METHODS: Data of seven patients undergoing laparoscopic transgastric resection were identified and retrospectively reviewed with regard to procedural steps and patient outcomes.
RESULTS: Seven patients (4 men; mean age 64.1 ± 14.6 years) with gastric GISTs underwent laparoscopic transgastric resection from January 2010 to May 2015. Three of the seven GISTs were located near the gastroesophageal junction and the rest were found in the posterior wall of the stomach. All seven patients underwent successful laparoscopic resection without any conversions. There were no mortalities and no significant postoperative complications. Intraoperative endoscopy was performed for all patients. The mean operative time was 164.0 ± 59.1 minutes. Regular diet was resumed within 3 days on average and mean postoperative stay was 3.6 ± 1.3 days. All patients achieved complete R0 resection with a mean tumor size of 5.5 ± 1.1 cm. At a mean follow-up of 48.0 ± 13.4 months, all patients were recurrence free.
CONCLUSIONS: GISTs of the posterior wall and in close proximity to the gastroesophageal junction can be safely resected laparoscopically using such an approach. Standard technique is required to achieve good oncological outcomes.
CASE SUMMARY: A 16-year-old teenage male PJS patient presented with a history of colicky abdominal pain, vomiting, blood in stools, loss of appetite, and weight loss. On abdominal examination, a vague mass was palpable over the right upper quadrant. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen was performed and an intussusception involving the jejunum and rectosigmoid junction was observed. The patient subsequently underwent a laparotomy and intussusception involving the jejunum and another over the ileum was noted intra-operatively. Bowel resection and an endoscopic polypectomy were performed, followed by a primary anastomosis. The patient was discharged well and reviewed again one month later, and was noted to be well.
CONCLUSION: PJS patients have a high risk of intussusception and can be diagnosed accurately by endoscopic surveillance or radiologically with abdominal CT or magnetic resonance imaging. The mainstay of treatment is surgical intervention followed by endoscopic surveillance with periodic polypectomy.
METHODS: This is a retrospective review of consecutive patients who underwent argon plasma coagulation for haemorrhagic radiation proctitis between January 2003 and December 2013. The patients were followed up using a prospectively maintained database.
RESULTS: Ninety-one patients were included with a mean follow-up of 13.1 months. Majoity (n = 85, 93.4 %) of the patients were female. Mean age at the time of treatment was 58.2 (range 23-87) years old. Majority of the patients (n = 73, 80.2 %) received radiotherapy for gynaecological malignancies followed by colorectal (n = 13, 14.3 %) and urological (n = 5, 5.5 %) malignancies. Mean interval between radiation and proctitis was 13.8 (range 3-40) months. Seventy-nine percent of patients were successfully treated after 1-2 sessions. Seventeen (18.7 %) patients experienced self-limiting early complications, and three (3.3 %) had late complications of rectal stenosis which was managed conservatively. Severity of bleeding during the initial presentation is an independent factor that predicts the number of sessions required for successful haemostasis (p = 0.002).
CONCLUSIONS: Argon plasma coagulation is a reasonable treatment option in patients with haemorrhagic radiation proctitis with good safety profile. Our study suggests that the number of APC sessions required to arrest bleeding correlates with the severity of bleeding on initial presentation.
METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed data of all adult patients with intussusception admitted to our hospital between 2007 and 2017. The patients' characteristics, presentation, operation details, postoperative outcomes and pathology were analyzed. Comparisons were made between the laparoscopic and open surgery procedures performed during the study period.
RESULTS: Seventeen open and 20 laparoscopic-assisted resections were performed. No significant differences were found between the two groups for the following parameters: age (45.3 ± 16.8 vs. 54.9 ± 19.1, p = 0.160); gender (41 vs. 60% males, p = 0.330); American Society of Anesthesiologists score (p = 0.609); history of cardiovascular disease (5.9% vs. 5.6%, p = 0.950), COPD/asthma (0% vs. 5.6%, p = 0.950), diabetes (11.8% vs. 11.1%, p = 0.950), and renal impairment (5.9% vs. 0%, p = 0.486); body mass index (20.6 vs. 21.9, p = 0.433); timing of presentation (p = 1.000); type of intussusception (p = 0.658); type of procedures (p = 0.446); operative time (173.7 ± 45.4 vs. 191.5 ± 43.9, p = 0.329); and length of postoperative stay (6.7 ± 5.4 vs. 4.5 ± 1.1 days, p = 0.153). However, the open surgery group had fewer patients with hypertension (17.6% vs. 61.1%, p = 0.009) and demonstrated a delayed oral intake (4.0 ± 1.7 days vs. 2.5 ± 0.7 days, p = 0.010) and a higher comprehensive complication index (11.5 ± 27.1 vs. 0, p = 0.038).
CONCLUSIONS: The laparoscopic approach was associated with earlier oral intake and a lower comprehensive complication index. It is a safe and feasible technique that confers the advantages of minimally invasive surgery. It can be considered the preferred surgical option when the surgical expertise is available.
METHODS: The medical records of all patients who underwent laparoscopic feeding jejunostomy following staging laparoscopy for UGI malignancies between January 2010 and July 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. The data included patient demographics, operative technique and clinical outcomes.
RESULTS: Fifteen patients (11 males) had feeding jejunostomy done when staging laparoscopy showed unresectable UGI maligancy. Eight (53.3%) had gastric carcinoma, four (26.7%) had oesophageal carcinoma and three (20%) had cardio-oesophageal junction carcinoma. The mean age was 63.3 ± 7.3 years. Mean operative time was 66.0 ± 7.4 min. Mean postoperative stay was 5.6 ± 2.2 days. Laparoscopic feeding jejunostomy was performed without intra-operative complications. There were no major complications requiring reoperation but four patients had excoriation at the T-tube site and three patients had tube dislodgement which required bedside replacement of the feeding tube. The mean duration of feeding tube was 127.3 ± 99.6 days.
CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic feeding jejunostomy is an important adjunct to staging laparoscopy that can be performed safely with low morbidity. Meticulous attention to surgical techniques is the cornerstone of success.
METHODS: This is a retrospective review of a prospectively collected database of patients who underwent emergency laparoscopic or open repair for PPU between December 2010 and February 2014.
RESULTS: A total of 131 patients underwent emergency repair for PPU (laparoscopic repair, n=63, 48.1% vs. open repair, n=68, 51.9%). There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between both groups in terms of age (p=0.434), gender (p=0.305), body mass index (p=0.180), and presence of comorbidities (p=0.214). Both groups were also comparable in their American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) scores (p=0.769), Boey scores 0/1 (p=0.311), Mannheim Peritonitis Index > 27 (p=0.528), shock on admission (p<0.99), and the duration of symptoms > 24 hours (p=0.857). There was no significant difference in the operating time between the two groups (p=0.618). Overall, the laparoscopic group had fewer complications compared with the open group (14.3% vs. 36.8%, p=0.005). When reviewing specific complications, only the incidence of surgical site infection was statistically significant (laparoscopic 0.0% vs. open 13.2%, p=0.003). The other parameters were not statistically significant. The laparoscopic group did have a significantly shorter mean postoperative stay (p=0.008) and lower pain scores in the immediate postoperative period (p<0.05). Mortality was similar in both groups (open, 1.6% vs. laparoscopic, 2.9%, p < 0.99).
CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic repair resulted in reduced wound infection rates, shorter hospitalization, and reduced postoperative pain. Our single institution series and standardized technique demonstrated lower morbidity rates in the laparoscopic group.
METHODS: A multicentre, ambi-directional, non-randomized comparison of intra-procedural complications during the learning curve of POEM was performed against a historical cohort of LHM + F. Demographic, clinicopathological, procedural data and complications were collected. A direct head-to-head comparison was performed, followed by a population pyramid of complication frequency. Case sequence was then divided into blocks of 5, and the complication rates during each block was compared to the historical cohort.
RESULTS: From January 2010 to April 2021, 60 patients underwent LHM + F and 63 underwent POEM. Mean age was lower for the POEM group (41.7 years vs 48.1 years, p = 0.03), but there was no difference in gender nor type of Achalasia. The POEM group recorded a shorter overall procedural time (125.9 min vs 144.1 min, p = 0.023) and longer myotomies (10.1 cm vs 6.2 cm, p = 0.023). The overall complication rate of POEM was 20.6%, whereas the historical cohort of LHM + F had a rate of 10.0%. On visual inspection of the population pyramid, complications were more frequent in the earlier procedures. On block sequencing, complication frequency could be seen tapering off dramatically after the 25th case, and subsequently equalled that of LHM + F.
CONCLUSION: POEM is challenging even for experienced endoscopists. From our data, complication rates between POEM and LHM + F equalize after approximately 25 POEMs.
MATERIALS & METHODS: Patients with PPUs operated between 2018 and 2021 in a Malaysian tertiary referral center were included. Clinical data were retrospectively analyzed for association with mortality and morbidity measured with the Comprehensive Complication Index (CCI). Predictability of WIC and other predictors were examined using area under receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC).
RESULTS: Among 110 patients included, 18 died (16.4%) and 36 (32.7%) had significant morbidity postoperatively (High CCI, ≥26.2). Both mortality and high CCI were associated with age >65 years, female sex, comorbidities (diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and renal disease), and American Society of Anesthesiologist score >2. Most patients who died had renal dysfunction, metabolic acidosis, lactate >2 mmol/L upon presentation preoperatively. While surgery >24 h after presentation correlated with mortality and high CCI, the benefit of earlier surgery <6 h or <12 h was not demonstrated. WIC (AUC, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.81-0.99) showed similar predictability to Peptic Ulcer Perforation (PULP) (AUC, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.93-1.00) for mortality. PULP effectively predicted high CCI (AUC, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73-0.93; p
METHODS: Multi-centre, retrospective cohort between 2010-2020, involving all consecutive patients undergoing curative esophagectomy for esophageal cancer in University Malaya Medical Centre, Sungai Buloh Hospital, and Sultanah Aminah Hospital. The cut-off value differentiating low and normal PMI is defined as 443mm2/m2 in males and 326326 mm2/m2 in females. Complications were recorded using the Clavien-Dindo Scale.
RESULTS: There was no statistical correlation between PMI and major post-esophagectomy complications (p-value: 0.495). However, complication profile was different, and patients with low PMIs had higher 30-day mortality (21.7%) when compared with patients with normal PMI (8.1%) (p-value: 0.048).
CONCLUSIONS: Although PMI did not significantly predict post-esophagectomy complications, low PMI correlates with higher 30-day mortality, reflecting a lower tolerance for complications among these patients. PMI is a useful, inexpensive tool to identify sarcopenia and aids the patient selection process. This alerts healthcare professionals to institute intensive physiotherapy and nutritional optimization prior to esophagectomy.
METHODS: Fifty-five patients with achalasia cardia who underwent laparoscopic Heller myotomy between 2010 and 2019 were enrolled. The adverse events and clinical outcomes were analyzed. Overall patient satisfaction was also reviewed.
RESULTS: The mean operative time was 144.1 ± 38.33 min with no conversions to open surgery in this series. Intraoperative adverse events occurred in 7 (12.7%) patients including oesophageal mucosal perforation (n = 4), superficial liver injury (n = 1), minor bleeding from gastro-oesophageal fat pad (n = 1) & aspiration during induction requiring bronchoscopy (n = 1). Mean time to normal diet intake was 3.2 ± 2.20 days. Mean postoperative stay was 4.9 ± 4.30 days and majority of patients (n = 46; 83.6%) returned to normal daily activities within 2 weeks after surgery. The mean follow-up duration was 18.8 ± 13.56 months. Overall, clinical success (Eckardt ≤ 3) was achieved in all 55 (100%) patients, with significant improvements observed in all elements of the Eckardt score. Thirty-seven (67.3%) patients had complete resolution of dysphagia while the remaining 18 (32.7%) patients had some occasional dysphagia that was tolerable and did not require re-intervention. Nevertheless, all patients reported either very satisfied or satisfied and would recommend the procedure to another person.
CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic Heller myotomy and anterior Dor is both safe and effective as a definitive treatment for treating achalasia cardia. It does have a low rate of oesophageal perforation but overall has a high degree of patient satisfaction with minimal complications.