Comparison of Linear versus Circular Stapling Techniques in Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass Surgery — A Pilot Study

Background:There is major variability in how the gastrojejunostomy (GJ) is created when laparoscopic gastric bypass (LRYGB) is performed. This is a prospective, non-randomised pilot comparison of two different techniques during our learning curve period performed by two different surgeons with similar surgical experience.Methods:From March 2006 until May 2008, 71 consecutive patients, 28 men and 43 woman, mean age 44 (range 24 to 62 years) who were operated for morbid obesity by laparoscopic bypass surgery have been included. Mean preoperative Body Mass Index (BMI) (range) was 47 (34–63). The patients were divided into two groups on the basis of the stapler used. Group 1 comprised 30 patients who underwent surgery using a 25 mm circular stapler to create the GJ. Group 2 comprised 41 patients who underwent surgery using a 45 mm, blue cartridge linear stapler. Operative time, intra-operative complications, hospital stay, major and minor complications were detected.Results:Intra-operative complications occurred in 4 patients (13.3%) in Group 1, in 5 patients (12.2%) in Group 2. Re-operations occurred 3 times (10.0%) in Group 1, and 4 times (9.8%) in Group 2 due to anastomotic complications, bleeding and/or bowel obstruction. Major complications occurred in four patients in Group 1 (13.3%) and in seven patients in Group 2 (17.1%). There was a significant difference in the overall morbidity rate (major and minor complications), which was 56.7% in Group 1 and 34.1% in Group 2 (p = 0.05). Mean operative time in Group 1 was 135 minutes, and in Group 2 122 minutes. Mean hospital stay was significantly shorter in Group 2 (3.9 days) than in Group 1 (5.7 days, p = 0.04).Conclusions:Learning to handle the technique when performing the gastrojejunostomy during laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery may be faster and easier by using the linear stapler. This may be important knowledge for centres considering starting LRYGB practice, although the surgeon factor needs to be taken in account.The results should be interpreted with caution because the confounding effect of one surgeon performing one type of operation while the other surgeon (is performing) the second type of operation could not be taken into account in this prospective non-randomized analysis.</div

Both cell proliferation and apoptosis significantly predict shortened disease-free survival in hepatocellular carcinoma

In this study, we investigated the proliferating cell index by the percentage of Ki-67 expressing cells (Ki-67 LI) and the apoptotic index (AI) by the number of morphologically apoptotic cells per 1000 carcinoma cells in haematoxylin and eosin sections of 76 hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). Both indices showed excellent correlation with each other (P < 0.0001) and were significantly higher in cases of poor differentiation, of advanced stages, with portal invasion and with intrahepatic metastasis. Furthermore, cases with higher Ki-67 LI or higher AI displayed poor outcomes for disease-free survival (P = 0.0001 and P = 0.0005) by univariate analysis. By multivariate analysis, both indices could be regarded as independent prognostic factors. These results strongly suggest that Ki-67 LI and AI have very similar clinical significance, reflecting the existence of biologically aggressive phenotypes and poor disease-free survival rate in HCC. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Prognostic value of DNA flow cytometry in stomach cancer: a 5-year prospective study

The role of DNA flow cytometry in the prediction of prognosis for patients with stomach cancer remains to be defined. Thus we studied prospectively the role of DNA flow cytometry as a prognosis indicator in stomach cancer patients in a high-incidence area. Between November 1990 and December 1992, primary stomach cancer tissues were obtained from the surgical specimens from 217 patients (148 male, 69 female). DNA flow cytometric analyses of DNA ploidy and S-phase fraction were performed and the results were correlated with patient survival. The median age of the patients was 55 years (range 24–78). Aneuploid cell population was found in 114 of 217 samples (53%). Tumour S-phase fraction was obtained in 96 of 103 diploid tumours (93%) and 61 of 114 aneuploid tumours (54%). After median follow-up of 66.1 months, the patients with tumours with an S-phase fraction over 17% had significantly worse survival rates than patients with tumours with S-phase fractions of lower than 8% or 8–17% (45% vs 59% and 63% of patients surviving, P = 0.007). Tumour ploidy status did not correlate with patient survival. Multivariate analyses showed that the TNM stage remained the most important prognostic indicator. The tumour S-phase fraction was also an independent prognostic indicator (relative risk 2.300, 95% CI, 1.252–4.223). Tumour S-phase fraction obtained by DNA flow cytometry is an independent prognostic indicator for the survival of the patients with stomach cancer. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Bariatric surgery in elderly patients: a systematic review

Salvatore Giordano,1 Mikael Victorzon2,3 1Department of Plastic and General Surgery, Turku University Hospital, Turku, 2Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Vaasa Central Hospital, Vaasa, 3University of&nbsp;Turku, Turku, Finland Abstract: Controversy exists regarding the effectiveness and safety of bariatric/metabolic surgery in elderly patients. We performed a systematic review on this issue in patients aged 60&nbsp;years or older. MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched until August 2015 for studies on outcomes of bariatric surgery in elderly patients. The results were expressed as pooled proportions (%) with 95% confidence intervals. Heterogeneity across the studies was evaluated by the I2 test, and a random-effects model was used. Twenty-six articles encompassing 8,149 patients were pertinent with this issue and included data on bariatric surgery outcomes in elderly population. Fourteen patients died during the 30-day postoperative period, with a pooled mortality of 0.01%. Pooled overall complication rate was 14.7%. At 1-year follow-up, pooled mean excess weight loss was 53.77%, pooled diabetes resolution was 54.5%, and pooled hypertension resolution was 42.5%, while pooled lipid disorder resolution was 41.2%. Outcomes and complication rates of bariatric surgery in patients older than 60&nbsp;years are comparable to those in a younger population, independent of the type of procedure performed. Patients should not be denied bariatric surgery because of their age alone. Keywords: morbid obesity, bariatric surgery, elderly, gastric bypass, weight loss, laparoscop