Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A Iannelli.
Rectal perforation by migration of an intrauterine device is a rare complication which gynecologists must be aware of. Treatment can associate endoscopic examinations and a surgical procedure.
Subtotal colectomy with cecorectal anastomosis represents an interesting alternative to total colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis. Several technical variants to the methods for performing the anastomosis between the cecum and the rectal stump after subtotal colectomy have been reported. The mechanical, antiperistaltic, end-to-end cecorectal anastomosis is safe and easy to perform. The authors aimed to assess the safety and feasibility of this technique performed laparoscopically in a series of four patients. All the procedures were completed laparoscopically. The mean time for surgery was 200 min (range, 180-220 min). There was no mortality and no postoperative complications. The mean hospital stay was 4 days (range, 3-5 days). This technique can be performed laparoscopically with all the advantages inherent to the minimally invasive approach.
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The possibility to remove a previously inserted CSF shunt device in hydrocephalic children is a well known though rare event for paediatric neurosurgeons. A retrospective analysis of our experience with a series of 850 children affected by non tumoral hydrocephalus shows that obvious shunt independence could be demonstrated in 3.2% of the patients (27 cases). The time interval between the CSF shunt insertion and removal ranged between 8 months and 12 years (mean: 8 years). Parameters analysed to search for any predictive elements were age at surgery, aetiology, type of prosthesis utilised, time interval between insertion and removal of the shunt, number of the possible revisions. The results of the study suggest that the highest incidence of shunt independence is reached in subjects operated on in early infancy, as 24 of 27 removed shunts were in patients operated on under 6 months of age, and the remaining in 2 children treated when less than 2 years old. Such a finding could be explained on the grounds of a delay in maturation of the CSF absorption mechanisms followed by a late normalisation in these patients. As regards to aetiology, 41% of the 27 patients considered in this series were affected by a post-haemorrhagic hydrocephalus, which was progressive, as demonstrated by serial neuroradiological examinations and echo-Doppler cerebral studies at the time of the surgical treatment. In six children the hydrocephalus was associated with myelomeningocele. Five patients had aqueduct stenosis and 2 communicating hydrocephalus. The types of CSF shunting system we utilised did not play any role in determining or facilitating shunt independence. No correlation was observed with the need and the number of shunt revisions. The role of the interval time between the insertion and the removal of the shunt was not analysable, because of the possible acquisition of the shunt independence prior to its demonstration at the moment of the surgical revision of the CSF shunt (elective lengthening because of the physiological body growth) or to the radiological demonstration of CSF shunt device disconnection. The same constraint prevents the evaluation of the actual overall incidence of shunt independence in shunted hydrocephalic children, as some of them could have harboured a non-functioning CSF shunt device, though unnoticed.
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Vaginal evisceration is rare and most commonly found in postmenopausal women. We report the case of a postmenopausal woman due to ruptured enterocele. Surgical treatment was done through a midline laparotomy and consisted of bowel resection with primary anastomosis and vaginal vault suture repair. Risk factors for this rare clinical entity are discussed along with the different therapeutic options.
Tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) is considered as the treatment of choice for female stress urinary incontinence. Bowel erosion is a rare complication of TVT that generally occurs a few days after surgery with a clinical picture of peritonitis and/or intestinal obstruction. Herein is reported a case of a bowel erosion with a late clinical manifestation 3 months after hysterectomy and TVT placement for genital prolapse and urinary incontinence. Bowel erosion may complicate TVT operation several months after surgery and should be considered as differential diagnosis in patients presenting with a clinical picture of peritonitis and/or intestinal obstruction.
The presacral venous plexus results from anastomoses between the lateral and median sacral veins, and courses into the pelvic fascia covering the anterior aspect of the body of the sacrum. The presacral venous plexus is not directly visible during rectal surgery, and injuries to this plexus may be life-threatening. Dissection of the retrorectal plane or anchoring of the rectum to the sacral promontory as in rectal prolapse surgery exposes the patient to the risk of injury to the presacral venous plexus. The aim of this study was to identify some avascular areas in the anterior aspect of the sacrum in order to lower the occurrence of such injuries during rectal surgery. The pelvis of 10 fresh cadavers was dissected after injection of a colored resin into the inferior vena cava, and the presacral venous plexus was studied. Four avascular tetragonal areas were common to all the specimens. The corners of a square with a side of 3 cm, centered on the anterior aspect of the body of sacrum, were always contained in the avascular areas. The upper side of this square was parallel to a line passing through the sacral promontory, at a 3 cm distance from it. Staples or sutures should be placed in the avascular areas to avoid injuries to the presacral venous plexus.
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Endoscopic third-ventriculostomy (ETV) became the treatment of choice for non-communicating hydrocephalus and its effectiveness is largely reported. On the contrary, specific articles on complications and failures of this technique are very rare and this review aims at supplying further information about it. Therefore, an analysis of the main and up-to-date series is made and exhaustive data about complications and failures of ETV and about their incidence are obtained. The overall frequency rate of complications is 6-20%. Their severity may vary either because of the length of the damage (transient or permanent) or the value of the involved structures (basilar artery, areas of the CNS, hypothalamus) or the importance of the injury (from subclinical sequelae to fatal complications). Moreover, this study showed both the risk that the endoscopic procedure must be suspended (intra-operative failure) and the risk of an early (before 1 month) or delayed (even some years after the intervention) narrowing of the ventriculostomy. The rate of and the reasons for failure have been analysed and the success of a second ETV has been estimated. The results of this analysis suggest that the children proposed for ETV are carefully selected and meticulously studied during the follow-up.
Gallbladder torsion is a rare condition causing acalculus cholecystitis. Its preoperative identification is difficult with current radiological means and it is generally diagnosed at surgery. A case of gallbladder torsion due to an extremely rare anomaly consisting of partial fixation of the fundus to a fore-shortened liver bed is reported. The etiology, diagnosis and treatment of this condition are discussed.
BACKGROUND: Encephaloceles are rare cranio-facial developmental anomalies. CASE REPORT: In this paper, we discuss the case of an 8-month-old girl affected by a transsphenoidal meningoencephalocele and try to give landmarks of the state of art in the surgical treatment of this rare pathology.
Laparoscopy has gained widespread acceptance in the setting of acute abdominal pain. We report the case of a patient with acute abdominal pain in the right lower quadrant that proved to be due to a fish bone perforation of the ileum at laparoscopy. The fish bone was retrieved and the perforation closed laparoscopically. Laparoscopy is a powerful diagnostic and therapeutic tool and should be used routinely in patients with acute abdominal affections.
In recent years, laparoscopy has dramatically changed the approach to the patient with acute abdominal pain. We report the case of a patient with small bowel volvulus caused by a congenital band binding the greater omentum to the mesentery, which was promptly diagnosed and treated using laparoscopy. Early intervention averted irreversible ischemic lesions of the intestine and the need for bowel resection. With the routine use of laparoscopy in the setting of acute abdominal pain, rare affections can be easily diagnosed and effectively treated.
Idiopathic infarction of the greater omentum is a rare cause of acute abdominal pain whose diagnosis remains difficult. Most of the cases reported in the literature concern the right segment of the greater omentum, simulating appendicitis or cholecystitis. We report a case of an idiopathic leftsided segmental infarction of the greater omentum, in a previously healthy 59 years old woman. Laparoscopy permitted to confirm the diagnosis and to remove the infarcted omentum.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.