Transsacral rectocele following combined neurinoma resection: A case report

Highlights • Case of a combined (transsacral and laparoscopic) resection of a presacral tumour. • First described case of a transsacral rectocele two years after this procedure. • Possibility of laparoscopic defect repair of transsacral defects.

Achalasia with megaesophagus and tracheal compression in a young patient: A case report.

Highlights • This report emphasizes that physicians should be alert and consider airway obstruction and signs of dyspnea as severe and threatening symptoms in extensive cases of achalasia with megaesophagus. • Early surgical treatment provides a therapeutic option to obviate the occurrence of acute respiratory distress and consecutive complications. • In particular, difficulties in intubation prior to surgery must be considered. Due to potential tracheomalacia, the status of “bull frog neck” in achalasia, including severe tracheal compression caused by megaesophagus with concomitant cervical swelling, may also lead to extubation problems and deserves special care in the postoperative period.

Achalasia—an unnecessary long way to diagnosis

Although achalasia presents with typical symptoms such as dysphagia, regurgitation, weight loss, and atypical chest pain, the time until first diagnosis often takes years and is frustrating for patients and nevertheless associated with high costs for the healthcare system. A total of 563 patients were interviewed with confirmed diagnosis of achalasia regarding their symptoms leading to diagnosis along with past clinical examinations and treatments. Included were patients who had undergone their medical investigations in Germany. Overall, 527 study subjects were included (male 46%, female 54%, mean age at time of interview 51 ± 14.8 years). Dysphagia was present in 86.7%, regurgitation in 82…

The dawning of perioperative care in esophageal cancer

The currently published paper “ Reduced fitness and physical functioning are long-term sequelae after curative treatment for esophageal cancer: a matched control study ” by Gannon et al . (1) focuses on a highly relevant topic of esophageal surgery, which has been greatly under-addressed in the past. Objective data on physical performance outcomes and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of disease-free survivors after esophagectomy for cancer compared with a noncancer control group are rare (1). Data by Gannon et al . clearly show that disease-free survivors of curative esophageal cancer treatment display a significant compromise in physical functioning as compared to the control group, …

Prävalenz von Komorbiditäten bei Patienten mit Barrett Ösophagus-Adenokarzinom

Identification of loci of functional relevance to Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma: Cross-referencing of expression quantitative trait loci data from disease-relevant tissues with genetic association data.

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA) and its precancerous condition Barrett's esophagus (BE) are multifactorial diseases with rising prevalence rates in Western populations. A recent meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) data identified 14 BE/EA risk loci located in non-coding genomic regions. Knowledge about the impact of non-coding variation on disease pathology is incomplete and needs further investigation. The aim of the present study was (i) to identify candidate genes of functional relevance to BE/EA at known risk loci and (ii) to find novel risk loci among the suggestively associated variants through the integration of expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) and genetic…

Pringle maneuver increases the risk of anastomotic leakage after colonic resection in rats.

Abstract Background Many centers use the Pringle's maneuver during liver resections. Since this maneuver might impair healing of bowel anastomoses, we evaluated its influence on the healing of colonic anastomosis in rats. Methods Male Wistar rats underwent median laparotomy and sigmoid resection with end-to-end anastomosis under inhalation anesthesia. Thereafter, rats received a 25 minutes Pringle's maneuver (PM, group 1) or were kept under anesthesia for the same period of time (group 2). The anastomotic bursting pressure (BP) was measured on postoperative days (POD) 3, 6 and 9. Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining was used for histopathological evaluation of the anastomosis. The Mann-Whit…