Therapeutic approach in locally advanced colon tumours (T4NxM0) - clinical experience in 18 consecutive cases

INTRODUCTION

Surgery holds a central seat in the treatment of colon cancer, its objective being R0 resection. Chemotherapy and an appropriate oncological follow-up complete the treatment.

AIM

To establish an adequate therapeutic conduct in patients with advanced colon tumours, with no hepatic metastases.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

retrospective study on a group of 150 patients with colon neoplasm treated in the First Surgery Clinic of the Bucharest Oncology Institute in Bucharest,between 01 01 2008 -01 03 2013.

RESULTS

18 patients presented locally extended colon tumours which required multivisceral resections. Patients with hepatic metastases were excluded from the study. The most frequently affected organs were: the small bowel and the internal genital organs, followed by the urinary bladder, spleen, duodenum and diaphragm muscle. Patients were oncologically followed-up according to current protocols and submitted to chemotherapy.When a maximum response was reached in R2 patients or when recurrence occurred in R0 and R1 patients, surgical intervention was required. When necessary, the operation was performed by multidisciplinary teams. 5 patients died due to local recurrence, disease progression, metastatic disease, and also due to comorbidities.

CONCLUSION

Treatment applied by oncological committees and multidisciplinary surgical teams, along with correct oncological follow-up and surgical reintervention when maximum response to chemotherapy was reached in R2 or when recurrences occurred in R0 and R1 patients represents the adequate therapeutic conduct in patients with locally advanced colon tumours.

Aseptic mesenteric lymph node abscesses. In search of an answer. A new entity?

Mesenteric lymphadenitis constitutes a frequent cause for abdominal pain and may manifest acute abdominal symptoms. Very often, it is difficult to achieve a differential diagnosis as there are many diseases that can generate mesenteric lymphadenopathy. Many times, it is impossible to determine the diagnosis of the disease that has triggered mesenteric lymphadenopathy even after surgical intervention with biopsy. The failure in determining the precise cause of the mesenteric lymphadenoapathy, as well as its unresponsiveness to conservative treatments increases the difficulty in the management of this disease very much. In this paper we have reviewed the diseases that can trigger mesenteric lymphadenitis in detail, with reference to our experience. To the best of our knowledge, this is the most extensive review on this theme in current specific literature. The case reported by us, with a history of mesenteric adenitis, splenic and ganglionic abscesses, vasculitis skin nodules, pseudotumoral ileal stenosis and remission-recurrence pattern over 25 years, has raised extremely difficult problems of differential diagnosis. Its enlistment as a Crohn's disease, vasculitis or aseptic abscess syndrome seems unsatisfactory. The analysis of the data in this case can raise the legitimacy of the question: should we recognize and define a new entity?

Primitive retroperitoneal tumors. Vascular involvement--a major prognostic factor

Primitive retroperitoneal tumors, although very rare, arouse an increased interest, because of the poor prognosis, unsatisfactory surgical and complementary therapy results. Up to now, the very low number of cases has impeded the acquisition of a unitary view of these tumors, a unanimously accepted algorithm of diagnostic and treatment being absent. Randomized trials regarding the effects of different therapies have not been possible. The main factor that can fundamentally increase the survival of these patients is radical resection, some authors even recommending compartmental surgery. We found no significant statistical difference between the survival rates of the patients with different types of non-radical interventions, that shoud be therefore, as much as possible, avoided. Our study evidences that vascular involvement is the main limiting factor in achieving radicality. The involvement of large retroperitoneal vessels makes often impossible a radical intervention, usually because of the lack of an adequate material and human endowment for ample vascular resections followed by laborious reconstructions. That is why, in our study, vascular involvement was associated with a decreased survival rate for operated patients. Therefore, we underline the necessity both of a solid material base and of establishing multidisciplinary surgical teams for adequate vascular interventions in oncologic general surgery.

Extending indication for radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in cancer surgery

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) represents one of the successful methods for the thermal ablation of unresectable tumors. The tumoricidal effect of this method consists in the tissular conversion of electromagnetic energy into thermal energy. The term refers to the electric current, whose frequencies reach high values, 480 KHz on average. The method involves the insertion of bipolar needles in parenchymal tumors. The thermal tissue damage depends on both the temperature reached and the duration. The most frequent use is for unresectable hepatic tumors (metastases, hepatoma) or for those with a contraindication for surgery, visible on ultrasound. We have also widened the indications to other tumoral locations: cervical cancer (stages II, III, IV) accompanied by metrorrhagia, RFA being used hemostatically and with the purpose of reducing the size of the tumor, genital tumors, lateral-aortic lymph blocks to reduce the tumoral mass, metastases (the psoas muscle, the sacrum), retroperitoneal sarcoma, with a hemostatic role and also to reduce the size of the tumor. The paper aims to present a preliminary situation based on 24 cases. The results have shown the usefulness of the application of RFA with the purpose of reducing the tumoral mass and the hemostatic role of the method. No complications were recorded.

[Radiofrequency ablation for liver metastases--mini invasive therapeutic option for patients with unresecable tumors]

Radiofrequency ablations (RFA), a new therapeutic option for liver metastases, proceeded by open surgery or laparoscopic approach, provide an acceptable control of local tumor process, involved lower risks than resection surgery.

OBJECTIVES

We analyzed this procedure, for classic indication in hepatic metastatic tumors, based on four years experience, focused on perioperative complications, recurrence rate and long distant evolution.

METHOD

Between December 2006 and December 2010, 61 patients with liver metastases underwent RFA; 46 cases had metastatic lesions from colo-rectal cancer, 9 cases from breast cancer, 4 cases from gastric cancer and 2 cases from ovarian cancer. RFA was performed in 55 patients via open surgery and laparoscopic approach in 6 patients. Postoperative course was followed with CT scan at 1 month, and then at 3 month interval, in correlation with tumor markers level.

RESULTS

Perioperative complications occurred in 8 cases, consist of prolonged fever, severe hepatic cytolysis, without other complications such, biliary tract injury, hemorrhage, and peritonitis; no mortality caused by RFA procedure. 10 cases had local recurrence, at 6 and 25 month after post RFA procedure.

CONCLUSIONS

Initial experience shows that RFA is a safe procedure for treatment of liver metastases, with low rate of morbidity and local recurrence, indicated for patients with unresecable lesions or high risks for surgical resection.

Juxtapapillary duodenal diverticula early and late clinical and therapeutical implications

The aim of this paper is to identify the early and late implications of JPDD for biliary pathology, as well as for endoscopic therapy and classical surgery dealing mainly with lithiasis. This paper is based on a retrospective study comprising a number of 675 ERCP performed on 601 patients between 1997-2007, out of which 399 cases were followed by therapeutic measures. A total of 79 procedures were performed on 65 cases with JPDD. The main criteria were: gender, age, indications regarding the performance of ERCP+/-ES, complications that occurred while carrying out these procedures. In all the cases examined (601) the percentage of JPDD reported was of 10.81%. The rate of complications in the sphincterotomized patients without JPDD was 5.75% and the rate in the sphincterotomized patients with JPDD was 14.89%. In conclusion, the paper discusses the clinical and therapeutic implications of JPDD in biliary pathology. It has been found that JPDD is an important etiological cause for the late diseases occurring after cholelithiasis surgery. JPDD also leads to immediate therapeutic implications such as: difficult cannulation and high incidence of ERCP+/-ES complications.

[The reassessment of indications in laparoscopic cholecystectomy]

The gallstone, with its potentialy complications, claims a surgical solution in asymptomatic forms too, often traced out with the abdominal echography investigations circumstances. In all the countries, the symptomatic gallstone, is a surgicaly section, but, the asymptomatic gallstone is a surgicaly indication in some countries, too. A number of transplantation surgeons have begun to recommend pretransplant cholecystectomy for asymptomatic patients to have gallstones. The indications can be extended to: young children, pregnant women, patients with very large gallstones diabetics, immuno-depressed (AIDS, radiation and multiple drug treatments). The asymptomatic gallstone seems to obtain in the last years, an extention of the surgicaly approach indications, the paper, suggesting a laparoscopic cholecystectomy assessment indications.

External drainage of the hepatic post hydatid remnant cavity

BACKGROUND AND AIM

The surgical management of the hepatic post hydatid remnant cavity includes conservative and radical methods. External drainage of the remnant cavity (with or without cavity-minimizing) is a simple conservative method that can be safely performed, and can be associated with endoscopic papillo-sphincterectomy (EPS) in case of cysto-biliary fistula.

METHODS

A retrospective study was performed on 112 patients operated in the Department of Surgery, "Caritas" Clinical Hospital, Bucharest between Jan 1997 and Feb 2007. Cavity was drained and the completely extraperitoneal approach for exteriorizing the drain was preferred, an original method conceived and put into practice by Prof. Dr. Burlui, using as pathway the round ligament, more precise the hepato-umbilical territory.

RESULTS

The mean hospital stay was 12 days, and follow-up till complete recovery was performed by clinical, ultrasound, CT-scan and X-ray contrast on the drainage tube. The drainage of the remnant cavity was maintained a mean period of 55 days (ranging 20 to 80), in accordance with the X-ray contrast control on the drainage tube. The postoperative morbidity was acceptable (remnant cavity infection was registered in 11% of the cases). Neither reintervention, nor mortality was registered.

CONCLUSIONS

the study shows that external drainage of the hepatic post hydatid remnant cavity can be applied in most of the parasite locations, especially for the central segments, with no hepatic parenchyma sacrifice, while total cavity fibrosis is achieved in a mean period of 55 days. This way we avoid a risky and laborious procedure (the anatomic or non-anatomic removal of a variable amount of normal hepatic tissue).

[Surgical approach in acute necrotising pancreatitis]

Acute necrotising pancreatitis is a dramatic and often life-threatening disease with a high rate of mortality, varying between 30-70% and necessitating heavy medical care. The surgical attitude regarding acute necrotising pancreatitis is disputed between the supporters of drainage with closed abdomen and the supporters of laparatomy with open drainage. The goal of this study is the evaluation of the number of intervention required, the timing of the interventions and the mortality and morbidity in a group of patients with necrotising pancreatitis. The studied group consists in 112 patients with necrotising pancreatitis, treated in Surgical Clinic of Caritas "Prof. Dr. N. Cajal" Clinical Hospital, Bucharest during 1983-2005. Infection of pancreatic necrosis supervened in 55,35% of patients in this group, not any pancreatic necrosis becomes infected. Infected necrosis is not synonymous for abscessed of necrosis, in the same patient pancreatic necrosis, infected pancreatic necrosis and abscessed necrosis may coexist. Clinical and biological criteria are the decisive factors in the indication for surgical treatment, the radiology being decisive in the choice of the laparotomy approach. In the study group 50,89% of patients necessitated only one surgical intervention. Implicitly, more than half of the patients would have been suffered multiple useless planned staged relaparotomies. The mortality in our study group treated by the method of closed drainage was 25,89%.

Late choledochal pathology after cholecystectomy for cholelithiasis

After "simple" cholecystectomy for lithiasis, biliary disorders can appear, with the onset more than 3 years postoperative, like cholangitis or transitory jaundice. Meantime, a whole range of congenital abnormalities initially ignored can become manifest: biliary tract congenital dilatations, duodenal para-Vater diverticulum, Oddi stenosis.

AIM

to establish the pathological circumstances that determine late choledochal syndrome, including an analysis concerning the therapeutical approach in these cases. Patients with cholecystectomy complains of late biliary disorders (least 3 years symptom-free) between 1997-2005, were retrospectively studied. Exclusion criteria were intraoperative incidents or accidents, recognised incomplete surgical procedure, early difficult postoperative course. Therapeutical approach was endoscopical, surgical or conservative. 46 patients entered the study group; 38 underwent open cholecystectomy. Mean interval between operation and disturbances onset was 10 years. Following etiopathologic causes of late choledochal pathology were recorded: incomplete cholecystectomy, retained or primary common bile duct (CBD) stones, choledochal cyst or stenosis, Oddi stenosis, duodenal para-Vater diverticulum, anomaly biliary tree. Thirty patients undergone successful endoscopic treatment; in 8 cases endoscopy failed, in 2 cases open surgery was the first choice; 5 diagnostic endoscopic cholangiography with conservative treatment were performed; 1 patient refused any procedure. Cholecystectomy indication is regularly based on clinical and ultrasound examination criteria. Even a simple cholecystectomy can be followed after first 3 years by cholangitis, obstructive jaundice, caused by initially ignored biliary tract pathology. To avoid such omissions, routine intraoperative cholangiography and duodenal endoscopy should precede cholecystectomy. On the other side, cholecystectomy itself can cause late complaints: retained CBD stones, gallbladder stump, and iatrogenic stenosis. The duodenal para-Vater diverticulum seems to have a more important role in biliary disturbances, before and after cholecystectomy.

[The role of laparoscopy in the management of the right iliac fossa syndrome]

Many cases of nonspecific right-sided lower abdominal pain syndromes are still difficult to diagnose regarding the accuracy of identifying which organ is suffering, in spite of the continuous development of various investigations. The aim of our study is to establish the limits of noninvasive explorations and to evaluate the benefits of laparoscopy approach of such cases. 45 patients, admitted and treated for right lower quadrant abdominal pain along 5 years in the Surgical Department of University Hospital "Caritas" Bucharest, were followed up. For all those patients, diagnostic uncertainty indicated laparoscopic exploration. Analyzing the cases, we noticed that the diagnosis was correctly established on the basis of non-invasive preoperative explorations in 13,33% of cases. In 11,11% of cases the diagnosis was completed by laparoscopy approach and in most cases (75,55%) was established by this procedure. The laparoscopic approach allowed diminishing the number of unnecessary appendectomies, detecting and resolving concomitant lesions with minimal parietal trauma and, essentially, avoiding "exploratory laparotomy".

[Particular evolution of a jejunal tumor in one patient with multiples neoplasia]

The authors present the case of one male patient, 71 years old, known with serial neoplasia (right colon neoplasm 1983, left colon neoplasm 1987) for which there were performed several interventions. The patient was admitted first time in our Department in 1998 for a non specifically symptomatology; in particular anaemic syndrome. The first intervention was performed in June 1998, without finding anything pathological, despite the presumption of a third tumor on the remaining colonic territory, theory that was partially sustained by the paraclinical examinations. The second intervention was performed in February 2001, when it was found and extirpated a jejunal tumor, under Treitz angle, but after 9 months, when a new intervention was performed, we found a relapse tumor which was not extirpable. The aim of this study is to present the unpredictable versatility of small bowels tumors and the difficulty of establishing an early positive diagnose.

[Acute necrotizing enteritis]

The authors present a retrospective clinical study done on a 13-pacients basis diagnosed during surgery with acute necrotizing enteritis. This study follows the complexity of pathogenic factors and the difficulties one confronts with when establishing a diagnosis since the clinical manifestations are non-specifical and shows the contribution of laboratory data to an earliest possible diagnosis. Both medical and surgical treatment are analyzed depending on the results achieved with an attempt to determine a therapeutic approach as beneficial as possible, aiming at making clear either enterectomy or a conservatory surgical decision should be made. Mortality rate under such therapeutical approach was 38%.

[Controlled stomach fistula for acute operated ulcer. Case report]

The authors analyze the case of a 65 old woman which was hospitalized for sigmoidian stenosant and haemorrhagical neoplasm, confined to the colic wall, without peritoneal or hepatic metastases, and without peritoneal or parietal invasion. Surgical management included sigmoidectomy and termino-terminal anastomosis for reconstructing intestinal transit followed by peritoneal drainage. In early postoperative stage the aspect of generalized peritonitis occurs and there is suspicion of anastomotic fistulae. On surgery, acute and perforated gastric ulcer is found, located in close vicinity to the cardia, on the anterior side of the stomach. Suture of the perforation is undertaken with drainage of the peritoneal cavity, but successfully because fistulization of the sutured perforation followed. Under the given circumstances controlled drainage of the gastric fistulae was carried out, using a Folley probe extended through the fistulae orifice and through the anterior abdominal wall, lateral to the median incision. The blowing of the intragastric balloon and the setting into tension of the gastric wall to the front abdominal wall allowed the sealing of the fistulae route but it took about three months. This technical contrivance has afforded good postoperative evolution and recovery of the patient, who after five years from surgery is in a good condition and has no subjective complaints.