Surgical and anesthetic management of paraganglioma diagnosed in a 2nd trimester parturient: Case report

Introduction

Neuroendocrine tumors represent a rare entity whose diagnosis is based on clinical, biological and radiological arguments. When they are secreting, they expose the patient to serious complications that can be much more severe during pregnancy and engage the vital prognosis of both the mother and the fetus, which requires multidisciplinary management: anesthesiologist resuscitator - obstetrician – endocrinologist.

Case presentation

In our article, we report the case of a patient with an estimated pregnancy at 25 weeks of amenorrhea (WA) with a history of 3 miscarriages related to atypical gravid hypertension.

The treatment consisted of preoperative medical preparation followed by removal of the paraganglioma and postoperative monitoring. The maternal-fetal evolution was favorable.

Conclusion

The non-negligible morbi-mortality of this type of tumors require a multidisciplinary management.

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Neuroendocrine tumors represent a rare entity whose diagnosis is based on clinical, biological and radiological arguments.

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The treatment consisted of preoperative medical preparation, removal of the paraganglioma and postoperative monitoring.

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The anesthetic and surgical management of pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas in pregnant women presents a real challenge.

Inferior mesenteric artery aneurysm revealed by massif rectal bleeding, case report

INTRODUCTION

Inferior mesenteric aneurysms are rare, usually asymptomatic. Their diagnostic is challenging based on clinical examination, ultrasonography, and abdominal CT scan; surgery remains the gold standard of treatment.

CASE REPORT

In this paper, we will report a clinical case of 62 years old man admitted to the emergency department for massif rectal bleeding due to inferior mesenteric aneurysm fistulization in the transversal colon one month after a left colectomy; the treatment was surgical consisted of a Ligation.

CONCLUSION

IMA aneurysm is a rare condition, usually asymptomatic, and it might be revealed by various symptoms, including massif rectal bleeding.

Rare association of aortoarteritis and pheochromocytoma: A case report

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Pheochromocytoma is a great masquerador.

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The coexistence of pheochromocytoma along with both aortoarteritis and renal artery stenosis is very rare.

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Management of vascular abnormalities is based on the control of catecholamine release.

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Pheochromocytoma should be included as differential diagnosis of aortoarteritis.

Introduction

Pheochromocytoma is an uncommon but treatable cause of secondary hypertension, it may present with a wide variety of manifestations. The coexistence of pheochromocytoma and vascular abnormalities is described but rarely reported entity.

Presentation of case

A 36-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for severe hypertension, examination revealed absent femoral pulses with notion of intermittent claudication. Abdominal computed tomography revealed the presence of a right adrenal pheochromocytoma. CT angiogram showed thickening of the thoracoabdominal aortic wall and the proximal portions of some of its branches with stenosis of more than 50% of the origin of the celiac trunk, bilateral occlusion of the external iliac arteries and trunk stenosis of the right renal artery. The Pheochromocytoma was surgically removed.

Discussion

Coexistence of pheyochromocytoma and vascular abnormalities especially renal artery stenosis and aortoarteritis seems to be an association rather than a coincidence.

Conclusion

To the best of our knowledge, the coexistence of pheochromocytoma along with both aortoarteritis and renal artery stenosis has not been reported thus far. The diagnosis, management and potential mechanisms underlying such an association will be discussed in this case.

A bile acid-induced apoptosis assay for colon cancer risk and associated quality control studies

Bile acids are important in the etiology of colorectal cancer. Bile acids induce apoptosis in colonic goblet cells at concentrations comparable to those found in fecal water after high-fat meals. Preliminary evidence indicated that cells of the normal-appearing (nontumorous) portion of the colon epithelium of colon cancer patients are more resistant to bile salt-induced apoptosis than are cells from normal individuals. In the present study, 68 patients were examined, and biopsies were taken at 20 cm from the anal verge, cecum, and descending colon. The patients included 17 individuals with a history of colorectal cancer, 37 individuals with adenomas, and 14 individuals who were neoplasia free. The mean bile salt-induced apoptotic index among normal individuals was 57.6 +/- 3.47 (SE), which differed significantly (P < 0.05) from the mean value of 36.41 +/- 3.12 in individuals with a history of colon cancer. The correlation between independent observers was 0.89 (P < 0.001), indicating good interobserver reliability. Components of variance comparing interindividual versus intraindividual sources of variation suggested that site-to-site variability, both between regions of the colon and for adjacent biopsies, was larger than the interpatient variability for individuals with a history of neoplasia. Therefore, there was "patchiness" of the susceptibility of regions of the colon to bile acid-induced apoptosis in individuals with a history of neoplasia (a patchy field effect). There was no obvious correlation of low-apoptotic index regions with regions in which previous neoplasias had been found and removed. On the other hand, for normal, i.e., neoplasia-free, individuals, there was relatively less intraindividual variation compared to interindividual variation. Our assay shows an association between resistance to bile acid-induced apoptosis, measured at 20 cm from the anal verge, and colon cancer risk. Thus, this assay may prove useful as a biomarker of colon cancer risk.