Two Cases of Primary Splenic Hydatid Cyst in Greece

Cystic disease of the spleen is an uncommon entity in general population. Most cases result from parasitic infection by Echinococcus granulosus, a form called splenic hydatid disease (SHD), with a reported frequency of 0.5-6.0% within abdominal hydatidosis. On the contrary, an isolated splenic involvement of hydatid disease is very uncommon even in endemic regions. Two cases of primary SHD managed with open and laparoscopic radical surgery in our department are reported herein. Primary SHD is a rare entity with non-specific symptoms underlying clinical suspicion by the physician for prompt diagnosis. Surgical treatment is the mainstay therapy, while laparoscopic approach when feasible is safe, offering the advantages of laparoscopic surgery

Liver resections in hepatocarcinoma – preliminary results

Clinica I Chirurgie, Sp. “Sf. Spiridon”, Iași, UMF “Gr.T. Popa”, Iași, Romania, Al XI-lea Congres al Asociației Chirurgilor „Nicolae Anestiadi” din Republica Moldova și cea de-a XXXIII-a Reuniune a Chirurgilor din Moldova „Iacomi-Răzeșu” 27-30 septembrie 2011Introducere. Carcinomul hepatocelular (CHC) este forma dominantă de malignitate hepatică primitivă şi este diferită histologic şi etiologic de alte forme de cancer hepatic. Incidența în lume variază între 2 şi 30 de cazuri/ 100000 locuitori/an, iar în România după ultimele date este de 4-10/100000 locuitori/an. Carcinomul hepatocelular este o cauză importantă de deces prin cancer în întreaga lume, iar incidența sa este de aşteptat să crească în continuare în următorii ani. Rezecția chirurgicală a tumorii este cea mai bună metodă de tratament și are șansa de vindecare cea mai mare. Material și Metodă. Am efectuat un studiu prospectiv în perioada 01.04.2009-30.06.2011 pe 17 pacienți cu hepatocarcinom tratați în Clinica I Chirurgie. Au fost incluși doar pacienții la care s-a practicat rezecție hepatică. Rezultate. Din numărul total de pacienți au predominat bărbații reprezentând 64,7%. Vârsta medie a fost de 59,6 ani cu extreme între 25 ani și 78 ani. În 14 cazuri CHC s-a dezvoltat pe hepatită virală cronică. La 58.8% din pacienți localizarea a fost în lobul drept, iar în lobul stâng la 41,2%. Am avut complicații postoperatorii la 4 pacienți și un deces. Concluzii. Rezecția hepatică se poate efectua la pacienții cu CHC în condiții sigure chiar și la cei cu ciroză hepatică. Această metodă de tratament trebuie efectuată de fiecare dată când este posibil deoarece are complicații minime și cel mai bun prognostic.Introduction. The hepatocarcinoma (HCC) is the dominant type of primary liver malignant tumors, with a different etiology and histology comparing to others liver malignancies. The worldwide annual incidence varies between 2 and 30 cases/100000 inhabitants. The incidence of hepatocarcinoma in Romania is 4 to 10 cases/100000 inhabitants per year. The hepatocellular carcinoma represent an important cause of death through malignancies, with a predictive raising in the next years. The liver resection is the rational and potentially curative therapy. Material and methods. This paper is based on a prospective study between 01.06.2009- 30.06.2011; we included 17 patients with hepatocarcinoma treated in 1st Surgical Clinic of St. Spiridon Hospital, considering only the patients with liver resection. Results. The males represented 64,5% of all the patients included in our study, the medium age was 54,7 years, with age limits between 25 and 78. In 14 of the cases the HCC developped on chronic viral hepatitis. In 58,5% of the cases the tumor was localised in the right liver, in the left liver the percentage being 41,5%. We had 4 postoperative complications and 1 death. Conclusions. The liver resection is a safe procedure for the patients with hepatocarcinoma, even the liver cirrhosis developped. This treatment procedure should be considered in all the selected cases, the resection having the best prognosis and minimally complications

Mucocele of the appendix presenting as an exacerbated chronic tubo-ovarian abscess: A case report and comprehensive review of the literature.

Appendiceal mucocele is a rare entity of mucinous cystic dilatation of the appendix. It has no typical clinical presentation and is considered a potentially premalignant condition. We present a case of accidental intraoperative finding of an appendiceal mucocele in a 54-year old woman that clinically presented with an exacerbated chronic tubo-ovarian abscess. Trans-vaginal ultrasonography showed an encapsulated, oval, unilocular mass above the uterus with a heteroechogenic structure, homogeneous fluid content, and smooth regular walls without inner proliferation. The histopathologic diagnosis was consistent with an appendiceal cystadenoma. The patient underwent a simple appendectomy. There were no clinical, biochemical or imaging signs of the disease recurrence at 6 months follow up. To our knowledge, this is the only well-documented case of appendiceal mucocele mimicking exacerbated chronic tubo-ovarian abscess reported in the literature. Awareness of a rare entity such as an appendiceal mucocele, which is frequently misdiagnosed as a potential cause of acute abdomen, is necessary for the appropriate management strategy in order to prevent complications

Classification Algorithms Used in Predicting Glaucoma Progression

In this paper, various machine learning algorithms were used in order to predict the evolution of open-angle glaucoma (POAG). The datasets were built containing clinical observations and objective measurements made at the Countess of Chester Hospital in the UK and at the “St. Spiridon” Hospital of Iași, Romania. Using these datasets, different classification problems were proposed. The evaluation of glaucoma progression was conducted based on parameters such as VFI (Visual field index), MD (Mean Deviation), PSD (Pattern standard deviation), and RNFL (Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer). As classification tools, the following algorithms were used: Multilayer Perceptron, Random Forest, Random Tree, C4.5, k-Nearest Neighbors, Support Vector Machine, and Non-Nested Generalized Exemplars. The best results, with an accuracy of over 90%, were obtained with Multilayer Perceptron and Random Forest algorithms. The NNGE algorithm also proved very useful in creating a hierarchy of the input values according to their influence (weight) on the considered outputs. On the other hand, the decision tree algorithms gave us insight into the logic used in their classification, which is of practical importance in obtaining additional information regarding the rationale behind a certain rule or decision