THE CLINICAL FEATURES OF HAEMORRHAGE FROM DIVERTICULA OF THE COLON.
(25/295)
Haemorrhage is an occasional but sometimes serious complication of diverticulitis. This paper is a clinical study and discusses surgical treatment. Defunctioning colostomy is advocated when possible as an alternative to emergency resection. (+info)
THE SURGICAL MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC ULCERATIVE COLITIS.
(26/295)
For many years patients with chronic ulcerative colitis were subjected to operation as a last resort, but now, owing to improved surgical techniques and adequate preoperative preparation of the patient, mortality associated with operation has decreased and better-risk patients are being operated upon electively. The experience of the University of Alberta Hospital during the past 10 years in respect of the surgical management of chronic ulcerative colitis is reviewed, on the basis of 105 patients, 36 of whom underwent operation. The indications for surgery include obstruction, suspected carcinoma, hemorrhage, perforation, acute fulminating disease with toxic megacolon, and intractability. A variety of surgical procedures were used during this period, reflecting changing views in surgical management. Surgical complications include wound infections, bowel obstruction with ileostomy malfunction, skin excoriation, and electrolyte imbalance. In this series three of the 36 died, a mortality rate of 8%. One death was from liver failure and two were from peritonitis. (+info)
THE MECONIUM-PLUG SYNDROME AND HIRSCHSPRUNG'S DISEASE.
(27/295)
A mass of inspissated meconium in the distal colon or rectum is a relatively common cause of neonatal intestinal obstruction. The meconium-plug syndrome is unrelated to cystic fibrosis and meconium ileus. The clinical picture is frequently indistinguishable, without contrast study of the colon, from other forms of mechanical intestinal obstruction requiring laparotomy. A barium enema examination is almost always diagnostic, and use of this procedure usually results in dislodgement and passage of the plug.No single cause for the excessive viscosity and tenaciousness of the obstructive meconium mass has been identified. Previous reports have generally emphasized the normal ganglion-cell content of the colon in affected patients.Two infants are described who fulfilled all criteria for this syndrome but who were not rendered asymptomatic, as normally anticipated, by removal of the plug. Subsequent studies revealed the presence of Hirschsprung's disease in both patients. This diagnosis should be considered when an infant with meconium-plug obstruction of the colon fails to follow the usual satisfactory clinical course after the plug has been passed. (+info)
Anorectal malignant melanoma: treatment with surgery or radiation therapy, or both.
(28/295)
INTRODUCTION: Anorectal malignant tumours are increasing in frequency for unknown reasons. Surgery is the principal treatment, and the role of adjuvant therapy has not been defined. We therefore decided to review the experience of the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, a large tertiary care cancer hospital, with respect to the surgical management of anorectal melanoma. METHODS: We reviewed the charts of all registered patients with anorectal malignant melanoma (AMM) treated with surgery or radiotherapy, or both, at the hospital between 1980 and 1999, paying particular attention to survival, and local and distant recurrences. RESULTS: There were 14 patients, all of whom were followed up to the time of death or for a minimum of 28 months for surviving patients. The mean ages at diagnosis were 56 years for men and 68 years for women. Clinical staging was as follows: local, 10 patients; locoregional, 3 patients and metastatic disease, 1 patient. Local therapy included local resection alone in 7 cases and abdominoperineal resection in 7. Seven patients received pelvic irradiation at some time during their disease, using different doses and fractionation schemes. Three of them had concomitant chemotherapy and radiotherapy with no tumour regression. In all 3 patients the lesions was reclassified as AMM and the patient underwent surgery. The other 4 patients had a short course of radiotherapy for palliation after the original lesion recurred. The overall median survival was 12 (range from 3-51) months. Two patients remained alive at last follow-up. Patients managed by local excision had a median survival of 12 (range from 3-51) months, and those managed by abdominoperineal resection had a median survival of 7 (range 5-51) months. Of the 10 patients treated initially with local excision, 6 required reoperation. Three underwent salvage abdominoperineal resection. Six patients were alive 1 year after treatment (median survival 32.5 mo [range from 21-51 mo]). Eight patients had a rapid evolution of their disease with a median survival of 5.5 (range from 3-12) months. Eleven of the 12 patients who died had metastatic disease. CONCLUSIONS: Systemic dissemination is almost universal in patients with AMM. The overall survival was poor regardless of local treatment. There was a 60% failure rate of local excision, which necessitated further surgery. Improving local control is important since some patients will survive up to 3 years. (+info)
Could laparoscopic colon and rectal surgery become the standard of care? A review and experience with 750 procedures.
(29/295)
INTRODUCTION: The benefits of the laparoscopic approach to colon and rectal surgery do not seem as great as for other laparoscopic procedures. To study this further we decided to review the current literature and the 10-year experience of a surgical group from university teaching hospitals in Montreal, Quebec and Toronto in performing laparoscopic colon and rectal surgery. METHODS: The prospectively designed case series comprised all patients having laparoscopic colon and rectal surgery. The procedures were carried out by a group of 4 surgeons between April 1991 and November 2001. We noted intraoperative complications, any conversions to open surgery, operating time, postoperative complications and postoperative length of hospital stay. RESULTS: The group attempted 750 laparoscopic colon and rectal procedures of which 669 were completed laparoscopically. Malignant disease was the indication for surgery in 49.6% of cases. Right hemicolectomy and sigmoid colectomy accounted for 54.5% of procedures performed. Intraoperative complications occurred in 8.3%, with 29.0% of these resulting in conversion to open surgery. The overall rate of conversion to open surgery was 10.8%, most commonly for oncologic concerns. Median operating time was 175 minutes for all procedures. Postoperative complications occurred in 27.5% of procedures completed laparoscopically but were mostly minor wound complications. Pulmonary complications occurred in only 1.0%. The anastomotic leak rate was 2.5%. The early reoperation rate was 2.4%. Postoperative mortality was 2.2%. No port site metastases have yet been detected. The median postoperative length of stay was 5 days. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical outcomes of laparoscopic colon and rectal surgery in this 10-year experience are consistent with numerous cohort studies and randomized clinical trials. Laparoscopic colon and rectal surgery in the hands of well-trained surgeons can be performed safely with short hospital stay, low analgesic requirements and acceptable complication rates compared with historical controls and other reports in the literature. Evidence from published randomized clinical trials is emerging that under these conditions laparoscopic resection represents the better treatment option for most benign conditions, but concerns regarding its appropriateness for malignant disease are still to be resolved. (+info)
Which surgeons avoid a stoma in treating left-sided colonic obstruction? Results of a postal questionnaire.
(30/295)
There is now good evidence to indicate that the majority of patients with large bowel obstruction can be safely managed by resection and immediate anastomosis, but have surgeons embraced this policy? A postal survey has been performed to ascertain the opinions of consultant general surgeons within the Wessex region regarding the management of left-sided large bowel obstruction. Of 47 questionnaires sent, 42 replies could be analysed. In patients of good anaesthetic risk, 90% would perform resection with primary anastomosis if the lesion was at the splenic flexure, and 62% would adopt this policy for a rectosigmoid obstruction. In patients of higher anaesthetic risk these figures fell to 71% and 31%, respectively. Surgeons with a gastrointestinal interest were more likely to recommend resection with primary anastomosis. However, this trend reached statistical significance only for splenic flexure and descending colon lesions in good-risk patients. Most surgeons would avoid a stoma in the presence of liver metastases, and only three would be more likely to create a stoma in this situation. (+info)
The 'Jaykay' stoma flange cutter.
(31/295)
One of the many difficulties associated with stoma management is that of cutting the hole in the appliance to fit neatly and precisely around the mucocutaneous border. A new stoma flange cutter has been designed which facilitates the cutting or the enlargement of holes in stoma flanges to the exact size required. This equipment may be of use to partially sighted or manually disabled patients as well as to those able patients who would prefer an easier method of cutting the hole in their stoma flange. It may also be of use in operating theatres to enable theatre nurses to cut flanges more accurately and quickly for patients with colostomies, ileostomies or urinary conduits. (+info)
Impact of preoperative staging and chemoradiation versus postoperative chemoradiation on outcome in patients with rectal cancer: a decision analysis.
(32/295)
BACKGROUND: Although radical resection and postoperative chemoradiation have been the standard therapy for patients with rectal cancer, preoperative staging by local imaging and chemoradiation are widely used. We used a decision analysis to compare the two strategies for rectal cancer management. METHODS: We developed a decision model to compare survival outcomes after postoperative chemoradiation versus preoperative staging and chemoradiation in patients aged 70 years with resectable rectal cancer. In the postoperative chemoradiation strategy, patients undergo radical resection and receive postoperative chemoradiation. In the preoperative staging and chemoradiation strategy, patients with locally advanced cancer receive preoperative chemoradiation and radical resection, whereas those with amenable localized tumors undergo local excision. The cohorts of patients were entered into a Markov model incorporating age-adjusted and disease-specific mortality. Outcomes were evaluated by modeling 5-year disease-specific survival for preoperative chemoradiation as less than, equal to, or greater than that of postoperative chemoradiation. Base-case probabilities were derived from published data; the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program database; and U.S. Life Tables. One-way and two-way sensitivity analyses were performed. The outcome measures were life expectancy and quality-adjusted life expectancy. RESULTS: Life expectancy and quality-adjusted life expectancy were 9.72 and 8.72 years, respectively, in the postoperative chemoradiation strategy. In the preoperative staging and chemoradiation strategy, life expectancy was 9.36, 9.72, and 10.09 years and quality-adjusted life expectancy was 8.71, 9.04, and 9.37 years when 5-year disease-specific survival was less than, equal to, or greater than that of postoperative chemoradiation, respectively. The decision model was sensitive to differences in the long-term toxicity of pre- and postoperative chemoradiation. When the 5-year disease-specific survival for patients after pre- or postoperative chemoradiation was equal, the decision model was sensitive to surgical mortality and to the probability of residual lymph node disease after local excision. CONCLUSION: If efficacy and toxicity after preoperative chemoradiation are equal to or better than that after postoperative chemoradiation in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer, then preoperative staging to select patients appropriate for preoperative chemoradiation is beneficial. (+info)