Single-Center Experiences: A Comparison of Intracorporeal and Extracorporeal Anastomosis Outcomes in Right Hemicolectomy.

Background Anastomosis formed in minimally invasive laparoscopic right hemicolectomy (LRH) may be achieved intra-corporeally (ICA) or extra-corporeally (ECA). This study compared the return of bowel function and other associated early patient outcomes and morbidity rates after an ICA or ECA in LRH. Methodology The study conducted a single-center retrospective cohort study of elective LRH from January 2021 to September 2023. Patient demographics, surgical techniques, and outcomes were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 29.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results Ninety participants underwent LRH, and the anastomotic type was evenly distributed - with male patients comprising 53 (58.9%) of the total. The mean age was 64 (standard deviation [SD] ±16.8) years, and the median body mass index (BMI) was 27.0 (interquartile range [IQR] = 7.8). The mean follow-up period was 5.1 (SD ± 6.0) months. Univariate analysis showed that ICA had a shorter time for return of bowel function (P < 0.01). Additionally, ICA was associated with lower pain scores (P < 0.01), low morbidity (P = 0.02), and shorter hospital stays (P = 0.01). When comparing ICA to ECA, no significant difference was observed for procedure duration (P = 0.13), anastomotic leak (AL, P = 1.00), surgical-site infections (P = 0.36), lymph node yield (P = 0.26), and any-cause mortality. Multivariate logistic regression, controlling for statistically insignificant confounding factors, revealed that ECA was significantly and independently associated with increased time to first flatus (odds ratio [OR] 2.3, P = 0.01) and higher average postoperative pain (OR 1.5, P = 0.02) compared to ICA. Conclusions This single-center experience showed that ICA is associated with a quicker return to normal bowel function and low morbidity outcomes. ICA participants were positively associated with clinically relevant and health economics outcomes of shorter hospital stays without significantly adding to the procedure's duration times or compromising principles of oncological resection yield.

Does intra-operative humidification with warmed CO2 reduce surgical site infection in open colorectal surgery? A randomized control trial.

BACKGROUNDS: Surgical site infections (SSI) are a significant cause of postoperative morbidity and mortality, contributing to a considerable financial burden on the healthcare system. Insufflation of the open surgical wound with warm, humidified carbon dioxide (CO2 ) is a novel measure aimed to reduce SSI. The local atmosphere of warm, humidified CO2 within the open surgical wound is proposed to decrease airborne contamination, bacterial growth, desiccation, and heat loss while improving tissue oxygenation and perfusion. This randomized controlled trial evaluates the impact of the HumiGard™ surgical humidification system on the incidence of SSI in patients undergoing open colorectal surgery. METHODS: We conducted a multi-site single-blinded randomized control trial on patients undergoing elective or emergency laparotomy at a single tertiary Colorectal Surgery service. The primary outcome measure was the incidence of SSI, with secondary outcomes including ICU length of stay (LOS), total LOS and mean core temperature. RESULTS: Patients who received HumiGard™ had a lower incidence of SSI, although this did not reach statistical significance (4.5% for treatment group versus 13.0% for control group; P = 0.092). There was no significant difference in ICU LOS or total LOS between cohorts. The HumiGard™ group had a higher mean core temperature than the control at the end of surgery (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The present study could not confirm that utilization of warm, humidified CO2 with HumiGard™ reduces SSI in open colorectal surgery. Further research is indicated to validate and extend these findings.

Ileocolic anastomosis after right hemicolectomy: stapled end-to-side, stapled side-to-side, or handsewn?

PURPOSE: Anastomotic leak (AL) following ileocolic anastomosis is a cause of significant morbidity and mortality. Stapled end-to-side (ESA), stapled side-to-side (SSA), and handsewn anastomoses (HSA) are commonly performed techniques. There is however conflicting data on the superiority of one technique over the other. The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of ESA against SSA and HSA. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at a tertiary colorectal unit. All patients who underwent an ileocolic anastomosis from October 2008 to May 2020 were included. Exclusion criteria were missing data on anastomotic technique or clinicopathological variables. Primary outcomes were AL and anastomotic bleeding (AB). Secondary outcomes were length of stay (LoS) and return of gut function. RESULTS: A total of 1390 patients met the inclusion criteria. A total of 976 (70%) ESA, 308 (22%) SSA, and 108 (8%) HSA were performed. AL occurred in 17/1390 (1.2%) patients, and 54/1390 (3.9%) had AB. On adjusted analysis, ESA experienced a lower AL when compared with SSA (OR 4.93, p = 0.005), with a trend towards a lower AL when compared to HSA (OR 2.6, p = 0.27). There was no difference in AB between all techniques: ESA vs. SSA (OR 1.07 p = 0.84), and ESA vs. HSA (OR 0.24 p = 0.76). Both stapled techniques were associated with a shorter return to gut function compared to HSA; 3.3 vs. 4.2 days (p < 0.001). There was no difference in LoS. CONCLUSION: ESA has the lowest leak rate when compared to other anastomotic techniques without any increased risk of anastomotic bleeding.

Assessing the efficacy of TNF-alpha inhibitors in preventing emergency and emergent colectomies.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Severe ulcerative colitis (UC) is potentially life threatening and is associated with significant morbidity. TNF-∝ inhibitors (Infliximab) were introduced in Australia for the management of medically resistant, acute, severe flares of UC in 2008. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of Infliximab in preventing emergent and emergency colectomies for patients with moderate to severe UC by comparing colectomy rates before and after its introduction at our institution. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of all patients who were admitted to the Royal Perth Hospital with a flare of UC between 2002 and 2017. Patients were divided into two cohorts: those admitted prior to the introduction of Infliximab (pre-2008) and those admitted after. We compared data between these two groups, including age, gender, length of admission, use of Infliximab, colectomy, and complications of surgery. We defined emergency surgery as requiring surgery during the index admission and emergent surgery as an operation within 54 weeks. RESULTS: A total of 313 UC cases from 2002 to 2017 were analyzed. There was a decrease in emergency and emergent colectomies from 19.4 to 8% in the post-2008 cohort (P = 0.008). Furthermore, there was a decrease in the proportion of operations performed as emergencies, from 36 to 20%. This resulted in a significantly reduced length of stay (13.4-9.7 days, P < 0.05) and complication rate (36 to 20%, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Overall, the need for emergency and emergent operations has drastically reduced at our institution with the introduction of Infliximab. This study has confirmed the efficacy of Infliximab in reducing colectomy rates at our institution.

Inflammatory breast cancer: A decade of experience.

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is an aggressive and rare form of breast cancer. At present, there are no established diagnostic, radiological, pathological or molecular diagnostic criteria for this entity. The aim of this study was to examine the patterns of presentation, treatment and outcomes of IBC in this institution over the course of a decade. This is a retrospective observational study using data from the Royal Perth Hospital from January 2001 to December 2010. Our results identified 57 women with IBC, representing 1.9% of all new breast cancer presentations. Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2)-positive and triple negative tumors were overrepresented (41% and 18%, respectively). Forty-four (77%) patients had early disease at diagnosis, of whom 35 underwent surgery and 16 are relapse-free. All six patients achieving complete pathological response were relapse-free in contrast to 11 (38%) with lesser responses at a median follow-up of 59 months. Median survival in 13 patients with metastatic disease at diagnosis was 21.7 months, with two patients still in remission. Clearly, this small but important group continues to offer management challenges and warrants ongoing study, including better molecular and pathological profiling of tumors to allow improved diagnostic clarity and more effective targeted therapy.

An interesting case of primary squamous cell carcinoma of the colon with synchronous metastatic adenocarcinoma.

KEY CLINICAL MESSAGE: We present a case of primary squamous cell carcinoma of the colon with synchronous metastatic adenocarcinoma. This case highlights the poor prognosis of these late presenting cancers. Furthermore, the unusual dual pathology raises questions about its potential etiology.

Cutaneous mucormycosis and motor vehicle accidents: Findings from an Australian case series.

Cutaneous disease is the third most frequent manifestation of mucormycosis. The clinical manifestations of and subsequent mortality due to cutaneous mucormycosis are dependent on the mode of acquisition and the host immune status. Here, we describe the epidemiology, clinical presentation, microbiology, and outcomes of 16 cutaneous mucormycosis infections managed in an Australian tertiary hospital over a 15-year period. The proportion with localized (56%), deep (38%), and disseminated (6%) cutaneous disease as well as the overall mortality (25%) were consistent with findings reported in the published literature. Two novel forms of hospital-acquired infection were reported following a sacral pressure sore and insertion of a foreign body during a bone graft procedure. The majority of patients were immunocompetent (75%) and/or suffered trauma (56%) with associated environmental contamination. A novel finding was that motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) accounted for 78% of all trauma-related cases, suggesting MVAs should receive greater recognition as a potential precipitant of cutaneous mucormycosis. Aggressive decontamination and debridement of devitalized tissue following trauma is therefore likely to play an important role in the prevention of this rare but potentially devastating infection.