High prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysm in patients with inguinal hernia.

Aims: There is increased prevalence of inguinal hernia (ΙΗ) in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). As there is limited data on AAA in patients with ΙΗ our objective was to examine the prevalence of AAA in such patients.

Methods: We prospectively examined 185 consecutive patients for AAA who presented to our department for surgical repair of an ΙΗ.

Pilonidal sinus: a comparative study of treatment methods.

Introduction: Pilonidal disease is a very common anorectal problem without a clinical consensus on its optimal management.

Objective: To compare the methods used by our clinic and determine the outcomes in relation to healing, hospitalization time and recurrence.

Materials And Methods: We have studied all the cases of patients with pilonidal sinus that were treated surgically in our clinic from January 1, 1997 to December 31, 1999.

Intraperitoneal administration of local anesthetics in laparoscopic surgery: pharmacological, anatomical, physiological and pathophysiological considerations.

Local anesthetics, because of their ability to cause a reversible blockade in transmission of impulses along the central and peripheral neural pathways are used to induce analgesia. In laparoscopic surgery procedures, the reduction of postoperative pain is one of the biggest benefits compared with open surgery. However, the pain is not completely absent after laparoscopic surgery.

Metachronous early gastric adenocarcinoma presenting coinstantaneously with complete remission of stage IV gastric MALT lymphoma.

Adenocarcinoma and lymphoma represent the two most common malignant tumours of the stomach, with both neoplasms being associated with infection by Helicobacter pylori. However, the presence of lymphoma and adenocarcinoma in the same patient is a rare entity with synchronous neoplasms being more common than metachronous types. We report a case of stage IV gastric MALT lymphoma of the gastric angle with infiltration of the bone marrow successfully treated with chemotherapy and the occurrence of metachronous early gastric adenocarcinoma of the fundus presenting 1 year after the diagnosis of the lymphoma.

Primary gallbladder cancer discovered postoperatively after elective and emergency cholecystectomy.

Background: Gallbladder cancer is a rare neoplasm associated with high mortality and poor prognosis. It is usually correlated with cholelithiasis and presents more commonly in elderly and female patients. Diagnosis is seldom made preoperatively because of the indolent progression of the tumor.

Incidentally discovered white subcupsular liver nodules during laparoscopic surgery: biliary hamartoma and peribiliary gland hamartoma.

During routine laparoscopic surgery, the surgeon may encounter the presence of small white subcapsular liver nodules, either solitary or multiple. The lesions may mimic liver metastasis and in many cases are not demonstrated in the preoperative ultrasound or computed tomography. The aim of this article is to familiarize the laparoscopic surgeon with the incidental discovery of these nodules which represent the two types of intrahepatic benign bile duct proliferations and include biliary hamartomas, which are usually multiple benign malformations of the intrahepatic bile ducts, and peribiliary gland hamartoma, which is usually solitary and consists of a benign epithelial tumor of the liver derived from bile duct cells.

Neuroendocrine tumor of the cystic duct.

Neuroendocrine tumours of the extrahepatic bile ducts are extremely rare with less than 70 cases having been reported in the literature. Neuroendocrine tumours are neoplasms of variable malignant potential that arise from the embryonic neural crest cells. They most commonly occur in young females and usually present with painless jaundice.

Thoraco-abdominal injuries: the general surgeon's perspective.

Background: Thoraco-abdominal traumatic injuries affect the inferior part of the thoracic cavity and the superior part of the abdominal cavity. This study summarizes five years of our surgical department's experience in the diagnosis and management of thoracoabdominal trauma patients.

Methods: We examined records from our surgical and emergency room departments from January 1996 to December 2000, and selected patients with thoraco-abdominal injuries.

Coexistence of multiple omphalomesenteric duct anomalies.

The omphalomesenteric duct is an embryonic structure which connects the yolk sac to the midgut. The omphalomesenteric duct attenuates between the 5th and 9th week of gestation. Failure of the omphalomesenteric duct involution, either partial or complete, results in various omphalomesenteric duct remnants including Meckel's diverticulum, patent vitelline duct, fibrous band, sinus tract, umbilical polyp and cyst.

A single-centre experience of the treatment of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms: clinical and anatomic characteristics of open versus endovascular repair.

Aim: The treatment of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms is a constant challenge for vascular surgeons and can be achieved either by endovascular repair or by an open surgical technique. Endovascular repair presents a higher 30-day survival rate. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical and anatomical characteristics and the outcomes of these two treatment techniques.

Surgical management of severe spontaneous hemorrhage of the abdominal wall complicating acenocoumarol treatment.

Acenocoumarol is a vitamin K antagonist that is used for the treatment of acquired and congenital, both arterial and venous, thrombotic diseases. Its use is complicated by the narrow therapeutic range. Bleeding following oral anticoagulation, despite rare, remains the major complication.

Pseudomyxoma retroperitonei: report of 2 cases and review of the literature.

Pseudomyxoma peritonei is a rare clinical condition that is characterized by the presence of mucinous ascitis. It is believed to originate predominately from a mucinous neoplasm of the appendix including a heterogeneous group of tumours ranging from indolentto malignant. It was first described in the late 19th century.

Duodenal gastrointestinal stromal tumor presenting with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding treated with segmental resection.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) are considered to derive from the interstitial cells of Cajal or their precursors and are defined by their expression of c-kit protein (CD117) that is positive in 95% percent of cases. These are rare mesenchymatous tumours, while they represent the most common mesenchymal tumours of the alimentary tract. The majority of GISTs develop in the stomach and small intestine and more rarely in the rectum, colon, esophagus and mesentery; only 3-5% of all GISTs are located in the duodenum.

Multiple desmoid tumors in a patient with familial adenomatous polyposis caused by the novel W421X mutation.

Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is a rare syndrome characterized by the presence of hundreds to thousands of colorectal adenomas and is responsible for less than 1% of all colorectal cancers. The syndrome is also characterized by extra-colorectal features including amongst others upper gastrointestinal tract polyps and desmoid tumors. The syndrome is inherited by an autosomal dominant gene, the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene.

Lymphoepithelioma-like gastric carcinoma presenting as giant ulcer of the lesser curvature: case report.

Lymphoepithelioma-like gastric carcinoma (LELGC) has special clinicopathologic features that differentiate it from the common gastric adenocarcinoma. LELGC is a rare neoplasm of the stomach with an incidence of 1-4% of all gastric cancers and is characterized by desmoplastic stroma uniformaly infiltrated by abundant lymphocytes and plasma cells. LELGC is closely associated with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), with 80-100% of LELGC being EBV-positive.

Spontaneous cholecystocutaneous fistula draining from an abdominal scar from previous surgical drainage.

We present a rare case of cholecystocutaneous fistula draining from an old surgical scar in the right upper abdominal quadrant following chronic calculous cholecystitis. A 71 year old male presented to the emergency department with a persistent bilious drainage from an old surgical scare, from surgical drainage, of the right upper abdominal quadrant for about a week. Cultures from the draining fluid grew Staphylococcus hominis, Escherichia coli and Klebsilla pneumoniae and tigecycline 50 mg twice a day was administrated intravenously to the patient according to sensitivity results.

Recurrent small intestine intussusception in a patient with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome.

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is a rare hereditary autosomal dominant disease caused by a mutation of the tumor suppressor gene serine/threonine kinase 11 located in chromosome 19p13.3. It is characterized by the presence of extensive mucocutaneous pigmentation, especially of the lips and the occurrence of hamartomatous polyps throughout the gastrointestinal tract.

Long term follow up of eosinophilic granuloma of the rib.

Unlabelled: BACKROUNDS: Eosinophilic granuloma is one of the rarest causes of bone tumors, especially in adults. Eosinophilic granuloma is the commonest form of Langerhans cell histiocytosis and represents the unifocal osseous form of the disease which usually affects the skull and long bones. Eosinophilic granuloma, is a benign disease in which diagnosis and differential diagnosis presents more difficulties than treatment.

Acute adult intussusception caused by primary cecal non Hodgkin lymphoma.

Intussusception of the bowel is rather rare in adults and in about 80-90% of the cases is secondary to an underlying intraluminal pathology that serves as a lead point. In cases of colonic intussusception malignancy occurs in 63-66% of patients and it is usually adenocarcinoma and rarely lymphoma. The presenting symptoms are non specific and are in most cases of long duration, consistent with a chronic intussusception causing partial intestinal obstruction.

Emphysematous cellulitis of the left thigh caused by sigmoid diverticulum perforation.

Necrotizing fasciitis and gas gangrene of the lower extremities are two life-threating emergencies and are the most common causes of gas presence in the lower extremity. Rarely the gas presence is secondary to a perforated viscus and especially the colon. Large bowel diverticula are a quiet common disease in western countries and their prevalence increases with age.

Acute respiratory failure caused by neglected giant substernal nontoxic goiter.

Substernal goiter is usually defined as a goiter in which the thyroid mass has descended the plane of the thoracic inlet or if more than 50% of the thyroid mass is located below the thoracic inlet. Substernal goiters may be asymptomatic or may present with symptoms caused by compression of adjacent organs. Acute respiratory failure is rare in cases of substernal goiter.

Pathologic Rupture of the Spleen as the Presenting Symptom of Primary Splenic Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Pathologic splenic rupture is defined as the spontaneous rupture of a diseased spleen and is quite rare. It is usually associated with oncologic, infectious, and hematologic diseases and more seldom with other rare causes. Pathologic splenic rupture related to hematologic malignancy seems to be rare with only 136 cases reported from 1861 until 1996 and a few cases thereafter.

Mesothelial mesenteric cyst in patient with ascending colon cancer. Case report.

Mesenteric cysts are rare cystic malformations of the mesentery. They are usually located at the iliac mesentery. Clinically most mesenteric cysts are asymptomatic, but sometimes they present with non-specific abdominal symptoms.