Massive pulmonary embolism as a rare complication of a stab in the inguinal region in a HIV-positive patient: a case report

OBJECTIVE

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a severe preventable disease; HIV-infection represents a prothrombotic condition, because of specific factors due to the virus itself, the host response and the antiretroviral therapy. Our aim is to raise awareness of thromboembolic risk when dealing with HIV-positive patients presenting to the Emergency Department for treatment of injuries, even though small.

CASE REPORT

We present a case of a 33-year-old woman suffering from HIV-infection who presented to the Emergency Department with two small stab wounds. Laboratory tests and radiologic examinations were normal. About 8 hours after admission the patient developed a syncopal attack: a CT scan performed after hemodynamic stabilization revealed a massive pulmonary embolism (PE); the patient was then transferred to the Intensive Care Unit and treated with systemic thrombolysis.

CONCLUSIONS

This case confirms that HIV-positive patients carry a higher risk for VTE and PE compared to general population, similarly to patients suffering from cancer: emergency physicians must be aware even in case of minor wounds.

The new retained foreign body! Case report and review of the literature on retained foreign bodies in laparoscopic bariatric surgery

The advent of laparoscopic surgery has created a set of peculiar morbidities. As the laparoscopic devices, also the type of retained foreign bodies has changed. We present a case of unusual, apparently isolated and recurrent lung abscess, pleural effusion and poorly evident subphrenic abscess after laparoscopic gastric bypass, due to a retained Endo-Catch bag. A 27-year-old obese female underwent an uneventful laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. After surgery she developed a left basal lung abscess, that resolved in two weeks with heavy antibiotic therapy, while radiological abdominal imaging was apparently normal. Patient was discharged on p.o. day 30. After two months, she presented with fever and dyspnoea and no gastrointestinal complaints. Chest and abdominal computer tomography showed a left recurrent abscess with effusion but this time a 3 cm subphrenic mass with metallic clips inside was demonstrated on CT scan. Patient was treated with an explorative laparoscopy that identified an Endo-Catch bag with the jejunal blind loop inside. Postoperative left lung abscess can be a warning of a suphrenic surgical complication. Laparoscopic surgery requires even more attention to retained foreign bodies due to the reduced visibility of the surgical field. The recommendation to enforce recording of laparoscopic maneuvers is mandatory.

Rippled mesh: a CT sign of abdominal wall ePTFE prosthesis infection

BACKGROUND

Infection of polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) prostheses for abdominal incisional hernia is a rare but serious complication that often makes meshes removal necessary. Instead serous collections (seromas) without signs of infection don't require surgical removal. Differential diagnosis between infected and non-infected fluid collections is difficult and sometimes impossible before surgical exploration.

METHODS

We describe a new sign observed in two patients who underwent abdominal computed tomography for evaluation of a fluid collection without clear signs of prosthesis infection, complicating abdominal wall repair for incisional hernia in which an ePTFE mesh was used. In both patients an alteration of the mesh profile was demonstrated on imaging, and in both patients prostheses resulted infected at surgical exploration and at microbiological examination after removal. The sign we observed is not evident in computed tomography images performed in cases of seromas.

CONCLUSIONS

We discuss the possible mechanism of this finding and propose that this sign may be due to a "rejection" of the infected prosthesis from the surrounding neo-formed fibrous and inflammatory tissue.

Gastro-intestinal symptoms as clinical manifestation of peritoneal and retroperitoneal spread of an invasive lobular breast cancer: report of a case and review of the literature

Background

Distant spread from breast cancer is commonly found in bones, lungs, liver and central nervous system. Metastatic involvement of peritoneum and retroperitoneum is unusual and unexpected.

Case presentation

We report the case of a 67 year-old-woman who presented with gastrointestinal symptoms which revealed to be the clinical manifestations of peritoneal and retroperitoneal metastatic spread of an invasive lobular breast cancer diagnosed 15 years before.

Conclusion

To the best of our knowledge, the case presented is the third one reported in literature showing a wide peritoneal and extraperitoneal diffusion of an invasive lobular breast cancer. The long and complex diagnostic work up which led us to the diagnosis is illustrated, with particular emphasis on the multidisciplinary approach, which is mandatory to obtain such a result in these cases. Awareness of such a condition by clinicians is mandatory in order to make an early diagnosis and start a prompt and correct therapeutic approach.

What's right when the gallbladder's left? A case report

During laparoscopic cholecystectomy for cholelithiasis in a 40-year-old woman, we came upon a case of incidentally discovered left-sided gallbladder (LSG). Two anatomic variants of LSG are known: (a) "true LSG," in which, according to Gross, an accessory gallbladder originates from the left hepatic duct (LHD), the right embryonic bud is readsorbed, and the cystic duct joins either the CBD from the left or the LHD directly. Otherwise, a normal right-sided gallbladder adheres to the inferior left hepatic lobe, and the cystic duct joins the CBD from the right side (as in our case); (b) gallbladder under the fourth hepatic segment, medial to a right-sided round ligament, probably resulting from a prenatal obliteration of the right umbilical vein. Left-sided gallbladder is a paraphysiologic condition that when identified before surgery, must be studied by CT or MRI, when incidentally discovered during surgery must be promptly recognized by the surgeon, who must be aware of the unpredictable confluence of the cystic duct into the CBD. The following operative precautions are useful for avoiding a lesion of the CBD: The surgeon should start dissection of Calot's triangle as close as possible to the gallbladder margin, prepare and clip the cystic duct as close as possible to the infundibulum, and a 30 degrees angled telescope. If in doubt, the surgeon should perform an intraoperative cholangiography.