Shlomo Kyzer

The care of patients with colorectal polyps that contain invasive adenocarcinoma. Endoscopic polypectomy or colectomy

Background. The appropriateness of resection in patients from whom polyps with invasive adenocarcinoma were excised has been questioned.

Determination of proliferative activity in colorectal carcinoma using monoclonal antibody Ki67

PURPOSE: In the search for a prognostic discriminant, Ki67 immunoreactivity of colorectal carcinoma was used to see whether this marker correlated with clinical and pathologic parameters and the ultimate prognosis of the patient. METHODS: Fresh specimens from 30 surgically resected adenocarcinomas were obtained and frozen in liquid nitrogen. Slides were immunohistochemically stained with Ki67. Ten randomly chosen fields were examined, and 1,000 nuclei per specimen were counted. The percent positive stained nuclei determined the Ki67 score. Correlation was made with the parameters of Dukes stage, location within the colon, size of malignancy, gender, age, and survival. RESULTS: There was a positive correlation of the Ki67 score for patients with metastatic disease, but no correlation was found to Dukes B and C cases. There was no correlation between Ki67 immunoreactivity and size or location of lesion, patients age, patients gender, or whether patient died of disease or developed a recurrence compared with those who survived five years disease-free. CONCLUSION: Ki67 immunoreactivity could not be correlated with clinical and pathologic parameters except for metastatic disease in this study and was of limited use as a prognostic discriminant.

Experience with the use of the circular stapler in rectal surgery

This report provides our personal experience along with a general overview of the use of the circular stapler in rectal surgery. To determine the results of our experience with the use of the circular stapler for construction of anastomoses following resection, a series of 215 anastomoses performed in 214 patients was reviewed. The patients ranged in age from 33 to 88 years. There were 116 men and 98 women. Indications for operation included malignancy, diverticular disease, villous adenoma, Crohns disease, and rectal procidentia. The types of operation performed included removal of varying portions of the large bowel. The anastomosis was performed in a uniform manner with the EEA®(United States Surgical Corp., Norwalk, CT) and more recently the CEEA™(United States Surgical Corp., Norwalk, CT). The operative mortality was 0.47 percent, with the death being unrelated to the anastomosis. Intraoperative complications encountered included bleeding, difficult extraction, instrument failure, incomplete doughnuts, deficient anastomoses, and miscellaneous problems. Early postoperative complications included one leak and a number of complications unrelated to the anastomoses. Anastomotic stenosis developed in 27 patients, but only 8 were permanent and only 3 of these were symptomatic. Two of these patients were treated with balloon dilatation. Anastomotic recurrences developed in 131 percent of patients. Our experience gained with the circular stapling device and that reported in the literature have shown it to be a reliable method of performing anastomoses to the rectum in a safe and expeditious manner.

Pseudomembranous colitis: report of a severe case with unusual clinical signs in a young nurse.

We describe the case of a young and otherwise healthy nurse who developed pseudomembranous colitis ten days after receiving oral clindamycin for dental infection. Her clinical course was particularly stormy and was characterized by severe diarrhea and vomiting, profuse ascites, pleural effusion, abdominal tenderness, peritoneal irritation, and systemic toxicity. TheClostridium difficile assay was negative on two occasions. Features compatible with pseudomembranous colitis were seen at sigmoidoscopy, and the diagnosis was confirmed by biopsies.

Lymph Node Revealing Solution: A New Method for Detection of Minute Axillary Lymph Nodes in Breast Cancer Specimens

The staging and prognosis of patients with breast cancer is related to the presence or absence of axillary lymph node involvement. However, in some cases no lymph nodes or too small a number of lymph nodes are revealed by the traditional method of palpating and sectioning the axillary fat. In the present study we demonstrate the usefulness of the lymph node revealing solution (LNRS) in breast cancer. Specimens from 13 patients, in whom <10 lymph nodes were identified in the axilla by the traditional method, were included in the study. After excising the lymph nodes by the traditional method, axillary tissue was immersed in LNRS for 6-12 hours. Additional lymph nodes, which stood out as white chalky nodules, were excised and processed as usual. The LNRS increased the mean number of nodes per case from 6.0+/-2.5 found by the traditional method to 12.54+/-4.61 nodes per case (p < 0.01). The size of the nodes identified by the LNRS was significantly smaller (p < 0.01) than those detected by the traditional method. The LNRS changed the lymph node stage of the disease in four of the studied cases (30%). LNRS seems to be the technique of choice for detection of axillary lymph nodes in cases where the number of detected lymph nodes by the traditional method is too small for accurate staging.

Proliferative activity of colonic mucosa at different distances from primary adenocarcinoma as determined by the presence of statin: a nonproliferation-specific nuclear protein.

The field change is one hypothesis concerning the development of colorectal carcinoma. Removal of a carcinoma without its entire surrounding altered mucosa may result in the development of a recurrence. S44, a monoclonal antibody directed against statin, a nuclear protein expressed in nonproliferating cells in either a quiescent or senescent state, was used to determine the rate of cell growth in colorectal mucosa at different distances from carcinomas. The specimens of 18 patients undergoing resection of a colorectal carcinoma were immediately opened after operation, and strips of mucosa were taken at distances of 1 cm, 5 cm, and 10 cm from the carcinoma. For each location, 10 longitudinally oriented crypts were evaluated for statin-positive cells identified by the presence of a dark brown peroxidase-conjugated antibody reaction product. The average percentage of statin-positive cells per crypt was significantly lower at a 1-cm distance from the carcinoma compared with the mucosa located 5 and 10 cm from the carcinoma (20.89±4.33 at 1 cm, 32.41±5.27 at 5 cm, and 34.23±6.45 at 10 cm). None of the calculated parameters showed any significant difference between the 5-cm and 10-cm locations. The fact that the proliferation rate of the mucosal cells returns to the normal level at 5 cm from the margin of the carcinoma suggests that cells located within this distance still retain proliferative potential even though they are morphologically indistinguishable from their normal counterparts. We conclude that failure to remove this transitional, potentially proliferative mucosa may result in subsequent development of anastomotic or perianastomotic recurrences.

Proliferative activity at rectal anastomoses performed with various suture materials

BACKGROUND: Suture line recurrence continues to be an important cause of failure following curative resection for colorectal carcinoma. Our aim was to determine whether the nature of the suture material used affected the proliferative activity of colonic crypt cells at the anastomosis. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into one control and three experimental groups. In each experimental group the proximal 2 cm of rectum were resected and anastomoses constructed with titanium clips, interrupted 6-0 VicrylTM (Ethicon, Inc., Somerville, NJ), and interrupted 6-0 silk. Control animals had a sham operation. One-quarter of each group of rats were killed at 14, 30, 60, and 90 days. Each animal received intraperitoneal tritiated thymidine 30 minutes before death. Each anastomosis was harvested, and longitudinally oriented crypts were analyzed for the total number and position of labeled cells at five equal distances from the anastomosis. Random crypts were studied in the control group. RESULTS: Labeling indices were increased in almost all experimental groups at days 14, 30, 60, and 90. There were no persistent, statistically significant differences in labeling indices among the various suture materials. CONCLUSION: The type of suture material used did not significantly affect the proliferative rate in this animal model.

New approach to surgical treatment of ulcerative colitis and polyposis coli without pelvic pouch

A new method for the surgical treatment of ulcerative colitis and polyposis coli is described. Instead of preparing a pelvic pouch, the natural rectal pouch stripped of the diseased mucosa was used experimentally in dogs. The undisturbed muscular cuff of the rectum (12 cm from the anal verge) was covered by healthy vascularized mucosa of small bowel in such a manner that the dog could use its rectum as usual before surgery. The results are encouraging. The rectal reservoir is spared, with its sensitivity, continence and motor activity covered by healthy mucosa. The dogs thrived.

Outcome of Silicone Ring Vertical Gastroplasty in Patients Aged 50 Years and Older

Background: The authors studied the results of silicone ring vertical gastroplasty (SRVG) in patients aged 50 years and older. Methods: The early and late postoperative results in 28 patients aged 50 years or older undergoing SRVG were reviewed retrospectively. The results were compared to those of 370 patients younger than 50 years operated during the same period. Results: There was no postoperative mortality among patients aged 50 years and older. There was a significantly higher incidence of pulmonary embolus and wound infection among patients aged 50 years and older (p < 0.05). The weight loss did not differ significantly between the two studied age groups. Conclusion: SRVG may be performed on patients aged 50 years or older with acceptable complication rate and favourable postoperative results.

Immunohistochemical analysis of statin in colorectal adenocarcinoma, polyps, and normal mucosa

PURPOSE: The search for an understanding of the kinetics of the malignant cell is an ongoing focus of research. The aim of the present study was to determine whether there were any differences in the expression of statin, a nonproliferation-specific nuclear protein, among different colorectal tissues and whether there is any relationship between statin presence and neoplastic aggressivity. METHODS: The study population consisted of specimens from 19 patients who underwent resection for carcinoma, one for villous adenoma, and seven for colonoscopic polypectomies. Tissue samples were taken from the center of the specimen and from mucosa 10 cm from the lesion. RESULTS: Statin immunoreactivity was evaluated by counting stained nuclei in ten randomly chosen fields, and percent of positive cells was calculated. Average percentage of statin-positive cells was 34.33±6.81 in the normal crypt, 44.42±7.28 for polyps, and 7.74±5.67 for carcinomas (significantly lower than normal mucosa and polyps;P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Statin expression is dramatically diminished in invasive carcinoma tissue, but it did not help determine aggressivity with respect to Dukes stage.