Alessandro De Cesare

Incidence and circumstances of cervical hematoma complicating thyroidectomy and its relationship to postoperative vomiting

Cervical hematoma is hardly a predictable complication of thyroid surgery. Postoperative vomiting has been reported as a likely risk factor.

Endoscopic placement of self-expanding stents in patients with symptomatic anastomotic leakage after colorectal resection for cancer: long-term results.

Anastomotic leak after colorectal resection for cancer is a challenging clinical problem. The postoperative quality of life in these situations is significantly impaired. We prospectively analyzed the effect of placing a self-expanding metal stent (SEMS) at the level of the leak, with or without proximal diverting ileostomy, in 22 patients with symptomatic anastomotic leakage after colorectal resection. The stents were placed successfully in all 22 patients. An proximal ileostomy was created in 15 patients under general anesthesia. The anastomotic leak healed, without evidence of residual stricture or major incontinence, in 19 patients (86 %). In 3 patients, the leak did not heal; in 2 patients with recurrent rectovaginal fistula, the size of the leak decreased significantly, allowing successful flap transposition; and only 1 patient required a permanent stoma. SEMS placement is a valid adjunct to the treatment of patients with symptomatic anastomotic leakage after colorectal resection.

Primary Osteosarcoma of the Breast

observed (Fig. 3). The presented case shows theimportance of team work and selection of the optimalirradiation technique in determining diagnosis, tumorstaging, and treatment of the patient. After histologi-cal classification, high-grade primary breast lympho-mas should be treated with combinationchemotherapy with or without radiation similar tosystemic lymphomas of a similar histological type.Reports on breast lymphoma treatment include fewor no details about the target volume and applied irra-diation technique and usually mention only the totalradiation dose. The delivery of radiotherapy was a sig-nificant predictor of improved overall survival in ourcase.

Assessment of surgical treatment in elderly patients with breast cancer

AIMS AND BACKGROUND The incidence of breast cancer increases with advancing age and in clinical practice approximately 50% of new cases occur in women over the age of 65 years. Although breast cancer in elderly patients presents more favorable biological characteristics than similar-stage cancer in younger women, disease control still remains uncertain and is becoming a major health problem. PATIENTS AND METHODS Between 1984 and 2006, 133 patients aged over 65 with operable breast cancer underwent surgical treatment. Patients with ductal or lobular carcinoma in situ, bilateral breast cancer or a previous malignancy were excluded. The mean age was 72.8 years (range, 66-89). Breast-conserving surgery was performed in patients with early breast cancer (T1, T2 < 2.5 cm), while most patients with advanced tumors (T2 >2.5 cm, T3, T4) were treated by modified radical mastectomy. RESULTS The pathological stage was I in 44, IIA in 54, IIB in 18, IIIA in 10 and IIIB in 7 patients. Postoperative complications occurred in 13 patients (9%); there were no postoperative deaths. Eighty-nine patients underwent adjuvant therapy (chemotherapy, hormonal therapy). After a median follow-up of 96 months (range, 5-266), disease progression was observed in 21 patients (15.8%). The overall mortality from breast cancer was 11%, whereas the cancer-unrelated mortality was 9%. CONCLUSION There is no evidence that breast cancer has a more favorable prognosis in the elderly and surgical procedures should be carried out as has been established in younger women. At present, elderly patients are much less likely to be entered into randomized clinical trials and are often undertreated. However, in the absence of serious comorbid disease, they are able to withstand standard multimodal treatment options as well as do younger patients.

Recurrent laryngeal nerve: its history.

Alexandria was a remarkable center of learning since its foundation during the fourth century BC. In Alexandria, anatomy was the basis of medicine, and the anatomists could include in their knowledge as well as practice the ancient knowledge of Egyptians, derived from the custom of removing internal organs and of embalming their important people. Two eminent names were the leaders of the two earliest schools of Medicine—Erasistratus and Herophilus, who discovered the existence of motor and sensory nerves. Rufus performed experiments in humans in which compressing the neck caused alterations of the tone of the voice. He hypothesized the presence of a nerve in the neck that determined the formation of the voice. His disciple, Marino, found a correlation between the vagus nerve and the movement of the vocal cords. Before them, it was believed that the carotid arteries were responsible for the formation of the voice [4–7].