A case of esophageal rupture caused by long-term exposure to vinegar and resolved by damage control strategies

A 75-year-old woman had the habit of drinking vinegar. She had emergent transport to our hospital because of vomiting and unconsciousness. The patient underwent emergency surgery for esophageal rupture and septic shock. Intraoperatively, a 25 mm perforated area was found, and the visible esophageal mucosa was black. Because the suture closure or anastomosis was difficult and the shock was prolonged, she was placed in the intensive care unit after undergoing resection of the thoracic esophagus and thoracic drainage. Fifteen hours after the first surgery, we performed external esophagostomy and enterostomy. The third surgery was a retrothoracic cervical esophagogastric anastomosis, and reconstructive surgery was performed 60 days after the first surgery. Prolonged exposure to vinegar may have resulted in esophageal mucosal necrosis. This is a valuable case in which the esophageal mucosa was necrotic, and we performed esophagectomy and reconstruction as a damage control strategy to save her life.

A single-institution retrospective analysis of gastric carcinoma with positive peritoneal lavage cytology and without serosal invasion: A case series

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Peritoneal dissemination of gastric cancer is often associated with serosal infiltration. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical importance of peritoneal lavage cytology in patients with gastric carcinoma without serosal invasion. The incidence and impact on prognosis of positive cytology were analyzed.

METHODS

Of 2768 patients with gastric cancer, outcomes and pathological characteristics of 973 patients were reviewed retrospectively. All patients underwent peritoneal lavage at laparotomy for curative or palliative resection of gastric cancer between 1999 and 2017. Among these, 479 who underwent surgery from January 1999 to March 2012 were also reviewed to analyze 5-year survival.

RESULTS

Of 973 patients enrolled, 338 (35%) did not have serosal invasion, and peritoneal cytology was positive in 4/338 (1.2%). Of these four patients, one had submucosal invasion and three had muscularis propria invasion. Of 635 patients with serosal invasion, peritoneal cytology was positive in 74/635 (12%). Of 479 patients reviewed for survival, cytology was positive in 32/479, with 3/32 (9%) surviving for five years, and cytology was negative in 447 patients with 266/447 (60%) surviving for five years.

CONCLUSIONS

Cytologic evaluation should be routinely performed in patients with early-stage gastric cancer.

Preoperative Risk Factors for Conversion of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy to Open Cholecystectomy and the Usefulness of the 2013 Tokyo Guidelines

To identify predictive factors for conversion from laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) to open cholecystectomy performed for mixed indications as an acute or elective procedure. We retrospectively analyzed the data of 236 consecutive cases of LC performed in our department between January 2012 and January 2015, and evaluated preoperative risk factors for conversion and the usefulness of the 2013 Tokyo guidelines (TG2013) for diagnosing acute cholecystitis. The conversion rate in our series was 8% (19/236 cases). The following independent predictive factors of conversion were identified (p≤0.04): previous upper abdominal surgery (odds ratio (OR), 14.6), pericholecystic fluid (OR, 10.04), acute cholecystitis (OR, 7.81), and emergent LC (OR, 15.8). Specifically for patients with acute cholecystitis defined using the 2013 Tokyo guidelines, use of an antiplatelet or anticoagulant drug for cardiovascular disease (p=0.043), previous upper abdominal surgery (p<0.031) and a resident as operator (p=0.041) were predictive factors. The risk factors for conversion identified herein could help to predict the difficulty of the procedure and could be used by surgeons to better inform patients regarding the risks for conversion. The TG2013 can be an effective tool for diagnosing acute cholecystitis to make informed clinical decisions regarding the optimal procedure for a patient.

Metachronous colorectal carcinoma with massive submucosal invasion detected by annual surveillance in a Lynch syndrome patient: a case report

BACKGROUND

Lynch syndrome is the most common form of hereditary colorectal carcinoma. It is characterized by the presence of germline mutations in DNA mismatch repair genes. Mutation carriers have a lifetime risk of developing colorectal carcinoma of approximately 80%. Current treatment guidelines recommend periodic surveillance for colorectal carcinoma in patients with Lynch syndrome. However, the optimal interval between colonoscopies has not yet been determined.

CASE PRESENTATION

We describe a 54-year-old man with Lynch syndrome who was undergoing annual colonoscopy surveillance for the development of colorectal carcinoma. At 54, 57, 59, and 60 years old, a colonoscopy showed high-grade dysplasia and adenoma. Therefore, endoscopic mucosal resection was performed. At 61 years old, a colonoscopy showed metachronous colorectal carcinoma with massive submucosal invasion. He subsequently underwent laparotomy for colorectal carcinoma.

CONCLUSIONS

Annual surveillance using colonoscopy can detect colorectal carcinoma at an early stage, leading to reduced mortality. However, some patients might require a laparotomy, as was the case here. More frequent colonoscopic surveillance might be necessary to avoid surgery for colorectal carcinoma in Lynch syndrome patients with multiple risk factors for interval cancer.

Synchronous coexistence of liver metastases from cecal leiomyosarcoma and rectal adenocarcinoma: A case report

Multiple liver tumors represent a challenging condition for abdominal surgeons both in the selection of technique and the rarity of diagnosis. There are no case reports on co-existence of liver metastases from both intestinal leiomyosarcoma and adenocarcinoma. The patient described in this report successfully underwent resection of both primary lesions and liver metastases in combination with chemotherapy. As for the leiomyosarcoma, the primary cecal lesion was revealed more than three years after the patient's first visit. Peritoneal, lymph-node, and lung recurrences were observed afterward, and thus surgeries on those regions were performed. Pathologically, the peritoneal and lung recurrences comprised leiomyosarcoma and the lymph-node recurrence was diagnosed as adenocarcinoma. Despite newly discovered multiple lung recurrences and regional lymph-node metastases, the patient lived a normal life for 73 mo after the initial operation based on multidisciplinary therapy. He ultimately died of liver failure due to invasive lymph-node recurrence from the rectal adenocarcinoma, in addition to multiple lung recurrences from the leiomyosarcoma. Hepatic recurrence did not occur in this patient's case, which appears to be one reason for his long-term survival.

Evaluation of surgical treatment for incidental gallbladder carcinoma diagnosed during or after laparoscopic cholecystectomy: single center results

BACKGROUND

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is the accepted standard management for benign gallbladder disease. LC rarely results in a diagnosis of incidental gallbladder carcinoma (IGBC). The aim of our study was to report our experience with IGBC diagnosed during or following LC.

METHODS

Between January 2008 and January 2015, 352 patients underwent LC at Iwakuni Clinical Center. Among these patients, 8 (2.3%) were diagnosed with IGBC. We evaluated their characteristics, surgical related variables, histopathological findings and surgical outcomes.

RESULTS

Patient median age was 71 (range 49-88) years, and 3 out of 8 were female. All patients with IGBC were Japanese. The grade of cancer was as follows: pT1a (3 cases), pT2 (4 cases) and pT3 (1 case). Two patients with pT2 disease underwent radical surgery. The median follow-up time of these patients was 24 (range 11-80) months. All patients are still alive and two of three patients who refused radical surgery have developed recurrence (liver metastases and recurrence in the peritoneum).

CONCLUSIONS

Although the number of cases was small, the results of this study further support the suggestion that gallbladder carcinoma may be curable if diagnosed as IGBC at an early stage. If the cancer has reached an advanced stage, radical surgery should be performed.

Surgical resection of splenic metastasis from the adenosquamous gallbladder carcinoma: A case report

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We report a case of splenic metastasis of adenosquamous carcinoma of gallbladder.

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Splenic metastasis of adenosquamous gallbladder carcinoma is a rare.

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Resection of splenic metastasis may represent the treatment for prolonging survival.

Introduction

Splenic metastasis of gallbladder carcinoma is extremely rare. Specific anatomical, histological, and functional properties of spleen are believed to be responsible for the rarity of solitary splenic metastasis.

Presentation of case

We present the case of a 62-year-old female who developed metachronous splenic metastasis of adenosquamous carcinoma of the gallbladder. We performed central bisegmentectomy of the liver for gallbladder carcinoma. The patient subsequently presented 3 months later with isolated splenic metastasis and liver metastasis. Splenectomy and partial hepatectomy was performed at this time. Histological examination confirmed metastatic adenosquamous carcinoma of the gallbladder. No signs of recurrence were observed at 3 months after the second surgery.

Discussion

Although splenectomy provides a potential means of radical treatment in patients with isolated splenic metastases, it should be performed with caution as splenic metastatic lesions may represent the initial clinical manifestation of systemic metastases at multiple sites. In this case, radical surgery was performed following the confirmation of no new unresectable metastatic lesions or systemic dissemination.

Conclusion

This is the first report on the adenosquamous splenic metastasis from the gallbladder carcinoma. Curative resection may be the treatment of choice for prolonging survival in patients with the splenic metastasis of gallbladder carcinoma.