Virilizing ovarian tumors are rare and can occur at any age. In postmenopausal women, they commonly present with signs of masculinization. These tumors should be suspected in any patient with virilization and high testos...Virilizing ovarian tumors are rare and can occur at any age. In postmenopausal women, they commonly present with signs of masculinization. These tumors should be suspected in any patient with virilization and high testosterone levels (>1ng/mL). Tumor localization is sometimes difficult. These tumors are usually benign; surgical resection is the accepted treatment. Masculinizing consequences of hormonal secretions may be managed by cosmetologic treatments which should not be overlooked.
It is rare for portal vein thrombosis to complicate colorectal liver metastases. However malignant portal vein thrombosis must be anticipated when considering hepatic resection. While this finding may influence long-term...It is rare for portal vein thrombosis to complicate colorectal liver metastases. However malignant portal vein thrombosis must be anticipated when considering hepatic resection. While this finding may influence long-term survival, it does not absolutely contraindicate hepatic resection. We report here a case of colorectal metastasis to the liver with associated macroscopic malignant portal vein thrombosis treated with hepatic resection; the patient is free from recurrence at 5-year follow-up.
INTRODUCTION: Recent suicide bombings pose the novel problem for Trauma Centers of the massive simultaneous arrival of many gravely wounded patients. METHODS: We report the experience of the French-German Military Trauma...INTRODUCTION: Recent suicide bombings pose the novel problem for Trauma Centers of the massive simultaneous arrival of many gravely wounded patients. METHODS: We report the experience of the French-German Military Trauma Group, a Level 2 Trauma Center, in Afghanistan during the wave of suicide bombings in February 2007. RESULTS: Fourteen casualties were received. A first triage was carried out by the U S Army Level I group prior to evacuation. A second surgical triage was carried out with systematic ultrasound exam. Four cases (ISS>25) were re-categorized and underwent emergency surgical procedures. CONCLUSION: Suicide bombing in crowded locations near an evacuation hospital may overwhelm the medical resources of the receiving center. It has been referred to as "The Main Gate Syndrome." We introduced the novel concept of a semi-evacuation hospital or receiving center where a second surgical triage was carried out. These exceptional circumstances require open-minded flexibility, a tailored approach, and close cooperation between surgeons and anesthetists to share experience, opinions, and ideas. In the setting of mass casualties, emergency ultrasound exam was shown to be a valuable and effective tool by virtue of its mobility, reproducibility, and immediate results.
Delarue A, Bergeron C, Mechinaud-Lacroix F
… +4 more, Coze C, Raphael M, Patte C, pour le "Comité Lymphome" de la SFCE
J Chir (Paris)
· 2008 · PMID 19106866
Over the past two decades, dramatic improvements in the treatment of children with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma have led to cure rates close to 90%, even in advanced-stage disease. The most frequent localization is abdominal,...Over the past two decades, dramatic improvements in the treatment of children with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma have led to cure rates close to 90%, even in advanced-stage disease. The most frequent localization is abdominal, where Burkitt or Burkitt-like subtypes are predominant. Initial management often occurs in the setting of a urgent surgical intervention where multiple complications may gravely threaten prognosis within days or even hours. The SFCE Lymphoma Committee's guidelines for optimal management include: 1) The diagnosis of lymphoma should be systematically evoked whenever the clinical context is not consistent with idiopathic intussusception, particularly in children over the age of 3 or when clinical and/or ultrasound findings are not typical; 2) Limited bowel resection should be performed only if it allows complete tumor removal and is technically simple without extensive dissection or risk of major complications; 3) If surgical resection is likely to be difficult, risky, or incomplete, surgery should be limited to sampling of peritoneal fluid and tumor; 4) In all cases, adequate tissue should be obtained and sent to the pathology department in appropriate media Analysis of tumor material may require, in addition to histology and cytology, immunophenotyping, cytogenetics, and molecular biology studies in order to arrive at an accurate diagnosis and prognosis and to guide treatment choices.
UNLABELLED: Diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare and lethal disease. Locoregional treatments combining cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) seem to improve prognosis...UNLABELLED: Diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare and lethal disease. Locoregional treatments combining cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) seem to improve prognosis. METHODS: Cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC was performed in 22 patients at the Centre Hospitalier-Lyon Sud between 1989 and 2006. A retrospective analysis of survival was carried out to assess clinical and histological prognostic factors. RESULTS: Nineteen patients with diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma were included (16 epithelial, 3 biphasic and 3 multicystic forms). Sixteen patients presented stage 3 or 4 peritoneal mesothelioma according to the Gilly classification. Optimal cytoreductive surgery was performed for 11 patients (complete macroscopic resection or residual tumor nodules less than 2.5mm). No post-operative deaths occurred but 9 patients (47%) presented grade III or IV post-operative complications. The overall median survival was 36.9 months; completeness of cytoreduction was the only significant prognostic factor. CONCLUSION: Cytoreductive surgery combined with HIPEC may improve the length of survival for patients with diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma; such patients should be treated in specialized centers.
Compensation for victims of medical accidents identified as no-fault medical accidents (NFMA) will be financed by national solidarity: this is a major and innovative feature of the Law of March 4, 2002 relative to Patien...Compensation for victims of medical accidents identified as no-fault medical accidents (NFMA) will be financed by national solidarity: this is a major and innovative feature of the Law of March 4, 2002 relative to Patients' Rights. In this review, we analyse the decisions of the regional commission on compensation of medical accidents in the Provence-Alpes-Côtes d'Azur (PACA) region of France in 2004 and 2005, and we attempt to identify the prevalence of certain surgical procedures liable to result in NFMA and to define the concept of "unintended consequences" in the context of state of health of the patient and the predictable course of the malady. We hope to improve the medical information given to the patient and thereby the overall quality of management. NFMA was acknowledged in 57 claims, about 10% of all those received by the commission during this period. Nearly half of the claims were within the competence of the commission because of the existence of serious sequelae (Permanent Partial Disability) in 47%. No typical profile of age or gender emerged in the patients with NFMA. The majority of cases occurred after surgical procedures, in particular gastrointestinal surgery and orthopaedic surgery; 91% were planned procedures. We did not identify increased risk related to any given type of surgery, particular disease condition, or precise anatomic region. Complications were those usually observed such as neurological complications in vascular surgery or perforations in gastrointestinal surgery. The interpretation of NFMA has undergone an evolution during this two-year period. In 2004, previous poor health status precluded acknowledgment of a medical accident, the argument being that there was a predisposition to the complication which occurred. In 2005, compensation was based on a reduced Partial Permanent Disability score compared to the patient's previous health status. This became a means of measuring the impact of the medical complication on an already predictably unfavorable clinical course without medical intervention, and the legal aspect of the "ineluctable nature" of this course.
Surgeons, like other doctors, practice their profession within a framework of contractual liability defined by statute in 1936. This established that the doctor was subject to a contractual obligation to provide appropri...Surgeons, like other doctors, practice their profession within a framework of contractual liability defined by statute in 1936. This established that the doctor was subject to a contractual obligation to provide appropriate and diligent care. Care and technical acts should conform to those which would have been provided by a prudent doctor within the standards of knowledge and practice of his field; care which deviates from this standard would be considered medical error or fault. This standard of care is referred to as "sound professional conduct". However, while not calling this basic principle into question, civil jurisdictions have progressively held surgeons liable whenever injury has occurred following surgical acts, without considering whether care deviates from sound professional conduct. Since 2000, judges have begun to attribute a requirement for absolute safety of results in cases where the surgeon had injured an organ unrelated to the planned operation. However it seems that the rare judgments given on this topic in the last 2-3 years have become less frequent. The creation of a compensation regime for medical accidents, via the law dated March 4, 2002, has contributed to this evolution. It is to be hoped that the flaws described in this system do not encourage jurisdictions to reconsider previous case law decisions.
Primary esophageal motility disorders are rare, the most common diagnoses being achalasia and diffuse esophageal spasm. Treatment aims to alleviate symptoms and may be medical, endoscopic, or surgical. Achalasia is most...Primary esophageal motility disorders are rare, the most common diagnoses being achalasia and diffuse esophageal spasm. Treatment aims to alleviate symptoms and may be medical, endoscopic, or surgical. Achalasia is most commonly treated by pneumatic dilatation or by laparoscopic Heller cardiomyotomy. Pneumatic dilatation is effective in 60-80% of cases, but functional results deteriorate over time. Surgical treatment is indicated when endoscopic dilatation is contraindicated or has failed. Functional results after cardiomyotomy are satisfactory in 90% of cases and results appear to be stable over time. The need for an associated antireflux procedure and the type of fundoplication remain controversial. For diffuse esophageal spasm, extended esophageal myotomy has yielded satisfactory functional results, but surgical treatment should be reserved for selected patients with severe symptoms.
The present "point of view" tries to assess the state of the art in 2008 on the role of mechanical bowel preparation before colorectal surgery. The case of bowel preparation has been questioned by several meta-analyses o...The present "point of view" tries to assess the state of the art in 2008 on the role of mechanical bowel preparation before colorectal surgery. The case of bowel preparation has been questioned by several meta-analyses of small randomized trials, suggesting also its detrimental effect in terms of anastomotic leaks. In 2007 two large trials were published and pooling their data suggested an increased risk of deep abscesses when bowel preparation was omitted. A further meta-analysis including all published data on this topic appeared useful. This meta-analysis included almost 5 000 patients and showed bowel preparation involves no benefit in terms of surgical site infections, with more infections after bowel preparation (Odds ratio 1.40 [1.05-1.87]). Sensitivity analysis showed an increased risk of abscesses when bowel preparation was omitted but this risk is not clinically relevant since the number needed to harm was as high as 333 patients. In conclusion this meta-analysis including a huge number of patients does not confirm the detrimental effect of bowel preparation but did not show any benefit of it; these conclusions being valid only for colonic surgery, rectal surgery needing further studies.
Taïeb S, Ceugnart L, Bonodeau F
… +2 more, Vanseymortier L, Adenis A
J Chir (Paris)
· 2008 · PMID 19060843
The management and the prognosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) have evolved rapidly with new targeted treatments. The aim of this paper is to assess the role of imaging not only for diagnosis but to quantify...The management and the prognosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) have evolved rapidly with new targeted treatments. The aim of this paper is to assess the role of imaging not only for diagnosis but to quantify treatment response. RECIST criteria, which are the standard in assessment of post chemotherapy response in adult's solid tumors, can not be used in targeted therapy: the changes in lesion structures even if case of increasing volume are more specific to assess tumor response.
Complete resection without tumor rupture remains the mainstay of the treatment in patients with localized, resectable GIST. Operative indications should take account of size and location of the tumor which impact the ris...Complete resection without tumor rupture remains the mainstay of the treatment in patients with localized, resectable GIST. Operative indications should take account of size and location of the tumor which impact the risk of recurrence. More micro-GIST are discovered with the development of investigations, rising the question of wait and see policy for some of them. In locally advanced inoperable patients and metastatic patients, Imatinib is the standard treatment. Secondary excision of residual disease has been shown to be related to a good prognosis in responding patients to imatinib, but it is still not demonstrated whether this is due to surgery itself or to a selection bias. A phase 3 EORTC study will start and will randomise this secondary surgery after 6 to 12 months of imatinib in responding patients.
Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most frequent intramural mesenchymal tumors of the GI tract, mainly developed in the stomach (65% of cases). Endoscopy is the main diagnostic tool for tumors of moderate di...Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most frequent intramural mesenchymal tumors of the GI tract, mainly developed in the stomach (65% of cases). Endoscopy is the main diagnostic tool for tumors of moderate diameter (<5cm). Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) is the best procedure to differenciate GISTs from other submucosal tumors. Fine-needle aspiration biopsies (FNABs) allow to obtain an histological diagnosis if necessary. Surgery remain the gold standard of treatment for localized GISTs, whereas endoscopic resection is not recommended for these tumors.
Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are the most frequent mesenchymal tumours of the digestive tract. They can arise anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract, from oesophagus to anus, and rarely from peritoneal cavity o...Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are the most frequent mesenchymal tumours of the digestive tract. They can arise anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract, from oesophagus to anus, and rarely from peritoneal cavity or mesentery. GIST usually remain asymptomatic for a long time. Therefore 10 to 20% are found incidentally at endoscopy or at time of surgery for others reasons and metastases are found in 15 to 50% of cases at diagnonis. Histologicaly, they are characterized by a cellular proliferation constituted of either spindle or epithelioid cells. Diagnosis has to be confirmed by immunohistochemistry, with positivity of KIT in 95% of cases, or by molecular biology, with "gain of function" mutations of KIT or PDGFRA in 85% of cases. Primary localization, mitotic activity and tumor size are the main prognostic factors. Metastases occur in 30 to 50% of patients with GIST. GIST are highly resistant to conventional chemotherapy and results obtained with new targeted therapies like Imatinib constitute one of the major progress in oncology during the decade.