Metastatic Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC) of Pancreas

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, agressive, neurocutaneous malignancy with a high potential to metastasize. We present a 59 year-old woman referred to general surgery department with a complaint of epigastric pain. The abdominal computed tomography (CT) performed and revealed amass of 3 cm in the head of the pancreas. The significant debate in the patient's medical history was that she had a MCC in size of 5 cm removed from the left gluteal region 7 months ago. Following preoperative preparation a pancreatic oduodenectomy with Whipple procedure was performed fort hepancreatic head mass. As the tumor showed morphologically similar properties with the patient's primary neoplasm, it was accepted as a metastatic MCC. Following the operation the patient received adjuvant chemotherapy and at a 30 months follow-up it was observed that the patient is disease free and has no complications related to the disease progression or recurrence. Although MCC is an aggresive and poor prognostic tumor, good results can be obtained with correct diagnosis and proper surgical treatment.

Coarctation of the abdominal aorta with left renal artery and splenic artery aneurysms

Both coarctation of the abdominal aorta, and splenic artery aneurysm reside in the hilus, a rare but extremely important pathological condition. Herein a 36-year-old woman hospitalized for uncontrolled hypertension is presented. Aortography demonstrated segmental abdominal aortic coarctation with left renal artery and splenic artery aneurysms. Medical control of hypertension was not possible and thoracoabdominal bypass with a prosthetic graft was undertaken. Left renal artery aneurysm was resected and aorto-renal saphenous vein bypass was performed. But splenic artery aneurysm was left in situ because it was asymptomatic and less than 2 cm in diameter. Postoperatively the patient was normotensive. Although the pathogenesis of such lesions remain unknown, it may be to congenital or related medial degeneration as demonstrated histologically.

Surgical treatment of splanchnic artery aneurysms secondary to medial degeneration: report of two cases

Although splanchnic artery aneurysms are an uncommon form of vascular disease, splenic artery aneurysms are the third most common intraabdominal aneurysms, followed by aneurysms of the infrarenal aorta and iliac arteries. In this report, we present two splanchnic artery aneurysms, one symptomatic located in the superior mesenteric artery and one found incidentally in the splenic artery. In the first case reconstructive surgery was carried out. In the second patient the splenic artery aneurysm was excised and splenectomy was performed. The incidence, clinical presentation, pathophysiology, evaluation, and treatment modalities are discussed.

Management of nipple discharge

In a series of 9,312 women who consulted one of the authors with a complaint of disease of the breast between 1959 and 1991, nipple discharge was the presenting symptom in 448 (4.8 percent). Nipple discharge was spontaneous in 243 (2.6 percent) and provoked in 205 (2.2 percent) of the patients. The ages of the patients ranged from 13 to 75 years (mean of 42.5 years) in the spontaneous and 16 to 70 years (mean of 37.8 years) in the provoked discharge group. When a palpable mass was found, biopsy was undertaken, while in instances of nipple discharge only, subareolar exploration was performed. Of the 115 patients in the spontaneous and 25 patients in the provoked groups who underwent biopsy, the most frequent cause of nipple discharge was intraductal papilloma (47.8 percent). Nipple discharge was the result of carcinoma in 35 patients (14.4 percent) in the spontaneous and six patients (2.9 percent) in the provoked group, respectively. In patients with a palpable mass, the incidence of carcinoma was 61.5 percent compared with 6.1 percent in patients with nipple discharge only. Patients presenting with nipple discharge should undergo biopsy or subareolar exploration based on the presence or absence of a palpable tumor. The patients in whom no clinical findings could be detected should have follow-up evaluation at regular intervals.

Biliary ascariasis in fifteen patients

Ascarids in the biliary tract may cause cholecystitis, pancreatitis and obstruction of the common bile ducts. We retrospectively evaluated clinical features, radiographic findings and surgical treatment of 15 patients. Obstructive jaundice in eight patients (53.3%), acute cholecystitis in five patients (33.3%), and chronic calculous cholecystitis in two patients (13.3%) had been shown in our series. In four of the patients with obstructive jaundice signs of acute cholangitis were observed. Of 15 patients, two had hepatic abscess besides biliary ascariasis and one had hydatid cyst. In our series, all of the patients were operated on. Choledochotomy and primary closure were performed on six patients (40%), choledochoduodenostomy on six patients (40%), T-tube drainage on two patients (13.3%) and only cholecystectomy on one patient (6.6%). No mortality was determined in our patients.

Kidney transplantation from elderly living donors

Because of the inadequate numbers of organ donors, transplant surgeons are obliged to search for new horizons. Also, traditional beliefs are changing. The shortage of organs for transplantation, has led us to try certain arrangements so that suitable elderly organ donors may be included, as in many other transplant centers. We have now done 34 kidney transplantations from living related donors, who were 60 years of age and older. Donor-specific transfusions and low-dose triple drugs were used for all recipients. The overall patient survival was 97.5% and graft survival was 85.29%. In the light of these results we conclude that elderly living donor kidneys can be used satisfactorily with low-dose triple therapy.

Treatment of steroid-resistant renal allograft rejection with OKT-3 and plasmapheresis

The murine monoclonal antibody (OKT-3) and plasmapheresis therapy were applied in combination to treat acute renal allograft rejection in 31 patients who were not responsive to conventional bolus steroid treatment. Six of them were living related but ABO incompatible; another 25 patients were ABO compatible (1 was from a cadaver, 7 were from living unrelated donors, and 17 were from living related donors). Of these 31 patients, 25 (80.65%) showed perfect improvement in their graft function. These 25 patients had a mean follow-up time of 8 months, and had mean creatinine values of 1.2 mg% (0.8-2.8 mg%). It is concluded that OKT-3 and plasmapheresis combination therapy is very effective in reversing steroid-resistant rejections in high-risk patients such as ABO-incompatible cases.

Urological complications in 350 consecutive renal transplants

Ten urological complications (2.9%) were found in 350 kidney transplants performed in this centre. These included obstructive uropathy (20%), urinary leaks (40%), distal uretic fistulas (necrosis) (30%) and renal calculi (10%). Two grafts were lost due to chronic rejection 9 and 30 months post-operatively. The remaining 8 patients have stable renal function (mean creatinine 1.5 mg%). It was concluded that meticulous surgical technique may reduce the number of urological complications and early diagnosis and prompt surgical treatment may help to save the grafts.

Bilateral breast carcinoma: 28 years' experience

From 1959 to 1987, a total of 1,182 histologically proven breast cancer patients were followed. Of these, 48 (4.06%) with bilateral breast carcinoma were reviewed. Eight patients (0.68%) had simultaneous breast carcinomas and the remaining 40 (3.38%) had nonsimultaneous breast carcinomas. The period between the development of the first and second primary carcinoma ranged from 17 to 200 months (mean, 86 months). The second primary carcinoma was found symmetrically located with the first primary carcinoma in only 34.5% of the cases. No significant differences were observed between the bilateral carcinoma patients and the unilateral carcinoma patients with respect to pregnancy, delivery, family history, and the size and localization of the carcinomas. Axillary metastasis was seen in a higher percentage of the second primary carcinomas (48% versus 37.5%). It was observed that the shorter the time interval between the presentation of the carcinomas, the shorter the survival.

The effects of vitamin E on immune regulation after thermal injury

Studies were conducted on four groups of rats, each group consisting of 10 rats with burn + vitamin E, burn + saline solution, control + vitamin E and control + saline solution. Before and after burning 250 mg (2 cm3) of vitamin E was given intramuscularly. On the same days 2 cm3 of saline solution was given to the controls. The rats were burned over 30 per cent of their body surface area and then inoculated intraperitoneally with 40 units of tetanus toxoid. Complement fixation and acid phosphatase tests were carried out on the days 15 and 21 postburn. On day 21, the rats were killed and the spleens removed and weighted. In the groups that received vitamin E, the spleen weight and complement fixation test increased significantly while the acid phosphatase in serum decreased. In the clinical study, 17 burned patients with over 20 per cent deep partial or full skin thickness burns and eight healthy persons were studied. Nine of the 17 burned patients received vitamin E on 3 consecutive days, on day 4 blood was taken for analysis. The results showed that the number of T-cells decreased significantly in burn patients (P less than 0.05) whereas they increased significantly (P less than 0.05) in burn patients who received vitamin E. It is concluded from these experimental and clinical studies that vitamin E stimulates both cellular and humoral immunity. Therefore, the use of vitamin E in combination with conventional therapy in burn patients can be recommended.