Adult Hirschsprung's disease: A case report and literature review.

INTRODUCTION & IMPORTANCE: Adult Hirschsprung's disease (AHD) is a difficult diagnosis to make due to its rarity, frequently after emergency interventions have been conducted. We present a case of possible AHD and sketch a classic presentation of Adult Hirschsprung's Disease. This would help recognize and include AHD in the differential diagnoses of chronic constipation where appropriate. CASE PRESENTATION: The case involved a 41-year-old male with a history of multiple abdominal surgeries for volvuli and a ventral hernia repair complicated by post-operative SBO. Presenting symptoms were chronic constipation, abdominal colic, and dilation. SBO secondary to volvulus was discovered, decompressed, and emptied of 3000cc fecal material in the OR. His case was again complicated twice by SBO which led to the suspicion of AHD and instigated this systematic review. Papers were extracted from the EBSCO and PubMed databases. Papers were excluded if patients were younger than 10 years old. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: The classic patient will be a male over the age of 10 years old with an average age of 30 years old and a long history of chronic constipation, often complicated by an acute symptomatic obstruction. Patients may have had a history of multiple surgical or non-surgical interventions to relieve their constipation. CONCLUSION: AHD is being seen more frequently with the increasing availability of healthcare in underserved areas of the world. Duhamel's procedure is the most effective procedure after diagnosis has been made. Barium enema and a biopsy show hypo- or a-ganglionic segments that are to be resected for curative purposes.

Comparing and Correlating Outcomes between Open and Percutaneous Access in Endovascular Aneurysm Repair in Aortic Aneurysms Using a Retrospective Cohort Study Design.

OBJECTIVE: This retrospective cohort study is aimed at determining the safety and efficacy between Femoral Open-Cutdown access and Percutaneous access with Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (EVAR) by contrasting perioperative complication rates. We hypothesized that the percutaneous approach is a better alternative for aortic aneurysm patients as it is minimally invasive and has been demonstrated to decrease the length of hospital stay. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed data for patients undergoing EVAR between the years of 2005 and 2013. We then compared overall mortality, hematoma or seroma formation, graft infection, arterio-venous injury, distal embolization, limb loss, myocardial infarction or arrhythmia, and renal dysfunction. Results were demonstrated using a retrospective cohort study design to confirm the hematoma rate associated with EVAR open compared to percutaneous access. RESULTS: Our series involves 73 patients who underwent percutaneous access for EVAR (n = 49) or traditional open cutdown (n = 24). Percutaneous access resulted in significantly less hematoma formation when compared to the traditional open cutdown (4% vs. 12.5%; p < 0.059). Our analysis suggests decreased mortality rates associated with EVAR as compared to the Open-Cutdown method using Northside Medical Center's Study and the OVER Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study (p = 0.0053). CONCLUSION: Percutaneous access for EVAR is safe and effective when compared to Open-Cutdown access for aortic aneurysm patients. Percutaneous access was associated with decreased rates of in-hospital mortality, hematoma formation, graft infection, and respiratory failure.

Report of a case involving novel use of a post-operative esophagogastroduodenoscopy to re-evaluate a duodenal ulcer bleed.

INTRODUCTION: Acute gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding can be a life-threatening condition. This is usually diagnosed and managed by an upper GI tract endoscopy. When treating actively bleeding duodenal ulcers, surgical intervention, or arterial embolization by Interventional Radiology (IR) is warranted in the event of failed initial management. We present a patient with a significant GI bleed and failure of management through endoscopy, necessitating emergent surgical intervention. PRESENTATION OF CASE: An 87-year-old female presented to the emergency department after a fall. Her hemoglobin level dropped significantly and an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) revealed a large pool of blood in the stomach but had a limited view of an active bleed. The patient was taken emergently to the operating room (OR) where she underwent an exploratory laparotomy, gastroduodenostomy, suture ligation, and pyloroplasty. The following day, she had increased sanguineous output from her nasogastric (NG) tube. Re-evaluation was done with an EGD in the OR. The patient tolerated all procedures well and was transferred to a facility with IR capabilities for further management. DISCUSSION: An EGD hours after gastroduodenostomy runs a high risk for perforation and is not the typical course of action. Given the lack of IR availability and concern for rebleeding, this procedure was performed in the OR to minimize risk. CONCLUSION: A favorable outcome was achieved with this patient and hemostasis was confirmed with the post-operative EGD. Further studies will determine whether this approach is a viable option for facilities without IR until the patient can be transferred.

A case of simultaneous abdominal wall reconstruction and creation of diverting ostomy in a ventral hernia with loss of domain.

INTRODUCTION: Diverting ostomies are traditionally used as a bridge to primary resection in patients with an obstructing mass, or severe inflammatory bowel disease [1]. In some cases, severe infections or non-healing wounds can be better managed after the diversion of fecal material away from the area [2]. In this case report, we discuss a patient who underwent a diverting loop colostomy placement through a ventral hernia defect with primary repair of the hernia in one procedure. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 67-year-old female presented with a large, stage four sacral decubitus ulcer and an incarcerated ventral hernia. She was taken to the operating room for a transverse loop diverting colostomy through a large, pre-existing ventral hernia. The ostomy site was passed through the ventral defect at the midline. The remainder of the ventral hernia was closed primarily, and the initial incision was stapled closed. At post-operative day 11, the ostomy remained functional and intact, with no hernia recurrence, and significantly improved healing of the ulcer was seen. DISCUSSION: The large ventral hernia presented a significant obstacle during pre-operative planning. It was decided that a midline stoma was to be created simultaneously with an abdominal wall reconstruction, as any other site to bring up the ostomy would have been too far laterally. CONCLUSION: The patient was discharged in stable condition. This case presents a novel and viable method for the creation of an ostomy in patients with large ventral hernias. Further study regarding long-term outcomes may be beneficial in establishing utility.