Long-term clinical, radiological, and histological follow-up after complex ventral incisional hernia repair using urinary bladder matrix graft reinforcement: a retrospective cohort study

Background

Complex ventral incisional hernia repair represents a challenging clinical condition in which biologically derived graft reinforcement is often utilized, but little long-term data inform that decision. Urinary bladder matrix (UBM) has shown effectiveness in diverse clinical settings as durable reinforcement graft material, but it has not been studied over a long term in ventral incisional hernia repair. This study evaluates the clinical, radiographic, and histological outcome of complex incisional hernia repair using UBM reinforcement with 12–70 months of follow-up.

Methods

A single-arm, retrospective observational study of all ventral incisional hernia repairs utilizing UBM reinforcement over a 6-year time frame by a single surgeon was performed. Patients were assessed in long-term follow-up clinically and with the Carolina Comfort Scale. A subset of patients was assessed with abdominal wall ultrasound or CT scan. Three patients had abdominal wall fascial biopsies years after the incisional hernia repair with UBM graft, and the histology is analyzed.

Results

64 patients underwent repair of complex incisional hernias with UBM graft reinforcement by a single surgeon. 42 patients had concomitant procedures including large or small bowel resection, excision of infected mesh, evacuation of abscess or hematoma, cholecystectomy, or panniculectomy with abdominoplasty. 16 patients had ostomies at the time of repair. Median follow-up time is 36 months, with a range of 12–70 months. Nine patients (14%) have required surgical repair of a recurrent hernia, and a tenth patient has a recurrence that is managed non-surgically, for a total recurrence rate of 15.6% over the entire time frame. Median time to recurrence was 32 months, and a Kaplan–Meier freedom from recurrence curve is depicted. 28 patients have undergone ultrasound or CT assessments of the abdominal wall which demonstrate radiographic fascial integrity 12–70 months after repair. Three patients have been re-explored for unrelated reasons in the years following ventral incisional hernia repair with UBM, and full thickness fascial biopsies demonstrate a robust remodeling response histologically similar to native myofascial tissue. No patients have developed graft infection, fistulization to the graft, or required graft explantation. Carolina Comfort Scale assessment of 45 patients 3 years after the repair averaged 16 out of a possible 115.

Conclusion

In 64 patients undergoing complex ventral incisional hernia repair with UBM reinforcement, all have experienced successful resolution of complex clinical conditions and 15.6% of these repairs have recurred at a median follow-up of 3 years. Three full-thickness biopsies of the repaired fascia years later shed light on a promising remodeling response which may signal strength and durability comparable to native fascia.

Giant tumors of the chest: preoperative embolization and resection

Giant tumors of the chest are rare. These tumors comprise a spectrum of disease from benign lesions to highly aggressive malignant tumors with cells of origin in the pleura, pulmonary parenchyma, blood vessels, thymus, and connective tissues. We report four cases of giant tumors of the thorax treated with preoperative arterial embolization followed by complete surgical resection. Their diagnostic and treatment courses, imaging, and pathology are described.

Positron emission tomography with f18-fluorodeoxyglucose in the staging and preoperative evaluation of malignant pleural mesothelioma

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of positron emission tomography with F18-fluorodeoxyglucose in the preoperative evaluation and staging of malignant mesothelioma in patients who were candidates for aggressive combined modality therapy.

METHODS

Eighteen consecutive patients with biopsy-proven malignant mesothelioma underwent positron emission tomographic scanning. The results of positron emission tomographic imaging were compared with results obtained by computed tomography, mediastinoscopy, thoracoscopy, and pathologic examination of surgical specimens. All patients fasted and received an average of 14.5 +/- 2.7 mCi of F18-fluorodeoxyglucose for positron emission tomographic scanning. Attenuation-corrected whole-body and regional emission images of the chest and upper abdomen were acquired and formatted into transaxial, coronal, and sagittal images.

RESULTS

All primary malignant mesotheliomas accumulated F18-fluorodeoxyglucose, and the mean standardized uptake value was 7. 6 (range, 3.33-14.85; n = 9). There were no false-negative results of positron emission tomography. Identification of occult extrathoracic metastases by positron emission tomography was the basis for excluding two patients from surgical therapy. There were two false-positive results of positron emission tomography: increased F18-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in the contralateral chest that was negative by thoracoscopic biopsy (n = 1) and increased abdominal F18-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake after partial colectomy for diverticular disease (n = 1).

CONCLUSIONS

Positron emission tomography can identify malignant pleural mesothelioma and appears to be a useful noninvasive staging modality for patients being considered for aggressive combined modality therapy.

Long-term survival after intensive care unit admission with sepsis

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the long-term survival of critically ill patients with sepsis and to assess the factors predictive of long-term survival (> 1 month after admission date).

DESIGN

Prospective, cohort study.

SETTING

Medical/surgical intensive care unit (ICU) in a multidisciplinary community hospital.

PATIENTS

All patients admitted to the ICU from January 1, 1987 to March 31, 1991 who both demonstrated clinical evidence of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome and yielded blood cultures positive for a bacterium or fungus (n = 153).

INTERVENTIONS

Random set of procedures normally performed in an ICU setting.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Patient characteristics, including age, blood culture results, comorbid conditions, and severity of illness as estimated by the Acute Physiology Score of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II prognostic system were recorded. Follow-up evaluation utilizing the National Death Index provided survival outcome for all patients 1 yr after hospital discharge. The mortality rate at hospital discharge was 51.0%, and mortality rates at 1 month, 6 months, and 1 yr after admission date were 40.5%, 64.7%, and 71.9%, respectively. A total of 33 patients survived beyond the period of observation. The analyses demonstrated the following findings: a) the survival rate was negatively correlated with the Acute Physiology Score up to 1 month after hospital admission date, but uncorrelated thereafter; b) fungal infections, such as Candida, had the shortest survival prospects of any blood-borne infection; and c) both malignancy and human immunodeficiency virus infection contributed to poorer outcomes, but differed in their patterns of long-term survival.

CONCLUSIONS

The most critical period for surveillance of bacteremic patients was in months 2 through 6 after discharge, during which time, the percentage of patients surviving decreased dramatically. The degree of physiologic derangement, as measured by the Acute Physiology Score, was a useful measure of prognosis within the first month after the score was assessed at ICU admission. However, beyond this period, prognostic utility decreased significantly. Healthcare providers should use caution concerning the expected survival of hospitalized patients with human immunodeficiency virus, based on experience with distinct conditions, such as malignancies.

Incidence of cerebral hemorrhage after treatment with tissue plasminogen activator or streptokinase following embolic stroke in rabbits [corrected]

We studied thrombolysis in an animal model of embolic stroke to determine the safety of tissue plasminogen activator and streptokinase. We occluded the middle cerebral arteries of 137 rabbits with radiolabeled blood clots and administered tissue plasminogen activator (n = 49), streptokinase (n = 40), or saline (n = 48) at various times after embolization. We assessed the rate of thrombolysis and cerebral hemorrhage 24 hours later. Both drugs were very effective in producing thrombolysis. Compared with saline, streptokinase caused a significant increase in the rate of cerebral hemorrhage (p less than 0.05), but tissue plasminogen activator did not. We conclude that thrombolytic therapy for acute stroke should be safer with tissue plasminogen activator than with streptokinase.

Tissue plasminogen activator-mediated thrombolysis of cerebral emboli and its effect on hemorrhagic infarction in rabbits

Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) dissolves intravascular thrombus and restores blood flow after thromboembolic vascular occlusion. The utility of this agent for treatment of stroke in humans may be limited by post-reperfusion hemorrhagic complications. We studied tPA-mediated thrombolysis in an animal model of cerebrovascular occlusion in order to determine what factors, if any, predispose tPA-treated animals to suffer hemorrhage. Small blood clot emboli were injected into the internal carotid arteries of rabbits. Angiograms confirmed occlusion of the middle cerebral artery or internal carotid artery in 100% of subjects. tPA or saline was administered as a 30-minute infusion at various times after embolization. Hemorrhage rates were similar in all groups regardless of treatment. tPA increased the prothrombin time and the thrombin time but not the partial thromboplastin time. There was no correlation between these changes in blood coagulation and the finding of cerebral hemorrhage. We observed a significant association between stroke severity and cerebral hemorrhage. We conclude that tPA treatment successfully causes thrombolysis of cerebral emboli without causing an increase in the incidence of cerebral hemorrhage in rabbits.