Elizabeth Gomes dos Santos

Lymph node metastasis in early gastric cancer

OBJECTIVE to evaluate the incidence of lymph node metastasis in early gastric cancer, identifying risk factors for its development. METHODS we conducted a prospective study of patients with gastric cancer admitted to the Section of the Esophago-Gastric Surgery of the Surgery of Service HUCFF-UFRJ, from January 2006 to May 2012. RESULTS the rate of early gastric cancer was 16.3%. The incidence of nodal metastases was 30.8% and occurred more frequently in patients with tumors with involvement of the submucosa (42.9%), in those poorly differentiated (36.4%), in tumors larger than 2 cm (33.3%) and in type III ulcerated lesions (43.8%). CONCLUSION the incidence of lymph node metastases in patients was very high and suggests that one should keep the radicality of resection in early gastric cancer, particularly in relation to D2 lymphadenectomy, recommended for advanced gastric cancer. Conservative resections, with lymphadenectomies smaller than D2, should be performed only in selected cases, well-studied as for the risk factors of lymph node metastasis. Despite the small number of cases did not permit to relate the rate of lymph node metastasis to the risk factors considered, we noted a strong tendency for the occurrence of these metastases in the poorly differentiated, type III, larger than 2 cm tumors, and in the Lauren diffuse types.

Lesão iatrogênica da via biliar principal em colecistectomia videolaparoscópica

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to analyze the incidence, morbidity and mortality of iatrogenic biliary tract injury during laparoscopic cholecystectomies in a teaching hospital. METHODS: Retrospective study at Hospital Universitario Clementino Fraga Filho of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro from January 1992 to December 2003. Total and partial injuries, the time to recognize them and types of repair were reviewed. RESULTS: During the studied period, 1589 patients underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomies with four biliary tract injuries (0.25%), all of them occuring in the recent years. CONCLUSION: The incidence of iatrogenic biliary tract injury in our series was similar to the literature and very similar to the open procedure.

Mulheres e cirurgiãs

The authors present the current view of the women in Surgery since the end of the XIX century until now. They discuss the difficulties they face when they choose Surgery as a career and the progress now achieved.

Residência médica em cirurgia geral no Brasil - muito distante da realidade profissional

The author presents the Residency in General Surgery in Brazil from its inception, outlining its changes up to the present day. She discusses her doubts and thoughts about the best model for General Surgery residency programs and the declining demand for General Surgery as a career and the causes for such decline.

Ressecções gástricas menores com linfadenectomia modificada em câncer gástrico precoce com linfonodo sentinela negativo

OBJECTIVE To study the sentinel lymph node in early gastric cancer as a diagnostic method of unsuspected lymph node metastasis, which may allow the performance, in those with negative lymph nodes, of smaller gastric resections with limited lymphadenectomy. METHODS We studied seven patients with early gastric cancer treated at the Hospital Universitário Clementino Fraga Filho, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, from September 2008 to May 2011, who underwent sentinel lymph node exams, performed by intraoperative peritumoral endoscopic injection of patent blue dye. RESULTS We found an average of three sentinel nodes per patient. The frozen biopsy of lymph nodes was negative for metastases, which allowed the realization of atypical gastric resection in three cases and antrectomy with BI reconstruction in four. The performed lymphadenectomy was modified D1. There was no operative mortality. The duration of postoperative follow-up ranged from five to 37 months, without evidence of recurrence. One patient developed a second early tumor 13 months after the initial surgery and underwent total gastrectomy. CONCLUSION The sentinel lymph node in early gastric cancer proved to be an effective method for the evaluation of nodal metastases in seven patients and allowed for smaller gastric resections and limited lymphadenectomies. These minor procedures reduce the risk of postoperative complications, maintaining, on the other hand, the oncological radicality that is required in the treatment of gastric cancer.OBJECTIVE: To study the sentinel lymph node in early gastric cancer as a diagnostic method of unsuspected lymph node metastasis, which may allow the performance, in those with negative lymph nodes, of smaller gastric resections with limited lymphadenectomy. METHODS: We studied seven patients with early gastric cancer treated at the Hospital Universitario Clementino Fraga Filho, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, from September 2008 to May 2011, who underwent sentinel lymph node exams, performed by intraoperative peritumoral endoscopic injection of patent blue dye. RESULTS: We found an average of three sentinel nodes per patient. The frozen biopsy of lymph nodes was negative for metastases, which allowed the realization of atypical gastric resection in three cases and antrectomy with BI reconstruction in four. The performed lymphadenectomy was modified D1. There was no operative mortality. The duration of postoperative follow-up ranged from five to 37 months, without evidence of recurrence. One patient developed a second early tumor 13 months after the initial surgery and underwent total gastrectomy. CONCLUSION: The sentinel lymph node in early gastric cancer proved to be an effective method for the evaluation of nodal metastases in seven patients and allowed for smaller gastric resections and limited lymphadenectomies. These minor procedures reduce the risk of postoperative complications, maintaining, on the other hand, the oncological radicality that is required in the treatment of gastric cancer.

Construction and validation of a surgical skills assessment tool for general surgery residency program

OBJECTIVE To develop and validate an instrument for measuring the acquisition of technical skills in conducting operations of increasing difficulty for use in General Surgery Residency (GSR) programs. METHODS we built a surgical skills assessment tool containing 11 operations in increasing levels of difficulty. For instrument validation we used the face validity method. Through an electronic survey tool (Survey MonKey®) we sent a questionnaire to Full and Emeritus members of the Brazilian College of Surgeons--CBC--all bearers of the CBC Specialist Title. RESULTS Of the 307 questionnaires sent we received 100 responses. For the analysis of the data collected we used the Cronbachs alpha test. We observed that, in general, the overall alpha presented with values near or greater than 0.70, meaning good consistency to assess their points of interest. CONCLUSION The evaluation instrument built was validated and can be used as a method of assessment of technical skill acquisition in the General Surgery Residency programs in Brazil.

Super especialização na cirurgia geral : problema ou solução?

Nowadays, general surgery is considered as a tiring and uninteresting specialty. It is believed that the advent of new technologies, the internet, videosurgery, robotics, telemedicine, specialization and the indifference of recently graduated for the general surgery may be factors that had contributed to this change. In this article the changes of general surgery practice in Brazil, in the world an their consequences in the general surgeon professional development are being discussed.

Complicações pós-operatórias em pacientes submetidos à abdominoplastia isolada e combinada à outras cirurgias do abdome

BACKGROUND: The association of abdominoplasty with other surgeries of the abdominal wall and cavity is an attractive approach although it has been a matter of controversies.Our objective is to evaluate the morbidity and mortality of these procedures. METHODS: We studied retrospectively 75 patients with indication for abdominoplasty. Thirty nine of them were submitted to abdominoplasty alone (group 1) and 36 were associated with other abdominal surgeries (group2), as hernioplasties, hysterectomies or cholecystectomies. RESULTS: The complications were seroma (group 1: 2.56%, group 2: 25%), epidermolisis (group 1: 12.82%, group 2: 5.55%), suture dehiscence (group 1: 5.12%, group 2: 5.55%), wound infection (group 1: 0%, group 2: 8.33%) and haematoma (group 1: 0%, group 2: 5.55%). There was statistical difference only in the presence of seroma (p=0.009). CONCLUSION: There was no significant increase in morbidity and mortality when abdominoplasty was combined to other abdominal surgeries compared to isolated abdominoplasty.

Are 2 Years Enough? Exploring Technical Skills Acquisition Among General Surgery Residents in Brazil

ABSTRACT Phenomenon: Recent studies have shown that up to 40% of the General Surgery (GS) residents are not confident with their surgical skills. There is concern that residents are at risk of receiving inadequate training due to the low number of operations they perform. In Brazil, although all GS residents receive by law the Board Certification at the end of their programs, the assessment of their technical skills is not mandatory in Medical Residency programs’ training. Consequently, our concern was that current GS medical residency format might be insufficient to create competent and autonomous general surgery residents after 2 years of regular training. Hence, the aim was to assess GS residents’ surgical skills in their final months of training to evaluate the present format of GS residency programs in Brazil. Approach: Trained surgical faculty members directly observed 11 operations of varying difficulty performed by 2nd-year regular GS residents and by 4th-year residents in the optional Advanced Program in General Surgery. Participants were located at 3 university and 3 nonuniversity hospitals in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo (Brazils largest cities). Surgical skills were assessed using an internally developed observation checklist reviewed by subject matter experts. Findings: Sixty residents (46 regular 2nd-year trainees and 14 advanced 4th-year trainees) were assessed on performing 499 operations. Only 10 residents (17%), all advanced 4th-year residents, satisfactorily performed all operations and were considered eligible for the Board Certification. Even after excluding the 2 operations of greatest difficulty, only 24 regular 2nd-year residents (52%) satisfactorily performed the other 9 operations. Residents from hospitals with open Emergency Departments performed better than those from hospitals without Emergency Departments. Insights: The results of this pilot study suggest that residents with 2 years of training are not prepared for independent high-level surgical practice. The current formatting of regular GS residency programs in Brazil (2 years) may be insufficient to train experts in general surgery.

Sentinel Lymph Node Navigation Surgery for Early Gastric Cancer: Is It a Safe Procedure in Countries with Non-Endemic Gastric Cancer Levels? A Preliminary Experience.

Purpose Early diagnosis of gastric cancer is still the exception in Western countries. In the East, as in Japan and Korea, this disease is an endemic disorder. More conservative surgical procedures are frequently performed in early gastric cancer cases in these countries where sentinel lymph node navigation surgery is becoming a safe option for some patients. This study aims to evaluate preliminary outcomes of patients with early gastric cancer who underwent sentinel node navigation surgeries in Brazil, a country with non-endemic gastric cancer levels. Materials and Methods From September 2008 to March 2014, 14 out of 205 gastric cancer patients underwent sentinel lymph node navigation surgeries, which were performed using intraoperative, endoscopic, and peritumoral injection of patent blue dye. Results Antrectomies with Billroth I gastroduodenostomies were performed in seven patients with distal tumors. The other seven patients underwent wedge resections. Sentinel basin resections were performed in four patients, and lymphadenectomies were extended to stations 7, 8, and 9 in the other 10. Two patients received false-negative results from sentinel node biopsies, and one of those patients had micrometastasis. There was one postoperative death from liver failure in a cirrhotic patient. Another cirrhotic patient died after two years without recurrence of gastric cancer, also from liver failure. All other patients were followed-up for 13 to 79 months with no evidence of recurrence. Conclusions Sentinel lymph node navigation surgery appears to be a safe procedure in a country with non-endemic levels of gastric cancer.