Should heart failure patients be left to fate? Temporary implementation of veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for haemodynamic support during excision of rectal carcinoma in an end-stage biventricular heart failure patient.

Management of end-stage heart failure patients requiring major general surgery is not well defined. Due to poor cardiorespiratory reserve, perioperative morbidity and mortality are excessively high. We report a case of temporary implementation of veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for haemodynamic support during excision of rectal carcinoma in an end-stage heart failure patient and describe perioperative management.

Operative R0 resection of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the pelvis: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma with or without involvement of extranodal sites. Rituximab in combination with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone (R-CHOP) therapy represents the current standard therapy, achieving a rather dissatisfying outcome in approximately 30-40% of all cases. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the case of a 43-year-old Austrian woman with an incidentally detected large pelvic mass which was diagnosed as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Initially, the lymphoma intraoperatively appeared to be an inoperable conglomerate tumor. Soon, intestinal perforation induced by tumor infiltration occurred, which initiated a closure of the small intestine and application of a jejunal probe and a percutaneous endoscopic gastrotomy tube. Treatment utilizing the gold standard rituximab in combination with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone (R-CHOP) was performed, partly resulting in remission according to radiological follow-up. In view of diagnosis and primary treatment development, the predictive outcome appeared unsound. However, within the procedure of the latest surgical intervention, which was intended to at least reconstruct the intestinal passage in order to improve quality of life, a surgical R0 resection of the residual tumor mass was achieved. CONCLUSIONS: The case presented here reports an unanticipated process of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, underlining the importance of interdisciplinary cooperation and surgical intervention within the realms of state-of-the-art treatment.