Publications by authors named "Norma Depalma"

Article Synopsis
  • The study focused on the perioperative outcomes of pancreatic cancer surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic, comparing data from 2019 and 2020.
  • Researchers analyzed 1815 patients, finding no significant difference in cancer stages between the two years, but noted a decrease in neoadjuvant chemotherapy use and an increase in minimally invasive procedures in 2020.
  • Despite some changes in treatment protocols and a rise in medical complications during surgery in 2020, the overall outcome for patients undergoing surgery for pancreatic cancer remained largely unaffected.
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Article Synopsis
  • This study compares two surgical methods, Hartmann's procedure (HP) and resection with primary anastomosis (RPA), for treating acute left-sided colonic emergencies among 1215 patients from 204 centers globally.
  • Results showed that while HP was the more common treatment (57.3%), RPA was favored for younger patients with fewer health issues and those needing surgery sooner.
  • The study concluded that although HP is still widely used, RPA might be the better option, emphasizing the importance of patient characteristics and surgeon experience in determining treatment choice.
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Introduction: Lemmel's syndrome is a rare disease presenting with obstructive jaundice, secondary to common bile duct compression by duodenal diverticulum.

Presentation Of Case: A 79-year-old female was admitted to our emergency department with cholangitis and obstructive jaundice, due to choledocal compression by two periampullary diverticula, with major papilla opening near the biggest one (periampullary diverticulum type III). Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography didn't succeed sphincterotomy, therefore laparoscopic rendez-vous was performed.

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Background: To date, no standardized protocols nor a quantitative assessment of the near-infrared fluorescence angiography with indocyanine green (NIR-ICG) are available. The aim of this study was to evaluate the timing of fluorescence as a reproducible parameter and its efficacy in predicting anastomotic leakage (AL) in colorectal surgery.

Methods: A consecutive cohort of 108 patients undergoing minimally invasive elective procedures for colorectal cancer was prospectively enrolled.

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Acinar cystic transformation (ACT), also known as 'acinar cell cystadenoma', is an uncommon cystic neoplasm of pancreas with unknown malignant potential. This case regards a woman with symptomatic pancreatic head ACT, revealed with pathological exam of specimen after pancreaticoduodenectomy. A 57-years-old patient presented mild hyperbilirubinemia and recurrent cholangitis; she underwent to ERCP, EUS and MRI, and these exams revealed a large cyst of the pancreatic head that caused biliary compression.

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A preliminary analysis from the COVID-Advanced Gastrointestinal Cancer Surgical Treatment (AGICT) study showed that the rate of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for elective and urgent procedures did not decrease during the pandemic year. In this article, we aimed to perform a subgroup analysis using data from the COVID-AGICT study to evaluate the trend of MIS during the COVID-19 pandemic period in Italy. This study was conducted collecting data of MIS patients from the COVID-AGICT database.

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Solid pseudopapillary tumour is a rare low-grade malignant potential carcinoma of the pancreas that typically occurs in females in their third decade. It most commonly occurs in the tail of the pancreas, although any site can be affected. Surgical resection is the standard treatment and offers an excellent prognosis.

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Background: This Italian multicentric retrospective study aimed to investigate the possible changes in outcomes of patients undergoing surgery for gastrointestinal cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method: Our primary endpoint was to determine whether the pandemic scenario increased the rate of patients with colorectal, gastroesophageal, and pancreatic cancers resected at an advanced stage in 2020 compared to 2019. Considering different cancer staging systems, we divided tumors into early stages and advanced stages, using pathological outcomes.

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Introduction And Aim Of The Study: Dunbar syndrome is a rare disorder due to the external compression of the celiac trunk by the median arcuate ligament. The symptoms include abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting with a significative reduction in patients' quality of life. Laparoscopy has proven to be a safe procedure.

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Background: Recently, minimally invasive treatment of complicated sigmoid diverticulitis is becoming a valid alternative to standard procedures. Robotic approach may be useful to allow more precise dissection in arduous pelvic dissection as in complicated diverticulitis. The aim of this study is to investigate effectiveness, potential benefits and short-term outcomes of robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgical resection, compared with fully laparoscopic resection in complicated diverticulitis.

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The surgical treatment for patients with generalized peritonitis complicating sigmoid diverticulitis is currently debated; particularly in case of diffuse purulent contamination (Hinchey 3). Laparoscopic lavage and drainage (LLD) has been proposed by some authors as a safe and effective alternative to single- or multi-stage resective surgery. However, among all the different studies on LLD, there is no uniformity in terms of surgical technique adopted and data show significant differences in postoperative outcomes.

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Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) pattern in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients is modified by curative surgery for a potential application in the oncologic follow-up.

Background: CRC has been proved to induce metabolic derangements detectable by high through-output techniques in exhaled breath showing a specific pattern of VOCs.

Methods: Forty-eight CRC patients and 55 healthy controls (HC) entered the study.

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