Surgical Complications in Myeloproliferative Neoplasm Patient with Essential Thrombocythemia: A Case Report.

Introduction: Essential thrombocythemia (ET) is a myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) which could complicate surgical procedures due to thrombosis and spontaneous bleeding. However, currently, there is neither concrete guideline nor prerequisite for ET patients who underwent operations. Case Report: A 48 year-old-female was admitted to the emergency unit on 21 February 2020 due to vomiting and inability to pass gas/stool. The patient previously had an operation for uterine myoma two weeks before which showed thrombocyte count of 688,000/mm3. The patient was previously diagnosed with essential thrombocythemia with positive JAK2V617 point mutation on 24 June 2019. Laboratory examination showed thrombocyte 1,134,000/mm3 and leukocyte 22,700/mm3 suggestive of neutrophilia. CT scan showed fluid collection with blood density in the abdomen and pelvis. She was then diagnosed with obstructive ileus due to abdominal abscess and intestine adhesion. Adhesiolysis by laparoscopy was performed on 29 February 2020 with thrombocyte count of 727,000/mm3. Patient was able to pass flatus and defecate three days post-surgery. However, a decrease of hemoglobin to 8.2 g/dL on 3 March 2020 with thrombocyte count of 700,000/mm3 was suggestive of internal bleeding. She was discharged three weeks post-surgery after improvement of clinical condition with thrombocyte count of 850,000/mm3. She was given hydroxyurea 1000 mg once every two days, aspirin 80 mg OD, anagrelide 1 mg OD, and amlodipine 10 mg OD. Conclusion: Myeloproliferative disease patients with high thrombocyte count are subjected to increased risk of thrombotic complications in perioperative settings, thus perioperative management and risk assessment are important to improve quality of life and prevent complications. Surgery in MPN patients with elevated thrombocytes may be considered if the benefits outweigh the risks. More studies in this field should be conducted in-order to provide more data for a guideline or systematic review/meta-analyses.

Abdominal Tuberculosis Mimicking Ovarian Cancer: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease with high morbidity and mortality resulting from infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB can disseminate to any organ system of the body resulting in extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Interestingly, CA-125, which is a biomarker for some cancer, also rises in benign diseases such as pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis which may complicate diagnosis. In this case report, we present an abdominal tuberculosis patient that was initially presented as ovarian cancer. Case Report: A 30-year-old woman admitted to the emergency department with chief complaint of fatigue and shortness of breath since 3 months ago. She had lost around 20 kg weight in the past 5 months. She was previously suspected with ovarian cancer because of the characteristic features of malignancy, high levels of CA-125, and positive PET scan. She was later diagnosed with abdominal TB. Subsequently, the patient was given anti-TB drugs, and the patient showed clinical improvement. Conclusion: In the case of an elevated CA-125, clinicians should consider extrapulmonary TB as a differential diagnosis of ovarian cancer, especially in countries with high burden of tuberculosis.

Clinical Practice Guidelines for Cryosurgery of Pancreatic Cancer: A Consensus Statement From the China Cooperative Group of Cryosurgery on Pancreatic Cancer, International Society of Cryosurgery, and Asian Society of Cryosurgery.

Pancreatic cancer (PC), one of the most lethal malignancies, accounts for 8% to 10% of digestive system cancers, and the incidence is increasing. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy have been the main treatment methods but are not very effective. Cryosurgery was first used in 1984 for treatment of locally advanced PC and has since become a considerable treatment for most cases of unresectable PC. During the past decade, cryosurgery has been applied in some hospitals in China, and the newly developed technique of computed tomography- and/or ultrasound-guided percutaneous cryosurgery has shown better results than chemotherapy in cases of unresectable locally advanced PC, with the 1-year survival rate reported to be more than 50%. To develop standardized criteria for the application of cryosurgery in PC, the International Society of Cryosurgery and Asian Society of Cryosurgery assembled experts from Austria, Japan, and China to discuss treatment methods and arrive at a consensus on the indications, contraindications, and preferred techniques of PC cryosurgery.

Allogeneic islet cells implant on poly-l-lactide matrix to reduce hyperglycaemia in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the effects of allogeneic islet cell matrix implants for glycaemic control in rats with induced diabetes. METHOD: Sprague-Dawley rats were used as allogeneic donors of islet cells. Cells were seeded on three-dimensional proprietary poly-(l-lactide) matrices. Animals were rendered diabetic and a week later a matrix seeded with islet cells (IMI group) or a control matrix (placebo group) was implanted in the small bowel mesentery. Blood glucose levels were measured weekly for 12 weeks. After sacrifice, implant sections were Gomori stained for beta-cells and immuno-stained for insulin 3, 4, 5, and 6 months post implantation. RESULTS: 82% of seeded islet cells attached to the matrices. In the IMI group blood glucose levels were significantly reduced after implantation compared with before implantation across several time points. In the IMI group beta-cells and insulin-positive cells were identified at the implant site. CONCLUSION: The islet cell matrix implant reduced the blood glucose levels although complete normo-glycaemia was not established. The islet cell matrix implant may serve as an additional option for islet cell transplantation using 3D scaffold platforms for better survival and function of the islet cells.

Laparoscopic repair of a Bochdalek hernia in an adult woman.

Bochdalek hernia (BH) is a congenital defect of the diaphragm that usually presents in the neonatal period with life threatening cardiorespiratory distress. It is rare for BH to remain silent until adulthood. A 51-year-old woman presented with progressive dyspnea and abdominal symptoms, but without a history of trauma. The diagnosis of BH was made based on chest X-ray and CT. The hernia was repaired by the laparoscopic technique, and the patient made an uneventful recovery. This report validates the feasibility of laparoscopic repair of BH in an adult, which should be within the capability of an advanced laparoscopic surgeon.

Inguinal hernia repair: toward Asian guidelines.

Groin hernias are very common, and surgical treatment is usually recommended. In fact, hernia repair is the most common surgical procedure performed worldwide. In countries such as the USA, China, and India, there may easily be over 1 million repairs every year. The need for this surgery has become an important socioeconomic problem and may affect health-care providers, especially in aging societies. Surgical repair using mesh is recommended and widely employed in Western countries, but in many developing countries, tissue-to-tissue repair is still the preferred surgical procedure due to economic constraints. For these reason, the development and implementation of guidelines, consensus, or recommendations may aim to clarify issues related to best practices in inguinal hernia repair in Asia. A group of Asian experts in hernia repair gathered together to debate inguinal hernia treatments in Asia in an attempt to reach some consensus or develop recommendations on best practices in the region. The need for recommendations or guidelines was unanimously confirmed to help overcome the discrepancy in clinical practice between countries; the experts decided to focus mainly on the technical aspects of open repair, which is the most common surgery for hernia in our region. After the identification of 12 main topics for discussion (indication, age, and sex; symptomatic and asymptomatic hernia: type of hernia; type of treatment; hospital admission; preoperative care; anesthesia; surgical technique; perioperative care; postoperative care; early complications; and long-term complications), a search of the literature was carried out according to the five levels of the Oxford Classification of Evidence and the four grades of recommendation.

Bariatric surgery in Asia in the last 5 years (2005-2009).

Obesity is a major public health concern around the world, including Asia. Bariatric surgery has grown in popularity to combat this rising trend. An e-mail questionnaire survey was sent to all the representative Asia-Pacific Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Society (APMBSS) members of 12 leading Asian countries to provide bariatric surgery data for the last 5 years (2005-2009). The data provided by representative members were discussed at the 6th International APMBSS Congress held at Singapore between 21st and 23rd October 2010. Eleven nations except China responded. Between 2005 and 2009, a total of 6,598 bariatric procedures were performed on 2,445 men and 4,153 women with a mean age of 35.5 years (range, 18-69years) and mean BMI of 44.27 kg/m(2) (range, 31.4-73 kg/m(2)) by 155 practicing surgeons. Almost all of the operations were performed laparoscopically (99.8%). For combined years 2005-2009, the four most commonly performed procedures were laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB, 35.9%), laparoscopic standard Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB, 24.3%), laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG, 19.5%), and laparoscopic mini gastric bypass (15.4%). Comparing the 5-year trend from 2004 to 2009, the absolute numbers of bariatric surgery procedures in Asia increased from 381 to 2,091, an increase of 5.5 times. LSG increased from 1% to 24.8% and LRYGB from 12% to 27.7%, a relative increase of 24.8 and 2.3 times, whereas LAGB and mini gastric bypass decreased from 44.6% to 35.6% and 41.7% to 6.7%, respectively. The absolute growth rate of bariatric surgery in Asia over the last 5 years was 449%.