Observations on some additional abnormalities in situs inversus viscerum.
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The abnormal findings in a case of Situs inversus totalis are described. The duodenum was placed abnormally and retained its primitive mesentery. The proximal 22 in of jejunum were retroperitoneal. The attachment of the root of the mesentery to the posterior abdominal wall had a 7-shaped appearance, and there was a partial failure of the primitive mesocolon to adhere to the posterior abdominal wall. The common hepatic artery arose from the superior meseneric artery, which also provided a branch to the proximal jejunal loop. The right vagus nerve was found anterior to the oesophagus at the oesophageal hiatus in the diaphragm, and the left vagus was posterior. A double ureter was present on the right side. The findings are discussed in relation to mid-gut development. (+info)
Solid and papillary epithelial neoplasm arising in heterotopic pancreatic tissue of the mesocolon.
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AIM: Solid and papillary epithelial neoplasm (SPEN) is an uncommon pancreatic tumour. Very rarely it has also been described outside the pancreas, usually arising from heterotopic pancreatic tissue. This report summarises all the published extrapancreatic SPENs and documents the sixth such case arising from heterotopic pancreatic tissue of the transverse mesocolon in a 15 year old girl. METHODS/RESULTS: Histological and immunohistochemical examination revealed typical papillary and solid areas composed of columnar, cuboidal, and round cells, which were focally positive for vimentin, cytokeratin, neurone specific enolase, carcinoembryonic antigen, alpha1-antitrypsin, alpha1-antichymotrypsin, and negative for neuroendocrine markers (neurofilament, PGP 9.5, chromogranin A, synaptophysin, and S100), p53, and oestrogen and progesterone receptors. Electron microscopy showed scant zymogen but no neurosecretory granules. In agreement with the flow cytometric result s of diploidy, comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH) did not reveal loss or gain of genetic material, and the in situ hybridisation analysis of the RB1 and p53 genes revealed no abnormality in the 13q and 17p arms. CONCLUSIONS: Immunohistochemical and electron microscopic data support exocrine differentiation. The CGH and the flow cytometric results suggest a subtle, yet unknown genetic change, rather than a large genetic alteration. RB1 and p53 in situ hybridisation ruled out the role of deletion at these sites in the pathogenesis of SPEN. Interestingly, review of the published and the present heterotopic pancreatic SPENs identified the mesocolon as the most common anatomical site (four of six), despite the very rare occurrence of ectopic pancreatic tissue at this site. (+info)
Leiomyosarcoma of the mesocolon--a case report.
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Retroperitoneal leiomyosarcomas including those arising from the mesentery are rare. These account for 5.8% of all soft tissue sarcomas. Most of these tumors present in late life with female preponderance. Diagnosing these tumors at an early stage is difficult due to their location. Hence, most of them attain large sizes with metastases to distant sites at the time of diagnosis. We report a case of leiomyosarcoma arising from the sigmoid mesocolon due to it's rarity and unusual clinical presentation. (+info)
Rare complications of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography: two case reports.
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BACKGROUND: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is a diagnostic procedure with several known risks. We present two rarely reported complications of ERCP and sphincterotomy: transverse mesocolon disruption with ischemic colitis and splenic rupture. RESULTS: The first patient, a 54-year-old female, presented one day following ERCP and stent revision for pancreas divisum. She presented with hypotension and abdominal distention. An abdominal computed tomography (CT) showed a ruptured spleen, which was confirmed on laparotomy. She had a complicated postoperative course and died of multiple organ failure. The second patient is a 56-year-old female who presented five days after ERCP and sphincterotomy with abdominal pain, abdominal wall ecchymosis, and decreasing hematocrit. Her evaluation included hospital admission and abdominal CT scan, which showed free fluid and a large hematoma in the transverse mesocolon. These findings were confirmed on laparotomy and a devascularized segment of bowel was resected. CONCLUSION: Only 6 cases of ERCP-related splenic injury have been reported in the literature. One additional report is available of a fatal splenic artery injury. No previous reports exist of a mesenteric hematoma resulting in bowel devascularization. Prompt evaluation and awareness of potential complications should help capture potentially life-threatening sequelae of ERCP. (+info)
Conclusions from a study of venous invasion in stage IV colorectal adenocarcinoma.
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AIMS: Venous invasion is an established predictor of prognosis in colorectal cancer (CRC). The reported incidence of venous invasion in CRC specimens varies between 10% and 89.5%, mainly as a result of interobserver variability and differences in specimen processing (for example, staining with haematoxylin and eosin (H+E) alone versus the addition of an elastic fibre stain). This study was performed with three purposes in mind, namely: (1) To assess and compare the incidence of venous invasion diagnosed on H+E stained tissue versus tissue stained with both H+E and an elastic fibre stain. (2) To estimate the inherent false negative rate associated with the diagnosis of venous invasion by histopathological evaluation of resected CRC specimens. (3) To compare the resulting data regarding incidence, quantity, site, and type of venous invasion to the pertinent literature. METHODS: Venous invasion was assessed on sections from 81 CRCs resected from patients with synchronous distant metastases (hepatic and non-hepatic). Only stage IV tumours were studied for the following reasons: (1) it can be assumed that in all patients with distant haematogenous metastases venous invasion had occurred, thus enabling the false negative rate to be calculated; (2) there can be no dispute about the clinical relevance of the various characteristics of venous invasion identified in the tumours of patients with synchronous distant haematogenous metastases; and (3) to eliminate the effect of variance in tumour stage on the incidence of venous invasion. Initially, H+E stained sections were studied for venous invasion. Sections that were negative or questionable with regard to venous invasion were then stained with an elastic fibre stain, and a second search for venous invasion was carried out. Venous invasion was characterised by incidence, quantity, type, and site. The chi(2) test for independence was used to compare the incidence of venous invasion in colonic versus rectal and rectosigmoid primary tumours, and in patients with hepatic versus non-hepatic metastases. RESULTS: Venous invasion was identified in 42 (51.9%) (of the 81 specimens on H+E stained sections. The addition of the elastic fibre stain enabled the diagnosis of venous invasion in 15 (38.5%) of the remaining 39 specimens, increasing the overall incidence to 57 of 81 cases (70.4%). Of the 57 positive specimens, venous invasion was minimal in 27 (47.4%), intermediate in five, (8.8%) and massive in 25 (43.9%). Only intramural veins were involved in 18 (31.6%), only extramural veins in 26 (45.6%), and both intramural and extramural veins in 13 (22.8%) of the 57 positive specimens. The filling type of venous invasion was found in 41 (71.9%), the floating type in 28 (49.1%), and the infiltrating type in six (10.5%) of the 57 positive specimens. There was no significant difference between the incidence of venous invasion in the colon (42 of 60; 70%) versus rectal and rectosigmoid tumours (15 of 21; 71.4%; p = 0.8539), nor in the incidence of venous invasion in patients with hepatic (49 of 70; 70%) versus non-hepatic (eight of 11; 72.7%) metastases (p = 0.9018). CONCLUSIONS: The addition of an elastic fibre stain enables the identification of venous invasion in a considerable proportion of sections from CRC tumours that are falsely negative for venous invasion on H+E stain alone. The inherent chance of missing venous invasion on histopathological evaluation of CRC tumours stained with H+E and elastic fibre stains is at least 10.5%, and may be as high as 29.6%. In a large proportion of stage IV CRCs, despite the presence of synchronous distant metastases, only a minimal extent of venous invasion (that is, one to two involved veins) is demonstrable in the primary tumour. This suggests that only minimal venous invasion is required for the seeding of clinically relevant haematogenous metastases, and emphasises the careful, dedicated search for venous invasion that is required from the pathologist. Although extramural venous invasion was predominant in stage IV CRCs, in a considerable proportion of tumours (about a third) only intramural venous invasion was found. This suggests that intramural venous invasion may also seed clinically relevant haematogenous metastases, and should therefore also be considered as an indicator of poor prognosis. (+info)
Delayed gastric emptying after Roux-en-Y due to four types of partial obstruction.
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Partial obstruction was the cause of delayed gastric emptying in 12 patients after a Roux-en-Y gastrojejunostomy in a consecutive personal series of 42 patients between 1975 and 1989. Four types of obstruction were identified. Type I was due to a kinked loop of jejunum where it passed through the mesocolon. Type II had the anastomosis too high on the gastric pouch, type III was due to an obstructing marginal ulcer, and type IV had a pouchlike deformity develop in the upper jejunum at the anastomosis that gradually compressed the outflow tract. No patient had stenosis of the anastomosis. The upper gastrointestinal (GI) series plus nuclear studies of the liquid and solid phase gastric emptying provided evidence of the presence and degree of delayed gastric emptying but not the site or cause of the obstruction. Upper GI endoscopy provided precise evidence of the site of the partial obstruction, its anatomic nature, and the presence of a bezoar or marginal ulcer. Of the 42 patients, 4 had surgical correction, and in 6 patients the obstruction was relieved by endoscopic manipulation; all patients have been relieved of their symptoms. Partial obstruction was the only cause of delayed gastric emptying in this series, and contrary to recent reports, no patient required a total or near total gastrectomy. (+info)
Primary intraabdominal synovial sarcoma: a case report.
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The authors report a case of intra-abdominal synovial sarcoma in a 41-year-old female. The tumor, which had an unusual location, the ascending mesocolon, had a mono-phasic spindle cell pattern. Immunohistochemical positivity for the epithelial membrane antigen (EMA) and cytokeratin AE1/AE3 differentiated the lesion from other spindle cell sarcomas with similar histology. The pathological and clinical features of the entity are briefly discussed. (+info)
Mesocolic hernia: a rare cause of intestinal obstruction in childhood.
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Mesocolic hernia is a rare cause of intestinal obstruction in children. The diagnosis involves a high index of suspicion and prompt intervention to prevent strangulation and a high morbidity. The embryological basis of the condition is of paramount importance to assist the eventual surgical correction. (+info)