Healing of gastric ulcer associated with paraesophageal hernia after hernial reduction

Surgical management of hiatal hernia vs medical therapy to treat bleeding Cameron lesions: a systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Cameron lesions (CL) are an under-recognized cause of gastrointestinal bleeding. Diagnosis is often impaired by technical difficulty, and once diagnosed, management remains unclear. Typically, patients are medically managed with proton pump inhibitors (PPI). Small studies have demonstrated improved therapeutic success with surgical management, hypothesizing that reversing mechanical gastric trauma and ischemia allows CL healing. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to compare therapeutic success of surgical versus medical management of Cameron lesions (CL).

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

A comprehensive search and systematic review selected manuscripts using the following inclusion criteria: (1) Endoscopically diagnosed CL (2) Treated surgically (3) Follow-up for resolution of anemia or CL (4) n ≥ 5 (5) Excluding non-English, animal, and studies with patients < 18 years old Meta-analysis was performed to compare resolution of CLs with medical and surgical therapy.

RESULTS

Systematic search retrieved 1664 studies, of these, 14 were included (randomized controlled trial = 1; prospective = 2; retrospective = 11). Patients had a mean age of 61.2 years (range 24-91) and were more often female (59.3%). Follow-up was between 3 and 120 months, and 82.9% of patients had hernias > 5 cm. Surgical management was associated with therapeutic success (OR 5.20, 1.83-14.77, I² = 42%, p < 0.001) with 92% having resolution, compared to 67.2% for those treated with PPI. Surgical complications occurred in 42/109 (38.5%) of patients (48.1% for Open Hill Repair, 15.4% for laparoscopic fundoplication). 40.0% of patients underwent a laparoscopic Nissen or Collis fundoplication, 21.7% underwent open modified Hill repair, and 38.3% had unspecified operations. Hemoglobin improved from 8.85 g/dL pre-operatively to 13.60 g/dL post-operatively. In six studies, surgical patients previously failed medical management.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first systematic review comparing surgical and medical treatment of CL. Surgical management significantly improved therapeutic success. Our study supports therapeutic benefit of surgery in these patients.

The American Journal of Surgery

In the third of our quarterly exchange of digests, Dr Hiram Polk, Editor of The American Journal of Surgery, has this month highlighted papers from the April, May and June issues of that journal. A digest of the same months' British Journal of Surgery prepared by our Editor, Professor John Farndon, appears in the September issue of the American journal. Dr Polk's address for correspondence is given at the end of his summary.

Laparoscopic repair of paraesophageal hernia

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this report is to describe the authors' technique for the laparoscopic repair of paraesophageal hernias and the outcome in their series of patients.

METHODS

Thirty patients underwent elective laparoscopic repair of paraesophageal hernias. All were pure type II paraesophageal hernias as defined by upper gastrointestinal contrast studies. All operations were performed by a single surgeon (JKE) assisted by five different chief surgical residents. The authors have used various prototypes of a laparoscopic utility belt to reduce the physician requirement to the surgeon and a first assistant. The operative setup and specific techniques of the repair are described and illustrated. A concomitant anti-reflux procedure was performed in the last 23 patients.

RESULTS

Satisfactory repair using video-laparoscopic techniques was achieved in all cases. There were no deaths. Complications occurred in 8 of 30 patients. Postoperative gastroesophageal reflux developed in three of the first seven patients in whom fundoplication was not performed. Three consecutive patients had left lower lobe atelectasis believed to be related to endotracheal tube displacement during the passage of the bougie. One patient had postoperative dysphagia. There was one case of major deep venous thrombosis with pulmonary embolism. Twenty-eight of 30 patients were discharged home by postoperative day 3. Twenty-four of 30 patients had returned to normal activity by the time of their first postoperative office visit 1 week after surgery.

Paraoesophageal hernia repair with and without concomitant fundoplication

There is currently no consensus as to whether an antireflux procedure should accompany surgical repair of paraoesophageal hernia. Forty consecutive patients with paraoesophageal hernia were studied. Surgery routinely included transabdominal hernia reduction, excision of the sac and crural repair. The addition of fundoplication was based on the presence of preoperative endoscopic evidence of oesophagitis. Twenty-three patients without endoscopic oesophagitis had no antireflux procedure whereas 17 with oesophagitis underwent concomitant antireflux surgery. Thirty-six patients were followed for 1-7 years. Patients without endoscopic oesophagitis had no postoperative reflux problems. All patients with oesophagitis who underwent fundoplication were improved or cured of reflux. The selection of patients for antireflux repair can satisfactorily be based on preoperative endoscopic findings.