Langenbecks Archiv fur Chirurgie最新文献

The patient, the surgeon and the public health officer (Versorgungsamt) assess the long-term results of abdominal operations differently. We tried to objectivize these different assessments. The clinical data were collected retrospectively. Data on postoperative subjective state and degree of handicap were obtained in a written patient survey (March 1995). Two groups with benign diseases and one group with malignant disease were examined: 59 patients who had undergone sigmoidectomy for diverticulitis (30 female and 29 male patients, median age: 61.5 years), 347 patients subjected to proximal gastric vagotomy for duodenal ulcers (72 female and 275 male patients, median age: 46 years) and 158 patients who had undergone gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma (56 patients female, 102 patients male, median age: 61 years). The public health officer, classed 35.6% of the patients who had undergone sigmoidectomy and 34.6% of the patients who underwent vagotomy as officially handicapped with a stated grade of disablement, 77.2% of the patients with gastrectomy were officially classed as handicapped. When other diseases were taken into account in addition, 27.1% of the patients who had undergone sigmoidectomy, 27.4% of those who had undergone vagotomy and 75.9% of the patients with gastrectomy had received passes officially identifying them as severely handicapped persons. In the vast majority of cases, the combination of several different ailments had resulted in recognition of a graded handicap and severely disabled person's pass, skeletal, cardiac and circulatory ailments being the most frequent. In spite of this, the evaluation of post-operative course by our patients, the surgeon and the public health officer (as reflected in the official state classification) in terms of the degree of handicap clearly differed.

Warm ischemia is known to induce substantial damage to the liver parenchyma. With respect to clinical liver transplantation, the tolerance of the liver to warm ischemia and the preservation of these organs have not been studied in detail. In isolated reperfused pig livers we proceeded according to the following concept: Livers were subjected to 1 or 3 h of warm ischemia. Subsequently, these organs were preserved by either normothermic perfusion or cold storage (histidine-tryptophan-alpha-ketoglutarate, HTK) for 3 h each. After storage, liver function was assessed in a reperfusion circuit for another 3 h. Parameters under evaluation were bile flow, perfusion flow, oxygen consumption, enzyme release into the perfusate (creatine kinase, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), lactic dehydrogenase, and glutamic pyruvic transaminase), and histomorphology. Damage to the liver was lowest after warm ischemia of 1 h. The results after cold storage were superior to those after normothermic perfusion (GOT: 3.2 +/- 0.3 and 2.6 +/- 0.2 U/g liver; cumulative bile production: 14.7 +/- 2.1 and 9.4 +/- 1 ml, respectively; P < 0.05). In contrast, we found substantial damage at the end of reperfusion in livers undergoing 3 h of warm ischemia under both preservation techniques with severe hepatocellular pyknoses and essentially altered nonparenchymal cells. The results suggest that pig livers undergoing 1 h of warm ischemia and cold storage for 3 h with HTK solution may lead to functioning after transplantation.

Background: Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) of the extremities are rare. The purpose of this study was to identify prognostic risk factors associated with survival in patients with primary extremity and truncal STS.

Methods: Patient, tumor, and pathologic data from 149 consecutive patients with localized primary STS of the extremities and trunk were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression techniques to identify univariate and multivariate risk factors. A subgroup analysis was performed to compare factors predictive of survival in patients who received treatment before (n = 50) and after (n = 99) treatment was standardized in 1988.

Results: The 5-year survival rate was 76.5% with an average follow-up of 6 years. Local recurrence occurred in 23% of all patients, 40% before 1988 and 15% after 1988 (P < 0.0001). Risk factors associated with survival included resection quality (R0 vs. R1; P < 0.0001), era of operation (P = 0.002), local recurrence (P < 0.001), UICC stage (P < 0.0001), tumor size (P < 0.001), tumor depth (P = 0.002), regional lymph nodes (P < 0.0001), and histology (P < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis revealed that tumor size, tumor depth, and resection quality were independent risk factors of survival.

Conclusions: These results indicate that management of STS in a specialized institution improves overall survival. Resection quality is the most important risk factor of survival. Therefore, effort should be made during primary treatment of STS to achieve wide, tumor-free resection margins.

The intramedullary tibial nail with a proximal angle according to Herzog was developed in order to facilitate implantation. However, the modified technique of unreamed nailing also required a shift of the point of insertion; as a consequence the proximal angle required a considerable increase in the force necessary to introduce the nail. In a study using-four cadaver bones and five commercially available unreamed femoral and tibial nails, the authors demonstrate this considerable increase in insertion force and the development of pressure in the medullary cavity. The measurements made with our experimental setup clearly show that the proximal angle of the unreamed tibial nails available for our series does not have a favourable influence on insertion behaviour. As it appears, it results in an increase in the force required for insertion of the nail, thus also causing a greater strain on the bone and an increase in pressure in the medullary cavity. In contrast, the continuous bend of the nail results in a much smoother course of pressure development in the medullary cavity, which does not reach the same high values as with the unreamed tibial nails, despite the fact that less time is required for insertion of the nail. In our opinion, modification of the axial shape of the nail would result both in better implantability and easier removal. We therefore advocate such a modification of the axial shape of intramedullary tibia nails.

Primary malignant tumors of the aorta are only rarely reported. We describe here our findings in a 55-year-old patient who was referred to us with progressive renal insufficiency. At angiography, right renal artery occlusion and high-grade stenosis of the left renal artery was found in this patient, who had undergone aortobiliacal reconstruction for acute Leriche syndrome 5 months previously. Histological evaluation of thrombotic material revealed an intraluminal malignant tumor to be the underlying cause. This diagnosis was then confirmed in samples harvested during angiography. CT scan showed an extension beginning 2 cm proximal to the celiac trunk. The patient was treated by thoracoabdominal resection of the aorta, including the paraaortal tissue, left side nephrectomy, and adrenalectomy. A thoracoabdominal aortic prosthesis was inserted up to the iliacal bifurcations and the celiac and superior mesenteric arteries reimplanted. Right nephrectomy followed 3 weeks later. The postoperative course was uneventful.

In three groups of six mice each, the alpha- and beta-receptors were blocked by phentolamine and propranolol. The mice in the three groups then received an intravenous bolus injection of saline solution, epinephrine, and insulin, respectively. Cortical bone capillaries from the tibia diaphysis were submitted to transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The lumen and endothelium were measured and the results compared. Significant changes were only noted in the endothelium after the administration of insulin. These findings suggest that there are also insulin receptors in bone. Furthermore, they support previous findings in similar studies with epinephrine.

Background: Laparoscopic techniques are frequently used in patients with peritonitis or intra-abdominal inflammatory diseases although increased intraperitoneal pressure may cause sepsis by promoting bacteraemia and systemic inflammatory response.

Methods: This experimental study investigates the influence of laparotomy and laparoscopy on bacteraemia, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and endotoxin plasma levels. Standardized foecal inoculum was injected intraperitoneally and rats underwent either laparotomy (n = 20), laparoscopy (n = 20), or no further manipulation in the control group (n = 20).

Results: One hour after intervention, bacteraemia was significantly higher in both the laparotomy or laparoscopy groups than in the control group (P = 0.01). Foecal inoculum caused a significant increase in TNF-alpha and endotoxin plasma levels 1 h after intervention with the significantly highest levels after laparotomy (P < 0.05). In addition, the mean number of intraperitoneal abscesses were also significantly higher (P < 0.05) after laparatomy (n = 10) than after laparoscopy (n = 8) or in the control group (n = 5).

Conclusions: Laparotomy and laparoscopy increased the incidence of bacteraemia and systemic inflammation compared to control group. However, inflammatory response and intraperitoneal abscess formation were significantly higher in the laparotomy group than in the laparoscopy group.

Five patients with necrotizing soft tissue infections of the perineum and scrotum are presented. There were one female and four male patients, aged from 35 to 70 years. Portals of entry were perirectal abscesses in four cases and a scrotal abscess in one case. All patients required extensive surgical debridement and intravenous broad-spectrum antibiotics. Operative debridement involved the scrotum, the perineal and inguinal area, the upper thighs and the anterior abdominal wall. One patient required transverse loop colostomy and one loop sigmoidostomy. One patient was reoperated on after inadequate drainage of a perirectal abscess. Three patients were referred to our unit after some delay, while one patient did not seek medical care until after being febrile for 2 weeks. Despite aggressive debridement, this last patient died of fulminant sepsis. Fournier's gangrene, which is not so rare as in generally considered, is still associated with a high mortality, which can be reduced only by improving medical awareness and early treatment both of the primary cause and of necrotizing fasciitis.

Five patients underwent an aortobifemoral bypass using a laparoscope-assisted procedure. With the help of a wall-lifting device, balloon dissection of the retroperitoneum was performed. A total number of five ports were inserted and the aorta was dissected out from the bifurcation to the renal arteries under the guidance of a laparoscopic video camera. A 5-cm incision was required for suturing the proximal anastomosis of the bifurcated graft. Tunneling from the groin to the aorta was performed either video-assisted or with the help of the balloon dissector with a camera inside. All patients could be fully mobilized on the first postoperative day and were discharged after a mean hospital stay of 7.6 days. Mean length of the operation was 250 min. Originally, seven patients were scheduled for the video-assisted procedure. In two cases, we had to change to a conventional technique: in one case because we could not achieve adequate exposure of the aorta in an obese patient using a transperitoneal access, and in the second case owing to extensive adhesions after a bowel resection. Both patients had a regular, uneventful postoperative course. Gasless laparoscopy allowed us to use standard surgical instruments and most importantly a regular aortic clamp, which proved to be beneficial in a heavily calcified aorta. In conclusion, retroperitoneal gasless laparoscopic procedures can be safely performed in infrarenal aortoiliac reconstructions. Further clinical studies are required to prove the usefulness of this new technique.