Toshihiko Kawamura

Clinical Usefulness of Bakri Balloon Tamponade in the Treatment of Massive Postpartum Uterine Hemorrhage

Intrauterine globe-shaped metreurynter tamponade has been used for some time to treat massive postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). More recently, the Bakri balloon has come into use to treat PPH. It is made of silicon, possesses a drainage lumen, and has a sausage-like spindle shape. The aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical usefulness of Bakri balloon tamponade for massive PPH. Subjects in the present study comprised 5 patients with uterine atony, 3 with placenta previa, and 2 with low-lying placenta. All patients exhibited massive PPH and resistance to conventional hemostatic managements. Bakri balloon tamponade was appliedto these 10 patients. The mean amounts of uterine bleeding (average ± SD) before and after Bakri insertion were2,732 ± 1,397 mL and 380 ± 376 mL, respectively. The median (third-first quartile ranges) volume of salineinflating the balloon was 200 mL (300-150 mL). The median (third-first quartile ranges) indwelling duration of Bakri balloon was 24 hours (24-11 hrs). The overall success rate of Bakri balloon tamponade was 90% (9/10).There were no cases of slipping out or complications regarding balloon placement. Our findings suggest that Bakri balloon tamponade may be applied to the treatment of massive PPH in uterine atony and placenta previa.The Bakri balloon appears to have the following merits: (1) easy insertion into the uterine cavity and low rate of slipping out, (2) proper conformability to the hemorrhagic area due to its spindle shape, (3) ability to monitor blood loss through the drainage lumen even after insertion.

Clinical management of uterine cervical mullerian adenosarcoma: A clinicopathological study of six cases and review of the literature

OBJECTIVE To assess the clinicopathological characteristics and clinical management of patients diagnosed with mullerian adenosarcoma of the uterine cervix. MATERIALS AND METHODS Records of six patients surgically treated for cervical mullerian adenosarcoma were reviewed. RESULTS The median age of the patients was 50 years (range, 17-74). Four patients presented with vaginal bleeding and two of them had watery discharge as the primary symptoms. Three nulliparous patients who hoped to preserve their uterus were included in this study and only one of the three patients received fertility-preservation surgery. Five patients underwent hysterectomy (simple in 3, modified radical in 2) with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy or bilateral salpingectomy. One patient underwent conization of the cervix to preserve her fertility as there was no sarcomatous overgrowth, heterologous elements, or deep cervical stromal invasion. A recurrence of cervical mullerian adenosarcoma with sarcomatous overgrowth was observed in one patient who underwent simple hysterectomy. CONCLUSION The presence of sarcomatous overgrowth and deep cervical stromal invasion are associated with poor prognosis. Along with adequate counseling, fertility-preservation surgery may be an acceptable option for exophytic cervical mullerian adenosarcoma in the cases that do not show sarcomatous overgrowth and deep cervical stromal invasion.

Risk factors for lymphatic complications following lymphadenectomy in patients with cervical cancer

Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of lymphatic complications following pelvic lymphadenectomy (PLA) in patients with cervical cancer. Methods A retrospective study of 169 cervical cancer patients was conducted. Lower extremity lymphedema (LEL) was diagnosed using the International Society of Lymphology guidelines, and pelvic lymphocele (PL) was evaluated using trans-vaginal ultrasonography and computed tomography. Results The median patient age was 46 years (range: 22-74) and median body mass index was 21.7 kg/m2 (range: 15.7-37.1). The median number of lymph nodes (LNs) removed was 27 (range: 22-74); 94 (55.6%) patients underwent circumflex iliac node (CIN) dissection; 39 (23.1%) patients received adjuvant chemotherapy; and 81 (47.9%) patients received adjuvant postoperative radiotherapy. There were 28 (16.6%) and 32 (18.9%) occurrences of LEL and PL, respectively. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, the number of LNs removed (odds ratio [OR]: 3.37; 95% CI: 1.43-8.54; P = 0.0053) and CIN removal (OR: 3.92; 95% CI: 1.55-11.4; P = 0.0033) were independent risk factors for LEL; however, no risk factors were significantly associated with PL. Conclusions Our results demonstrated that CIN removal and the number of LNs removed were significant risk factors for LEL in patients with cervical cancer. However, we did not identify any significant risk factors for PL in this study. We instead speculate that LN dissection itself causes PL. We suggest that establishment of comprehensive PLA without CIN dissection, or use of the sentinel lymph node concept, will prevent the occurrence of lymphatic complications in cervical cancer patients.

Prospective study of sentinel lymph node mapping for endometrial cancer

To evaluate sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping for endometrial cancer, using radioisotope and indocyanine green (ICG) injections.