End-to-end versus end-to-side stapled anastomoses after anterior resection for rectal cancer.

Background And Aims: Sphincter-saving procedures for resection of mid and, in some cases, of distal rectal tumors have become prevalent as their safety have been established. Increased anastomotic leak rate, associated with the type of anastomosis and the distance from the anal verge, has been reported. To compare surgical outcomes of end-to-end and end-to-side anastomosis after anterior resection for T1-T2 rectal cancer.

Duplex ultrasound evaluation of testicular perfusion after tension-free inguinal hernia repair: results of a prospective study.

Background/aims: Open tension-free techniques of hernia repair using synthetic meshes are a well-accepted practice with an excellent patient comfort and a low recurrence rate. Otherwise, the influence of the resulting fibrosis on testicular perfusion is still unclear. In this study, the effect of prosthetic materials on testicular perfusion was evaluated using Duplex ultrasonography.

Cystic lymphangioma of the mesentery and hyposplenism in celiac disease.

Celiac disease is characterized by intestinal inflammation and mucosal atrophy that improves on a gluten-free diet. Delayed diagnosis can result in diet-refractory disease known as refractory sprue, which is linked to other disorders (intestinal lymphoma, ulcerative jejunoileitis, mesenteric lymph-node cavitation, collagenous sprue, malignancy) and carries a poor prognosis. Here we report the case of a young woman diagnosed with Marsh stage 3C celiac disease with intestinal occlusion due to intra-abdominal cystic lymphangioma mimicking mesenteric lymph-node cavitation, and hyposplenism.

Laparoscopic rectal resection with intraoperative radiotherapy in locally advanced cancer: preliminary results.

Carcinoma of the rectum is a common malignancy, especially in developed countries. The main stay of the therapy for rectal cancer is radical surgery. Total mesorectal excision has emerged as the surgical technique that can substantially reduce local recurrences.

Laparoscopic resection with intraoperative radiotherapy: a new step in the multimodal treatment of advanced colorectal cancer.

Background: Local recurrence is one of the most important problems related to resection of rectal cancer in locally advanced cases (T3-T4). Total mesorectal excision (TME) is the mainstay of surgical therapy, although many articles have been published about the availability of intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) for the control of locally advanced rectal cancers.

Methods: The authors describe six patients affected by advanced rectal cancer (T3N1) whom they treated with neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy and laparoscopic rectal resection combined with TME and IORT.

[Total gastrectomy extended to the head of the pancreas and the liver with D4 lymphadenectomy for well-differentiated gastric carcinoma].

Adenocarcinoma of the stomach is the second most common cancer worldwide. Early diagnosis and an adequate surgical approach could save live. Surgical approach is conditioned by the extension of the disease and the presence of metastases.

[Duodenocephalopancreatectomy with pylorus sparing and occlusion of the main bile duct with fibrin glue].

The leakage of pancreaticojejunostomy represents the main technical post-operative complication after pancreaticoduodenectomy. Because pancreatic fistula can be the source of morbidity and mortality and it is related to the integrity of the pancreatic-enteric anastomosis, a number of technical modification have been suggested, including pancreaticojejunostomy, pancreaticogastrostomy and occlusion of the main pancreatic duct with fibrin glue. The incidence of leakage is particularly high in case of narrow ducts and tender pancreatic glands; in such conditions some experiences in literature suggest the technique of occlusion of the main pancreatic duct with fibrin glue.

Laparoscopic fenestration of symptomatic non-parasitic cysts of the liver.

Background/aims: The use of laparoscopic technique for management of symptomatic liver cysts is documented to be a feasible and safe procedure with proved symptomatic relief. In the present study, we reviewed the results of this approach in the management of symptomatic liver cysts.

Methodology: Retrospective review of all patients with symptomatic liver cysts that were treated by laparoscopic fenestration in our department over a 3-year period from 1999 to 2001.

Relief by botulinum toxin of voiding dysfunction due to benign prostatic hyperplasia: results of a randomized, placebo-controlled study.

Objectives: To evaluate the therapeutic role of botulinum toxin injection in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Methods: Men with benign prostatic hyperplasia were enrolled in a randomized, placebo-controlled study. After a baseline evaluation, each participant received 4 mL of solution injected into the prostate gland.

Gastrointestinal smooth muscles and sphincters spasms: treatment with botulinum neurotoxin.

More than fifty years following the discovery that botulinum neurotoxins inhibit neuromuscular transmission, these powerful poisons have become drugs with many indications. First used to treat strabismus, local injections of botulinum neurotoxin are now considered a safe and efficacious treatment for neurological and non-neurological conditions. One of the most recent achievements in the field is the observation that botulinum neurotoxin is a treatment for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Acute cholestatic hepatitis associated with celecoxib.

Objective: To report a case of acute cholestatic hepatitis associated with the selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor celecoxib.

Case Summary: A 41-year-old white man was hospitalized for jaundice after 2 doses of celecoxib 200 mg for pain associated with right-knee trauma. Laboratory workup showed hyperbilirubinemia, mildly elevated serum transaminase concentrations, and cholestasis.

[Treatment of pancreatic necrosis and secondary pancreatic infections].

Acute pancreatitis is a disease capable of the widest clinical expression, ranging from mild discomfort to multiorgan failure and death. Moreover, the process may remain localized in the pancreas, or spread to regional tissues, or even involve remote organs. Despite several efforts, the pathophysiology of acute pancreatitis and its complications remains obscure.

Botulinum neurotoxin and other treatments for fissure-in-ano and pelvic floor disorders.

Background: The management of disorders of the lower gastrointestinal tract, such as chronic anal fissure and pelvic floor dysfunction, has undergone re-evaluation recently. To a large extent this is due to the advent of neurochemical treatments, such as botulinum neurotoxin injections and topical nitrate ointment.

Methods And Results: This review presents, inter alia, current data on the use of botulinum neurotoxin to treat lower gastrointestinal tract diseases, such as chronic anal fissure for which it promotes healing and symptom relief in up to 70 per cent of cases.

Tension-free inguinal hernia repair in "one-day surgery". Experience of 1091 cases.

Background/aims: In recent years new techniques to repair inguinal hernia have evolved in order to reduce recurrence rate and the overall costs of treatment of this pathology. This paper analyses our experience in verifying the theoretical advantages of the "tension-free" technique, after six years of this surgical practice.

Methodology: We describe the experience of 1091 "tension-free" hernia repairs with open placement of a mesh in 1034 patients, under local anesthesia with a "one-day surgery" regimen; these patients were observed during the period 1994 to 1999 at the Surgical Unit of Catholic University of Rome.

Value of extended lymph node dissection in the treatment of gastric cancer.

Regional lymph node metastasis is a critical prognostic factor in gastric cancer, and extended lymph node dissection and routine microscopic examination of all resected nodes could potentially provide accurate information regarding lymph node status. On the other hand, the therapeutic value of extended lymph node dissection is controversial. While retrospective and prospective non-randomised comparative studies have shown that extended lymph node dissection significantly improves the survival rate, prospective randomised trials have failed to demonstrate the efficacy of extended dissection, although the number of patients in these studies was limited.

Increased muscle ubiquitin mRNA levels in gastric cancer patients.

The intramuscular ATP-dependent ubiquitin (Ub)-proteasome proteolytic system is hyperactivated in experimental cancer cachexia. The present study aimed at verifying whether the expression of the muscle Ub mRNA is altered in patients with cancer. Total muscle RNA was extracted using the guanidinium isothiocyanate/phenol/chloroform method from rectus abdominis biopsies obtained intraoperatively from 20 gastric cancer (GC) patients and 10 subjects with benign abdominal diseases (CON) undergoing surgery.

Hemorrhagic adrenal cyst: an unusual reason of acute hypovolemia.

Adrenal cysts are often asymptomatic and included in the larger "incidentaloma" group. They may reach significant size without onset of compressive symptoms and are often left undiagnosed until an ultrasound or CT scan are performed for a vague lumbar or flank discomfort. Intracystic hemorrhage is a rare but life-threatening complication since a sudden and significant blood loss may occur without any evident clinical source, hypovolemic shock resulting as the first symptom.

Identification of anti-endothelial cell antibodies in patients with chronic anal fissure.

Background: Recent studies demonstrate that chronic anal fissure can be the consequence of a local ischemic process. Thus hypothesizing that at the perianal level the interaction of immune component with endothelium could constitute a mechanism determining ischemia and hypertonia, the presence or absence of circulating anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECAs) was determined in the serum of patients with anal fissure.

Methods: The study was carried out on 30 patients: 10 with posterior chronic anal fissure (group 1), 10 with grades III and IV hemorrhoids (group 2), and 10 without previous or active anorectal disease, or both (group 3).

Evaluation of prognostic factors in patients with acute pancreatitis.

Background/aims: The severity of acute pancreatitis is variable and does not always correlate with structural and functional changes in the pancreas. More precise predictors of severity are necessary to enable intensive therapy to be targeted at patients with severe attacks, and to judge efficacy of treatment, to help in the early detection of complications, and to facilitate comparison of patients from different centers.

Methodology: On admission, clinical criteria, biochemical and hematological parameters and multiple prognostic scores (Ranson, Imrie and APACHE-II scores) were collected from patients with acute pancreatitis.

Truncal vagotomy, antrectomy and Roux-en-Y gastrojejunostomy in the treatment of duodenogastric reflux disease.

Background/aims: The surgical treatment of duodenogastric reflux (DGR), resistant to medical therapy, in patients with intact stomach is difficult to standardize. The aim of this study is to present our experience on 5 patients, all cholecystectomized, with severe DGR disease treated surgically.

Methods: Out of a group of 223 patients suffering from nonulcerous dispeptic pathology presenting to our department, we selected 5 patients suffering from alkaline reflux gastritis in intact stomach.

Extensive resection in pancreatic cancer: review of the literature and personal experience.

Background/aims: The surgical treatment of pancreatic carcinoma, and particularly the decision to resect locally advanced non-metastatic cancer is extremely controversial. The aim of this study is to report our experience in extensive pancreatectomy and draw conclusions regarding its effectiveness in treating locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

Methodology: In our Department of Surgery, 12 patients underwent pancreatic resective surgery extended to the portal vein (6 cases), to the superior mesenteric vein (1 case) or to other peripancreatic organs (5 cases).