Moshe Dintsman

Comparative study for preoperative staging of rectal cancer

A comparative study of preoperative evaluation of rectal cancer is presented. Sixty-eight patients with rectal cancer were examined digitally and by computerized tomography and transrectal ultrasound. Preoperative staging was compared with pathologic findings at surgery. Digital examination and transrectal ultrasound were accurate in 82.8 and 76.2 percent, respectively and were superior to CT, which was accurate in 65.5 percent of cases for assessment of rectal wall invasion. All three modes play a role in preoperative assessment, but digital examination and rectal ultrasound appear to be more effective.

Primary hyperparathyroidism in children

We present here a series of seven children with primary hyperparathyroidism caused by parathyroid adenoma. Chief cells were the primary element in six patients and water-clear cells in one patient. A brief review of the literature on primary hyperparathyroidism in children is included. Emphasis is placed on the clinical characteristics of this rare disease in children.

Partial splenectomy in Gaucher's disease

In 11 children with hypersplenism due to Gauchers disease, partial splenectomy was planned with the aim to prevent the development of postsplenectomy sepsis and also to slow the advance of the disease in the rest of the reticuloendothelial system by permitting continuing accumulation of the beta-glucocerebroside in the remaining splenic tissue. In seven children, partial splenectomy was performed successfully, the weight of the splenic tissue removed ranging from 400 to 3,680 g. The postoperative course was uneventful and the average duration of hospitalization was 12 days. In subsequent follow-up, isotope scanning demonstrated continuing growth of the splenic remnant and there were no episodes of postsplenectomy sepsis nor evidence of increased accumulation of beta-glucocerebroside in the liver or bones. These children showed a marked improvement in the growth curve and dramatic improvement in the hematologic picture. Of the four remaining children, in two, partial splenectomy was followed by complete removal of the remaining spleen due to necrosis, whereas in two, total splenectomy was performed since the huge spleens were extensively infarcted. Our experience suggests that partial splenectomy is the treatment of choice in the management of young patients with hypersplenism due to Gauchers disease.

Wandering spleen with torsion of pedicle in a child presenting as an intermittently-appearing abdominal mass

Wandering spleen with torsion of the splenic pedicle is a rare condition with vague clinical manifestations. If this diagnosis is under condiseration, it can be established by angiography or by splenic scan.

The timing of relaparotomy and its influence on prognosis: A 10 year survey

Review of 3,680 abdominal operations performed in our department during a 10 year period revealed that 95 patients (2.6 percent) required relaparotomy because of surgical complications during the same hospitalization. Of these, 37 patients died, a mortality of 38 percent, which is approximately 10-fold that for similar operations in which reintervention was not necessary. The mortality was greater in male patients and was very high (64 percent) in those over the age of 70 years. The most common complication necessitating relaparotomy was peritonitis (0.9 percent of the total series), followed by intestinal obstruction (0.8 percent) and wound disruption (0.7 percent). The frequency of bleeding requiring reoperation was low (0.1 percent). Intestinal operations were associated with the highest incidence of complications (6.2 percent), followed by gastric operations (4 percent). Assessment of the time interval between the development of the surgical complication and reoperation in each case indicated that there had been an unjustifiably long delay in reaching the correct diagnosis, in performing reoperation or both in 26 percent of this series (40 percent of the cases of peritonitis). This delay was usually greater with early than with relatively later complications. However, our findings failed to support a detrimental effect of this delay and even showed a tendency toward better results and a lower mortality when conservative treatment was prolonged before reoperation was performed.

Symptomatic retrosternal (Morgagni) hernia

Abstract Three patients with Morgagnis hernia are described. The presenting symptoms in the first patient were retrosternal pressure, dyspnea, and cough; in the second, precordial pain and pressure in the left side of the chest; in the third, vomiting and recurrent respirator infections. Surgical repair via an abdominal approach led to the disappearance of symptoms in all three patients. The low reported incidence of this type of hernia may be due to the fact that asymptomatic cases are not diagnosed, and others may not be diagnosed radiologically because of difficulties in interpreting opacities in the cardiophrenic angle.

The value of gastrografin in the differential diagnosis of paralytic ileus versus mechanical intestinal obstruction: A critical review and report of two cases

SummaryTwo cases in which serious intra-abdominal complications were masked by results of the contrast examination using Gastrografin were encountered. This caused the authors to review critically the use of Gastrografin in the differential diagnosis of paralytic ileus versus mechanical intestinal obstruction. In a series of 41 cases in which the diagnostic problem was not solved initially by means of physical examination and plain abdominal roentgenograms, the Gastrografin examination proved reliable in 28 (68 per cent). The reliability of the examination was defined as the relative number of cases in which a correct decision could be made for or against surgical operation. It is concluded that Gastrografin is a valuable diagnostic aid in controversial cases of ileus. A “negative” result of the examination, however, should never be allowed to damp the surgeons awareness of possible serious intra-abdominal conditions, which the contrast examination has failed to disclose and which require immediate surgical intervention.

Catheter Obstruction: Analysis of Filter Content of Total Nutrient Admixture

Catheter blockage in patients receiving long-term parenteral nutrition with fat-containing total nutrient admixture (TNA) is a relatively common complication. A study was carried out to characterize the material which is filtered out of the TNA and is a potential cause of catheter blockage. A total of 45 bags containing the same TNA solution were stored for 7 days at 4 degrees C. The stability of the solution in all the bags was then confirmed by light microscope and Coulter Counter, to determine the particle-size distribution, following which the solution was filtered through a 5-microns filter. Chemical analysis was then made to determine the amount of solid particles, fat and precipitates of Mg, Zn, Ca, Na, and K in the filter contents. Each bag was found to contain 7326 +/- 2681 solid particles as plasticizers and the main component of the filter contents was fat (99.4%) whereas electrolytes as precipitates constituted less than 0.5%. The amount of fat and electrolytes lost on the filter from the solution was negligible. Our analysis of the material trapped on the filter, which may block the catheter during long-term therapy, suggests the importance of filtration and of finding a means for dissolving the fat, the main component of the filter material.

Histopathologic high risk factors influencing the prognosis of patients with early breast cancer (T1N0M0)

A retrospective study of 78 women with early breast cancer was undertaken with the aim of detecting histopathologic risk factors that would influence the prognosis of these patients. Histologic tumor type, nuclear grade of tumor, tumor margin, and lymphoid infiltration near the tumor as well as blood vessel invasion and lymphatic tumor emboli were evaluated. The overall 10 year survival rate was 79.2 percent. In correlating the aforementioned criteria against survival rate, it was found that the patients without any of the histopathologic risk factors had a 100 percent rate, whereas those with one risk factor had a 79 percent rate and those with two or more risk factors a 66 percent rate. Nuclear grade and lymphoid infiltration were found to have the highest significance in regard to recurrence and the mortality rate. The findings of this study suggest that in patients classified as having T1N0M0 disease without any of the histopathologic risk factors, operation is the only treatment indicated. Patients with one or more positive risk factors should receive adequate adjuvant therapy in order to increase their survival rate.

Carcinoma of the Large Intestine in Children

Abstract Two cases of carcinoma of the colon in children are reported. Both patients, a twelve year old boy and an eighteen year old girl, were operated on. The boy, who was operated on at a late stage of the disease at which time abdominal carcinomatosis was already established, died six weeks after operation after a fulminating course. The girl, despite the large dimensions of the tumor, which had reached 7 cm in length, and the finding of metastases in the perirectal lymph nodes, has survived sixteen years with no evidence of recurrence. The literature pertaining to carcinoma of the colon in children is reviewed. It is stressed that only an increased awareness of the possibility of carcinoma of the colon in children will lead to earlier detection of the disease and thereby to improvement in the generally poor prognosis in those cases.