The use of ultrasound in the clinical re-staging of the axilla after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT).

INTRODUCTION: Ultrasound (US) is the imaging modality of choice for staging the axilla prior to surgery in patients with breast cancer (BC). High pathological complete response rates in the axilla after NACT mean a more conservative approach to surgery can be considered. Radiological re-staging is important in this decision making. After the presentation of results from ACOSOG Z1071 in December 2012, formal ultrasound re-assessment of the axilla after primary therapy was specifically requested in our institution. We report on the accuracy of axillary US (aUS) for identifying residual axillary disease post-NACT. METHODS: Data were collected on patients who had proven axillary disease prior to NACT and underwent axillary lymph node dissection after NACT between January 2013 and December 2015. Post-chemotherapy aUS reports and axillary pathology reports were classified as positive or negative for abnormal lymph nodes and for residual disease (cCR and pCR respectively). RESULTS: The sensitivity and specificity of aUS was 71% and 88% respectively. The negative predictive value (NPV) was 83%. The false negative rate was 29%. CONCLUSIONS: Axillary ultrasound provides clinically useful information post-NACT, which will guide surgical decision-making. Patients with aUS-negative axillae are likely to have a lower false negative rate of SLNB after NACT (Boughey et al.). However, aUS does not replace the need to identify and biopsy the nodes which were proven to be positive prior to NACT.

Alterations in gut hormones after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: a prospective clinical and laboratory investigational study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) on fasting and meal-stimulated release of the gut hormones ghrelin, pancreatic polypeptide (PP), peptide-YY (PYY), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), and amylin and of the adipocytokine leptin. BACKGROUND: Mounting evidence suggests that the mechanisms of weight loss and the improvement in glucose metabolism seen after LSG are related not only to gastric restriction but also to neurohormonal changes. METHODS: : Fasting and postprandial levels at 60 and 120 minutes after a standard test meal of the above peptides and glucose metabolism indices were evaluated in 15 consecutive morbidly obese (MO) subjects before and 6 and 12 months after LSG. As study controls, 15 lean subjects matched for age and sex were also assessed. RESULTS: Body mass index values notably decreased at 6 and 12 months (P < 0.01), postoperatively. In addition, an overall improvement of the glycemic profile of MO patients was noted. After LSG, markedly decreased fasting and postprandial levels of ghrelin, amylin, and leptin were observed. A significant postprandial increase of PYY and GLP-1 levels was also noted postoperatively. Interestingly, significantly increased levels of PP were noted only at 60 minutes postprandially after LSG. CONCLUSIONS: LSG markedly improved glucose homeostasis and generated significant changes in ghrelin, PP, PYY, GLP-1, amylin, and leptin levels. These multiple hormonal actions may have several beneficial effects on the underlying mechanism of weight loss, demonstrating that LSG could be more than just a restrictive bariatric operation.

Sleeve gastrectomy plus side-to-side jejunoileal anastomosis for the treatment of morbid obesity and metabolic diseases: a promising operation.

BACKGROUND: The continuing need for simple, safe, and effective procedures led us to design a new operation for treating morbid obesity. METHODS: Thirty-two patients underwent our novel procedure, sleeve gastrectomy plus side-to-side jejunoileal anastomosis (SG plus), and were followed for 6 to 24 months. A matched cohort of 32 patients underwent sleeve gastrectomy over the same period and was used as the control group. Weight loss, comorbidity outcomes, and the duodenum to cecum transit time after a gastrografin swallow, performed at postoperative day 4, were compared. RESULTS: There were no deaths and no major perioperative complications. Three patients developed long-term complications requiring surgical intervention (intestinal obstruction, nausea-vomiting, and hypoalbuminemia). In the SG plus group, a 77.8 % excess weight loss was achieved at 12 months postoperatively, which was significantly better (p < 0.01) than the 67 % observed in the control group. The comorbidity outcomes, particularly diabetes resolution, were also significantly superior in the SG plus patients. The duodenum to cecum transit time of 11 min in the SG plus group was significantly shorter (p < 0.01) than the 31 min observed in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Sleeve gastrectomy plus side-to-side jejunoileal anastomosis appears to be a simple, considerably safe, and effective procedure for treating obesity and its metabolic comorbidities.