Case Report: De Garengeot's hernia. Appendicitis within femoral hernia. Diagnosis and surgical management.

INTRODUCTION: Abdominal wall hernias remain as one of the most common problems that the general surgeon has to treat. Although usually straightforward and easy to diagnose by the experienced hands, obstacles appear when contents of the hernia sac include organs. The presence of the appendix inside a femoral hernia (De Garengeot's hernia) is a rare entity which represents multiple challenges, both diagnostic and therapeutic. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of a 36-year-old female patient who originally presented to the ED with abdominal/groin pain and a new onset of right inguinal swelling. DISCUSSION: Contrary to the usual presentation, where an appendix is incidentally found during hernia repair, we were able to make the diagnosis by CT scan before surgery. This placed us on an ideal standpoint to plan the surgical management. We approached our case laparoscopic first, where a distally gangrenous appendix was reduced intraabdominally. As purulent exudates were present on hernial sac, femoral hernia repair was achieved with McVay techniche. CONCLUSION: Although rare, the finding of a strangulated appendix within a femoral hernia represents a challenge. Here we present a case that may guide the surgeon who faces a similar case in the future.

Laparoscopic vs open partial colectomy in elderly patients: Insights from the American College of Surgeons - National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database.

AIM: To compare the outcomes between the laparoscopic and open approaches for partial colectomy in elderly patients aged 65 years and over using the American College of Surgeons - National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) database. METHODS: The ACS NSQIP database for the years 2005-2011 was queried for all patients 65 years and above who underwent partial colectomy. 1:1 propensity score matching using the nearest- neighbor method was performed to ensure both groups had similar pre-operative comorbidities. Outcomes including post-operative complications, length of stay and mortality were compared between the laparoscopic and open groups. χ(2) and Fisher's exact test were used for discrete variables and Student's t-test for continuous variables. P < 0.05 was considered significant and odds ratios with 95%CI were reported when applicable. RESULTS: The total number of patients in the ACS NSQIP database of the years 2005-2011 was 1777035. We identified 27604 elderly patients who underwent partial colectomy with complete data sets. 12009 (43%) of the cases were done laparoscopically and 15595 (57%) were done with open. After propensity score matching, there were 11008 patients each in the laparoscopic (LC) and open colectomy (OC) cohorts. The laparoscopic approach had lower post-operative complications (LC 15.2%, OC 23.8%, P < 0.001), shorter length of stay (LC 6.61 d, OC 9.62 d, P < 0.001) and lower mortality (LC 1.6%, OC 2.9%, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Even after propensity score matching, elderly patients in the ACS NSQIP database having a laparoscopic partial colectomy had better outcomes than those having open colectomies. In the absence of specific contraindications, elderly patients requiring a partial colectomy should be offered the laparoscopic approach.

Improving the functionality of intra-operative nerve monitoring during thyroid surgery: is lidocaine an option?

Intra-operative nerve monitoring (IONM) is rapidly becoming a standard of care in many institutions across the country. In the absence of neuromuscular blocking agents to facilitate the IONM, the depth of anesthesia required to abolish the laryngo tracheal reflexes often results in profound hemodynamic instability during surgery, necessitating the use of large doses of sympathomimetic amines. The excessive alpha and beta adrenergic effects exhibited by these agents are undesirable in the presence of cardiovascular co-morbidities. Trying to strike a balance frequently results in an unsatisfactory intra-operative course. In the course of the near total thyroidectomy performed on a 60-year-old female, we employed lidocaine infusion at 1.5 mg/kg/hour following a bolus dose of 1 mg/kg. The troublesome laryngo tracheal reflexes were successfully blunted and we were able to moderate the depth of anesthesia resulting in stable hemodynamics. A bispectral index monitor was employed to guard against "recall" and a train of four monitor was used to ensure the absence of inadvertent neuromuscular blockade. During the surgery, there was loss of signal on the left recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN). The signal strength was restored by rotating the endotracheal tube on its long axis to realign the electrode with the vocal cords under Glidescope(®) visualization.

Emergency subtotal colectomy in a Jehovah's Witness with massive lower gastrointestinal bleeding: challenges encountered and lessons learned.

A 66-year-old woman who was a Jehovah's Witness had massive lower gastrointestinal bleeding and subsequent hypovolemic shock, necessitating a subtotal colectomy. During the postoperative period, her hemoglobin level decreased to a low of 2.6 g/dL, prolonging her dependence on mechanical ventilation. Prudent perioperative care resulted in a successful outcome. Blood-conserving techniques are indispensable in the management of Jehovah's Witnesses who have massive blood loss. Maximizing oxygen transport, minimizing blood loss, using a cell saver when permissible, providing optimal ventilatory support, performing tracheostomy early if prolonged mechanical ventilation is expected, and augmenting hemoglobin production with administration of iron and erythropoietin are techniques that can facilitate successful outcome in patients who refuse blood transfusion.

Ten years later: a single hospital experience with malignancy in HIV/AIDS.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: We present our experience in the era of HAART with 5,112 patients having HIV infection or AIDS, treated between 2002 and 2006 in our hospital, 182 of whom had malignancies (3.56%). We compared our findings to those from a similar cohort of patients studied 10 years earlier. METHODS: The charts were reviewed and data was electronically collected as in our 1993-1998 study. Similar statistical analyses were performed in both studies and the results were compared. RESULTS: For the current study the average patient age increased by 9 years. A decrease in AIDS-defining cancers (ADC), from 63.6% to 37.3% and a higher incidence of non-AIDS-defining cancers (NADC), 62.7 as opposed to 37.9% was found. No decrease in the incidence of non-Hodgkin's B cell lymphoma (NHL) was noted. There was an increase in the number of opportunistic infections notably hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV). CONCLUSIONS: HIV/AIDS patients on HAART are older, have lower rates of AIDS related Kaposi's sarcoma and a higher incidence of NADCs than did patients in the early HAART era. No decrease in the proportion of NHL was observed.

Schistosomiasis: a rare cause of acute appendicitis in the African American population in the United States.

Schistosomal appendicitis is rarely reported in developed countries. In this article we report a case series of schistosomal appendicitis at our community teaching hospital. In this retrospective study, we conducted a thorough database search for schistosomiasis in patients who had undergone appendectomy for acute appendicitis from 1995 to 2005. Of 1690 total appendectomies performed during this period, three cases of schistosomal appendicitis were identified. Data obtained included patient demographics, laboratory investigations, and pathological specimen. All patients belong to the African American race, are between the ages of 20 and 40 (mean 29.3 +/- 9.5) years, and had onset of symptoms <24 hours in duration. Sudden onset of right lower abdominal pain with leucocytosis (14.1 +/- 1.4 x 10(3)) is a common feature. All patients underwent appendectomy and each was found to have an enlarged and inflamed appendix intraoperatively. Histopathology revealed transmural inflammation predominantly with neutrophils and scanty eosinophils. Schistosomal granulations are present in all layers of appendix including serosa. All patients had an uneventful postoperative recovery. Schistosomal appendicitis is an uncommon condition especially in developed countries like the United States. However, with recent changes in global migration, schistosomiasis should be considered as one of the causes for appendicitis, especially in the African American population.

Abdominal wall endometriomas.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of abdominal wall endometriomas is often confused with other surgical conditions. METHODS: A retrospective study was made of 12 patients presenting with an abdominal wall mass, which proved to be endometrioma. RESULTS: Of a total of 297 patients of endometriosis treated in our hospital over a 7-year period, 12 (4%) had isolated abdominal wall endometriomas. Their mean age was 29.4 years. The presenting symptoms were abdominal mass (n = 12), cyclical (n = 5) or noncyclic pain (n = 7), dyspareunia and dysmenorrhea (n = 1). All patients had a history of gynecologic operations and presented, after an average of 1.9 years, with a tender mass (average 4 cm) at the previous incision site. Preoperative diagnosis was correct in 4 patients (33%) who presented with a cyclically painful abdominal mass. The others were diagnosed as incisional hernia (n = 4), "abdominal wall tumor" (n = 2), and inguinal hernia (n = 2). All patients underwent wide excision of their endometrioma; 2 required polytetrafluoroethylene patch grafting for the resulting fascial defect. The diagnosis was confirmed at frozen section or conventional histological examination in all patients. At follow-up, ranging from 4 months to 3 years, there was no recurrence of endometrioma. CONCLUSIONS: Scar endometrioma commonly presents as an abdominal mass with noncyclical symptoms. Imaging techniques are nonspecific and needle biopsy may confirm the diagnosis. Wide excision is the treatment of choice for abdominal wall endometrioma as well as for recurrent lesions.

Use of endovascular stents in the peripheral circulation.

The concept of transluminal treatment of vascular obstruction by the percutaneous approach was introduced by Dotter and Judkins, in 1964. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) developed rapidly into an extremely important therapeutic modality for relieving symptomatic obstructions in major arteries. However, it was not until 1969 that Dotter reported the successful placement of coiled stainless steel wire endarterial tube grafts, with the aid of a catheter, into the popliteal arteries of dogs. This procedure stimulated the worldwide development and clinical application of endovascular stenting.

Delayed presentation of splenic injury: still a common syndrome.

The entity of delayed splenic rupture represents an initially missed injury, a delayed presentation of the latter, or an actually delayed development of an initially latent, minor, splenic injury. Having encountered a number of patients presenting with splenic rupture days after what was considered a minor abdominal trauma we review our experience with this entity. This is a retrospective study. During the past 6 years 26 patients were treated at our level II trauma center for blunt splenic injuries. The 8 patients who presented 48 h or more after injury are the focus of this communication. All patients had an underlying medical condition: five were drug addicts (one was HIV positive) and the other three were affected by cirrhosis, sickle cell disease, and HIV. The mechanisms of injury were as follows: blunt assault in 5 patients, a fall in 2 patients, and unknown in 1 patient. The patients presented to our hospital after a mean lag time of 5 days after injury (range, 2-10 days). One patient presented in shock and underwent laparotomy after a positive diagnostic peritoneal lavage. Four presented with a clinical acute abdomen, and three presented with abdominal pain and anemia. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) was performed in the seven hemodynamically stable patients demonstrating hemoperitoneum in all: five had a grade III injury and two had a grade II injury. All patients survived after an emergency splenectomy. Delayed presentation of splenic injury after minor abdominal trauma is not uncommon in our indigenous population. It may be associated with drug abuse and HIV.