Use of abdominal radical trachelectomy to treat cervical cancer greater than 2 cm in diameter.

Objective: Invasive cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers, with 500,000 new cases diagnosed annually. Fertility preservation has become an important component of the overall quality of life of many cancer survivors. Expert opinion has suggested that fertility-sparing surgery should be limited to those patients diagnosed with cervical cancer less than 2 cm in diameter.

Surgical treatment of stage IB cervical cancer.

Introduction: Recurrence originating from the pelvic lymph node containing fibro-fatty tissue has consistently been identified as the most frequent pattern of treatment failure in early-stage cervical cancer. A surgical technique for the complete removal of the connective tissue content of the pelvis was introduced at St. Stephen Hospital in 1993 to improve oncological outcome by reducing the risk of recurrence from the pelvis.

Femoral artery embolism in patients undergoing a laterally extended parametrectomy (LEP) procedure.

Introduction: Since 1993 an operative technique without adjuvant therapy (laterally extended parametrectomy, the LEP procedure) has been in use at our institution for the treatment of Stage IIB cervical cancer and for patients with pelvic lymph node metastases in Stages IA-IIA. Iliac/femoral artery embolic occlusion in the cohort of LEP operated patients was studied in an 11 years long period.

Methods: The LEP-Wertheim procedure was used in 320 patients between 1994 and 2005.

Surgical treatment of lymph node metastases in stage IB cervical cancer. The laterally extended parametrectomy (LEP) procedure: experience with a 5 year follow-up.

Introduction: In 2003, we published our preliminary experience with the use of an operative technique (laterally extended parametrectomy, the LEP procedure) without adjuvant therapy, in the treatment of 29 stage IB, cervical cancer patients with pelvic lymph node metastases. In our present paper, by an extended recruiting period, with a completed 5 year follow up, we studied the outcome of LEP operations, used with the same indications.

Methods: In 70 out of 106 LEP-Wertheim operated patients, no adjuvant treatment was used.

Evaluation of the Triage PPY on-site testing device for the detection of dextropropoxyphene in urine.

A new point-of-care colloidal metal immunoassay urine drugs-of-abuse testing device, the BIOSITE TRIAGE Plus Propoxyphene (TPP), was evaluated for the rapid detection of dextropropoxyphene (PPY) and/or its primary metabolite, norpropoxyphene (NP), in urine at a total PPY/NP concentration of 300 ng/mL or greater. This assay has been added to the Triage device that tests for commonly abused drugs. Adding to drug-free urine PPY and NP established the linearity of the TPP assay at concentrations of 40%, 80%, 120%, and 160% of the cut-off concentration.