Clinicopathological features and the outcome of surgical management for adenocarcinoma of the appendix

AIM:To present a comprehensive analysis of incidence,clinicopathological features,appropriateness of surgical procedures,and survival for adenocarcinoma of the appendix.METHODS:A retrospective case analysis was conducted for the 10-year period 1998-2008.All patients diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the appendix were analyzed for their demographics details,clinical features,tumor incidence and characteristics,tumor stage,surgical procedures performed,and their survival.RESULTS:Nine thousand three hundred and twentythree patients underwent appendectomies during the study period,and of these,10 (0.1%:8 men and 2 women with a mean age of 53.1 years,age range 21-83 years) were found to have primary adenocarcinoma of the appendix.Appendicular neoplasia was not suspected pre-operatively in any of the patients.Six (60%) patients underwent secondary right hemicolectomy.Four (40%) cases had appendectomy alone,and two of them died,whereas all those who underwent right hemicolectomy are alive and disease free.Five (50%) were reported to have grade 1 disease,three (30%) grade 2,and two (20%) grade 3 with mean survival of 34,48,and 22 mo,respectively.Six (60%) patients presented with advanced disease (Duke's C and D).At the end of follow up (mean period:37.9 mo),eight patients are alive and disease free at the end of follow up.Overall mean survival was 36.3 mo (conf idence interval;16%-56%) with 41.3 and 16 mo for men and women,respectively.Mean survival for those with and without lymph node involvement was 33.6 and 40.2 mo,respectively.Right hemicolectomy gave better results than appendectomy alone,although the difference was not statistically signif icant due to the small number of cases.CONCLUSION:Adenocarcinoma of the appendix is extremely rare neoplasm with varied presentations,and is usually advanced when diagnosed.Right hemicolectomy is the treatment of choice for such tumors.

Computed tomography for pancreatic injuries in pediatric blunt abdominal trauma

AIM:To evaluate the efficacy of computed tomography scan in diagnosing and grading the pattern of pancreatic injuries in children. METHODS:We conducted a retrospective study to review medical files of children admitted with blunt pancreatic injuries to the Maternity and Children Hospital Al-Madina Al-Munawwarah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The demographic details and mechanisms of injury were recorded. From the database of the Picture Archiving and Communication System of the radiology department, multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) images of the pancreatic injuries, severity, type of injuries and grading of pancreatic injuries were established. RESULTS:Seven patients were recruited in this study over a period of 5 years; 5 males and 2 females with a mean age of 7 years (age range 5-12 years). Fall from height was the most frequent mechanism of injury, reported in 5 (71%), followed by road traffic accident (1 patient, 14%) and cycle handlebar (1 patient, 14%) injuries. According to the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma grading system, 1 (14%) patient sustained Grade Ⅰ, 1 (14%) Grade Ⅱ, 3 (42%) GradeⅢ and 2 (28%) patients were found to have Grade Ⅴ pancreatic injuries. This indicated a higher incidence of severe pancreatic injuries; 5 (71.4%) patients were reported to have Grade Ⅲ and higher on the injury scale. Three (42%) patients had associated abdominal organ injuries. CONCLUSION: Pediatric pancreatic injuries due to blunt abdominal trauma are rare. The majority of the patients sustained extensive pancreatic injuries. MDCT findings are helpful and reliable in diagnosing and grad- ing the pancreatic injuries.

Giant mesenteric fibromatosis:Report of a case and review of the literature

Mesenteric fibromatosis poses a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge.This paper presents a 35-year-old female complaining of vague abdominal pain of 2 mo duration.Her computed tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a pelvi-abdominal heterogenous mass with significant displacement of the small bowel and urinary bladder.She underwent surgical excision of the mass with resection and anastomosis of the involved loop of the small intestine.Histological examination confirmed mesenteric fibromatosis without infiltration of the bowel.The patient remained well during the 6 mo follow-up.

Surgical outcome of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass for resolution of type 2 diabetes mellitus:A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Bariatric procedures are considered superior to medical therapies in managing type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass(LRYGB)and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy(LSG)are the most commonly used procedures for weight loss and comorbidity resolution worldwide.However,it is not yet known whether the degree of T2DM is influenced by the choice of bariatric procedure.AIM To quantitatively compare T2DM resolution over 1-5 years follow-up by LRYGB and LSG in morbidly obese patients.METHODS We searched the selected databases for full-text English language clinical studies that compared the effectiveness of LRYGB and LSG for T2DM resolution.Review manager 5.3 was used for data analysis,and the overall effect summary was represented in a forest plot.RESULTS From 1,650 titles retrieved by an initial search,we selected nine studies for this research.We found insignificant differences for T2DM resolution by LRYGB and LSG,with an odds ratio of 0.93(95%CI:0.64-1.35,Z statistics=0.38,P=0.71).Additionally,subset analyses for T2DM resolution showed insignificant differences after 24 mo(χ^2=1.24,df=4,P=0.87,overall Z effect=0.23),36 mo(χ^2=0.41,df=2,P=0.81,overall Z effect=0.51),and 60 mo(χ^2=4.75,df=3,P=0.19,overall Z effect=1.20)by LRYGB and LSG.This study reports a T2DM remission rate of 82.3%by LRYGB and 80.7%by LSG.CONCLUSION This study reports similar T2DM resolution rates by both LRYGB and LSG during 1-5 years of follow-up.However,long-term follow-up of 10 years is needed to further substantiate these findings.