Popliteal lymphadenectomy for treating metastatic melanoma: case report

CONTEXT: Regional lymph node involvement in patients with malignant melanomas has been associated with poor prognosis. In-transit metastases also lead to poor long-term survival. Whereas for nodal disease only regional lymphadenectomy offers adequate locoregional control, for in-transit metastasis both local excision and isolated limb perfusion with chemotherapy plus tumor necrosis factor-alpha can be used for disease control. In cases of tumors located in the distal region of the legs, the lymphatic dissemination most commonly observed is to the inguinal chain. Consequently, therapeutic inguinal lymphadenectomy or even selective lymphadenectomy (sentinel lymph node biopsy) have been recommended. On the other hand, involvement of the popliteal chain is very rare. When this occurs, popliteal lymphadenectomy should be indicated. Local excision may be the logical approach for a few small in-transit metastases because of the low morbidity in this procedure, when compared with isolated limb perfusion. CASE REPORT: A case of melanoma of the heel with popliteal chain involvement and in-transit metastases is presented. This was treated by means of regional lymphadenectomy plus in-transit metastases excision, with a good postoperative course

En-bloc pancreatoduodenectomy and right hemicolectomy for treating locally advanced right colon cancer (T4): a series of five patients

A series of five cases of right-colon adenocarcinoma that invaded the proximal duodenum is presented. All patients underwent successful en-bloc pancreatoduodenectomy plus right hemicolectomy by General Surgery Service of the Teaching Hospital of the ABC Medical School, Santo André, SP, Brazil. The study was conducted between 2000 and 2007. There were two major complications but no mortality. Three patients did not present any recurrence over the course of 15 to 54 months of follow-up. Multivisceral resection with en-bloc pancreatoduodenectomy should be considered for patients who are fit for major surgery but do not present distant dissemination. Long-term survival may be attained

En bloc pancreaticoduodenectomy and right hemicolectomy to treat locally advanced right colon cancer: report of three cases

Although colorectal tumors are fairly common surgical conditions, 5 to 12% of these tumors are locally advanced (T4 tumors) upon diagnosis. In this particular situation, the efficacy of en bloc multivisceral resection has been proven. When right-colon cancer invades the proximal duodenum or even the pancreatic head, a challenging dilemma arises due to complexity of the curative surgical procedure. Therefore, en bloc pancreaticoduodenectomy with right hemicolectomy should be performed to obtain free margins. The present study reports three cases of locally advanced right-colon cancer invading the proximal duodenum. All of these cases underwent successful en bloc pancreaticoduodenectomy plus right hemicolectomy, with no death occurrence. Long-term survival was observed in two cases (30 and 50 months). In the third case, the patient did not present any recurrence twelve months after surgical treatment. Multivisceral resection with en bloc pancreaticoduodenectomy should be considered for patients who present acceptable risk for major surgery and no distant dissemination. This approach seems justified since the length of postoperative survival is longer in radically ressected groups (R0) than in palliativelly resected groups (R1-2)

Hepatic resection for T2-3 gallbladder carcinoma: a retrospective analysis of 12 resectable cases

Objective: To report on a group of 12 patients with advanced gallbladder adenocarcinoma at a General Hospital and describe the outcomes (surgical morbidity - mortality and long-term survival) following hepatic resection. Methods: The authors present a series of twelve patients with invasive gallbladder adenocarcinoma who underwent hepatic resection at the General Surgery Service of the Hospital de Ensino da Faculdade de Medicina do ABC, in Santo Andre. The study period was from 2001 to 2007. There were twelve hepatic resections, all associated with hilar lymphadenectomy (IVB-V bisegmentectomy = 9 and right trisectionectomy = 3). There were ten women and two men and all patients were Caucasian. The age range was 52 to 72 years. The preoperative symptoms were biliary colic (n = 6), dyspepsia (n = 4), acute cholecystitis (n = 1) and jaundice (n = 1). The diagnosis was made by radiographic images in the preoperative period in seven patients; all of them were confirmed by frozen section during surgery. Five patients submitted to open cholecystectomy (n = 4) and laparoscopic cholecystectomy (n  = 1) had their diagnoses confirmed postoperatively by histological analysis. Rresults: The operative time varied between 180 and 340 minutes. Four patients received transfusions. The blood loss varied between 200 and 2500 ml. The hospital stay varied from 7 to 16 days. There were two major complications in two patients and both were treated conservatively, one biliary leakage and one reversible hepatic failure. There was no mortality. The TNM stage distribution was: T2N0M0 (n = 4), T2N1M0 (n = 2), T3N0M0 (n = 4) and T3N1M0 (n = 2). Only one patient presented affected surgical margin (T3N1M0) and died with both peritoneal and liver recurrence after a 9-month follow-up. Other three patients presented recurrence(13 to 28 months of follow-up) and died. The three-year survival rate was 33.3% (n  = 4). Cconclusion: The radical surgical treatment with hepatectomy plus hilar lymphadenectomy may offer a long term prognosis to localized gallbladder adenocarcinoma with both minimal morbidity and mortality

Quanto a escova deve ser introduzida no canal anal para avaliação citológica mais eficaz? How deep must the brush be introduced in the anal canal for a more effective cytological evaluation?

OBJETIVO: A sensibilidade da citologia anal varia amplamente na literatura, entre 45% e 98%, o que pode ocorrer devido à falta de padronização quanto à distância que a escova deve ser introduzida no canal anal. Desta forma, nosso objetivo foi investigar se o local de coleta influencia no resultado desse exame. MÉTODOS: Colhemos amostras com escova introduzida 4 cm no canal anal de 114 doentes (Grupo A) e 2 cm em outros 94 pacientes (Grupo B), antes do exame proctológico. Realizamos cinco rotações com a escova antes de retirá-la e a esfregar sobre lâmina de vidro, posteriormente submetida ao exame citopatológico padrão. Todos os doentes são HIV-positivo. Submetemos os resultados à avaliação estatística. RESULTADOS: No Grupo A, 39 doentes possuíam condilomas no canal anal e a citologia foi positiva em 29 deles (74,3%). Também observamos alterações citológicas em 30 de 75 doentes (40%) sem lesões clínicas no canal anal. No Grupo B, havia 54 doentes com condilomas no canal anal e em 13 (24,1%) houve confirmação citológica. Em 40 outros, sem lesões clínicas pelo HPV, notamos que em nove (22,5%) havia anormalidades citológicas. Os testes estatísticos revelaram que os exames realizados nos doentes do Grupo A foram mais eficientes. CONCLUSÃO: Os espécimes coletados com escovas inseridas mais profundamente no canal anal melhoraram a eficácia do exame.<br>OBJECTIVE: In literature, sensitivity of Pap smears ranges widely from 45 to 98%. Possibly this is because there is no standard for how far the brush should be introduced into the anal canal. The aim was to evaluate whether the sampling site has an influence on the results of anal Pap smears. Design and setting. This is a non-randomized, non-blinded, retrospective review carried out in the Proctology and Pathology Sectors, Emilio Ribas Infectious Diseases Institute. METHOD: We obtained specimens with brushes introduced 4 cm into the anal canal in 114 patients (Group A) and 2 cm in 94 patients (Group B), before anorectal examination. These brushes were rotated five or six times before being withdrawn and rubbed on a slide that underwent Pap testing using standard cytopathology laboratory equipment. All patients were HIV-infected. Statistical tests were used. RESULTS: In Group A, 39 patients had anal canal condylomas and the cytology was positive in 29 of them (74.3%). We also observed cytological alterations in 30 of 75 patients (40%) without clinical lesions in the anal canal. In Group B, there were 54 patients with condylomas and 13 of them (24.1%) were confirmed by cytology. In 40 patients with no clinical lesions, we observed that nine (22.5%) had cytological abnormalities Statistical analysis revealed that examination in Group A was more efficient. CONCLUSION. Specimens collected by inserting the brush deeper into the anal canal improved the efficiency of anal Pap smears