[L-lactate as a serum marker of intestinal ischemia in patients with complicated intestinal obstruction]. / L-lactato como marcador sérico de isquemia intestinal en pacientes con oclusión intestinal complicada.

BACKGROUND: The intestinal obstruction secondary to internal hernia is a diagnostic challenge. The absence of specific symptoms and signs during clinical examination often lead to underestimation of the severity and early surgical treatment. The purpose of this article is to review the clinical presentation of two patients with internal hernia, describe the clinical, biochemical and radiological findings, with emphasis on the L-lactate as an early serum marker of intestinal ischemia. CLINICAL CASES: Case 1: female, 44 years history of urolithiasis and 2 cesarean sections. Case 2: female, 86 year old with a history of open cholecystectomy, incisional and bilateral inguinal hernia repair with mesh placement. Both admitted with abdominal pain and intestinal obstruction data. The only significant laboratory finding was elevation of L-lactate. The abdominal films showed air-fluid levels, dilated loops of small intestine and colon. Abdominal contrast tomography showed free abdominal fluid id, internal hernia and torque of mesentery. In both cases, exploratory laparotomy was performed with bowel resection of ischemic segments, with uneventful recovery. CONCLUSIONS: Intestinal ischemia secondary to internal hernia is difficult lt to diagnose. In patients with a high suspicion, signs of intestinal obstruction by plain radiography, the elevation of L-lactate, could help in the early diagnosis of intestinal ischemia and immediate surgical treatment.

[Congenital diaphragmatic adult hernia. Case report]. / Hernia diafragmática congénita en el adulto. Informe de un caso.

BACKGROUND: Bochdalek's hernia is a congenital defect of the posterolateral region of the diaphragm, usually on the left side. It appears frequently in infants and is rare in adults. Diagnosis is incidental or when it becomes symptomatic. Our objective was to offer the general surgeon a differential diagnosis for presence of noncardiac thoracic pain in the adult. CLINICAL CASE: We present the case of a 78-year-old female with cardiorespiratory and digestive symptoms of slight intensity and managed for many years as hypertensive cardiopathy and dyspeptic syndrome until she was admitted to our service with severe epigastric pain. Postero-anterior x-ray of the thorax demonstrated the presence of the stomach in the thoracic cavity. This was confirmed by barium esophagogram, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and abdominal CT scan where porcelain gallbladder was also detected. The patient underwent abdominal surgery where a large diaphragmatic hernia was found with the complete stomach and small bowel inside. Primary repair of the diaphragm and cholecystectomy were performed, confirming gallbladder cancer. DISCUSSION: It is frequent that thoracic pain in patients of advanced age is interpreted as cardiac and/or digestive pathology and that more diagnostic investigation is not pursued due to patient age and invasive nature of the studies. Therefore, patients are treated according to their symptoms. It is important that the surgeon establishes an etiological diagnosis in order to offer appropriate treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia in the adult is rarely suspected in the differential diagnosis of noncardiac thoracic pain. The surgeon must keep this in mind, especially in patients of advanced age, even when cardiac and/or gastrointestinal diagnosis is confirmed.

Hernia diafragmática congénita en el adulto: informe de un caso / Congenital diaphragmatic adult hernia: case report

BACKGROUND: Bochdalek's hernia is a congenital defect of the posterolateral region of the diaphragm, usually on the left side. It appears frequently in infants and is rare in adults. Diagnosis is incidental or when it becomes symptomatic. Our objective was to offer the general surgeon a differential diagnosis for presence of noncardiac thoracic pain in the adult. CLINICAL CASE: We present the case of a 78-year-old female with cardiorespiratory and digestive symptoms of slight intensity and managed for many years as hypertensive cardiopathy and dyspeptic syndrome until she was admitted to our service with severe epigastric pain. Postero-anterior x-ray of the thorax demonstrated the presence of the stomach in the thoracic cavity. This was confirmed by barium esophagogram, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and abdominal CT scan where porcelain gallbladder was also detected. The patient underwent abdominal surgery where a large diaphragmatic hernia was found with the complete stomach and small bowel inside. Primary repair of the diaphragm and cholecystectomy were performed, confirming gallbladder cancer. DISCUSSION: It is frequent that thoracic pain in patients of advanced age is interpreted as cardiac and/or digestive pathology and that more diagnostic investigation is not pursued due to patient age and invasive nature of the studies. Therefore, patients are treated according to their symptoms. It is important that the surgeon establishes an etiological diagnosis in order to offer appropriate treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia in the adult is rarely suspected in the differential diagnosis of noncardiac thoracic pain. The surgeon must keep this in mind, especially in patients of advanced age, even when cardiac and/or gastrointestinal diagnosis is confirmed.

[Use of vacuum-assisted closure in the treatment of surgical infection sites]. / Uso del sistema de cierre asistido al vacío VAC en el tratamiento de las heridas quirúrgicas infectadas. Experiencia clínica.

Surgical site infection is one of the most important health problems representing an increase in morbi-mortality and economical devastation for the patient. There have been a variety of procedures that surgeons have employed to control this situation, from very refined surgical procedures, advanced antimicrobial therapy to local therapy with alginates, hydrocolloid dressings and many others with active topical substances. One of the newest treatments is the VAC (Vacuum-Assisted Closure). This therapy has been proven to be useful in wound infection control and we used it to carry out this study in 38 patients with wound infections. We present the results with this therapy in our institution.

[Appendiceal stump appendicitis. Case report]. / Apendicitis del muñón apendicular. Informe de un caso.

Acute appendicitis is still the first cause of abdominal surgery worldwide, with 1.4 cases/1000 in the general population. As frequent as this is, appendiceal stump appendicitis is a very rare surgical event, due to an incomplete appendix resection and misleading cecum base identification due to cecum edema, abscesses, abnormal anatomy position of the appendix or multiple adhesions. The incidence of appendiceal stump appendicitis is not well known; however, there are some reports that suggest a slight increase in this pathology possibly due to laparoscopic surgical techniques. This report attempts to point out this diagnostic possibility to be considered by the surgeon when presented with a patient with acute abdominal pain and a past appendectomy.

[Adrenal gland lymphangiomas. A case report]. / Linfangioma de glándula suprarrenal. Reporte de un caso.

Adrenal gland lymphangiomas are benign, non-functional, and uncommon tumors of lymphatic tissue and with a cyst component. The majority of these are asymptomatic and are discovered incidentally. We present the case of an adrenal gland lymphangioma in a 24-year-old female with a history of high blood pressure, headaches, and anxiety of nearly 2 years in whom a routine ultrasound exam revealed a cyst tumor of right adrenal gland confirmed by computer tomography (CT) scan. Surgery was performed and lymphangioma of adrenal gland was the pathologist's report. The patient's clinical symptoms disappeared.