William Kondo

International multicenter trial on clinical natural orifice surgery--NOTES IMTN study: preliminary results of 362 patients.

Objectives: Natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) is evolving as a promising alternative for abdominal surgery. IMTN Registry was designed to prospectively document early results of natural orifice surgery among a large group of clinical cases. Methods: Sixteen centers from 9 countries were approved to participate in the study, based on study protocol requirements and local institutional review board approval. Transgastric and transvaginal endoscopic natural orifice surgery was clinically applied in 362 patients. Intraoperative and postoperative parameters were prospectively documented. Results: Mean operative time for transvaginal cholecystectomy was 96 minutes, compared with 111 minute for transgastric cholecystectomy. A general complication rate of 8.84% was recorded (grade I-II representing 5.8%, grade III-IV representing 3.04%). No requirement for any analgesia was found in one fourth of cholecystectomy and appendectomy patients. Conclusions: Results of clinical applications of NOTES in the IMTN Study showed the feasibility of different methods of this new minimally invasive alternative for laparoscopic and open surgery.

Uncommon vancomycin: induced side effects

Vancomycin has been used with increased frequency during the past 15 years and the most common toxicity with this drug is the red man syndrome . Other adverse effects include neutropenia, fever, phlebitis, nephrotoxicity, ototoxicity, thrombocytopenia, interstitial nephritis, lacrimation, linear IgA bullous dermatosis, necrotizing cutaneous vasculitis and toxic epidermal necrolysis. Only two cases of vancomycin-induced Stevens-Johnson syndrome and one case of pancytopenia have been reported in the medical literature. The treatment for both situations is based on cessation of the vancomycin therapy; in cases of Stevens-Johnson syndrome, antihistamine and/or steroid agents can be used. This article reports a case of pancytopenia and a case of erythema major associated with neutropenia.

Transumbilical laparoscopic urological surgery: are special devices strictly necessary?

To evaluate the safety and feasibility of transumbilical laparoscopic surgery using conventional laparoscopic instruments and ports.

Nevirapine-induced side effects in pregnant women: experience of a brazilian university hospital

Nevirapine-based therapy is associated with increased frequency of adverse events among HIV-infected pregnant women. The aim of this article was to evaluate the incidence of adverse effects in HIV-infected women who started nevirapine during pregnancy. A retrospective study was performed in our center between January 2003 and December 2006 analyzing all women prescribed nevirapine during pregnancy. Women presenting any risk factor for hepatotoxicity were excluded from the analysis. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of adverse effects, and a correlation to CD4 counts was performed. Liver function abnormality was graded according to the Division of AIDS toxicity guidelines. A total of 170 women initiated nevirapine during pregnancy, but only 133 were included in the study. Twenty-seven women (20.3%) presented adverse effects, skin rash accounting for 77.8% (21/27 women) and liver function abnormalities for 22.2% (6/27) of the cases. Baseline CD4 counts, viral loads and transaminases were similar in both groups. All nevirapine side effects were developed in less than seven weeks. Four of 31 women with CD4 counts <250 cells/microL (12.9%) and 23 of 102 women with CD4 counts > or = 250 cells/microL (22.5%) developed adverse events. All patients who experienced hepatotoxicity had pretreatment CD4 counts > or =250 cells/microL. The incidence of adverse events with nevirapine in our study was high, but most of them were cutaneous. There was no correlation between high CD4 counts and adverse events when analyzing both cutaneous and hepatic reactions; nevertheless, hepatotoxicity occurred only in pregnant women with CD4 counts > or =250 cells/microL.

A comparison of hand-assisted and pure laparoscopic techniques in live donor nephrectomy.

PURPOSE To compare hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy techniques in live donor nephrectomy. METHODS In this retrospective study, we included all patients submitted to hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy between May 2002 and December 2007. The operative data and post-operative courses were reviewed. Information was collected on the operative time, warm ischemia time, estimated blood loss, intra-operative complications, time to first oral intake, length of hospital stay, and post-operative complications. The data were analyzed using Student’s t –tests and Fisher exact tests as appropriate, with statistical significance defined as p < 0.05. RESULTS The means of the operative duration, warm ischemia time and intra-operative bleeding were 83 min, 3.6 min and 130.9 cc, respectively, for hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, and 78.4 min, 2.5 min and 98.9 cc, respectively, for pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy (p=0.29, p<0.0001 and p=0.08, respectively). Intra-operative complications occurred in 6% of patients submitted to hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and in 4.5% of those submitted to pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy (p=0.68). Only one patient from each group required conversion to open surgery; one person receiving hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy had bleeding and one person receiving pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy had low carbon dioxide levels during the warm ischemia period. Compared with patients receiving hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, patients submitted to pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy were able to take their first meal earlier (12.5 vs. 9.2 hours, p=0.046), were discharged home sooner (2.8 vs. 1.4 days, p<0.0001) and had fewer post-operative complications (7.5% vs. 0.6%, p=0.04). CONCLUSIONS Pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy had some advantages over hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy in terms of the warm ischemia time, time to first oral intake, length of hospital stay, and post-operative donor complications.

Endometriose profunda infiltrativa: distribuição anatômica e tratamento cirúrgico

PURPOSE To evaluate the anatomical distribution of deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) lesions in a sample of women from the South of Brazil. METHODS A prospective study was conducted on women undergoing surgical treatment for DIE from January 2010 to January 2012. The lesions were classified according to eight main locations, from least serious to worst: round ligament, anterior uterine serosa/vesicouterine peitoneal reflection, utero-sacral ligament, retrocervical area, vagina, bladder, intestine, ureter. The number and location of the DIE lesions were studied for each patient according to the above-mentioned criteria and also according to uni- or multifocality. The statistical analysis was performed using Statistica version 8.0. The values p<0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS During the study period, a total of 143 women presented 577 DIE lesions: uterosacral ligament (n=239; 41.4%), retrocervical (n=91; 15.7%), vagina (n=50; 8.7%), round ligament (n=50; 8,7%), vesico-uterine septum (n=41; 7.1%), bladder (n=12; 2.1%), and intestine (n=83; 14.4%), ureter (n=11; 1.9%). Multifocal disease was observed in the majority of patients (p<0.0001), and the mean number of DIE lesions per patient was 4. Ovarian endometrioma was present in 57 women (39.9%). Sixty-five patients (45.4%) presented intestinal infiltration on histological examination. A total of 83 DIE intestinal lesions were distributed as follows: appendix (n=7), cecum (n=1) and rectosigmoid (n=75). The mean number of intestinal lesions per patient was 1.3. CONCLUSIONS DIE has a multifocal pattern of distribution, a fact of fundamental importance for the definition of the complete surgical treatment of the disease.

MAXIMIZING THE RIGHT RENAL VEIN LENGTH IN LAPAROSCOPIC LIVE DONOR NEPHRECTOMY

Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy has become the standard of care at increasing numbers of renal transplant programs worldwide. The majority of laparoscopic living donor kidneys are procured from the left side because of the longer renal vein and improved transplantation. The aim of this article is to report a technique to maximize the right renal vein length by performing a hand-assisted cavotomy.

Relevance of Imaging Examinations in the Surgical Planning of Patients with Bowel Endometriosis

Endometriosis is a benign gynecologic disease characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. The complexity of the disease results from its multiple clinical presentations, the multifocal pattern of distribution of the lesions, the presence of extra pelvic sites of the disease (mainly affecting the urinary and the intestinal tracts), and the difficulty in the preoperative diagnosis (by means of imaging studies) and in the surgical treatment. The preoperative mapping of the lesions, either by ultrasound or by magnetic resonance imaging, allows for an adequate surgical planning and a better preoperative patient counseling, especially in those women with deep infiltrating endometriosis affecting the bowel. Also, the choice of the surgical team that is going to perform the procedure may be based on the preoperative workup. In this paper, we highlight the important findings that should be described in the imaging examination reports for the preoperative workup of patients with deep infiltrating endometriosis of the intestine.

Associação entre endometrioma ovariano e endometriose profunda infiltrativa

PURPOSE To evaluate the association between ovarian endometrioma and the presence of deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) lesions in a sample of women of the South of Brazil. METHODS A retrospective study was conducted in all women undergoing surgical treatment of endometriosis from January 2010 to June 2012. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the presence or not of ovarian endometrioma. Patients presenting an ovarian endometrioma were subsequently divided into 2 groups according to the diameter of the endometrioma (<40 and ≥40 mm). The following parameters were compared between the groups: cancer antigen (CA) 125 level, size of the endometrioma, presence and number of deep lesions. The statistical analysis was performed with Statistica version 8.0 using Fishers exact test, Students t-test and Mann-Whitney test, when needed. The p values of <0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS During the study period, a total of 201 women underwent laparoscopic surgical treatment of endometriosis. Fifty-five patients (27.9%) presented ovarian endometrioma and 180 patients (89.5%) presented DIE confirmed by pathologic examination. Women presenting an ovarian endometrioma had higher CA 125 levels (39.5 versus 24.1 U/mL; p<0.01) and stronger association with the presence of DIE lesions (98.2 versus 86.2%; p=0.01) and intestinal DIE (57.1 versus 37.9%; p=0.01). There was no difference between the groups with endometriomas <40 and ≥40 mm. CONCLUSIONS Ovarian endometrioma is a marker for the presence of DIE lesions, including intestinal DIE.

Retrocervical Deep Infiltrating Endometriotic Lesions Larger than Thirty Millimeters are Associated with an Increased Rate of Ureteral Involvement

STUDY OBJECTIVE To estimate the presence of ureteral involvement in deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) affecting the retrocervical area. DESIGN Retrospective study of women undergoing laparoscopic treatment of DIE affecting the retrocervical area. DESIGN CLASSIFICATION Canadian Task Force classification II-3. SETTING Tertiary referral private hospital. PATIENTS We evaluated 118 women who underwent laparoscopy for the treatment of retrocervical DIE lesions between January 2010 and March 2012. INTERVENTIONS All women underwent laparoscopic surgery for the complete treatment of DIE. After surgery all specimens were sent for pathologic examination to confirm the presence of endometriosis. MEASUREMENTS Patients with pathologically-confirmed retrocervical DIE were divided into 2 groups according to the size of the lesion (group 1: lesions ≥ 30 mm; group 2: lesions < 30 mm) and the rate of ureteral endometriosis was compared between both groups. MAIN RESULTS Ureteral involvement was present in 17.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 10%-29.9%) of women with retrocervical lesions ≥ 30 mm whereas in only 1.6% (95% CI 0.4%-8.5%) of those with lesions <30 mm (odds ratio = 13.3 [95% CI 1.6-107.3]). CONCLUSION Patients undergoing surgery for retrocervical DIE lesions ≥ 30 mm in diameter have a greater risk of having ureteral involvement (17.9%).