[Stress urinary incontinence. Diagnostic and therapeutic aspects]

OBJECTIVE

The paper analyses the incidence, diagnosis and treatment options available for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in women with pelvic floor dysfunction admitted to Craiova's Surgery Clinic IV.

METHODS

This is a retrospective 10-year study comprising a surgical cohort of 420 patients with significant enough to alter quality of life SUI associated to ureterocele and cystocele and in 353 cases with rectocele too. The highest incidence of SUI was encountered between 50 and 59 years of age (range 39 - 81 years). In 21 of this case series the diagnosis of SUI was established soon after the surgical repair of the urethro-cystocele. The diagnosis of SUI was based on careful history and physical examination with emphasis on the gynecologic survey of the abdomen and pelvis but in the absence (for objective reasons) of urodynamic testing which is especially useful for SUI pathophysiological evaluation and thus surgery success rate prediction. All our 420 severe SUI associated with vaginal wall hernias underwent surgical treatment by either open Burch retropubic urethropexy or anterior colporraphy.

RESULTS

Among anterior colporraphy treated patients SUI persisted in 19.3% of the cases (33 patients). Complications of Burch urethropexy procedure (despite its high ability for cure) in our case series include: urinary retention, hemorrhage into the space of Retzius, intraoperative injury to the bladder and long-term postoperative incisional hernia. Moreover, 5 patients (2%) of the group who underwent Burch operation were readmitted with recurrent urinary incontinence between 2 and 6 months after the aforementioned surgical intervention despite its good anatomical results in all of these cases.

CONCLUSIONS

SUI is a prevalent disorder of women that can be diagnosed easily with history and physical exam. If symptoms persist and severely affect quality of life, despite modern noninvasive treatments, several surgical procedures are now available.

[Ovarian cancer--diagnostic dilemmas and unusual therapeutic response]

The aims of this paper are both to highlight some dilemmas concerning the diagnosis of primary epithelial ovarian carcinoma mainly in its early stages and to underline the capricious responses of this type of malignancy to an otherwise well coded modern management. This study is based on the analysis of the records of 78 patients with ovarian carcinoma admitted for diagnosis and surgical treatment to the Department of General Surgery of Craiova C.F.R. Clinic from 1993 through 2003. The results of this analysis are difficult to interpret due to loss to follow up (in terms of response rates) of some of our 78 operated on ovarian carcinoma patients who went on with their platinum-based chemotherapy (following surgical cytoreduction) under the supervision of different Oncology Departments nationwide. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that most of this study patients (71.9%) presented with advanced-stage (III and IV) ovarian carcinoma which sometimes seemed quite confusing by its clinical polymorphism but its prognosis was very much related to both the degree of surgical cytoreduction accomplished and tumor sensitivity to chemotherapy. Finally, although this study does not allow us to draw firm conclusions it is an attempt to share out our current perception on the primary epithelial ovarian cancer management.

[Tumour-host interaction and prognosis in patients with gastric cancer]

The study analyzed the prognostic significance of a group of three histologic markers belonging to intra- and peritumorous stroma as derived from a series of 66 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma operated upon in Craiova CFR General Surgery Clinic. To this end we attempted to uncover any possible correlation between the three stromal parameters represented by type of angiogenesis, peritumorous inflammatory infiltrate and desmoplastic reaction and both the depth of malignant invasion through the gastric wall and the histologic type of gastric cancer. The results of our investigation highlighted that type A2 angiogenesis is displayed mostly by gastric carcinomas with well-differentiated tubular and secretory structure (class 2 Goseky) whereas type A3, angiogenesis is mainly a feature of gastric cancer with a poorly-differentiated tubular morphology (classes 3 and 4 Goseky). Moreover there was no statistically significant correlation between the intensity of inflammatory infiltrate and both the Goseky classes and the depth of neoplastic spread. Finally a clearly desmoplastic reaction was encountered in less than 50% of our patient series and represented almost a characteristic of both poorly-differentiated tubular structured malignancies and serosa invading tumors.

[Analysis of various gastric carcinoma classification systems, through the prism of a study performed at Craiova IV surgery clinic]

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this work is to analyze the various gastric carcinoma classification systems, trying, at the same time, to establish connections between the anatomopathologic evolutionary and prognostic aspects. CASE MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was performed on a series of 66 patients who undergone excision surgery for gastric carcinoma. The study material are 31 cases of gastric cancer diagnosed in Clinical Hospital CFR Craiova, and another 35 cases diagnosed at the "I.V. Babeş" Pathology and Medical Genetics Institute in Bucharest. The excised pieces underwent anatomopathological investigation using histopathological, histochemical and immunohistochemical methods.

RESULTS

From the macroscopic point of view, the most common tumor pattern was Bormann 2 ulcerovegetative, targeting patients over 60 years of age. In what the invasion level is concerned, most carcinomas were sanctioned at the time when the tumor was invading the serous fluid (pT3) or even the perigastric tissue (pT4). The microscopic criteria was approached by us using Goseky's method, the most common being Goseky stages 2 and 4, in equal rations. The distribution of cases depending on the OMS differentiation degree, shows a preeminence of low differentiated carcinomas (G3).

CONCLUSIONS

The abundance of classification methods in gastric cancer shows the complexity of the matter but none of the classifications is perfect.

[Thoracic esophageal neoplasm-therapeutical problems and post-surgery evolution]

The authors are presenting a few considerations on Thoracic Esophageal Neoplasm, as resulted from an 18-cases study performed on patients that were operated between 1994-1999. The esophageal resection rate was of 50%, as follows: 7 Esophageal Resections and 2 Superior Polar Esogastric Resections. The digestive transit was reestablished by means of intrathoracic transposition of the stomach (6 cases) or of the right ileo-colon (2 cases). In one of the cases an Esogastric Anastomosis was performed at the neck level (cervical-right). Immediate post-op mortality after Esophageal Resection (1 case) was due to an acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The post-op complications were as follow: one anastomotic fistula associated with a purulent pleurisy, 4 non-infectious pulmonary complications and 2 cardiac complications (paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia). The Discussions and Conclusions of the present work are presenting samples of surgical techniques, post-op complications and prognosis.

[Guided digestive fistula. Complementary method in prophylactic and curative postoperative peritonitis]

Guided fistula (or sinus tract) techniques, which are a nowadays a controversial topic, comprise a group of simple surgical methods of postoperative peritonitis treatment. This retrospective study is an attempt to bring further insights into the literature debate on the utility of the aforementioned techniques by presenting Craiova C.F.R. General Surgery Department 7 years (from 1991 through 1998) experience with 26 operated on patients, who underwent digestive guided fistulas too. In 16 of our study patients sinus tracts were created for postoperative peritonitis prophylactis purpose, whereas digestive guided fistulas, which were performed in the other 10 patients, were meant to treat peritonitis secondary to anastomosis breakdown. In 87% of pur series of digestive guided fistula patients the postoperative outcome was satisfactory. Three deaths were recorded only among the nonprophylactic sinus tract patients. Guided fistula method is an useful adjunct of the complex, well-codified management of postoperative peritonitis including its efficient prevention.

[Causes of failure in the treatment of postoperative peritonitis]

The authors analyze a group of 49 postoperative peritonitis, which represent 0.57% of a total of 8550 surgical interventions performed over the last 7 years and 1.19% of 4100 laparotomies carried out in an elective operation orientated general surgery department. The mortality rate was 28.57% (14 patients) among the 49 studied cases, which represents 25% of all deaths recorded in our department over the same time interval. A full account on postoperative peritonitis vital prognostic factors is given, insisting on: specific bacteriology (nosocomial infections), peculiar etiologies (10 out of 14 fatalities were originally operated on for digestive cancers), different associations of postoperative peritonitis with other infectious and noninfectious postsurgical complications (as encountered in all 14 deaths), type of postoperative peritonitis (13 death out of 14 were due to generalized peritonitis), postoperative peritonitis secondary to ignored lesions at the original operation (3 cases--3 deaths), surgical treatment limitation (late operative timing which was responsible of 9 deaths); treatment inadequacies of peritonitis and its cause--5 fatalities.

[Esophagoplasty with right ileocolon, technical problems]

The authors present their experience with 14 cases of esophagoplasty by right ileocolon interposition which were performed to re-establish the digestive continuity in 12 patients operated on for caustic burns induced esophageal strictures and 2 patients with esophageal neoplasm managed by esophagectomy. The current study aims to pin/point both the anastomotic risk and the technical difficulties related to the colon interposition graft anatomic trajectory and vascular supply. Given the utmost importance of both the preoperative correction of the nutritional deficit and the improvement of pulmonary function the authors suggest that esophagoplasty should bu preceded by a "preoperative intervention", consisting of ileocolic artery ligation, gastrostomy and pleural drainage. The acute respiratory failure was the immediate main threat following esophagoplasty, whereas cervical anastomotic breakdown was the complication which dominated the early postoperative period in terms of frequency and gravity, but the death rate was nil. When esophagoplasty by right ileocolon interposition simplicity and efficacy are taken into account it appears as the surgical therapy of choice whenever the local and general status of the patients allows it.