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Biomedical subjects

R Espada

Publications and source records attributed to R Espada.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Testicular metastasis as the first manifestation of colon carcinoma.

Metastatic carcinoma to the testes is uncommon, and it is most often found incidentally at autopsy or after orchiectomy for prostatic carcinoma. One of the rarest causes of testicular tumor is metastasis from another primary site. It is even more unusual when the metastasis to the testicle is the first manifestation of the tumor. We report a case of asymptomatic colon carcinoma presenting as metastases to the testis and epididymis, which was diagnosed after biopsy of testicular nodules. Although nonlymphomatous cancer presenting as an intrascrotal mass is extremely rare, seldom detected clinically and almost never the first sign of disease, it should be considered a possibility, even in the young adult who presents with a mass involving the testicle or epididymis.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Operative and long-term results of staged contralateral carotid endarterectomy: a personal series.

The operative risks as well as the proper interval for patients undergoing staged contralateral carotid endarterectomies remain uncertain. The long-term incidence of stroke after bilateral carotid endarterectomy is also poorly documented. In this report the results of staged contralateral carotid endarterectomies performed by one surgeon in a consecutive series of 89 patients are analyzed. No deaths occurred after a first or contralateral carotid endarterectomy. Four (4%) neurologic deficits (three minor and one major) occurred after a first operation, whereas only one (1%) major neurologic deficit occurred after a contralateral carotid endarterectomy. Postendarterectomy hypertension was noted in 33 (37%) patients after a first operation, and in 62 (70%) patients after a contralateral carotid endarterectomy (p less than 0.00001). No correlation existed among the intervals between carotid operations and the incidence or duration of hypertension after a contralateral carotid endarterectomy. From our results we conclude that the staged contralateral carotid endarterectomy can be safely performed with a stroke-mortality rate approaching 1%. Postendarterectomy hypertension, although more frequent after the contralateral operation as compared with the first operation, has no correlation with the interval between procedures. After a staged bilateral carotid endarterectomy, only one (1%) patient experienced transient ischemic attack symptoms, but five (6%) patients suffered late stroke (four fatal).

Adult↗

Perforation of the pulmonary artery with Swan-Ganz catheters: diagnosis and surgical management.

Swan-Ganz catheters have become a very valuable and frequently used method of monitoring hemodynamics in sick patients. Although the incidence of complications is very low, more reports are beginning to appear. One of the more serious complications is the rupture of the pulmonary artery. This report concerns three patients who had a rupture of the pulmonary artery who survived, including one of almost fatal exanguination. A literature review of all cases of pulmonary artery rupture is presented. Fifty-three per cent (8/15) were fatal. Emphasis is placed on the prevention of this by using the guidelines. Discussion also covers possible contributing causes and treatment. A high index of suspicion is necessary whenever a patient with the catheter has hemoptysis or unexplained cardiac or respiratory changes.

Adult↗

Surgical management of traumatic intracardiac injuries.

Today, surgeons are able to manage both blunt and penetrating wounds of the heart with increasing success, including those with associated intracardiac injuries. After diagnosis by cardiac catheterization, substantial intracardiac lesions are repaired using cardiopulmonary bypass. Among more than 300 patients treated for cardiac wounds in our city-county hospital in recent years, 15 were found to have marded intracardiac defects. These defects included ventricular septal defects, aorta--right ventricle fistulas, aortic valve injuries, a mitral valve injury, and a coronary artery--right ventricle fistula. Thirteen of the 15 patients required repair of the intracardiac defects. One was repaired acutely and 12 were repaired electively. All 15 patients were alive and asymptomatic at the time of writing.

Adult↗

Fortuitous rupture of aortic aneurysm: a catastrophic event affording time for surgical cure.

The rupture of an aortic aneurysm is generally a fatal event, but occasionally the rupture will occur into an adjacent vascular structure, thereby preventing exsanguination and affording temporary survival. Three cases are presented illustrating the fortuitous nature of the rupture of an aortic aneurysm into a vascular structure. The first patient had an atherosclerotic abdominal aortic aneurysm that ruptured into the inferior vena cava and was successfully repaired. The second case demonstrates the formation of a fistula from the aorta to the left pulmonary artery in a patient with a syphilitic thoracic aortic aneurysm. In the third patient a dissecting aneurysm of the aortic root that communicated with the right ventricle after coronary bypass surgery was successfully repaired. Rarely, aortic aneurysms will rupture fortuitously into vascular capacitance structures. These three cases emphasize the need for early accurate diagnosis and the institution of appropriate surgical measures.

Aged↗

Transection of the descending thoracic aorta secondary to blunt trauma.

In the last ten years, 22 patients with transection of the descending thoracic aorta were seen at the Ben Taub General Hospital. Five patients with massive left hemothorax died shortly after admission. Among 17 patients in whom proximal and distal control could be achieved, three died in the operating room; three died within 30 days of operation, and one patient died of sepsis more than 1 year postinjury: ten patients are longterm survivors. Partial pump bypass was utilized in six patients, and in one a heparinized shunt was used intraoperatively. Dacron tube grafts were used in 12 cases, and primary repair was accomplished in three. One patient was paraplegic on admission, and two others in whom this was not established before operation were found to have this complication postoperatively. One patient with an infected false aneurysm 1 year after operation underwent resection of the distal aortic arch and Dacron graft with extensive extravascular bypass procedures. Patients with transection of the descending thoracic aorta die if proximal control is not achieved before rupture of the hematoma. Successful repair of this injury requires aggressive diagnostic and surgical management.

Aorta, Thoracic↗

Management of acute combined injuries to the aorta and inferior vena cava.

Major abdominal vascular injuries present problems in diagnosis, exposure, and management. Combined injuries to the abdominal aorta and vena cava are particularly lethal due to extensive blood loss, difficulty in sequential exposure, and the high incidence of associated injuries. Between 1953 and December 1974, ninety-one patients required emergency operations for abdominal aortic trauma at our city-county charity hospital. Twenty-nine of these had combined injuries to the abdominal aorta and vena cava, ten of whom had either an audible bruit preoperatively or a palpable thrill at exploration suggesting acute fistulas. Twenty-three injuries were secondary to gunshot wounds. Ten were located in the suprarenal aorta and vena cava. Management involved a variety of technics including intravascular shunts, adaptive exposures, Dacron prostheses, and autotransfusion. Survival rate was 27 per cent. Sixty-two per cent of the deaths were a function of extreme difficulty in controlling hemorrhage and exposure. There were no late recurrences of arteriovenous fistulas. Successful management of acute traumatic injury to both the abdominal aorta and vena cava requires rapid, aggressive surgical management, adaptive sequential control maneuvers, and application of technics and principles developed for elective vascular surgery.

Adult↗

Traumatic injury to the portal vein.

Traumatic injuries to the upper abdominal vasculature pose difficult management problems related to both exposure and associated injuries. Among those injuries that are more difficult to manage are those involving the portal vein. While occurring rarely, portal vein injuries require specific therapeutic considerations. Between January, 1968, and July, 1974, over 2000 patients were treated operatively for abdominal trauma at the Ben Taub General Hospital. Among these patients, 22 had injury to the portal vein. Seventeen portal vein injuries were secondary to gunshot wounds, 3 to stab wounds, and 2 to blunt trauma. Associated injuries to the inferior vena cava, pancreas, liver and bile ducts were common. Three patients had associated abdominal aortic injuries, two with acute aorto-caval fistulae. Nine patients died from from failure to control hemorrhage. Eleven were long-term survivors, including two who required pancreataico-duodenectomy as well as portal venorrhaphy. Late complications were rare. The operative approach to patients with traumatic injuries to multiple organs in the upper abdomen, including the portal vein, requires aggressive management and predetermined sequential methods of repair. In spite of innumerable associated injuries, portal vein injuries can be successfully managed in a significant number of patients using generally available surgical techniques and several adjunctive maneuvers.

Abdominal Injuries↗

Surgical management of penetrating injuries to the coronary arteries.

Among 76 patients with heart wounds treated over a 4 year period, nine had penetrating injuries to the coronary arteries with clinical presentations of pericardial tamponade, electrocardiographic abnormalities of bundle branch block or ST and T wave changes, and hemothorax. The right coronary artery was injured in two patients, the left anterior descending coronary artery in six patients, and the left circumflex coronary artery in one patient. All but one of these injured coronary arteries were treated by ligation. One patient with a proximal left anterior descending coronary artery transection presented with cardiac arrest and was managed successfully by emergency cardiopulmonary support and saphenous vein bypass with ligation of the transected ends of the artery. The only death occurred six days postoperatively in a patient with a right coronary artery laceration and was not related to the heart injury. No late symptomatic or hemodynamic sequelae have been noted among any of these patients. Principles of elective cardiac surgery are readily adaptable to the patient with a coronary artery injury.

Adult↗

Traumatic coronary artery-right heart fistula. Report of a case and review of the literature.

Although the left coronary artery is the most frequently injured vessel of the heart, traumatic fistulas appear more often in the right coronary vessels, as the initial injury to the left coronary artery usually results in early death prior to hospitalization. Indications for surgical repair include cardiac decompensation and signs of shunt progression. In asymptomatic patients with no changes in cardiac function, consideration for repair includes the following: (1) enlargement of the fistula, causing a large runofff into the low-pressure chamber, and reduction of blood supply to the local myocardium distal to the fistula; (2) progressive dilatation of a pseudoaneurysm when it exists; and (3) the presence of bacterial endarteritis. Surgery usually has been indicated in reported cases of coronary artery fistula. Conservative management is applicable when the shunt is small and cardiac function is normal, as evidenced by the present case report and the first case cited in the literature. Oversewing of the area of the fistula and bypass grafting from the ascending aorta to the distal coronary tree might provide an additional mode of management in selected cases.

Adult↗