Teresa S. Jones

Long-term Follow-up and Survival of Patients Following a Recurrence of Melanoma After a Negative Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy Result

OBJECTIVE To analyze the predictors and patterns of recurrence of melanoma in patients with a negative sentinel lymph node biopsy result. DESIGN Retrospective chart review of a prospectively created database of patients with cutaneous melanoma. SETTING Tertiary university hospital. PATIENTS A total of 515 patients with melanoma underwent a sentinel lymph node biopsy without evidence of metastatic disease between 1996 and 2008. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Time to recurrence and overall survival. RESULTS Of 515 patients, 83 (16%) had a recurrence of melanoma at a median of 23 months during a median follow-up of 61 months (range, 1-154 months). Of these 83 patients, 21 had melanoma that metastasized in the studied nodal basin for an in-basin false-negative rate of 4.0%. Patients with recurrence had deeper primary lesions (mean thickness, 2.7 vs 1.8 mm; P < .01) that were more likely to be ulcerated (32.5% vs 13.5%; P < .001) than those without recurrence. The primary melanoma of patients with recurrence was more likely to be located in the head and neck region compared with all other locations combined (31.8% vs 11.7%; P < .001). Median survival following a recurrence was 21 months (range, 1-106 months). Favorable characteristics associated with lower risk of recurrence included younger age at diagnosis (mean, 49 vs 57 years) and female sex (9% vs 21% for males; P < .001). CONCLUSION Overall, recurrence of melanoma (16%) after a negative sentinel lymph node biopsy result was similar to that in previously reported studies with an in-basin false-negative rate of 4.0%. Lesions of the head and neck, the presence of ulceration, increasing Breslow thickness, older age, and male sex are associated with increased risk of recurrence, despite a negative sentinel lymph node biopsy result.

Relationship Between Asking an Older Adult About Falls and Surgical Outcomes

IMPORTANCE More than one-third of all US inpatient operations are performed on patients aged 65 years and older. Existing preoperative risk assessment strategies are not adequate to meet the needs of the aging population. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the relationship of a history of falls (a geriatric syndrome) to postoperative outcomes in older adults undergoing major elective operations. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This prospective, cohort study was conducted at a referral medical center. Persons aged 65 years and older undergoing elective colorectal and cardiac operations were enrolled. The predictor variable was having fallen in the 6 months prior to the operation. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Postoperative outcomes measured included 30-day complications, the need for discharge institutionalization, and 30-day readmission. RESULTS There were 235 subjects with a mean (SD) age of 74 (6) years. Preoperative falls occurred in 33%. One or more postoperative complications occurred more frequently in the group with prior falls compared with the nonfallers following both colorectal (59% vs 25%; P = .004) and cardiac (39% vs 15%; P = .002) operations. These findings were independent of advancing chronologic age. The need for discharge to an institutional care facility occurred more frequently in the group that had fallen in comparison with the nonfallers in both the colorectal (52% vs 6%; P < .001) and cardiac (62% vs 32%; P = .001) groups. Similarly, 30-day readmission was higher in the group with prior falls following both colorectal (P = .04) and cardiac (P = .02) operations. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE A history of 1 or more falls in the 6 months prior to an operation forecasts increased postoperative complications, the need for discharge institutionalization, and 30-day readmission across surgical specialties. Using a history of prior falls in preoperative risk assessment for an older adult represents a shift from current preoperative assessment strategies.

Intra-abdominal injury following blunt trauma becomes clinically apparent within 9 hours

BACKGROUND The diagnosis of blunt abdominal trauma can be challenging and resource intensive. Observation with serial clinical assessments plays a major role in the evaluation of these patients, but the time required for intra-abdominal injury to become clinically apparent is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the amount of time required for an intra-abdominal injury to become clinically apparent after blunt abdominal trauma via physical examination or commonly followed clinical values. METHODS A retrospective review of patients who sustained blunt trauma resulting in intra-abdominal injury between June 2010 and June 2012 at a Level 1 academic trauma center was performed. Patient demographics, injuries, and the amount of time from emergency department admission to sign or symptom development and subsequent diagnosis were recorded. All diagnoses were made by computed tomography or at the time of surgery. Patient transfers from other hospitals were excluded. RESULTS Of 3,574 blunt trauma patients admitted to the hospital, 285 (8%) experienced intra-abdominal injuries. The mean (SD) age was 36 (17) years, the majority were male (194 patients, 68%) and the mean (SD) Injury Severity Score (ISS) was 21 (14). The mean (SD) time from admission to diagnosis via computed tomography or surgery was 74 (55) minutes. Eighty patients (28%) required either surgery (78 patients, 17%) or radiographic embolization (2 patients, 0.7%) for their injury. All patients who required intervention demonstrated a sign or symptom of their intra-abdominal injury within 60 minutes of arrival, although two patients were intervened upon in a delayed fashion. All patients with a blunt intra-abdominal injury manifested a clinical sign or symptom of their intra-abdominal injury, resulting in their diagnosis within 8 hours 25 minutes of arrival to the hospital. CONCLUSION All diagnosed intra-abdominal injuries from blunt trauma manifested clinical signs or symptoms that could prompt imaging or intervention, leading to their diagnosis within 8 hours 25 minutes of arrival to the hospital. All patients who required an intervention for their injury manifested a sign or symptom of their injury within 60 minutes of arrival. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic study, level IV. Epidemiologic study, level III.

Blunt cerebrovascular injuries in the child.

BACKGROUND Although blunt cerebrovascular injuries (BCVIs) are a well-recognized sequela of trauma in adults, there have been few reports in children. The investigators questioned whether adult screening protocols are appropriate in the pediatric population. The purpose of this study was to describe the incidence, injury patterns, and stroke rates of pediatric patients sustaining BCVIs. METHODS Pediatric patients (aged ≤ 18 years) diagnosed with BCVIs at a regional level I trauma center and a pediatric level I trauma center since 1996 were reviewed. RESULTS Forty-five patients sustained BCVIs (60% male; mean age, 13 ± .7 years; mean Injury Severity Score, 23 ± 2). Three patients exsanguinated, and 10 presented with stroke; neurologic changes occurred 17 ± 6 hours after injury (range, 1-72 hours). Screening indications were present in 30%. Thirty-two asymptomatic patients were diagnosed. All but 1 received antithrombotic agents; 1 patient had neurologic deterioration despite heparinization. Comparing asymptomatic patients with those with stroke, there was a significant difference in age (15 vs 11 years). CONCLUSIONS More than two-thirds of patients presenting with stroke did not have screening indications according to adult protocols. With the availability of noninvasive diagnostic imaging such as computed tomographic angiography, broader screening guidelines for children should be instituted.

Management of external ear melanoma: the same or something different?

BACKGROUND The external ear represents a site with high ultraviolet exposure and thin skin overlying cartilage. The aim of this study was to determine if ear melanomas have different characteristics than cutaneous melanomas in other anatomic sites. METHODS The evaluation of patients treated at a tertiary care center. RESULTS Sixty patients were treated for ear melanoma (87% male, mean age = 56.7, mean thickness = 1.65 mm). Seven of thirty-two patients (22%) who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy had positive nodes. Twenty (33%) patients had recurrence including 6 patients with negative sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) and 5 patients with positive SLNs. Three of 10 patients (30%) treated with Mohs surgery had local recurrence. CONCLUSIONS The overall local and systemic recurrences are similar to those previously reported. There is a higher recurrence rate than expected in patients with a negative SLN and a high local recurrence rate after Mohs surgery. Our data suggest that SLN evaluation may be less accurate in ear melanomas and that Mohs surgery may be associated with a relatively high local recurrence rate.

Emergency department pericardial drainage for penetrating cardiac wounds is a viable option for stabilization

BACKGROUND Penetrating cardiac injuries (PCI) causing tamponade causes subendocardial ischemia, arrhythmias, and cardiac arrest. Pericardial drainage is an important principle, but where drainage should be performed is debated. We hypothesize that drainage in the emergency department (ED) does not delay definitive repair. METHODS Over a 16-year period, patients sustaining PCI were reviewed. RESULTS Seventy-eight patients with PCI survived to the operating room (OR), with 39 undergoing ED thoracotomy. An additional 39 patients underwent pericardial drainage, 17 (44%) in the ED and 22 in the OR. Comparing the ED with OR pericardial drainage groups, they had a similar ED systolic pressure (99 ± 25 vs 99 ± 34), heart rate (103 ± 16 vs 85 ± 37), median time to the OR (20 vs 22 min), and mortality (12% vs 23%). CONCLUSIONS ED pericardial drainage for PCI did not appear to delay operation and had an acceptably low mortality rate. Pericardial drainage is a viable option for stabilization before definitive surgery when surgical intervention is not immediately available in the hemodynamically marginal patient.

Multifocal Anaplastic Pancreatic Carcinoma Requiring Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy and Total Pancreatectomy: Report of a Case

CONTEXT Anaplastic pancreatic carcinoma is a rare tumor with poor survival. Data on surgical and medical therapies are currently limited to case reports and case series with small numbers. CASE REPORT We describe a case of multifocal anaplastic pancreatic carcinoma treated with neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX (oxaliplatin, irinotecan, fluorouracil and leucovorin) and total pancreatectomy with subsequent patient disease-free survival currently at 12 months. DISCUSSION The goal for anaplastic pancreatic carcinoma treatment should continue to be complete surgical resection. Optimum chemotherapeutic options continue to be investigated.

Metastatic Papillary Gallbladder Carcinoma with a Unique Presentation and Clinical Course

CONTEXT Papillary gallbladder adenocarcinoma (PGA) represents 5% of malignant gallbladder tumors. Metastatic disease frequently involves lymph nodes or other structures in the hepatoduodenal ligament. CASE REPORT A Fifty-nine-year-old female with right upper quadrant pain and a giant gallbladder on ultrasound was found to have a segment 6 liver lesion during an attempted laparoscopic cholecystectomy. After appropriate staging, she underwent an open cholecystectomy and extended right hepatic lobectomy with portal lymph node dissection. Pathology demonstrated well-to-moderately differentiated PGA with identical morphology and immunohistochemistry in the liver resection specimen with negative margins. Despite adjuvant chemotherapy, she developed increased uptake in the head of the pancreas on PET scan. Endoscopic ultrasound with fine needle aspiration demonstrated metastatic PGA. She underwent an attempted Whipple operation but due to repeatedly positive pancreatic duct margins, she ended up with a total pancreatectomy and splenectomy. Final pathology showed metastatic PGA along the entire length of the pancreatic duct with only a single focus of tumor invasion into the pancreatic parenchyma. She developed a new liver metastases six months later that was unresponsive to FOLFOX therapy and she died of metastatic disease 33 months from her initial diagnosis. CONCLUSION To our knowledge, this is the first report of metastatic PGA recurring along the entire pancreatic duct with disease confined to the pancreas only. We hypothesize that papillary tumor cells spread to pancreatic duct via the common bile duct and remained dormant for several years. An aggressive surgical approach may prolong survival in well-selected patients with PGAs.

Recurrent intravenous leiomyosarcoma of the uterus in the retrohepatic vena cava

Although intravenous extension of uterine leiomyosarcomas has been described, extension into the inferior vena cava (IVC) and right atrium, so-called ‘intravenous leiomyosarcomatosis (IVLS)’, is rare. To our knowledge only a few cases have been described in the literature. We describe a case of recurrent uterine leiomyosarcoma to the retrohepatic IVC. The patient was initially treated with total abdominal hysterectomy. Follow-up computed tomography a year later showed an extensive intravascular and intracardiac soft tissue mass treated with tumor extraction using cardiac bypass. Five years later she presented to our institution with a new retrohepatic caval mass treated with surgical resection and caval grafting. IVLS is a rare disease that is best treated with surgical resection even in the recurrent setting. The role of adjuvant therapy remains unclear.

Smaller pelvic volume is associated with postoperative infection after pelvic salvage surgery for recurrent malignancy

BACKGROUND Patients with recurrent pelvic malignancy have few treatment options, and surgery is fraught with complications. We sought to characterize the relationship between radiographic pelvic volume and postoperative complications after pelvic salvage surgery. METHODS A retrospective chart review of all patients undergoing pelvic exenteration or abdominoperineal resection for recurrent malignancy between 1998 and 2013 was performed. Preoperative computed tomography was used to determine pelvic volume. RESULTS Forty-two patients underwent surgery for recurrent rectal (26, 62%), prostate (8, 19%), or anal squamous cell cancer (8, 19%). Thirty-eight patients (90%) suffered complications and there was one (2%) perioperative death. Decreasing pelvic volume was associated with deep or organ space infections (P = .01), sepsis (P = .03), and fistula (P = .05) on univariate analysis. Infections remained significant on multivariate analysis (odds ratio, 1.01; P = .02). CONCLUSIONS Pelvic salvage surgery for recurrent malignancy is associated with a high complication rate yet low mortality. Decreasing pelvic volume is associated with increasing risk of deep or organ space infections.