'The parachute method': A novel technique for laparoscopic tumour handling.

Aims and Objectives: Although laparoscopic surgery for submucosal tumours (SMTs) may require multiple support threads, the traction direction of a single thread is only one option and cannot be freely changed. To solve this problem, we introduced a novel innovative technique for tumour handling, named 'the parachute method'. Subjects and Methods: Prior to suturing, the surrounding vessel was treated when the tumour was located near the lesser or greater curvature. A monofilament thread was ligated in the serous muscle layer along the peritumoural markings with approximately five stitches in a row, with moderate deflection. Next, the other monofilament thread was passed through the deflection and ligated; this resembled a parachute shape that could be pulled in any direction over the entire circumference with uniform tension. Results: We performed this procedure in three patients with extramural growth-type gastrointestinal stromal tumours of approximately 2-3 cm. The median suturing time was 10 minutes. Laparoscopic local resection of the stomach was safely performed, and the patients were discharged without any complications. Conclusion: In this study, we demonstrate a novel, simple, inexpensive, useful and reasonable technique for handling SMTs, named 'the parachute method'. We believe that this technique will have additional applications in cooperative surgery with endoscopy.

[Spontaneous Rupture of the Thoracic Aorta after Surgery of Rectal Cancer in an Elderly Patient；Report of a Case].

We reported a case of a 90-year-old man who underwent abdominoperineal resection of the rectum for advanced rectal cancer. On the 16th postoperative day, he suddenly lost consciousness during an exchange of the colostomy pouches. His heart arrested in a moment, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation was immediately performed, but in vain. The autopsy imaging revealed collapse of the heart and the thoracic aorta, as well as profuse blood-like effusion in the left pleural cavity. We considered that hemorrhagic shock due to spontaneous rupture of the thoracic aorta was the cause of his death.

Desmoid tumor occurrence following gastric cancer surgery: A report of two cases.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: While rare, desmoid tumors can develop after abdominal surgery and are difficult to differentiate from recurrent tumors following cancer resection. In this report, we describe two cases of desmoid tumors that occurred following gastric cancer procedures and were successfully treated with surgical resection. CASE PRESENTATION: In Case 1, a 77-year-old woman underwent open distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer followed by Roux-en-Y reconstruction. The pathological diagnosis was stage IIB T3N1M0 disease. Four years postsurgically, computed tomography (CT) revealed a 2.4 cm tumor lesion in the upper abdomen. Desmoid tumor was the most suspected tumor, for which a resection with partial resection of the jejunum was performed. In case 2, a 60-year-old man underwent open distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer and Billroth I reconstruction; the pathological diagnosis was T1aN0M0 stage IA. Two years later, CT revealed a 4.0 cm tumor lesion in the upper abdomen. As in Case 1, desmoid tumor was most suspected, a tumor resection with partial resection of the jejunum was performed. Based on the pathological findings, the tumors were diagnosed as desmoid tumor. There had been no recurrence of either gastric cancer or the desmoid tumor in both cases. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: Although active surveillance has been recommended for desmoid tumors recently, surgical resection is appropriate when recurrence cannot be ruled out. CONCLUSIONS: Desmoid tumors should be included in the differential diagnosis when intra-abdominal tumors occur after surgery for gastric cancer. Complete resection with adequate margins can prevent desmoid recurrence.

Surgical resection of a retroperitoneal liposarcoma producing insulin-like growth factor II: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Tumor-produced high molecular weight insulin-like growth factor-II (big insulin-like growth factor-II) is considered to cause non-islet cell tumor hypoglycemia. This paper presents a case of surgically resected retroperitoneal liposarcoma that produced big insulin-like growth factor-II. CASE PRESENTATION: Here, we report the case of a 62-year-old woman who presented with an abdominal mass and hypoglycemia. Non-islet cell tumor hypoglycemia due to retroperitoneal liposarcoma was suspected. After complete resection of the tumor, the patient's hypoglycemia improved and big insulin-like growth factor-II disappeared in the molecular weight analysis of serum insulin-like growth factor-II by western blotting. The patient had no tumor recurrence or reappearance of hypoglycemia 16 months after the operation without any adjuvant therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Although insulin-like growth factor-II-producing tumors are generally large and difficult to operate on, surgical resection is currently the most effective and only treatment; thus, it is essential to attempt resection aggressively.

Severe reflux esophagitis after total gastrectomy successfully treated by transposition of the jejunojejunal anastomosis: a report of two cases.

BACKGROUND: Reflux esophagitis after total gastrectomy is often difficult to treat. In this report, we describe two cases of reflux esophagitis that were refractory to medical therapy and successfully treated by transposition of the jejunojejunal anastomosis. CASE PRESENTATION: Case 1: A 66-year-old man underwent total gastrectomy and cholecystectomy for gastric cancer, and Roux-en-Y (RY) reconstruction was performed. The pathological diagnosis was T4aN3aM0 stage IIIC. Five months later, esophagogastroduodenoscopy identified reflux esophagitis. Although he was treated with various oral medications and was hospitalized six times, he lost 19 kg of weight. Finally, the patient was reoperated 3 years postoperatively. Intraoperative findings showed that there was no evidence of recurrence or severe adhesions that could have caused obstruction, and the anastomotic distance between the esophagojejunostomy and the jejunojejunostomy was approximately 40 cm. The jejunojejunostomy was re-anastomosed to increase the distance to 100 cm. Two years and 6 months after the reoperation, there was no recurrence of reflux esophagitis, and the patient's weight increased by 14 kg. Case 2: A 68-year-old woman underwent total gastrectomy and cholecystectomy for gastric cancer, and RY reconstruction was performed. The pathological diagnosis was T4aN0M0 stage IIB. Similar to Case 1, the patient was diagnosed with reflux esophagitis 5 months later. She lost 23 kg of weight and was reoperated at 6 months postoperatively. Intraoperative findings showed that there was no evidence of recurrence or severe adhesions, and transposition of the jejunojejunostomy was performed to increase the distance between anastomoses from 40 to 100 cm. Two years and 8 months after the reoperation, there was no recurrence of reflux esophagitis, and her weight increased by 15 kg. CONCLUSIONS: Transposition of the jejunojejunostomy was an effective treatment for medication-resistant severe reflux esophagitis after total gastrectomy.

Efficacy and tolerability of weekly paclitaxel in combination with high-dose toremifene citrate in patients with metastatic breast cancer.

Toremifene citrate is expected to prevent drug resistance in cancer patients by inhibiting p-glycoprotein activity. The safety and efficacy of combination therapy with high-dose toremifene citrate and paclitaxel were investigated. Between December 2003 and June 2004, 15 women with a mean age of 53 years old with metastatic breast cancer were enrolled. The administration schedule was 80 mg/m2 of paclitaxel given on Days 1, 8, and 15, and 120 mg/day of toremifene citrate orally administered starting on Day 18. On Days 32 and 39, paclitaxel was concurrently administered again. Toxicities, response rate, and time to treatment failure were assessed. All patients had been treated with endocrine or chemotherapy. Grade 3 leukopenia occurred in 2 patients on the administration of paclitaxel alone, and grade 3 febrile neutropenia occurred in 1 patient given the combination therapy. There was no grade 3 or greater non-hematological toxicity. There was no complete response and 1 partial response, producing a response rate of 6.7%. Median time to treatment failure was 2.7 months. Combination therapy of paclitaxel and toremifene was safe and well tolerated with minimal toxicity. Further clinical trials targeting patients with functional p-glycoprotein are warranted.

Peculiar mechanisms of graft recovery through anti-inflammatory responses after rat lung transplantation from donation after cardiac death.

BACKGROUND: Although lung transplantation from donation after cardiac death (DCD), especially uncontrolled DCD, is limited by warm ischemic periods, the molecular mechanism of warm ischemia-reperfusion-injury (IRI) has not been well elucidated. The purpose of this study was to clarify the particular longitudinal mechanisms of molecular factors involved in warm IRI. METHODS: Cold ischemic-time (CIT)-group lungs were retrieved and subjected to 3-h of cold preservation, whereas warm ischemic-time (WIT)-group lungs were retrieved after 3-h of warm ischemia. Orthotopic rat lung transplantation was performed and the grafts were reperfused for 1 or 4-h. The graft functions, gene expression, and activation of inflammatory molecules in the grafts were analyzed. Exhaled-carbon-monoxide-concentration (ExCO-C) was measured during reperfusion. RESULTS: Only the WIT-group showed obvious primary graft dysfunction at 1-h reperfusion, but the graft function was recovered during 4-h reperfusion. Most of pro-inflammatory cytokines and stress-induced molecules showed different expression and activation patterns between CIT and WIT groups. In the WIT-group, the expressions of anti-inflammatory molecules, IL-10 and HO-1, were significantly increased at 1-h reperfusion compared to the CIT-group, and these high levels were maintained through 4-h reperfusion. Furthermore, ExCO-C levels in the WIT-group increased immediately after reperfusion compared to the CIT-group. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that warm IRI may involve a different mechanism than cold IRI and anti-inflammatory pathways may play important roles in the graft recovery after lung transplantation from uncontrolled DCD.

Early effects of the ex vivo evaluation system on graft function after swine lung transplantation.

OBJECTIVES: Ex vivo lung evaluation (ex vivo) has been developed as a useful method by which to assess lungs from donation-after-cardiac death (DCD) donors prior to transplant. However, the safety of the ex vivo circulation itself with respect to grafts has not been fully investigated. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of the ex vivo circuit using a swine lung transplant model. METHODS: Lungs with or without 2-h warm ischemia were used. To assess post-transplant graft function, the left lung was transplanted after 2-h ex vivo or cold preservation; blood gas analysis of the left pulmonary vein (partial pressure of oxygen, PO(2)) was performed during the 6-h post-transplant follow-up period. Data were compared between the ex vivo (+) and ex vivo (-) groups. RESULTS: Partial pressure of oxygen/ inspired oxygen fraction (PO(2)/FiO(2)) in the ex vivo (-) group was significantly greater than that in the ex vivo (+) group until 3h after transplant. The PO(2)/FiO(2) levels in both groups then increased and became similar at 6 h after transplant, regardless of whether ischemic or non-ischemic lungs (p<0.001 and p=0.004, respectively) were used. CONCLUSIONS: Negative effects of the ex vivo system were limited and seen only in the immediate post-transplant period. Therefore, in DCD swine lung transplantation, the ex vivo system appears to be safe.

Effect of donor pre-mortem hypoxia and hypotension on graft function and start of warm ischemia in donation after cardiac death lung transplantation.

BACKGROUND: The start of warm ischemic time (WIT) of donor lungs in donation after cardiac death (DCD) is not clearly defined. We investigated the effect of donor pre-mortem hypotension and hypoxia to determine which physiologic factor is the determinant of WIT onset in controlled DCD lung transplantation. METHODS: Twenty mechanically-ventilated donor pigs were placed in 4 groups (n = 5 each) and exposed to each of the pseudo-agonal conditions for 60 minutes: (1) control group, no intervention and optimum ventilation, followed by cardiac arrest; (2) hypotension (HT) group, controlled cardiac tamponade reducing systolic blood pressure to <50 mm Hg, followed by cardiac arrest; (3) hypoventilation (HV) group, ventilation with room air at 5 breaths/min, followed by cardiac arrest; (4) non-circulation (NC) group, initial cardiac arrest, followed by a 60-minute standoff time. The lung graft was retrieved and the left lung was transplanted to the recipient. Graft function was evaluated for 4 hours after contralateral pulmonary artery ligation. The reperfusion injury was evaluated based on tissue cytokine expression, wet weight-to-dry weight ratio, and histology at the end of the reperfusion period. RESULTS: Impaired post-transplant graft function was seen in the HV group, which had significantly poorer oxygenation during the reperfusion period than the other groups (p < 0.001). The HV group also had higher tissue levels of interleukin-8 (p < 0.05), a higher wet weight-to-dry weight ratio (p < 0.05), and histologic findings of graft tissue injury than the control group. The difference in these parameters among the control, HT, and NC groups was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Only pre-mortem hypoxia provoked by hypoventilation significantly impaired lung graft function in DCD lung transplantation. Ventilatory rather than circulatory deterioration can trigger the onset of warm ischemia.

Suppression of inflammatory cytokines during ex vivo lung perfusion with an adsorbent membrane.

BACKGROUND: Lung grafts can be perfused ex vivo for 2 hours without edema formation; however, prolonged ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) eventually induces lung injury. This study evaluated the change in proinflammatory cytokines of the perfusate during EVLP and investigated the effect of cytokine removal using an adsorbent membrane. METHODS: Porcine heart-lung blocks were harvested after electrically induced cardiac arrest and underwent 12-hour EVLP with an adsorbent membrane (membrane group: n = 5) and without an adsorbent membrane (control group: n = 6). RESULTS: In the control group, both tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin 8 levels were elevated in the perfusate 2 hours after perfusion. Although tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin 8 levels were significantly lower in the membrane group than in the control group during the EVLP period, there was no significant difference in oxygenation, pulmonary vascular resistance, edema formation, or myeloperoxidase activity between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin 8 levels of the perfusate were elevated during EVLP. Although adverse effects of these inflammatory cytokines were anticipated, removal of inflammatory cytokines by the adsorbent membrane did not improve lung function during prolonged EVLP. Factors other than the cytokines may play a major role in causing lung injury during EVLP. Further research is needed to investigate the real mechanism of lung graft injury during prolonged EVLP and to establish longer EVLP duration for graft treatment. This strategy could contribute to the salvage of potentially damaged lungs, especially from cardiac death donors, and to expansion of the donor pool.

Pharmacokinetic analysis of a combined chemoendocrine treatment with paclitaxel and toremifene for metastatic breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Multidrug resistance protein could be a target for improving the efficacy of paclitaxel (PXL). Toremifene (TOR) may moderate P-gp-related drug resistance in vitro. Some P-gp moderators may change the pharmacokinetic parameters of PXL in vivo. A pharmacokinetic (PK) study in metastatic breast cancer patients (MBC) was conducted to determine the safety and efficacy of PXL and TOR. METHOD AND PATIENTS: Fifteen patients received 80 mg/m(2) PXL (i.v.) weekly and 120 mg/body TOR (p.o.) daily. For the pharmacokinetic study, PXL was administered on days 1, 8, 15, 32, and 39; TOR was given from day 18 to the end of study. On days 1, 8, 15, 18, 32, and 39, blood samples were collected from the patients who received either PXL alone or PXL + TOR, and these were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS: Among the 15 patients enrolled in the study, one showed a partial response, and eight had a stable disease. TOR caused no specific adverse events that were greater than grade 3, and its toxicity profile in combination with PXL was similar to that of PXL monotherapy. The PK profile of PXL was similar with or without TOR. The PK parameters of PXL indicated no inter- or intra-patient variability in previously treated patients with MBC. No increased PXL toxicity was observed. CONCLUSION: The PK profile of combined PXL and TOR was similar to that of PXL monotherapy. The addition of TOR to PXL in previously treated patients with MBC appears safe.