Misdiagnosed desmoid fibromatosis of the chest wall presenting in emergency like as recurrence of post-traumatic hematoma: A case report and review of the literature.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Desmoid Fibromatosis (DF) represents a rare neoplasm developing from fascial and musculoaponeurotic structures. Preoperative diagnosis of DF is a challenge because of its rarity and nonspecific presentation. Imaging may be helpful for determining the correct diagnosis. Currently there are different clinical treatments of DF including surgical treatment, drug treatment and radiotherapy. CASE PRESENTATION: A 43-year-old Caucasian male presented to the Emergency Department with a 6-month history of recurrence of post-traumatic chest wall hematoma. Physical examination revealed a partially solid, painless mass on the right anterior chest wall. Laboratory tests reported and neutrophilic leukocytosis. Thoracic contrast-enhanced computed tomography showed a smooth contour, heterogeneous and hypodense subcutaneous soft tissue mass anterior to the right pectoral muscles and to the right 4th-7th rib. The patient underwent surgery: a solid suprafascial neoplasm was completely excised. The postoperative course of the patient was uneventful. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: DF is a soft tissue neoplasm with a tendency for local invasion and recurrence. The course of DF cannot be predicted, being fatal if DF infiltrates vital structures. Diagnosis of DF is difficult and imaging may be helpful for determining the correct diagnosis. Currently the treatment for DF has shifted from surgery (post-operative recurrence rates of 20%-70%) to conservative therapy including watchful waiting. CONCLUSION: DF is a myofibroblastic proliferative soft tissue tumor and classified as an intermediate malignancy. Preoperative diagnosis of DF needs a high index of suspicion and is facilitated by imaging. Surgery, among different treatments, represents a potentially curative treatment of DF.

Complicated Littre's umbilical hernia with normal Meckel's diverticulum: A case report and review of the literature.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: A Littre's hernia (LH) is defined by the presence of Meckel's diverticulum (MD) in any kind of hernia sac. Preoperative diagnosis of LH is a challenge because of its rarity and the absence of specific radiological findings and clinical presentation. Surgery is the appropriate treatment of complicated LH that is an extremely rare condition with approximately 50 cases reported in the literature over the past 300 years. CASE PRESENTATION: A 46-year-old Caucasian female was admitted to the Emergency Department with a two-day history of abdominal pain. Physical examination revealed an irreducible and painfull mass in umbilical region. Abdominal computed tomography scan showed the protrusion of greater omentum and small bowel loop through the umbilical ring. Laboratory tests were unremarkable. After diagnosis of strangulated umbilical hernia, the patient underwent exploratory laparotomy: the irreducible umbilical hernial sac was opened with presence of incarcerated and strangulated omentum and uncomplicated MD. Resection of incarcerated and ischemic greater omentum alone was performed. The postoperative course of patient was uneventful. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: Meckel's diverticulum (MD) is a vestigial remnant of the omphalomesenteric duct, representing the most common congenital malformation of the gastrointestinal tract. Preoperative diagnosis of LH is very difficult and surgery represents the correct treatment of complicated LH. CONCLUSION: LH represents an extremely rare complication of MD difficult to diagnose and suspect because of the lack of specific radiological findings and clinical presentation. Surgery represents the appropriate treatment of abdominal wall hernias and complicated MD.

Non-traumatic rupture of voluminous non-typhoid Salmonella splenic abscess presenting with peritonitis: Case report and review of the literature.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Splenic abscess (SA) is an uncommon, life-threatening disease with about 600 reported cases in the literature. It is caused by various infective pathogens and generally occurs in immunocompromised patients. SA is a rare complication of non-typhoid Salmonella (NTS) infection. Diagnosis of ruptured SA is a challenge because the absence of specific symptoms and signs. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan represents the gold standard in diagnosing of SA. Splenectomy is the treatment of choice of ruptured SA with peritonitis. CASE PRESENTATION: A 26-year-old Caucasian female was admitted to the Emergency Department with a three-day history of abdominal pain and fever. Physical examination revealed severe and generalized abdominal pain on superficial and deep palpation with obvious muscle guarding and rebound tenderness. Abdominal CT scan showed ruptured SA. Laboratory tests reported anemia (hemoglobin 10.4 g/dl). The patient was taken emergently to the operating room for splenectomy. The postoperative course was uneventful, the patient was discharged on the 7th post-operative day. Diagnosis of NTS SA was made by pus cultures. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: SA is a rare complication of NTS infection associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Although different types of treatment of SA are reported in the literature, splenectomy represents the treatment of choice of ruptured SA. CONCLUSION: NTS SA is difficult to diagnose because of its rarity and non-specific clinical presentation, often fatal if left untreated. Although there is no gold standard for treating SA, splenectomy with peritoneal lavage is mandatory in case of ruptured SA with peritonitis.

Proposal of ecographic classification for seroma after laparoscopic ventral hernia repair.

INTRODUCTION: Seroma is one of the most common complications after laparoscopic ventral hernia repair (LVHR), even if the incidence brought in literature is varying because definition and criterions of evaluation employed in the different studies are not always the same. This study proposes a classification for seroma after LVHR based on ultrasound findings, useful for an assessment of this complication. MATERIALS AND METHODS: On 93 patients submitted to LVHR an ultrasound of the abdominal wall after 3, 7, 15, 21 and 28 days and subsequently at a distance of 3 and 6 months was performed postoperatively. At each control site, sonomorphology characteristics and size of seroma (if present) were noted. RESULTS: At the end of the study using ultrasound findings obtained, a classification scheme for seroma articulated into three groups based on the parameters detected (site, sonomorphology character and volume) was developed, each of which is subdivided into five different classes to which a precise score is assigned. From the sum of the scores assigned, a value (between 3 and 15) that represents a prognostic index (PI) is obtained. A low PI is typical of small asymptomatic seroma that resolves spontaneously in a short time and without the need for invasive therapies; a high PI is typical of more or less symptomatic voluminous seroma that tends to persist for long periods and which often requires an interventional therapeutic approach. CONCLUSIONS: This proposed classification helps to perform a precise nosological assessment of seroma after LVHR, allowing the surgeon to predict the clinical and temporal evolution of this complication and to plan appropriate therapy from time to time. Furthermore this classification can represent a tool to assess the uniqueness of seroma formation in relation to surgical technique used, to the type of material employed and to the method of mesh fixing.

[Massive hematemesis resulting from stomach rupture caused by pseudoaneurysm of the splenic artery in a patient with chronic pancreatitis. A case report]. / Ematemesi massiva da rottura nello stomaco di pseudo-aneurisma dell'arteria splenica in paziente con pancreatite cronica. Osservazione personale.

The authors report a case of a pancreatic pseudocyst, due to alcoholic chronic pancreatitis, that was transformed into a pseudoaneurysm of the splenic artery as a result of vascular erosion and that manifested itself with massive haematemesis due to spontaneous fistulisation in the stomach. After defining the incidence of the pancreatic disease and of this unusual form of gastric bleeding, particular attention is devoted to the clinical data and to the aetiopathogenic and physiopathological mechanisms involved in the vascular glandular and periglandular damage, outlining the sources and sites of bleeding. The authors go on to discuss the rationale in using imaging techniques, which cannot ignore the haemodynamic conditions of the patient and the conviction that the execution time of a selective coeliac arteriography never represents an unacceptable delay in the management of a life-threatening ruptured pancreatic pseudoaneurysm. This conviction is due both to the therapeutic potential inherent in the method itself and to the greater safety with which the following operation can be performed, owing to the topographical guidance the procedure provides. After a review of the conditions that make the treatment difficult, the authors stress the importance of a certain measure of eclecticism and careful planning to obtain effective and safe results. Only the combined, integrated efforts of the interventional radiologist and the surgeon can ensure rapid stabilisation of the bleeding and the desired improvement in survival.

Radical surgical treatment of recurrent hepatic hydatidosis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The treatment of relapsing hydatidosis must aim at the reduction of both morbidity and mortality rates and the risk of new recurrences. METHODOLOGY: Thirty-three patients with recurrence of hepatic ecchinococcosis were observed between January 1975 and May 2001. All selected patients received a first conservative surgical treatment, and recurrences developed in a period ranging from 1 to 46 years from the therapy. All patients with secondary hydatidosis were then submitted to radical surgical treatment. Ultrasound examinations, the first after 3 months from surgery, were performed to evaluate disease recurrence. Intraoperative morbidity and mortality were also evaluated. RESULTS: No intraoperative mortality was encountered. Intraoperative and postoperative morbidity were 6% and 12% respectively. During follow-up, (mean duration 53 months) no recurrences were recorded. CONCLUSIONS: Radical surgical approach is the best treatment of recurrent hydatid cysts as it represents a valid compromise between the need of a surgical radicality and a low intraoperative and postoperative morbidity.