[Extrahepatic biliary lesions in abdominal traumatism]. / Lesiones biliares extrahepáticas en el traumatismo abdominal.

The extrahepatic biliary tree traumatisms are rare and hard to diagnose; 15 of 864 patients with surgery treatment for abdominal trauma for over 19 years (1974-1992) were studied retrospectively. Twelve blunt abdominal traumas (9 traffic accident and 3 falls down) and 3 open traumas (stabbing in two and gunshot wounds in one case). Eleven had gallbladder injury, two gallbladder and biliary duct and two exclusively biliary duct. Only one case was an isolated lesion, in the rest of cases, intra or extra abdominal lesions, occasionally both, were seen. The diagnostic method, associated lesions, morbi-mortality are reviewed. Surgical treatment was cholecystectomy for gallbladder injury and direct suture with T-tube (Kehr) for biliary duct injury.

[Colorectal cancer in elderly patients: postoperative mortality and survival]. / Cancer colorrectal en pacientes de edad avanzada: mortalidad postoperatoria y supervivencia.

Twenty percent of colorectal cancers develop in elderly patients. Since the size of the geriatric population increases this percentage will get higher. The data collected from the Cantabria Colorectal Cancer Population Registry (1989-90) were divided into two groups: patients aged > or = 80 years at diagnosis and patients aged < 80. The postoperative mortality rates were 11% vs. 7%. Emergency surgery on patients over 80 years was associated with a significantly higher incidence of perioperative deaths (26%). Three-year survival rates for the two groups (20%) were not significantly different. These data suggest that elderly patients suffering from colorectal cancer can be treated by standard methods.