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Biomedical subjects

R D Henderson

Publications and source records attributed to R D Henderson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Nissen hiatal hernia repair: problems of recurrence and continued symptoms.

The standard Nissen operation is the most effective method of reflux control. However, the procedure can result in continuance of symptoms, particularly dysphagia, which presents considerable diagnostic difficulty. Experience gained in the management of 17 patients with continued recurrent symptoms following standard Nissen repair has allowed more specific definition of the nature of these problems. The anatomical defect has been categorized as follows: (1) tight repair (tight fundoplication or tight diaphragmatic repair); (2) anatomical recurrence with and without reflux; and (3) intussusception recurrence. Each patient has been evaluated by history, manometry, pH reflux, acid perfusion, radiology, and endoscopy. At the time of corrective operation, the previous repair was carefully dissected to allow confirmation of the type of defect. Correlation is made between symptoms, investigative findings, and the anatomical problem at operation.

Adult

Gastroesophageal reflux following gastric operation.

The combination of previous gastric operation and gastroesophageal reflux produces major difficulties in obtaining effective symptomatic relief. Seventy patients were studied by history, radiology, endoscopy, and esophageal manometry before surgical reflux control. Twenty-eight had had vagotomy and pyloroplasty; 4, vagotomy and gastroenterostomy; 11, Billroth I gastrectomy; and 27, Billroth II gastrectomy. In all patients reflux control was accomplished by hernia repair, and in 14 patients bile diversion was added for control of bile gastritis. A variety of reflux control operations were used. However, the most effective results were achieved with total fundoplication gastroplasty, and in this group of 22 patients there has been no anatomical recurrence and no reflux. The partial fundoplication gastroplasty (Belsey type) was ineffective in reflux control and should not be used in patients who have had a previous gastric procedure. Reflux control and, when necessary, bile diversion give effective relief to patients with bile gastritis and esophageal reflux following gastric operation.

Evaluation Studies as Topic

The gastroplasty tube as a method of reflux control.

Follow-up of 135 patients who underwent Belsey gastroplasty because of intractable reflux demonstrated that 44% had continued reflux and 25% had symptoms of reflux that were serious, despite a very low rate of anatomic recurrence. Most of the patients with symptomatic reflux had major preexisting esophageal pathologic conditions related to previous surgery, esophageal ulceration, stricture, or scleroderma. In this group Belsey gastroplasty was not an effective method of reflux control. Total fundoplication gastroplasty (TFG) in 100 consecutive patients has so far had the same low rate of anatomic recurrence, most likely related to the gastroplasty tube; however, longer follow-up is necessary to confirm this fact. TFG is effective in controlling reflux; none of the 100 patients so treated had clinical or radiologic evidence of reflux on follow-up examination.

Follow-Up Studies

Aspiration and gastroesophageal reflux.

Gastroesophageal reflux is the commonest esophageal cause of chronic intermittent aspiration. The authors investigated 1000 consecutive patients with reflux with reference to their medical history, and by barium esophagography, esophageal manometry and pH studies. In patients with respiratory complications, chest roentgenography and pulmonary function tests were also performed. Of the total number, 279 patients aspirated either by coughing and choking during swallowing or as a result of night reflux; of these, 159 had associated respiratory symptoms, which included cough, voice change, recurrent respiratory infection, bronchiectasis and asthma. Of the patients with aspiration, 120 had surgical correction of reflux because conservative management failed. This form of reflux control improved the symptoms of cough and voice change and the condition of patients with recurrent infections or bronchiectasis, but alleviated the symptoms in only 8 of 28 asthmatic persons.

Deglutition Disorders

Reflux control following gastroplasty.

A Belsey gastroplasty was performed on 135 patients, 132 of whom were available for follow-up. Despite a low incidence (1.5%) of anatomical recurrence, the operation failed to control reflux effectively, and the incidence of continued reflux is 44.6%. Because of this failure to control reflux, a Nissen fundoplication has been added to the gastroplasty tube. In a group of 78 patients, radiological recurrence has occurred in 1 patient, with no patient experiencing symptoms of reflux. Manometric comparison between the Belsey and Nissen gastroplasty shows more effective tone elevation of the high pressure zone and a more effective decrease in disordered motor activity of the lower esophagus.

Abdomen

Surgical treatment for pulmonary emphysema.

Three in-vivo observations stimulated interest in surgical treatment for emphysema: (a) the destructive changes are rarely generalized, (b) the central portions of the lungs are frequently less seriously affected, and (c) marginal folding produces obstructive change in the more normal lung tissue. If destroyed avascular space-occupying areas can be removed, the compressed lung tissue may be stretched to fill pleural space in a functionally effective fashion. Residual elastic tissue will them maintain patency of terminal bronchioles. Preoperatively the extent of the destructive change can be defined most accurately by pulmonary angiography, and zones of functioning capilary circulation can be identified. Forty-seven patients with multifocal space-occupying emphysematous change have been treated surgically. The postoperative mortality was 21% but worthwhile long-term improvement has been obtained in 45% of patients presenting with disabling dyspnea. In these patients, surgical treatment warrants consideration if significant space occupation accompanies the bullous disease, provided alveolar vascularization can be demonstrated in the compressed adjacent normal lung tissue. Limited resections that preserve all vascularized and potentially functioning lung tissue are preferable. It is essential that obliteration of the hemithorax be obtained promptly in view of the high incidence of postoperative complications requiring secondary operative procedures, if 'leaks' and residual spaces are allowed to persist. Postoperative care in a respiratory intensive care unit is mandatory.

Adult

Cricopharyngeal myotomy as a method of treating cricopharyngeal dysphagia secondary to gastroesophageal reflux.

Food obstruction at the cricopharyngeal level is a common symptom of gastroesophageal reflux. In selected patients, cricopharyngeal myotomy is effective in relief of symptoms. We have used myotomy in patients whose only symptom was dysphagia, in patients too debilitated for major surgery, and in patients with persistent pharyngoesophageal dysphagia following hiatal hernia repair. All were studied by barium esophagogram, endoscopy, and manometry. Radiologic aspiration of barium was apparent in five of 19 patients. High-speed manometric tracings showed intermittent cricopharyngeal incoordination in the six consecutive patients most recently studied. This finding of incoordination has been shown to be present in 38 patients with reflux and in all with major cricopharyngeal symptoms. Myotomy was effective in relieving symptoms in patients in whom this was the only reflux symptom and in the five patients too debilitated for major surgery. Good symptomatic improvement was obtained in nine of the 12 with persistent dysphagia following hernia repair, but in three relief was partial, with persistent symptoms being secondary to distal esophageal obstruction. Investigation is necessary to exclude other causes of dysphagia. However, withcareful selection, myotomy has proved to be an effective method of treatment.

Deglutition Disorders

Emergency open lung biopsy.

Twenty-eight patients underwent open lung biopsy on an emergency basis. The clinical course in each case was deteriorating rapidly, and all were in respiratory failure. The correct diagnosis was established in 96% of the biopsies (27 of the 28 patients). The clinical diagnosis prior to biopsy was in error or incomplete in 15 (55%) of the patients. Specific therapy was lifesaving in 12 of the 28 patients. The value of the procedure outweighed the complications. Thrombocytopenia and positive end-expiratory pressure ventilation were not contraindications to biopsy.

Adult

Reflux control following extended myotomy in primary disordered motor activity (diffuse spasm) of the esophagus.

We have previously reported the results of extended esophageal myotomy and Belsey hiatal hernia repair in 21 patients. Reflux was considered to be a late complication of this operation, and gastroplasty has subsequently been added. Thirty-four patients have now been surgically treated, 17 with myotomy and Belsey repair and 17 with myotomy, gastroplasty, and Belsey repair. Eight of the 17 with Belsey repair developed clinical and roentgenographic signs of reflux 6 to 27 months following operation without evidence of hernia recurrence; 5 of the 8 patients have required further operation, with the addition of gastroplasty for reflux control. Seventeen patients were treated primarily by extended myotomy, gastroplasty, and Belsey repair. None of the patients who underwent gastroplasty have reflux symptoms, and only 1 shows a trace of reflux radiologically.

Adult

Pharyngoesophageal dysphagia and gastroesophageal reflux.

Pharyngoesophageal dysphagia occurred in 51.3 percent of 1,000 consecutive patients with gastroesophageal reflux. Aspiration, secondary to food obstruction, occurred in 30 percent of these patients, and some developed significant secondary respiratory symptoms. The site of obstruction was localized to the cricopharyngeus by timing the interval from swallow to obstruction. Cricopharyngeal incoordination was demonstrated in 20 of 52 patients studied by high speed esophageal manometry. Surgical correction of gastroesophageal reflux in patients with intractable reflux symptoms was shown to be effective in relieving pharyngoesophageal dysphagia in all but a small number of patients with very severe symptoms. In those with persistent dysphagia cricopharyngeal myotomy at a later stage was effective in giving relief.

Deglutition Disorders

Long-term follow-up of peptic strictures managed by dilatation, modified Collis gastroplasty, and Belsey hiatus hernia repair.

Between 1964 and 1974, 277 patients with peptic esophagitis were managed by modified Collis gastroplasty and Belsey hiatus hernia repair. By adding a gastroplasty in patients with esophageal shortening, an antireflux repair can be done below the diaphragm, with elimination of tension on both the repair and the intrathoracic esophagus. Indications for repair in this series were peptic strictures, 102; recurrent hiatus hernia, 90; panmural esophagitis with stricture, 44; and reflux esophagitis associated with primary motor disorders, 41. Results of treatment are being evaluated by clinical history, esophagography, esophagoscopy and manometry; and generally they appear to be excellent. However, follow-up is too short in many of these patients to permit meaningful evaluation. A more critical analysis is provided by long-term follow-up of patients with the most severe pathology. This report reviews results in the 33 patients in the series, with peptic strictures, operated on more than 5 years ago. Five of the 33 patients died of unrelated disease before reaching their fifth year after operation, and two were lost to followup. Twenty-six patients have been followed 5 to 12 years since operation. Twenty-five patients had excellent results which were sustained during the period of follow-up. They take a regular diet without dysphagia, and none has symptomatic reflux. One patient, whose symptoms initially resolved, developed recurrent reflux due to peptic ulceration and pyloric stenosis. The functional results achieved with this operation are good and are maintained well beyond 5 years. Results reported with alternative, conservative operations for peptic stricture are reviewed.

Adult

Preoperative assessment of esophageal pathology.

Panmural esophagitis results in esophageal thickening and shortening and prevents adequate reduction of a hernia. Twenty patients with panmural esophagitis, treated by Belsey repair, have been followed up for more than 5 years; 9 of them remain asymptomatic and 11 have symptomatic reflux, 7 of whom have required further surgery. Belsey also has reported a 45 per cent recurrence rate in patients with this type of disease. Preoperative recognition of panmural esophagitis allows a planned surgical approach and the use of a surgical technique designed for the management of an irreducible hernia. The ability to predict these changes was studied in 124 patients, who were evaluated by history, radiology, endoscopy, and manometry prior to transthoracic hernia repair. The esophagus was inspected at operation to determine the presence of panmural changes. History was of no value in assessment. Radiologically, a large and irreducible hernia was associated with panmural changes, but these changes also occurred in the absence of ulceration. Manometric studies allowed accurate prediction of mural changes. Over 90 per cent of patients with panmural esophagitis have more than 40 per cent disordered motor activity (DMA) in the distal part of the esophagus, and 75 per cent of such patients have more than 60 per cent DMA. Combining these investigative data allowed the accurate prediction of panmural changes in 90 per cent of the 124 patients.

Diagnosis, Differential

Esophageal disease as a cause of severe retrosternal chest pain.

During one six-month period 11 patients were referred with a diagnosis of coronary artery disease, because of recurrent episodes of severe, prolonged retrosternal chest pain necessitating from one to seven hospital admissions per patient for "suspect myocardial infarction". In no instance was this diagnosis proved by electrocardiogram or serum enzyme changes, but 7 of the 11 patients had abnormal resting electrocardiograms. Selective coronary arteriograms were normal in 10 patients and revealed nonobstructive coronary artery disease in the 11th patient. Esophageal studies revealed hiatus hernia in 9 and mild to severe disordered motored activity of the esophagus in all 11. Acid perfusion into the esophagus reproduced the chest pain in nine patients and in the other two, the hiatus hernia was incarcerated. On direct questioning, all patients indicated that the pain was worsened by lying down and bending over, and in eight patients there was a history of pharyngoesophageal or gastroesophageal dysphagia. In this day when the problem of chest pain with normal coronary arteries is very topical, our report emphasizes the need to consider symptomatic esophageal disease in the differential diagnosis of this problem.

Adult

Experience with surgical salvage in pulmonary tuberculosis: application to general thoracic surgery.

The diminishing incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis and the increasing effectiveness of drug therapy have resulted in an almost complete disappearance of surgical problems in the management of patients with this disease. However, the lessons learned from the management of such problems should not be forgotten, for they are equally applicable to the management of disabling and life-endangering problems in general thoracic surgical practice. "Salvage" situations develop when therapeutic requirements for control of disease are combined with factors affecting a patient's health so as to increase the surgical risk beyond the range usually considered acceptable. Attempts to salvage patients are indicated when treatment has failed to arrest disease, when life expectancy is threatened, or when return to normal activity is imperiled. Risk may be increased because of age, inadequate cardiopulmonary reserve, or chronic toxemia; in tuberculosis, risk may be increased because of positive sputum culture or resistance of organisms. Experience with 146 tuberculous patients has provided a basis for evaluation of the indications for resection, prophylactic and therapeutic thoracoplasty, and closure of bronchopleural fistulas in general thoracic surgical salvage. Both infection in residual spaces and bronchopleural fistulas are serious complications that can be controlled by thoracoplasty and pedicled muscle grafts. Prophylactic use of osteoplastic thoracoplasty and intercostal muscle grafts warrant more serious consideration. In established complications a "tailored" thoracoplasty can also be combined with an intercostal muscle graft.

Bronchial Fistula

Esophageal reconstruction: an experimental approach to the control of reflux after esophageal resection.

A study of the properties of replacement gastric tubes and colonic segments, and their use in the prevention of reflux after esophageal resection indicates that, in order to prevent reflux, these tubes must be maintained in a subdiaphragmatic position. Gastric tubes have a higher intrinsic pressure barrier than colonic tubes--a 2.5- to 6-cm segment prevents reflux and the tube maintains a pressure barrier 10 cm H2O higher than stomach presure, whereas colonic segments require 12 cm of subdiaphragmatic length to control reflux and maintain a pressure barrier only 2 cm H2O above gastric pressure. Removal of the intrinsic pressure barrier by myotomy allows free reflux in tubes that previously had prevented reflux.

Abdomen

Surgery in pulmonary aspergillosis.

Pulmonary aspergillosis is a rare disease, most commonly presenting as secondary invasion of pre-existing cavitary disease. In Toronto General Hospital 24 patients have been recognized as having this disorder in the 10 years from 1965 to 1975. The most common presenting symptoms were cough, sputum production, and hemoptysis, with the hemoptysis occasionally being massive. Tuberculosis and bronchiectasis were the commonest pre-existing diseases. Thirteen of these patients were treated by surgical resection because of major complications or progression of the aspergillosis. Five of these patients died following surgery, all of these having had major complications prior to surgical intervention. Of the eight surviving patients seven are progressing well, but one had developed further extension of his disease.

Adult