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C Pagetta

Publications and source records attributed to C Pagetta.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

Technique and results of laparoscopic adrenalectomy.

The aim of this report is to evaluate the benefits of laparoscopic adrenalectomy in terms of perioperative morbidity, complications and patients recuperation. We reviewed our experience with laparoscopic adrenalectomy in 47 consecutive patients who underwent adrenalectomy over a 4-year period. We used the lateral transperitoneal approach in all cases. The indications for adrenalectomy were Conn's adenoma in 24 patients, pheochromocytoma in 11, Cushing's syndrome in 3 and incidental adrenal tumour in 9. The average duration of surgery was 130 min (range, 60-300 min) and average adrenal gland size was 3.4 cm (range, 1.2-8 cm). Conversion from laparoscopy to laparotomy was necessary in three patients (6.4%), and postoperative complications occurred in two patients. There was no mortality. Laparoscopic adrenalectomy can be considered the method of choice for managing almost all adrenal masses, because of its low morbidity and short postoperative recovery. The main difficulty is to identify the adrenal gland, so several technical procedures are suggested.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗

Ectopic parathyroid adenomas located at the carotid bifurcation: the role of preoperative Tc-99m MIBI scintigraphy and the intraoperative gamma probe procedure in surgical treatment planning.

PURPOSE: The prevalence of ectopic parathyroid adenoma (PA) is relatively low, despite some studies in which it has been reported to be as high as 20%. Ectopic PA is a frequent cause of surgical failure, and therefore some authors recommend preoperative imaging to localize the condition in patients with primary hyperparathyroid (HPT) disease before initial surgery. METHODS: Two unusual cases of primary HPT caused by an ectopic PA located at the carotid bifurcation are reported. The patients were examined before operation using Tc-99m MIBI scintigraphy and then underwent radioguided surgery using the intraoperative gamma probe technique with injection of a low dose (37 MBq; 1 mCi) of Tc-99m MIBI. RESULTS: The first patient had a history of primary HPT and coexisting multinodular goiter. She had undergone total thyroidectomy in another center, but no enlarged parathyroid gland was found at bilateral neck exploration and serum calcium and parathyroid hormone levels remained elevated after intervention. The patient was referred to our center. A Tc-99m MIBI scan showed a focus of abnormal tracer uptake in the superior left laterocervical region that was thought to be a PA. The next day she underwent radioguided surgery and an 18-mm PA located at the left carotid bifurcation was easily removed through a 2.5-cm skin incision. The second patient was examined in our center before surgery. A neck ultrasound showed a multinodular goiter but no enlarged parathyroid glands. A pertechnectate-MIBI subtraction scan revealed a focus of abnormal Tc-99m MIBI uptake in the right superior laterocervical region that was thought to be a PA. One week later, at radioguided surgery, a 25-mm PA was identified at the right carotid bifurcation and removed successfully. CONCLUSIONS: These data strongly support the utility of preoperative imaging with Tc-99m MIBI in patients with primary HPT before initial neck exploration with the aim of avoiding surgical failure. Furthermore, the intraoperative gamma probe technique seems to be useful to reduce surgical trauma and, possibly, complications in patients with ectopic PA.

Adenoma↗

[Primary hyperparathyroidism in patients treated for non-medullary thyroid carcinoma].

The authors report three cases of primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT) in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) developed a few years after initial surgical and radiometabolic treatment of DTC. The early diagnosis of HPT in these patients was made possible because of laboratory tests performed during follow-up, including the assay of serum calcium and serum phosphorus levels. Scinti-graphy using 99mTc-MIBI enabled the correct preoperative localisation of a single parathyroid adenoma in two of these patients and multiglandular pathology in the third.

Adenocarcinoma, Follicular↗

Preoperative assessment of thyroid nodules: the surgeon's point of view.

A selective approach to patients with thyroid nodules, in order to differentiate between negative findings and uncertain or positive results requiring surgery, has been outlined. Fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is the most reliable and cost-effective technique currently available to distinguish benign from malignant thyroid disease. In those lesions diagnosed by FNAB as 'follicular lesions', radionuclide scanning, serum calcitonin and CEA determination, color doppler ultrasonography and the response to TSH suppressive therapy may be of assistance. Despite such screening procedures, the majority of follicular lesions remain indeterminate, and surgery is therefore necessary before a correct diagnosis can be made.

Biopsy, Needle↗

[Papillary carcinoma of the thyroid. A uni- and multivariate analysis of the factors affecting the prognosis inclusive of surgical treatment].

METHODS: A total of 463, out of 677 patients operated on for papillary thyroid carcinoma between 1967-1995, were selected, on the basis of a 5-year minimal follow-up (max 28, mean 11.15 +/- 5.29), for uni and multivariate analysis of survival curves. Patient sex, age over and under 45 years, tumour size smaller and larger than 15 mm, stage, any TNM parameter, histological variety, surgical procedure on the thyroid and nodes were the factors assessed in order to express the prognosis. RESULTS: Male:female ratio was 1:3, the mean age 42.2 years; only 25.9% of patients presented with smaller than 15 mm tumor, about 57% with positive nodes and 8.85% with distant metastases; total or near total thyroidectomy was performed in 86% and nodal dissection in 70% of patients. The 5, 10, 15, 20 year survival rate resulted to be 96.94%, 94.36%, 91.38% and 88.69%; 23 patients, but none aged less than 45 years, died (poorly differentiated and locally advanced carcinoma). Age over 45 years, T4 and M+ stages resulted of high prognostic importance while nodal involvement, interrelated with T and M, showed no independent impact; stage gradually worsened but no difference was found between stage I and II. Adverse effect of male sex resulted from its interrelation with more advanced stages. The relapse rate was found higher in male sex and in patients aged over 45 years, interrelated with T and N extension: no tumor smaller than 15 mm recurred and no relation was found between recurrence and surgical procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Longer follow-up is needed to compare the higher curative effectiveness of total thyroidectomy and nodal dissection versus more conservative treatments.

Adolescent↗

[Which thyroidectomy in Basedow disease?].

One hundred and seventy patients with Graves' disease underwent thyroidectomy between 1987 and 1994 (10.5% of all thyroidectomies performed in the same period). Female/male ratio was 9/1; mean age 55.2 years and average period between diagnosis and surgical treatment 5.3 years. The average thyroid weight was 230 g (range 90-950 g). Thyroidectomy was subtotal in 110 and total in 60 patients, 5 of which had been previously treated elsewhere from 5 to 33 years before. Malignancy was incidentally found in 2.35% of patients. The complication rate resulted higher in total thyroidectomies than in subtotal procedures (bleeding 0.9% vs 5.4%, transient hypoparathyroidism 4.5% vs 12.7%, recurrent nerve lesion 0.45% vs 2.72%) however the differences were not statistically significant; this probably because both the procedures were carried out with the same technique for parathyroid gland and recurrent nerve safety. The need of repeated surgery increased the risk. In opposition to total thyroidectomy, subtotal thyroidectomy does not doom to complete and permanent replacement therapy (96.4% of hypothyroidism at 2 months, 72.6% at 4 years), but in this series it failed to achieve remission in 2 patients who maintained a mild hyperthyroidism and in one more patient who developed a relapse 4 years later. Serum TSI meaning is not clear, but preoperative positivity suggests a wider resection and postoperative persistence a closer follow-up by functional assessment. In conclusion surgical procedures for Graves' disease range from subtotal to total thyroidectomy but for a safe outcome the choice depends more on the intraoperative troubles of each single case than on theoretic advantages.

Adolescent↗

[Prevention and treatment of intra- and post-operative complications in thyroid surgery].

Frequency of complications in thyroid surgery is evaluated in a series of patients treated during a recent period lasting one year (1997). The records of 455 patients consecutively operated on were analyzed: 396 patients were affected by benign disorders and 59 by thyroid carcinoma. Total thyroidectomy was performed in 158 cases, near subtotal thyroidectomy in 94, thyroid totalization for recurrent disease in 21 and lobectomy in 182 ones. Post-operative haemorrhage, such to require surgical re-exploration of the thyroid bed, occurred in 2 patients (0.4%), both after total thyroidectomy for hyperfunctioning goiter. Recurrent laryngeal lesion has been observed in 2 patients (0.4% of all patients), both after total thyroidectomy for cervico-mediastinal goiter. Transient hypoparathyroidism occurred in 48 patients (10.5%), while definitive one in 9 (1.9%), of which 5 after total thyroidectomy, 2 after subtotal thyroidectomy and 2 after reoperation. Haemorrhage nearly always occurs in the first postoperative hours and gravity is conditioned by tracheal compression exercised by the haematoma. An aspirative drainage located in thyroid bed and a not hermetic closure of the middle line help a precocious diagnosis and sometimes avoid a surgical re-exploration. Some technical surgical devices permit to reduce the risk of inferior laryngeal nerve palsy. Hypoparathyroidism, often transient, is a complication of bilateral thyroid surgery, but unavoidable when more extensive thyroid surgery is required.

Adolescent↗

[A case of forgotten giant goiter].

The forgotten goiter is most often the consequence of the incomplete removal of a "plunging" goiter, but it can sometimes be attributed to a concomitant, unrecognised mediastinal goiter which is not connected to the thyroid. Differential diagnosis must be made with other mediastinal masses and with plunging relapses of a previously operated struma. Radiological analysis of persisting mediastinal involvement before and immediately after surgery is the only decisive means of diagnosis, but this is not always available in practice. In this paper the authors report a case of considerable size observed in a series of 346 mediastinal goiters operated between 1967 and 1994. They examine the pathogenetic aspects and the nosological, diagnostic and therapeutic problems related to forgotten goiter, and lastly they list the recommendations that several surgeons have made in an attempt to reduce the incidence. In conclusion, the systematic use of CAT or NMR in the diagnosis of mediastinal opacity may help to reduce the risk of forgetting glandular residue in the mediastinum.

Diagnosis, Differential↗