Elton Watkins

Long-term Results of Resection of Renal Cell Cancer with Extension into Inferior Vena Cava

From July 2, 1971 to April 1, 1985, 47 patients (median age 63 years) with renal cell cancer extending into the renal vein or inferior vena cava were evaluated and treated. Two-thirds of the tumors occurred in men and three-fourths were found in the right kidney. Of the 44 patients operated on 35 had no evidence of preoperative metastatic disease at operation. The patients were divided into ideal, favorable and unfavorable subgroups. The adjusted 5 and 10-year survival rates in the former 2 groups (32 patients) were 68.8 and 60.2 per cent, respectively. In contrast, 12 patients with nodal involvement or metastases had an adjusted median survival time of 1.2 years with no survival extending beyond 4.8 years. We believe that an extended operation for renal cell cancer with involvement of the vena cava is warranted and provides reasonable long-term survival in properly selected patients.

Adenocarcinoma in Barrett's esophagus : a clinicopathologic study of 65 cases

The natural history of Barretts esophagus, particularly the prevalence and incidence of malignant changes in it, remains controversial. Furthermore the prognosis of surgically treated patients with carcinoma in Barretts esophagus has not been elucidated fully. To examine these and other issues, the records of 65 patients with carcinoma in Barretts esophagus presenting at the Lahey Clinic Medical Center from January 1973 to January 1989 were reviewed. During this period, 241 patients with documented Barretts esophagus were seen, for a prevalence of carcinoma of 27%. Adenocarcinoma in Barretts esophagus accounted for 30% of the surgically treated carcinomas of the thoracic esophagus during this period. All but four of these patients were men. Symptoms of chronic reflux were present in less than one half of the patients and dysphagia was often the presenting symptom. In eight patients the carcinoma was discovered on routine surveillance endoscopy, and in four patients progression of disease from benign columnar epithelium to dysplasia to carcinoma was documented. Tumors developed in six patients who had undergone previous antireflux surgery, and in four other patients a second carcinoma developed in residual Barretts epithelium after a previous resection. Of the 65 patients, 61 (94%) were considered to have operable disease, all of whom underwent resection. Two patients (3.3%) died within 30 days of operation. The resected specimens were staged as follows: stage 0, 4; stage I, 10; stage II, 17; stage III, 25; stage IV, 4. Of the resected specimens, 73% showed areas of dysplasia adjacent to the tumor. The overall adjusted actuarial 5-year survival rate was 23.7%. The 3-year survival rate was 100% for patients with stage 0 carcinoma, 85.7% for patients with stage I carcinoma, 53.6% for patients with stage IIA carcinoma, 45% for patients with stage IIB carcinoma, 25.2% for patients with stage III carcinoma, and 0% for patients with stage IV carcinoma. The premalignant nature of Barretts esophagus requires endoscopic surveillance to detect early carcinoma because symptoms often occur late or are absent. Antireflux surgery does not protect against the development of carcinoma. All of the Barretts epithelium must be resected because a second carcinoma may develop in residual columnar epithelium. Severe dysplasia should be considered an indication for resection. Although operability and resectability rates are high, long-term survival is not. Early detection is mandatory if long-term survival is to be achieved.

Esophagogastrectomy. A safe, widely applicable, and expeditious form of palliation for patients with carcinoma of the esophagus and cardia.

Of 262 patients with carcinoma of the esophagus or cardia seen at the Lahey Clinic between January 1970 and January 1983, 209 (79.8%) underwent surgical exploration. This report is confined to the 167 operations performed in the division of the senior author. Half of the tumors involved the esophagogastric junction with nearly equal numbers being located in the lower and upper halves of the thoracic esophagus and a relatively small number involving the cervical esophagus. The majority were adenocarcinomas of which 20 developed in a Barrett esophagus. Three of the squamous cell cancers developed in an achalasic esophagus. Of the resected tumors, 94 were classified as Stage III, 18 as Stage II, and 37 as Stage I. Esophagogastrectomy with esophagogastrostomy is the procedure of choice regardless of the level of the lesion. Of the 167 patients, 149 (89.2%) underwent resection with two deaths within 30 days of operation for a hospital mortality rate of 1.3%. There were 22 major complications (14.9%), which prolonged the hospital stay, and 14 minor complications (9.5%). Satisfactory palliation of dysphagia was achieved in 82.7% of the patients. The overall adjusted survival rate at 5 years was 21.7% ± 7.5% (SEM) with a median survival time of 17.3 months. The 5-year adjusted survival rate according to stage was 43.4% for patients with Stage I lesions, 23.6% for Stage II lesions, and 12.8% for Stage III lesions (p = 0.0004). A multivariate analysis of risk factors involved in survival disclosed that neither age, sex, site of tumor, duration of symptoms, or cell type influenced survival, but stage of the disease had a profound effect. It is concluded that long-term survival of patients with carcinoma of the esophagus or cardia will probably not improve until early diagnosis is possible and that esophagogastrectomy by conventional techniques should be the treatment of choice until other forms of therapy prove superior to it both in terms of palliation and long-term survival.

Transthoracic versus Extrathoracic Esophagectomy: Mortality, Morbidity, and Long-term Survival

Extrathoracic esophagectomy for carcinoma is an acceptable substitute for transthoracic resection if it can be shown to have comparable or superior safety and no adverse effect on long-term survival. To test this hypothesis, we employed extrathoracic esophagectomy in 30 consecutive patients with carcinoma of the esophagus from January, 1978, to July, 1984. During this period, 65 comparable patients underwent transthoracic resection through a left thoracotomy for lower esophageal lesions or a right thoracotomy and laparotomy for upper thoracic lesions. Only patients with carcinoma limited to the gastric cardia were excluded from the study. Overall morbidity was higher in the extrathoracic than in the transthoracic group (13 of 30 or 43.3% versus 15 of 65 or 23.1%; p = 0.05), but the differences in hospital mortality (4 of 65 or 6.2% for the transthoracic group versus 4 of 30 or 13.3% for the extrathoracic group) and duration of hospital stay (17.4 +/- 11.7 days for the transthoracic group versus 20.5 +/- 13.4 days for the extrathoracic group) were not statistically significant. Considering all patients who either died or sustained a postoperative complication, we found significant differences favoring transthoracic resection in those subgroups of patients who were able to undergo primary reconstruction at the time of resection (12 of 57 or 21.1% versus 15 of 28 or 53.6%; p = 0.004), those with advanced Stage III lesions (11 of 47 or 23.4% versus 12 of 20 or 60%; p = 0.006), those with tumor of the lower esophagus (8 of 35 or 22.9% versus 6 of 10 or 60%; p = 0.04), and those with tumor that could be resected through a left thoracotomy (2 of 18 or 11.1% versus 17 of 30 or 56.7%; p = 0.002). Actuarial survival curves for all transthoracic and extrathoracic resections and separate analysis for Stage I and Stage III tumors revealed no statistically significant differences between these two techniques.

Limited esophagogastrectomy for carcinoma of the cardia. Indications, technique, and results.

Between 1970 and 1988, 149 patients with carcinoma of the cardia were operated on at the Lahey Clinic. Of these patients, 127 (85%) underwent resection; 23 (18.1%) were of a palliative nature. More than 75% had Stage III and IV disease. One patient (0.8%) died within 30 days of the operation of a myocardial infarct. Two other patients failed to leave the hospital. Of 25 postoperative complications, 14 (11%) were considered major. Palliation of dysphagia was successful in 80% of patients. The actuarial 5-year survival rate was 22.4%. Of patients with Stage I and II disease, 36.6% survived for 5 years, and of patients with Stage III disease, 22.5% survived. No patient with Stage IV disease lived for longer than 1 year. It is concluded that limited esophagogastrectomy can be performed in most patients with carcinoma of the cardia with low mortality and morbidity and with satisfactory long-term survival.

Glycerolization of the canine kidney. I. Fluid exchanges.

Summary Dog kidneys were profused on a balanced scale with varying concentrations of glycerol solutions and accurate weights were measured at intervals throughout the procedure. Analysis of these weight patterns revealed that there was a large accumulation of edema fluid during the deglycerolization process and that this fluid accumulation was particularly alleviated by stepwide decreases in the glycerol concentration during the deglycerolization procedure.

Results of valve reconstruction for mitral regurgitation secondary to mitral valve prolapse

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP), often the result of myxomatous degeneration of the mitral valve, is the most commonly known pathologic entity leading to pure mitral regurgitation (MR). Reconstruction of the mitral valve rather than replacement is particularly applicable to this pathologic defect, but is not often used in the U.S. Experience with reconstruction of the mitral valve for MR secondary to MVP during the period January 1970 to January 1984 was reviewed. A total of 479 patients with mitral valve disease underwent operation during this period, 82 (17%) of whom had MR secondary to MVP. Thirty-one patients (6%) had valve reconstruction by a technique of leaflet plication and posteromedial anuloplasty. Eleven of these patients had associated cardiac disease requiring correction: 2 requiring aortic valve replacement and 9 requiring coronary artery bypass grafting procedures. One hospital death (3%) and 6 late deaths (19%) occurred, of which only 3 were related to cardiac factors. Major complications included recurrent MR in 5 patients and cerebral embolus in 1 patient. The adjusted 5-year survival rate was 89 +/- 6 (mean +/- standard error of the mean), and the overall survival rate of patients free of cardiac-related complications was 73 +/- 9%. Thus, reconstruction of the mitral valve is a highly effective surgical approach to the management of symptomatic patients with MR secondary to MVP, and its use is favored over replacement in the management of these patients.

Immunologic approach to cancer therapy.

The resistance that many cancer patients show to the progress of their disease, attested to by well documented cases of spontaneous regressions as in neuroblastoma, hypernephroma, choriocarcinoma and malignant melanoma, and the long-term dormancy of multiple metastases seen particularly after removal of a primary mass, can be explained only by host defense mechanisms. Attemps at immunotherapy over the years are reviewed and new directions are presented.

Pathologic review of consecutive radical prostatectomy specimens Nerve sparing versus nonnerve sparing

Retrospective pathologic analysis was conducted of specimens from 88 radical retropubic prostatectomy operations performed between 1982 and 1987 inclusive. The median age of patients was sixty years (range, 46 to 73 years). Of the 88 radical prostatectomies performed, 51 were nerve-sparing (40 bilateral) and 37 were nonnerve-sparing (11 unilateral) procedures. Preoperative clinical staging was similar in both groups. Thirty-five of 37 patients (95%) in nonnerve-staging group and 51 of 51 patients (100%) in nerve-sparing group had clinical Stage B2 disease or less. Pathologic staging in both groups was also similar. In 26 of 37 patients (70%) in nonnerve-sparing group and in 35 of 51 patients (69%) in nerve-sparing group, disease remained localized to the prostate. Both groups were analyzed retrospectively to determine whether or not the incidences of microinvasion of capsule and of extraprostatic disease differed. Review of the apical and lateral margins of the specimens revealed no statistically significant difference in either the degree of microinvasion of capsule or the incidence of extraprostatic disease between the groups.

Glycerolization of the canine kidney: II. Pathological patterns*

Summary Experiments were designed to demonstrate the feasibility of glycerolizing dog kidneys in preparation for attempting frozen preservation of these whole organs. Results revealed that glycerolization could be obtained, but that the major problem lies with the removal of glycerol and the attendant accumulation of edema and subsequent cortical vascular insufficiency. This problem can be partially resolved by perfusions of decreasing concentrations of glycerol in stepwise fashion.