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 PRESENTATION: A 14-year-old boy presented to our institution with peri-umbilical swelling and purulent discharge from his umbilicus for 2 weeks duration. There were no radiological, microbiological or clinical evidences of TB in the initial presentation, though he had close social contact with someone who had TB. A computed tomography scan of the abdomen confirmed the diagnosis of an urachal abscess. An incision and drainage procedure was performed followed by a course of antibiotics. A scheduled laparoscopic approach later showed that the peritoneum and serosal surface of the small and large intestines were studded with nodules of variable sizes, in addition to the urachal sinus. The histology of the resected tissues (urachal sinus and nodules) was consistent of TB infection. He recovered fully after completing 6 months of anti-tuberculous therapy.
CONCLUSION: This report highlights a rare case of TB urachal abscess in an adolescent boy, the difficulties in the diagnosis of abdominal tuberculosis, the need to consider TB as a cause of urachal infection in endemic areas and the use of laparoscopy in both diagnosis and treatment.
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.