Carlo Corbellini

Retroperitoneal pararenal isolated neurofibroma: report of a case and review of literature

The neurofibroma is a tumour of neural origin. This kind of neoplasm, though, is generally skin located. Rare cases in deep organs or in the peritoneal cavity are also reported in the literature. There are two types of neurofibromas, localized and diffuse; the latter is associated with von Recklinghausen disease and always occurs together with skin neurofibromas. Here we report the case of a 47-year-old man affected by retroperitoneal neurofibroma, but not associated with von Recklinghausen disease. A computed tomography (CT) scan described a retroperitoneal pararenal lesion with no clear involvement of adjacent viscera. We describe the diagnostic modality, treatment planning and the timing of treatment of this neoplasm, reviewing also the literature.

Successful open abdomen treatment for multiple ischemic duodenal perforated ulcers in dermatomyositis

IntroductionDermatomyositis is an autoimmune disease characterized by proximal myopathy, cutaneous Gottron papules and heliotrope rash; intestinal involvement associated to acute vasculitis is less common but could be a life-threatening condition.MethodsA 21-year-old woman, affected by dermatomyositis, presented to our attention with a three-day story of severe abdominal pain, no bowel movement and biliary vomit. She was diagnosed with acute abdomen. A CT scan with bowel contrast demonstrated the presence of a leakage from the retroperitoneal aspect of duodenum. The surgical and clinical management in the light of literature review is presented.ResultsOur first approach consisted in primary repair of the duodenal perforation with omentopexy. Post-operative course was complicated by hemorrhage. A reintervention showed a new perforation associated with multiple ischemic intestinal areas. We performed a gastroenteric anastomosis with functional exclusion of the damaged duodenum and positioning of drainages to create a biliary fistula. A nutritional enteric tube and an open abdomen vacuum-assisted closure system to monitor the fistula creation and to prevent abdominal contamination and collections were positioned. To reduce the amount of biliary leakage, a percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage was placed, with progressive fistula flow disappearance in four months.ConclusionsIn patients with dermatomyositis, when clinical findings and symptoms suggest abdominal vasculitis, it is very important to be aware of the risk of bowel and particularly duodenal perforations. Open abdomen treatment favors control of contamination by gastrointestinal contents, offers temporary abdominal closure, helps ICU care and delays definitive surgery.

Reliability and validity assessment of administrative databases in measuring the quality of rectal cancer management

Purpose: Measurement and monitoring of the quality of care using a core set of quality measures are increasing in health service research. Although administrative databases include limited clinical data, they offer an attractive source for quality measurement. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to evaluate the completeness of different administrative data sources compared to a clinical survey in evaluating rectal cancer cases. Methods: Between May 2012 and November 2014, a clinical survey was done on 498 Lombardy patients who had rectal cancer and underwent surgical resection. These collected data were compared with the information extracted from administrative sources including Hospital Discharge Dataset, drug database, daycare activity data, fee-exemption database, and regional screening program database. The agreement evaluation was performed using a set of 12 quality indicators. Results: Patient complexity was a difficult indicator to measure for lack of clinical data. Preoperative staging was another suboptimal indicator due to the frequent missing administrative registration of tests performed. The agreement between the 2 data sources regarding chemoradiotherapy treatments was high. Screening detection, minimally invasive techniques, length of stay, and unpreventable readmissions were detected as reliable quality indicators. Postoperative morbidity could be a useful indicator but its agreement was lower, as expected. Conclusions: Healthcare administrative databases are large and real-time collected repositories of data useful in measuring quality in a healthcare system. Our investigation reveals that the reliability of indicators varies between them. Ideally, a combination of data from both sources could be used in order to improve usefulness of less reliable indicators.

Diyafragma rüptürü: Tek bir kurum deneyimi ve literatürün gözden geçirilmesi

BACKGROUND Diaphragmatic rupture (DR) is a rare and potentially life-threatening event caused by trauma or spontaneously. DR occasionally occurs several months after the injury. Chest X-ray and computed tomography are the most effective diagnostic methods. Delay in DR diagnosis occurs frequently. This study aimed to examine and improve our understanding of the etiology, clinical presentation, and management of DR. METHODS This study was performed at the Emergency and General Surgery Department of Fondazione I.R.R.C.S. Cà Granda, Ospedale Policlinico in Milan (Italy). Patients diagnosed with DR between 2001 and 2011 who underwent surgery were included, and their data were retrospectively collected. RESULTS Fourteen patients were diagnosed with DR, mainly left-sided DR. Road traffic collisions were the main causes (86%). DR diagnosis was preoperatively established in eight patients (57%). Chest X-ray was diagnostic in 50% of the patients and computed tomography in three patients (60%). Twelve patients had a diaphragmatic hernia. DR was repaired with a mesh in two patients. Mean hospital stay was 16.6 days. CONCLUSION Difficulty in achieving early diagnosis of DR is due to its nonspecific presentation. High index of suspicion is needed. Its treatment is using surgery involving reduction of the viscera and repair of the diaphragm defect.BACKGROUND Diaphragmatic rupture (DR) is a rare and potentially life-threatening event caused by trauma or spontaneously. DR occasionally occurs several months after the injury. Chest X-ray and computed tomography are the most effective diagnostic methods. Delay in DR diagnosis occurs frequently. This study aimed to examine and improve our understanding of the etiology, clinical presentation, and management of DR. METHODS This study was performed at the Emergency and General Surgery Department of Fondazione I.R.R.C.S. Ca Granda, Ospedale Policlinico in Milan (Italy). Patients diagnosed with DR between 2001 and 2011 who underwent surgery were included, and their data were retrospectively collected. RESULTS Fourteen patients were diagnosed with DR, mainly left-sided DR. Road traffic collisions were the main causes (86%). DR diagnosis was preoperatively established in eight patients (57%). Chest X-ray was diagnostic in 50% of the patients and computed tomography in three patients (60%). Twelve patients had a diaphragmatic hernia. DR was repaired with a mesh in two patients. Mean hospital stay was 16.6 days. CONCLUSION Difficulty in achieving early diagnosis of DR is due to its nonspecific presentation. High index of suspicion is needed. Its treatment is using surgery involving reduction of the viscera and repair of the diaphragm defect.

Open, laparoscopic, and robotic surgery for rectal cancer: medium-term comparative outcomes from a multicenter study

Purpose Several studies have demonstrated the oncologic equivalence of laparoscopic (LS) and open (OS) rectal cancer surgeries and have shown how challenging LS may become. Robotic surgery (RS) has emerged as a practical alternative, offering interesting advantages in comparison to both LS and OS. The aim of this study is to resolve the clinicopathologic outcome advantages of RS with respect to OS and LS techniques. Methods Patients with rectal cancer undergoing OS, RS, or LS were evaluated within the period from April 2009 to August 2011. The evaluations were carried out in 4 Italian hospitals. Perioperative clinicopathologic data, postoperative complications, and 3-year overall and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were analyzed. Results A total of 160 patients (94 male, 66 female) were included. A total of 105 patients underwent mini-invasive procedure (40 LS; 65 RS), whereas OS was performed in 55 patients. Anterior resection of rectal cancer was the most performed surgical procedure (139; 87%). Median operation time was significantly longer in the RS group (p<0.01). Regarding complication rates and quality of the surgical specimen evaluation, no statistical difference was found among the 3 groups. The shortest hospital stay (p<0.01) was obtained from the LS and RS groups. The median follow-up was 33 months without any significant difference in overall and DFS rates. Conclusions Although RS for rectal cancer requires more time to be performed than LS and OS techniques, the analysis shows comparatively the feasibility and safety of RS in terms of perioperative clinicopathologic and medium-term outcomes.