Effect of truncal vagotomy on sphincter of oddi cyclic motility in conscious dogs. (73/1177)

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of truncal vagotomy at the diaphragmatic level on the sphincter of Oddi (SO) motility. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Cholelithiasis is a well-known late complication after gastrectomy and/or vagotomy. The mechanism of gallstone formation is only partly understood, and few studies address the effects of vagotomy on SO cyclic motility in conscious subjects. METHODS: In conscious dogs, SO motility was recorded by retrograde infusion manometry through a duodenal cannula before and after bilateral truncal vagotomy at the diaphragmatic level. Effects of cholecystokinin-octapeptide and feeding were also evaluated before and after vagotomy. RESULTS: SO cyclic motility and the gastroduodenal migrating motor complex continued to occur during postvagotomy fasting. Intermittent inhibitions of the SO and duodenal contractions disappeared during phase 3 of the migrating motor complex. SO basal pressure significantly decreased, whereas the amplitude significantly increased. Cholecystokinin-octapeptide inhibited SO contractions before and after vagotomy. The amplitude of SO contractions increased and their frequency decreased after feeding; however, these effects disappeared after vagotomy. CONCLUSIONS: SO cyclic motility and the effects of feeding change after truncal vagotomy at the diaphragmatic level. These facts may at least partly explain gallstone formation after gastric surgery and/or vagotomy.  (+info)

Helicobacter pylori may survive ampicillin treatment in the remnant stomach. (74/1177)

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a Gram-negative curved rod-like or spiral bacterium that chronically infects the human gastric mucosa, and is a major risk factor for gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcer and adenocarcinoma of the stomach. After partial gastrectomy, some patients may have persistent H. pylori infection for five years or more. In this study, we detected three bacteria, i.e., Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter aerogenes, and Escherichia coli, in the gastric juice of patients with a remnant stomach. Some of these bacteria produced beta-lactamase. These findings are potentially important since such bacteria could provide H. pylori with the chance to acquire drug resistance and to transfer drug resistance genes. This could be one reason why H. pylori is difficult to eradicate in the remnant stomach.  (+info)

Extended local resection for advanced gastric cancer: increased survival versus increased morbidity. (75/1177)

OBJECTIVE: To characterize factors predictive of improved survival following gastrectomy with additional organ resection for the treatment of gastric cancer. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Recent large series have reported significant survival disadvantages to patients who have undergone gastrectomy with splenectomy or pancreaticosplenectomy, and yet gastrectomy with additional organ resection is needed to accomplish an R0 resection in some cases. Gastrectomy with splenectomy and other organ resections has been associated with advanced T-stage, positive resection margins, and higher postoperative morbidity and mortality rather than an absolute predictor of survival. METHODS: The authors reviewed the Department of Surgery prospective gastric database at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center from July 1985 to July 2000. During this period, of the 2,112 patients with primary gastric cancer, 1,133 underwent an R0 resection. The R0 resection group included 865 patients who underwent gastrectomy alone and 268 patients who underwent gastrectomy with another organ resection. Clinicopathologic, operative, complication, and survival data were compared between these two groups. Chi-square analysis and the Kaplan-Meier method were used to compare and estimate median survival. RESULTS: The most common organs resected were the spleen and pancreas, with an even distribution of other organs. Pathologic factors revealed that the gastrectomy with organ resection group had significantly larger lesions, greater T-stage, and a higher incidence of advanced nodal disease than the group who did not undergo additional organ resection. The incidence of pathologically confirmed T4 cancers in the additional organ resection group was only 14%. The overall 5-year survival rate for patients with T3/T4 disease was 27% with additional organ resection. The overall 5-year survival rate for the gastrectomy with organ resection group (32%, median 32 months) was significantly less than the group that did not undergo additional resection (50%, median 63 months) on univariate analysis. However, additional organ resection was not a predictor of survival on multivariate analysis. Multivariate analysis identified advanced T-stage (T3 or greater) and nodal stage (N1 or greater) as adverse predictors of survival in this group. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term survival following gastrectomy with additional organ resection is possible. Depth of invasion and the extent of lymph node metastasis are the most important predictors of survival following gastrectomy with additional organ resection, and a R0 resection has been achieved. Judicious use of additional organ resection for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer must be emphasized, given the increased overall morbidity and infrequent finding of actual T4 disease. Additional organ resection can be performed with minimal morbidity and can improve the chance of overall survival in patients with advanced T-stage disease.  (+info)

Total gastrectomy severely alters the central regulation of food intake in rats. (76/1177)

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the central regulation of food intake by quantifying neuron activation of the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) after injection of cholecystokinin (CCK) or food intake in gastrectomized rats. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Total gastrectomy is followed by early satiety, low calorie intake, and weight loss in the majority of patients. The etiology of these effects is unknown. Sixty percent to 70% of patients remain underweight after total gastrectomy, the weight loss averaging 25% of preoperative body weight. About two thirds of gastrectomized patients report early satiety, and about 60% do not reach the recommended daily calorie intake. The NTS is a brain stem center involved in the regulation of food intake; thus, the extent and pattern of neuronal activation provide information on the process involved in the initiation of satiation and the regulation of food intake. METHODS: The authors investigated neuronal activation in the NTS using c-fos immunohistochemistry following CCK injection or food intake in healthy control rats, sham-operated control rats, age-matched control rats, weight-matched control rats, and vagotomized or gastrectomized rats. RESULTS: Neuronal activation in the NTS after CCK injection was significantly decreased 21 days after total gastrectomy, but increased by up to 51% 3 months and by up to 102% 12 months after surgery compared to age-matched unoperated control rats. Neuronal activation in the NTS in response to feeding was markedly increased up to fivefold in gastrectomized rats. This increase was early in onset and sustained, and occurred despite significantly reduced food intake. Administration of MK329, a CCK-A receptor antagonist, significantly reduced the number of postprandially activated neurons in both gastrectomized and control rats. CONCLUSIONS: The early postprandial activation of NTS neurons after total gastrectomy in rats may correspond to early satiety reported by patients, while the sustained activation of NTS neurons after a meal could contribute to a reduced daily calorie intake. These data suggest that a disturbed central regulation of food intake might contribute to early satiety, reduced food intake, and weight loss after total gastrectomy.  (+info)

Non-surgical treatment for afferent loop syndrome in recurrent gastric cancer complicated by peritoneal carcinomatosis: percutaneous transhepatic duodenal drainage followed by 24-hour infusion of high-dose fluorouracil and leucovorin. (77/1177)

Afferent loop syndrome (ALS) is a debilitating complication of recurrent gastric cancer. Surgical intervention is usually not feasible in the face of poor general performance, presence of advanced peritoneal carcinomatosis and limited survival of the patients. Non-surgical approaches include internal drainage by stenting at the stenotic or anastomotic site and external drainage via the percutaneous routes. Percutaneous transhepatic duodenal drainage (PTDD) has been shown to provide effective palliation for ALS, but long-term catheterization is usually inevitable. We hereby present two cases of recurrent gastric cancer whose ALS was successfully treated with PTDD followed by weekly 24-h infusion of high-dose 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin (HDFL). PTDD rapidly ameliorated the incapacitating symptoms of ALS, and the effective, low-toxicity chemotherapy subsequently led to tumor regression, restoration of bowel patency and removal of the drainage tube. At present, both patients have remained ALS-free and drainage-free for 16 and 17 months, respectively. Our results indicate that this non-surgical approach with PTDD followed by weekly HDFL could serve as a safe and effective treatment for ALS in recurrent gastric cancer complicated by peritoneal carcinomatosis.  (+info)

Prognostic value of intratumoral neutrophils in advanced gastric carcinoma in a high-risk area in northern Italy. (78/1177)

Several lines of evidence indicate that neutrophils act nonspecifically against tumor cells. The correlation between tumor-infiltrating neutrophils (TINs) and clinicopathological features remains unclear and deserves to be investigated. To analyze the prognostic influence of TINs in gastric carcinoma, the authors selected 273 patients with advanced gastric carcinoma who underwent gastrectomy at Cremona Hospital (Lombardia, Italy) between 1990 and 1995 and followed them for a period of 5 years. The number of TINs was assessed in a semiquantitative manner using the mean value of 20 nonoverlapping high-power fields (magnification, 400x; 0.08 mm(2)). The patients were divided into two groups: patients with a moderate or extensive amount of TINs (n = 76; >10 TINs per 20 high-power fields) and patients with a minor amount of TINs (n = 197; +info)

Pancreaticoduodenectomy with or without distal gastrectomy and extended retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy for periampullary adenocarcinoma, part 2: randomized controlled trial evaluating survival, morbidity, and mortality. (79/1177)

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate, in a prospective, randomized single-institution trial, the end points of operative morbidity, operative mortality, and survival in patients undergoing standard versus radical (extended) pancreaticoduodenectomy. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Numerous retrospective reports and a few prospective randomized trials have suggested that the performance of an extended lymphadenectomy in association with a pancreaticoduodenal resection may improve survival for patients with pancreatic and other periampullary adenocarcinomas. METHODS: Between April 1996 and June 2001, 299 patients with periampullary adenocarcinoma were enrolled in a prospective, randomized single-institution trial. After intraoperative verification (by frozen section) of margin-negative resected periampullary adenocarcinoma, patients were randomized to either a standard pancreaticoduodenectomy (removing only the peripancreatic lymph nodes en bloc with the specimen) or a radical (extended) pancreaticoduodenectomy (standard resection plus distal gastrectomy and retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy). All pathology specimens were reviewed, fully categorized, and staged. The postoperative morbidity, mortality, and survival data were analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 299 patients randomized, 5 (1.7%) were subsequently excluded because their final pathology failed to reveal periampullary adenocarcinoma, leaving 294 patients for analysis (146 standard vs. 148 radical). The two groups were statistically similar with regard to age (median 67 years) and gender (54% male). All the patients in the radical group underwent distal gastric resection, while 86% of the patients in the standard group underwent pylorus preservation ( <.0001). The mean operative time in the radical group was 6.4 hours, compared to 5.9 hours in the standard group ( =.002). There were no significant differences between the two groups with respect to intraoperative blood loss, transfusion requirements (median zero units), location of primary tumor (57% pancreatic, 22% ampullary, 17% distal bile duct, 3% duodenal), mean tumor size (2.6 cm), positive lymph node status (74%), or positive margin status on final permanent section (10%). The mean total number of lymph nodes resected was significantly higher in the radical group. Of the 148 patients in the radical group, only 15% (n = 22) had metastatic adenocarcinoma in the resected retroperitoneal lymph nodes, and none had retroperitoneal nodes as the only site of lymph node involvement. One patient in the radical group with negative pancreaticoduodenectomy specimen lymph nodes had a micrometastasis to one perigastric lymph node. There were six perioperative deaths (4%) in the standard group versus three perioperative deaths (2%) in the radical group ( = NS). The overall complication rates were 29% for the standard group versus 43% for the radical group ( =.01), with patients in the radical group having significantly higher rates of early delayed gastric emptying and pancreatic fistula and a significantly longer mean postoperative stay. With a mean patient follow-up of 24 months, there were no significant differences in 1-, 3-, or 5-year and median survival when comparing the standard and radical groups. CONCLUSIONS: Radical (extended) pancreaticoduodenectomy can be performed with similar mortality but some increased morbidity compared to standard pancreaticoduodenectomy. The data to date fail to indicate that a survival benefit is derived from the addition of a distal gastrectomy and retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy to a pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy.  (+info)

A patient with advanced gastric cancer, underwent curative gastrectomy and partial resection of metachronous hepatic metastases, is surviving for 13 years to date. (80/1177)

We have reported a successful case of curative partial liver resection of metachronous liver metastasis from advanced gastric cancer. The patient was 56 years old and has undergone total gastrectomy with D2 lymph node dissection (2 type, well-differentiated adenocarcinoma, H0P0n0se, Stage 2). At 18 months later, follow-up ultrasound detected liver metastasis in the right posterior segment. Together with other imaging modalities, it was diagnosed as a solitary lesion without any other recurrence, and we performed partial resection of the right posterior segment. During the operation, there was no sign of any other recurrence (no peritoneal dissemination, no lymph node metastasis, and no other liver metastasis). Two Mitomycin-C (MMC) intravenous injections were given as postoperative chemotherapy. Usually, surgery for liver metastasis from gastric cancer is very rare as a curative therapy, because it is difficult to predict the effectiveness of the operation. In the present case, we decided on the operation since there was no sign of any other recurrence. It has now been 13 years to date since the partial liver resection and the patient remains free from recurrence.  (+info)