Publications by authors named "Giovanna Di Meo"

Benchmarking in healthcare, particularly in the context of complex surgical procedures like pancreatic surgery, plays a pivotal role in comparing and evaluating the quality of care provided to patients. There is a growing body of evidence validating existent metrics and introducing new ones in the pursuit of safety and excellence in pancreatic surgery. A systematic review adhering to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines was conducted on metric development and validation across multiple databases, including PUBMED Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science, until February 2024.

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Article Synopsis
  • The trauma mortality rate is higher in elderly patients due to age-related physiological changes and frailty, necessitating specialized management guidelines to improve outcomes and minimize unnecessary procedures.
  • Expert surgeons reviewed literature and developed evidence-based recommendations for geriatric trauma care, focusing on frailty assessment, early activation of trauma protocols, and multimodal pain management.
  • Key practices include administering antibiotics selectively for certain traumatic injuries, ensuring timely venous thromboembolism prevention, and involving palliative care teams to address end-of-life discussions with a holistic approach.
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The REDISCOVER guidelines present 34 recommendations for the selection and perioperative care of borderline-resectable (BR-PDAC) and locally advanced ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas (LA-PDAC). These guidelines represent a significant shift from previous approaches, prioritizing tumor biology over anatomical features as the primary indication for resection. Condensed herein, they provide a practical management algorithm for clinical practice.

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Arterial variations in the liver's blood supply play a pivotal role in the success of pancreatoduodenectomy (PD), impacting both its technical execution and oncological outcomes. Among these variations, a common hepatic artery arising from the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) occurs in about 3% of cases. An exceptionally rare variation is the intrapancreatic common hepatic artery (IPCHA).

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Article Synopsis
  • The REDISCOVER consensus conference focused on creating guidelines for the perioperative care of patients with borderline-resectable and locally advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).
  • Using a structured methodology and expert consensus, the conference developed 34 recommendations on various aspects of surgical care, patient selection, and management of pancreatic cancer.
  • Despite the low evidence quality for most recommendations, participants highlighted the importance of establishing an international registry to enhance understanding and care for this patient group.
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Background: Parathyroid cancer (PC) is a rare sporadic or hereditary malignancy whose histologic features were redefined with the 2022 WHO classification. A total of 24 Italian institutions designed this multicenter study to specify PC incidence, describe its clinical, functional, and imaging characteristics and improve its differentiation from the atypical parathyroid tumour (APT).

Methods: All relevant information was collected about PC and APT patients treated between 2009 and 2021.

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In patients with advanced sepsis from abdominal disease, the open abdomen (OA) technique as part of a damage control surgery (DCS) approach enables relook surgery to control infection, defer intestinal anastomosis, and prevent intra-abdominal hypertension. Limited evidence is available on key outcomes, such as mortality and rate of definitive fascial closure (DFC), which are needed for surgeons to select patients and adequate therapeutic strategies. Abdominal closure with negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) has shown rates of DFC around 90%.

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Thyroid and parathyroid surgery are considered clean procedures, with an incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) after thyroidectomy ranging from 0.09% to 2.9%.

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Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy, with a typically favorable prognosis following standard treatments, such as surgical resection and radioiodine therapy. A subset of thyroid cancers progress to refractory/metastatic disease. Understanding how the tumor microenvironment is transformed into an angiogenic microenvironment has a role of primary importance in the aggressive behavior of these neoplasms.

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We sought to analyse the effect of the introduction of intraoperative nerve monitoring (IONM) in our routine surgical practice and to provide a circumstantial analysis of direct costs of IONM in total thyroidectomy and of indirect costs associated with vocal fold palsy, as centred in the health care system of Italy. We retrospectively compared outcomes of 232 total thyroidectomies performed between November 2017 and October 2019, respectively, before (109 TT-Group A) and after (123 TT-Group B) adopting IONM technology in November 2018. We analysed the costs of IONM per procedure and rate and costs of vocal fold palsy events (temporary and permanent).

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(1) Background: Lymph node metastases from papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) are frequent. Selective neck dissection (SND) is indicated in PTC with clinical or imaging evidence of lateral neck nodal disease. Both preoperative ultrasound (PreUS) and intraoperative palpation or visualization may underestimate actual lateral neck nodal involvement, particularly for lymph-nodes located behind the sternocleidomastoid muscle, where dissection may also potentially increase the risk of postoperative complications.

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Introduction: Postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) represents the principal determinant of morbidity and mortality after pancreaticoduodenectomy. Since 1994 we have been performing pancreaticogastrostomy with duct-to-mucosa anastomosis (Wirsung-pancreaticogastric anastomosis [WPGA]), but postoperative morbidity, although limited, was still a concern. An original pancreas-transfixing suture technique, named "Blumgart's anastomosis" (BA), has shown efficacy at reducing fistula rates from pancreaticojejunostomy.

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Background: Circulating angiogenic factors have been associated with clinical outcomes of papillary thyroid carcinoma, although they may also be released in the context of benign multinodular goiter. We sought to investigate the effect of thyroidectomy on the activity and importance of multiple circulating angiogenic factors in papillary thyroid carcinoma and benign multinodular goiter.

Methods: Between May 2015 and December 2016, patients scheduled for total thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid carcinoma or benign multinodular goiter were offered to enroll in this study.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A study from 2013 to 2017 involved three patients treated for parathyroid carcinoma, highlighting varied clinical presentations and management strategies, including surgeries and genetic testing.
  • * The findings suggest that doctors should consider parathyroid cancer in cases of severe hypercalcemia, especially when accompanied by symptoms like neck masses or kidney issues, with surgery being the primary treatment approach.
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Introduction: Total thyreoidectomy is associated with high rates of temporary or permanent hypoparathyroidism. During surgery, ICG fluorescence angiography can be used to detect and preserve well vascularised parathyroid glands; this technique has been recently introduced in retrospective and prospective trials as an intraoperative technical support to avoid postoperative hypoparathyroidism.

Materials Und Methods: 27 patients undergoing total thyreoidectomy were prospectively enrolled in our study.

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Vocal cord palsy (VCP) is one of the most frequent complications following thyroidectomy. We evaluated the outcomes of intraoperative reconstruction of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN). Of 917 patients who underwent thyroid surgery in a single high-volume general surgery ward between 2000 and 2015, 12 (1.

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The aim of this report was to illustrate a case of parathyroid carcinoma (PC) in a patient with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) along with a comprehensive literature review. A 61-year-old man presented with 9-cm PC causing primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). His pre-operative corrected calcium and intact PTH serum levels were 2.

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Introduction: When total thyroidectomy is performed for substernal goitre, a high risk of morbidity is reported. Advanced vessel sealing devices provide an alternative to the conventional clamp and tie technique. The aim of this study is to compare the outcome of patients who underwent total thyroidectomy for substernal goitre using Ligasure Small Jaw, Harmonic Focus, or conventional technique.

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Gene expression profiling (GEP) of normal thyroid tissue from 43 patients with thyroid carcinoma, 6 with thyroid adenoma, 42 with multinodular goiter, and 6 with Graves-Basedow disease was carried out with the aim of achieving a better understanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying the role of normal cells surrounding the tumor in the thyroid cancer progression. Unsupervised and supervised analyses were performed to compare samples from neoplastic and non-neoplastic diseases. GEP and subsequent RT-PCR analysis identified 28 differentially expressed genes.

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This retrospective comparative multicenter study aims to analyze the impact on patient outcomes of total thyroidectomy (TT) performed by resident surgeons (RS) with close supervision and assistance of attending surgeons (AS).All patients who underwent TT between 2009 and 2013 in 10 Units of endocrine surgery (8 in Italy, 1 in France, and 1 in UK) were evaluated. Demographic data, preoperative diagnosis, extension of goiter, type of surgical access, surgical approach, operative time, use and duration of drain, length of hospitalization, histology, and postoperative complications were recorded.

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