Chemical components separation with the use of botulinum toxin A: a critical review for correction of ventral hernia

Background: Ventral hernias are prevalent results in abdominal surgeries and may represent a surgical challenge in complex cases, mainly due to tension in abdominal wall musculature. Failure of surgical correction may lead to a more morbid treatment, in addition to a considerable socioeconomic impact. In order to have a lower risk of complications, the use of botulinum toxin A (BTA), may be a preoperative alternative to reduce abdominal wall tension by causing sustained and reversible paralysis. This critical review of the literature proposes to evaluate the adjacent use of BTA in surgical ventral hernias corrections.Methods: Using the PubMed database, the keywords ‘ventral hernia’, and ‘botulinum toxin’ were searched using the Boolean operator AND. Articles were selected based on their relevance and updated information. The outcomes of interest included the change in ventral hernia defect width and in lateral abdominal wall muscle length, pain, hernia recurrence and complications.Results: A total of 20 articles from 2009 to 2018 were found. We excluded some articles due to irrelevant technique, use of animal models and lack of outcome data. Reduction of the abdominal wall thickness increasing its length, less perioperative pain, hernia reduction and the correction with less tension were observed after the use of BTA injection. No complications occurred during applications.Conclusion: The use of BTA seems to be a promising alternative in the management of ventral hernias due to its capacity of reducing tension in the abdominal wall. However, more studies are necessary to determine the efficacy of this method

Chemical components separation with the use of Botulinum toxin A: a critical review for correction of ventral hernia

Introdução: Hérnias ventrais são um resultado prevalente de cirurgias abdominais que podem representar um desafio cirúrgico em casos complexos, principalmente devido à tensão na musculatura da parede abdominal. A falha na correção cirúrgica pode levar a necessidade de um tratamento mais mórbido, além de um considerável impacto socioeconômico. Para que o risco de complicações seja menor, o uso da toxina botulínica A (TBA) pode ser uma alternativa pré-operatória para reduzir a tensão da parede abdominal, através de uma paralisia sustentada e reversível. Esta revisão crítica da literatura propõe avaliar o uso adjacente de TBA em correções de hérnias ventrais cirúrgicas. Métodos: Usando o banco de dados PubMed, as palavras-chave “ventral hernia” e “botullinum toxin” foram pesquisadas usando o operador “AND”. Os artigos foram selecionados com base em sua relevância e informações atualizadas. Os desfechos de interesse incluíram a mudança na largura do defeito da hérnia ventral e no comprimento do músculo da parede abdominal lateral, dor, recidiva de hérnia e complicações. Resultados: Foram encontrados 20 artigos de 2009 a 2018. Foram excluídos artigos devido à técnica irrelevante, uso de modelos animais e falta de dados sobre resultados. Redução da espessura da parede abdominal aumentando seu comprimento, menos dor perioperatória, redução de hérnia e correção com menos tensão foram observados após o uso da injeção de BTA. Nenhuma complicação ocorreu durante as aplicações. Conclusão: O uso de TBA parece ser uma alternativa promissora no manejo de hérnias ventrais devido à sua capacidade de reduzir a tensão na parede abdominal. No entanto, mais estudos são necessários para determinar a eficácia deste método.Background: Ventral hernias are prevalent results in abdominal surgeries and may represent a surgical challenge in complex cases, mainly due to tension in abdominal wall musculature. Failure of surgical correction may lead to a more morbid treatment, in addition to a considerable socioeconomic impact. In order to have a lower risk of complications, the use of botulinum toxin A (BTA), may be a preoperative alternative to reduce abdominal wall tension by causing sustained and reversible paralysis. This critical review of the literature proposes to evaluate the adjacent use of BTA in surgical ventral hernias corrections. Methods: Using the PubMed database, the keywords ‘ventral hernia’, and ‘botulinum toxin’ were searched using the Boolean operator AND. Articles were selected based on their relevance and updated information. The outcomes of interest included the change in ventral hernia defect width and in lateral abdominal wall muscle length, pain, hernia recurrence and complications. Results: A total of 20 articles from 2009 to 2018 were found. We excluded some articles due to irrelevant technique, use of animal models and lack of outcome data. Reduction of the abdominal wall thickness increasing its length, less perioperative pain, hernia reduction and the correction with less tension were observed after the use of BTA injection. No complications occurred during applications. Conclusion: The use of BTA seems to be a promising alternative in the management of ventral hernias due to its capacity of reducing tension in the abdominal wall. However, more studies are necessary to determine the efficacy of this method

TEP for incarcerated groin hernias: is it feasible for experienced surgeons?

Objective: To verify if endoscopic TEP surgery performed by an experienced surgeon is a feasible procedure to treat incarcerated groin hernia.Methods: This is a retrospective study in which we analyzed data from patients submitted to TEP endoscopic surgery for treatment of incarcerated and non-incarcerated groin hernias. The surgeries were all performed by a single surgeon. We obtained data on gender, age, ASA scores, BMI, hernia site and operating time. The two groups were descriptively analyzed and statistically compared in order to verify how similar the samples were. The operative times were also compared between the groups. The first 65 surgeries were excluded in order to evaluate the hability of an experienced surgeon.Results: 323 surgeries were performed. 32 (9.9%) were cases of incarcerated hernias. In 306 cases (96%), the surgical approach used was TEP, the other 13 cases (4%) were operated by TAPP. All incarcerated hernias were operated by the TEP method. No significant differences on gender, age, hernia site, BMI and ASA score were found between incarcerated and non-incarcerated hernia patients. The operative time was analyzed by site of hernias (left, right and bilateral) and no statistical differences were found between incarcerated and nonincarcerated hernias.Conclusions: 1) There was no significant differences on gender, age, ASA, BMI and site of hernias that could interfere in operative time in both groups. 2) The lack of significant statistical difference on operative time indicate that, for experienced surgeons, the technical difficulty is similar to operate incarcerated and non-incarcerated groin hernias by TEP.Keywords: Herniorraphy; Inguinal hernia; Endoscopy; Learning curve; Operative time

Intussusception reveals MUTYH-related polyposis syndrome and colorectal cancer: a case report

We are reporting a rare case of MUTYH-associated polyposis, a colorectal cancer hereditary syndrome, diagnosticated after an intussusception. Colorectal cancer is an important cause of cancer related mortality that can be manifested by an intussusception, a rare occurrence in adults and almost always related to tumors. Approximately 5% of colorectal cancers can be attributed to syndromes known to cause hereditary colorectal cancer, such as MUTYHassociated polyposis, autosomal genetic syndrome associated with this disease. We present the case of a 44 years old male, that sought medical consultation with a complaint of abdominal discomfort, that after five days changed its characteristics. The patient was sent to the emergency department were a CT-scan revealed intestinal sub-occlusion by ileocolic invagination. Right colectomy was carried out. The anatomic-pathological examination revealed a moderately differentiated mucinous adenocarcinoma and multiples sessile polyps, which led to the suspicion of a genetic syndrome. In the genetics analysis two mutations were observed in the MUTYH gene, and MUTYH-associated polyposis was diagnosticated. This case demonstrates the importance of meticulous analysis of the patient examinations results to identify possible discrete alterations that can lead to improved understanding of disease

The impact of properly diagnosed sarcopenia on postoperative outcomes after gastrointestinal surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BackgroundSarcopenia is defined as the loss of muscle mass combined with loss of muscle strength, with or without loss of muscle performance. The use of this parameter as a risk factor for complications after surgery is not currently used. This meta-analysis aims to assess the impact of sarcopenia defined by radiologically and clinically criteria and its relationship with complications after gastrointestinal surgeries.Materials and methodsA review of the literature was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines (PROSPERO registration number: CRD42019132221). Articles were selected from the PUBMED and EMBASE databases that adequately assessed sarcopenia and its impact on postoperative complications in gastrointestinal surgery patients. Pooled estimates of pre-operative outcome data were calculated using the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Subgroup analysis were performed to assess each type of surgery.ResultsThe search strategy returned 1323, with 11 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. A total of 4265 patients were analysed. The prevalence of sarcopenia between studies ranged from 6.8% to 35.9%. The meta-analysis showed an OR for complications after surgery of 3.01 (95% CI 2.55-3.55) and an OR of 2.2 (95% CI 1.44-3.36) for hospital readmission (30 days).ConclusionSarcopenia, when properly diagnosed, is associated with an increase in late postoperative complications, as well as an increase in the number of postoperative hospital readmissions for various types of gastrointestinal surgery. We believe that any preoperative evaluation should include, in a patient at risk, tests for the diagnosis of sarcopenia and appropriate procedures to reduce its impact on the patient's health

Evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to reduce anastomotic leak following right colectomy (EAGLE): pragmatic, batched stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 64 countries

Background Anastomotic leak affects 8 per cent of patients after right colectomy with a 10-fold increased risk of postoperative death. The EAGLE study aimed to develop and test whether an international, standardized quality improvement intervention could reduce anastomotic leaks. Methods The internationally intended protocol, iteratively co-developed by a multistage Delphi process, comprised an online educational module introducing risk stratification, an intraoperative checklist, and harmonized surgical techniques. Clusters (hospital teams) were randomized to one of three arms with varied sequences of intervention/data collection by a derived stepped-wedge batch design (at least 18 hospital teams per batch). Patients were blinded to the study allocation. Low- and middle-income country enrolment was encouraged. The primary outcome (assessed by intention to treat) was anastomotic leak rate, and subgroup analyses by module completion (at least 80 per cent of surgeons, high engagement; less than 50 per cent, low engagement) were preplanned. Results A total 355 hospital teams registered, with 332 from 64 countries (39.2 per cent low and middle income) included in the final analysis. The online modules were completed by half of the surgeons (2143 of 4411). The primary analysis included 3039 of the 3268 patients recruited (206 patients had no anastomosis and 23 were lost to follow-up), with anastomotic leaks arising before and after the intervention in 10.1 and 9.6 per cent respectively (adjusted OR 0.87, 95 per cent c.i. 0.59 to 1.30; P = 0.498). The proportion of surgeons completing the educational modules was an influence: the leak rate decreased from 12.2 per cent (61 of 500) before intervention to 5.1 per cent (24 of 473) after intervention in high-engagement centres (adjusted OR 0.36, 0.20 to 0.64; P < 0.001), but this was not observed in low-engagement hospitals (8.3 per cent (59 of 714) and 13.8 per cent (61 of 443) respectively; adjusted OR 2.09, 1.31 to 3.31). Conclusion Completion of globally available digital training by engaged teams can alter anastomotic leak rates. Registration number: NCT04270721 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)