Sentinel node occult lesion localization technique for impalpable breast cancer.

Background: Mammographic screening has enabled earlier detection of breast cancer, with 25-35% of malignancies being non-palpable at diagnosis. Accurate removal and sentinel node biopsy for staging these lesions are crucial to successful management. Both these aspects are achieved by peritumoural localization with radioisotope and lymphoscintigraphy for sentinel lymph node (SN) mapping using the sentinel node and occult lesion localization (SNOLL) technique.

Outcomes of breast reconstruction in older women: patterns of uptake and clinical outcomes in a large metropolitan practice.

Background: Older age is associated with lower rates of breast reconstruction (BR) following mastectomy. This study compared a range of factors in women aged 60 years and older who had received mastectomy and BR with those who received no BR (NBR).

Methods: An audit of 338 women aged 60 or over treated with mastectomy with (n = 86) or without (n = 252) BR for primary breast cancer from 2009 to 2016 was conducted.

Utility of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of operable breast cancer.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is a legitimate alternative to first-line surgical therapy for the treatment of breast cancer patients, as level one evidence shows the effect on overall survival is equivalent to that of adjuvant chemotherapy. In the treatment of women with operable breast cancer, NAC provides a number of potential advantages including: improving the chance of achieving breast-conserving surgery, improving cosmesis after breast-conserving surgery, downstaging the breast and axilla, allowing time to fully consider surgical options, time for genetic testing and facilitating breast reconstruction in otherwise high-risk patients. However, in Australia, NAC is poorly utilized with less than 3% of women with operable breast cancer receiving NAC.

Recurrence after total thyroidectomy for benign multinodular goiter.

Background: Total thyroidectomy is now the preferred option for the management of benign multinodular goiter (BMNG), and it ought not be associated with recurrent disease. The aim of the present study was to examine the efficacy of total thyroidectomy for BMNG and to review reasons for recurrence.

Material And Methods: The study group comprised all patients from January 1980 to December 2005 who underwent a definitive procedure to remove all thyroid tissue for BMNG, and who were subsequently identified as having developed a recurrence.

Carcinoma of esophagus after adjustable gastric banding.

Patients who have undergone gastric banding may develop gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) with ulceration. This should be treated with band adjustment, proton pump inhibitors, and routine follow-up endoscopies to confirm healing. Surgical revision or reversal should be considered if the process is resistant to band deflation and medical therapy.