[The thyroid one and goiter through the ages].

The written works and the works of art testify the goitres existed over thousands of years. However for a long time they were confused with scrofula and several cervical tumours. In fact the thyroid gland was only discovered and described at Renaissance and its role was known at the end of the XIXth century.

Intestinal obstruction by an enterolith from a perforated giant Meckel's diverticulum: diagnosis with CT reconstructed images.

Complications caused by Meckel's enteroliths are very rare. Diagnosis is not usually made before surgery because symptoms are often of little value and imaging may be difficult to interpret. Computed tomography (CT) scanning, which is increasingly performed in emergency situations, could help make the diagnosis.

Reoperative surgery for thyroid disease.

Background And Aims: Reoperative surgery for thyroid disease is rare. However, it is sometimes indicated for nodular recurrence after partial surgery for initially benign thyroid disease or for a completion total thyroidectomy when a final diagnosis of well-differentiated thyroid cancer (WDTC) is confirmed on a permanent section of a partially removed thyroid gland. This surgery can expose the patient to postoperative complications such as recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palsy or hypoparathyroidism.

Extensive thyroidectomy in Graves' disease.

Background: The best surgical treatment for hyperthyroidism caused by Graves' disease remains a controversial subject.

Methods: Seven hundred fourteen consecutive patients underwent total or near-total thyroidectomy for Graves' disease in a 13-year period. In a first analysis, postoperative rates of suffocating hematoma, wound infection, recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palsy, hypoparathyroidism, and persistence or recurrence of hyperthyroidism, were studied and compared with the same parameters in 4,426 patients who underwent bilateral thyroid gland resection for other conditions.

[Spontaneous splenic rupture during intrasplenic Kaposi's sarcoma in an HIV-positive patient].

Spontaneous splenic rupture is a rare cause of peritoneal bleeding. Etiology is usually infections (viral, bacterial or parasitic) and blood diseases (leukemia, lymphoma, dysglobulinemia). We report the first case of spontaneous splenic rupture secondary to hilar Kaposi's sarcoma in an HIV positive patient.

[How to prevent recurrent nerve palsy during thyroid surgery?].

Recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury and hypoparathyroidism can occur after thyroid surgery. The rate of RLN injury, mostly transient, ranges from 0.5% to 5% of patients.

Small-bowel infarction from disseminated aspergillosis.

Introduction: Despite the use of new, effective drugs, the disseminated invasive aspergillosis often remains lethal in neutropenic patients. Diagnosis is difficult because early symptoms are nonspecific. New tools could help in diagnosis and lead to early surgery when needed.

Closure of small bowel stomas on postoperative day 10.

Objective: To find out if early closure of a defunctioning small bowel stoma (day 10) was feasible and safe.

Design: Prospective non-randomised study.

Setting: University hospital, France.

[Early closure of temporary stoma of the small bowel].

Aim: Transient small bowel stoma is usually closed 9-12 weeks after initial operation (late closure). Since these stoma have a poor physiological and psychological impact with frequent social consequences, we wanted to estimate feasibility and results of early closure of small bowel stoma.

Patients And Method: From January 1998 to December 2001, 39 patients (21 women and 18 men, mean age: 64 years) with a transient small bowel stoma were elected for early closure.

[Cystadenoma of the liver with high levels of ACE and CA 19-9 in the cyst].

The development of a cystadenocarcinoma from previously benign cystadenoma is controversial. Neither clinical nor biological factors have been described to explain this transformation. High levels of serum and cystic CEA and CA 19-9 seem to help in the diagnosis of cystadenoma but not cystadenocarcinoma.

Selection of patients with solitary thyroid nodules for operation.

Objective: To improve the preoperative selection for operation of patients with solitary thyroid nodules.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: University hospital, France.

[Thyroid metastases].

Study Aim: The aim of this retrospective study was to report a short series of thyroid metastases and to emphasize their unusual occurrence and their poor prognosis.

Patients And Method: From January 1990 to December 1999, among 619 patients operated for a thyroid malignancy, 14 patients had a thyroid metastasis (2.2%).

[Clear cell sarcoma (malignant melanoma of soft tissues) of the calf ].

Clear cell sarcoma (malignant melanoma of soft parts) is a rare malignancy that is found in the young adult, and is generally located in the extremities of the limbs. In this study, a new case has been reported in a 24-year old male with no previous history of cutaneous melanoma. The tumor consisted of fusiform or round cells with clear or granulocytic cytoplasm and vesicular nuclei.

[Theodor Emil Kocher, modern surgery pioneer].

Theodore Kocher was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1909 for his work on the physiology, pathology and surgery of the thyroid gland. He was the first Swiss citizen and the first surgeon to ever receive such a distinction. He was a pioneer and a world leader in the surgical revolution of the end of the nineteenth century.

[Cholelithiasis in heart transplant patients].

Unlabelled: The incidence of cholelithiasis is increased in heart transplant recipients.

Study Aim: The aim of this retrospective study was to report a series of 27 heart transplant recipients operated for cholelithiasis and to assess the indications and safety of cholecystectomy in this population.

Patients And Methods: Over a 9-year period, from January 1991 to December 1999, 27 heart transplant recipients (21 men and 6 women; mean age: 54.

[Thyroid cancer in patients with hyperthyroidism].

Objective: The prevalence of thyroid carcinoma in hyperthyroidism remains controversial. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate prevalence.

Patients And Methods: The prevalence of thyroid carcinoma was studied in 861 patients operated for clinical or infraclinical hyperthyroidism between 1992 and 1999.

[Late rejection of Mersylene mesh used for promontory fixation with colonic obstruction].

We describe a case of colonic obstruction in a 48-year-old woman, 3. 5 years after surgery for genito-urinary prolapse. The causal agent was the Mersylene mesh used for promontory fixation.

Secondary thyroidectomy in patients with prior thyroid surgery for benign disease: a study of 203 cases.

Background: The goal of this study was to evaluate the complication rate of secondary thyroidectomy in patients with prior thyroid surgery for benign disease.

Methods: Over an 8-year period, 203 thyroid reoperations were performed on 202 patients. All information relating to operative procedures, pathology, and complications was recorded prospectively.

Isolated retroperitoneal intradiaphragmatic bronchogenic cyst. A case report.

Isolated retroperitoneal bronchogenic cysts are extremely rare. We report a case which was intradiaphragmatic intimately associated with the musculature of the left crus diaphragmatic and unconnected with any other structures. Ultrasound and computed tomography findings were consistent with a pancreatic or an adrenal mass.

[What is the contribution of imaging?].

Thyroid imaging has an essentially diagnostic value, but is also plays a role in definition of indications and operative techniques. Ultrasound is the most useful examination. Scintigraphy has become less useful, but remains indicated in hyperthyroidism and in certain retrosternal goitres inaccessible to ultrasound.