occurrence, the spleen being the third most common organ for the development of Echinococcus Granulosus. Splenic hydatid cysts are commonly part of multi-organ hydatid disease. Diagnosis is often established when investigating a splenomegaly or by chance during an unrelated consult. It can also be diagnosed after rupture, be it following trauma (the most common occurrence)or spontaneous. Splenic hydatid cyst rupture requires immediate action and is a life-threatening condition. It results, most often, in splenectomy. We present the case of a patient with multi-organ hydatid disease that presented with a ruptured splenic cyst and developed anaphylaxis. The case was resolved by splenectomy and recovered well.

Zenker's diverticulum, a rare cause of upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

UNLABELLED: The most common complication of Zenker's diverticulum is aspiration pneumonia, compression of the trachea and esophageal obstruction with large diverticulum, and increased risk of development of carcinoma. Thus bleeding occurs rarely, can be massive and life threatening, with ulceration being the most common cause. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We describe a patient with sever upper gastrointestinal bleeding as a result of a Zenker's diverticulum. A 75 year-old woman was referred to the emergency room and hospitalized for hematemesis, melena, asthenia and total dysphagia. In this particular case we preferred open technique because of the diverticulum dimensions and bleeding episode. Left cervicotomy was practiced on the anterior edge of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, being known that Zenker diverticulum extend into the left neck 90% of the time, fact also confirmed by radiology in this case. RESULTS: Postoperatively, the patient showed a complication free recovery. Five days after treatment the patient resumed nourishment. Several days later our patient was able to return home. Follow-up at 12 months after the operation showed complete recovery. Ulcer of the basis of Zenker's diverticulum is a rare entity and, only a few cases were reported in the literature to date. Omitting thecricomyotomy predisposes to fistula or diverticulum recurrence due to the persistence of a high pharyngeal intraluminal pressure that acts on the posterior wall just proximal to the upper esophageal sphincter. CONCLUSIONS: Zenker's diverticulum is an unusual site of origin for clinically significant upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage and differential diagnosis must include other more frequent causes of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. In our opinion, classicalsurgical therapy is indicated when distal esophageal imaging cannot be obtained during endoscopic examination, there is a large diverticulum or in an emergency setting when fast control over the bleeding source is required.

Necrotizing enterocolitis, a rare but severe condition with insidious postoperative complications.

UNLABELLED: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is one of the most frequent causes of gastrointestinal perforation in premature neonates, only few case series and reports being described in adult patients. Early in the course of the disease, superficial mucosal ulceration, sub mucosal edema and hemorrhage occur. Further progression leads to transmural necrosis leading sometimes to bowel perforation. Six cases encountered in our clinic in recent years led us to resume discussions on necrotizing enteritis, not because it is a rare disease, but due to the severe postoperative complications. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Our lot consisted of four stage 1 patients and two with Bell stage III NEC and severe intestinal injury, necrosis, and perforation. All of the patients were diagnosed preoperatory with other surgical conditions, like appendicitis with peritonitis, perforated duodenal ulcer or acute cholecystitis. RESULTS: We present to review two cases. For patients undergoing laparotomy, resection of the involved intestine mandates either enterostomy formation or primary anastomosis. An intermediate option is laparotomy with intestinal resection and delayed anastomosis 48 to 72 hours later. Because of the small number of patients in our lot, we cannot advise a certain surgical treatment, but a strategy involving bienterostomyper primam should be further analyzed. The choice of operative intervention reflects multiple variables, including age, physiologic status, institutional resources and surgeon preference based on experience. Primary peritoneal drainage for perforated NEC may help to resuscitate and treat a critically ill patient initially, and in some instances, may be definitive operative intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Relatively rare disease, of unknown etiology and elusive pathogenesis, NEC has initial non-specific symptoms and clinical features that mimic more common surgical diseases. There is considerable controversy regarding which procedure is preferable. Currently, in the absence of rigorous evidence supporting the superiority of one approach over the other, surgical intervention depends mostly on the treating institution or the individual surgeon.

The aetiology of premature ejaculation and the mind-body problem: implications for practice.

Recent attempts to find effective pharmacological treatments for premature ejaculation (PE) have spurred significant interest in the causes of, consequences of, and existing therapies for this common male sexual dysfunction. The recurring tendency in science and medicine, however, to dichotomise causes of such problems into either biological or psychological is not only counterproductive, it is misguided. Ejaculatory response should be viewed as a system of integrated and inseparable hardwired and softwired central and peripheral responses, some being readily modifiable, others not. Such a view argues that treatment of PE aimed at multiple levels of functioning will be self-enhancing and ultimately more effective in producing positive therapeutic outcomes than strategies relying solely on either psychological or biological approaches.

A bihormonal model of normal sexual stimulation; the etiology of premature ejaculation.

The physiological sexual excitation is mediated both by the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous system. The antagonism between testosterone (Tt) and estrogens (Es) as well as the fact that the dynamics of the sexual excitation in the male are antagonistic to those in the female are nowadays well-known; hence, the hypothesis was emitted that the sympathoparasympathetic sexual excitation is bihormonal mediated, consisting in a very active sexual hormone associated with a weak antagonistic hormone. Most studies show a serotonergic (ejaculatory) involvement in premature ejaculation (PE). Nevertheless, an effective treatment of PE is rather difficult with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor drugs and other clinical data even suggest that changes in PE actually involve at first the sexual excitation process and only secondly the ejaculation reflex.Thus, a therapeutic model for PE is set up, starting from the physiological aspects described and from the presumed pathophysiological mechanism in PE.

Herpetic viruses and spontaneous recovery in melanoma.

The malignant melanoma may display extremely variable forms of development, from clinical forms with a lethal course to the unforeseeable situations of spontaneous cures. The basic immunotherapeutic procedures, as well as hypotheses regarding the mechanisms involved in courses towards spontaneous regressions, are presented. Since viruses of the herpes genus are involved in the mechanisms assumed to be at the basis of spontaneous regressions, it is suggested that these viruses (selected strains) be used in the clinic, in order to check the advanced hypothesis, an opportunity which could permit to study also the very probable therapeutic alternative offered by this virus, namely the association of the well-known immunotherapeutic methods.