Neoadjuvant Multikinase Inhibitor in Patients With Locally Advanced Unresectable Thyroid Carcinoma.

Background: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common and less aggressive thyroid cancer, but some patients may display locally advanced disease. Therapeutic options are limited in these cases, particularly for those patients with unresectable tumors. Neoadjuvant therapy is not part of the recommended work up. Methods: Report a case of an unresectable grossly locally invasive PTC successfully managed with neoadjuvant therapy and provide a systematic review (SR) using the terms "Neoadjuvant therapy" AND "Thyroid carcinoma." Results: A 32-year-old man with a 7.8 cm (in the largest dimension) PTC was referred to total thyroidectomy, but tumor resection was not feasible due to extensive local invasion (trachea, esophagus, and adjacent structures). Sorafenib, a multikinase inhibitor (MKI), was initiated; a 70% tumor reduction was observed after 6 months, allowing new surgical intervention and complete resection. Radioactive iodine (RAI) was administered as adjuvant therapy, and whole body scan (WBS) shows uptake on thyroid bed. One-year post-surgery the patient is asymptomatic with a status of disease defined as an incomplete biochemical response. The SR retrieved 123 studies on neoadjuvant therapy use in thyroid carcinoma; of them, 6 were extracted: 4 case reports and 2 observational studies. MKIs were used as neoadjuvant therapy in three clinical cases with 70-84% of tumor reduction allowing surgery. Conclusion: Our findings, along with other reports, suggest that MKIs is an effective neoadjuvant therapy and should be considered as a therapeutic strategy for unresectable grossly locally invasive thyroid carcinomas.

Apendicectomia laparascópica versus aberta: análise retrospectiva / Laparascopic versus open appendectomy: retrospective analises

Introdução: As técnicas de apendicectomia convencional (aberta) e videolaparoscópica (VLP) vêm sendo amplamente estudadas com o objetivo de definir uma técnica padrão-ouro. No entanto, os estudos até hoje realizados não foram capazes de uniformizar a indicação cirúrgica mais adequada. Objetivo: Este estudo tem como objetivo analisar a casuística do Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA) e comparar os resultados de apendicectomias obtidos através da técnica convencional com aqueles encontrados através do uso da videolaparoscopia. Métodos: Estudo descritivo de uma coorte histórica de 348 pacientes maiores de 12 anos submetidos à apendicectomia no HCPA no período de 01/01/2004 a 31/12/2005. Resultados: O tempo cirúrgico, tempo de internação hospitalar e taxa de abscesso intra-abdominal não apresentam diferença estatisticamente significativa. A técnica VLP foi superior à convencional quando comparada a taxas de infecção de ferida operatória (p < 0,001). A videolaparoscopia foi mais indicada em mulheres e mais realizada por profissionais com maior experiência (p < 0,001). Conclusão: A cirurgia aberta mostrou significativas desvantagens em comparação à videolaparoscopia, como uma maior taxa de infecção em ferida posoperatória. Entretanto, ainda são necessários estudos prospectivos complementares para melhor comparar as duas técnicas. Portanto, a definição da técnica cirúrgica deve ser baseada principalmente na experiência do cirurgião e nas características clínicas de cada paciente.

Background: Conventional (open) and laparoscopic appendectomies are being widely studied in order to define a gold standard technique. Nevertheless, the studies until now could not be able to standardize the most adequate surgical indication. Objective: To analyze our hospital’s case series and compare the results obtained using open appendectomy with the results found with laparoscopic technique. Methods: Descriptive historical cohort study of 348 patients older than 12 years-old that underwent either open or laparoscopic appendectomies from 01/01/2004 to 12/31/2005 Results: Operative time, length of stay in hospital and intra-abdominal abscess rate were not statistically significant. Laparoscopic technique was superior to open procedure when wound infection (p < 0.001) was compared. Also, laparoscopy was more indicated among women and it was more performed by experienced professionals (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Open appendectomy showed significant disadvantages when compared to laparoscopic surgery, like a higher post-operatory wound infection rate. However, additional prospective studies are needed to better compare the two procedures. Therefore, surgical technique must be defined based on the experience of the surgeon and the clinical condition of the patient.

Cirurgia de tireoide no Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre / Thyroide surgery in the Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre

Estudo retrospectivo de 431 cirurgias sobre a glandula tireoide, realizadas de marco de 1975 a abril de 1986, em um hospital geral - 83,9% em pacientes do sexo feminino e idade media de 45,6 anos. O tempo medio de permanencia hospitalar foi de 7,3 dias. A indicacao cirurgia deveu-se em 54,5% a presenca de nodulo frio a cintilografia; 54,5% dos pacientes nao realizaram nenhum tipo de tratamento previo a cirurgia. O bocio coloide foi o diagnostico mais frequente enquanto a lobectomia o procedimento mais realizado. Em 86,0% das cirurgias foram utilizados drenos. Hipoparatireoidismo transitorio (9,9%), seroma de ferida operatoria (7,2%), hipotireoidismo (5,6%) e lesao do nervo laringeo inferior (5,6%) foram as complicacoes mais encontradas