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Tullio Piardi

Publications and source records attributed to Tullio Piardi.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Surgical treatment for gastric carcinoma in the elderly.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The incidence of gastric cancer is increasing in the elderly. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of advanced age (> or =80 years) on morbidity, mortality and late outcome after curative surgery for gastric cancer. METHODS: The cases of 30 octogenarians (Group A) with gastric cancer who underwent surgical treatment in our Institution from 1990 to 2003 were reviewed and compared to a simultaneous group of 228 younger patients (Group B). RESULTS: The rate of resective and curative procedures was not different in the two groups, although the American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) risk was significantly higher in the elderly (P < 0.001) and the lymphatic dissection was less extended in group A. In the two groups, the curability was directly correlated to the cancer stage, but not affected by the ASA risk. The postoperative morbidity and mortality rates were similar in the two groups and were not related to the ASA risk. Considering the mortality for gastric cancer alone, the two groups showed a similar survival rate, only correlated to the cancer stage. CONCLUSIONS: In the elderly, an oncologically correct surgical procedure can safely be prosecuted with satisfactory immediate and late results.

Adult↗

[Splenic traumas: indications and limitations of conservative treatment].

According to the experience of the authors, comparison between two consecutive periods (1980-1994 and 1995-2000) has shown a substantial increase in splenic traumas simply treated by observation and monitoring. Their number in fact has risen significantly from 5 to 32. This has allowed a rise in the overall percentage of spleen conservation, which has increased from 16.4% to 52.9%. On the contrary, a reduction in surgical conservative operations has been observed, the number decreasing from 19 to 4. Such treatments require the same clinical conditions as non- operative treatments, but the latter have to be accompanied by efficient organization of intensive care and monitoring, in which surgeons and anesthesists, who are familiar with all the aspects of the problem, collaborate efficiently. Since this kind of organization has been achieved, the number of patients successfully treated without surgery has increased significantly. In a sample of 37 patients receiving non-surgical conservative treatment, the percentage of delayed splenectomies was as low as 5.4%.

Age Factors↗

[Deferred elective colonic resection in complicated acute diverticulitis].

Twenty-three patients with acute diverticulitis complicated by pericolic or paracolic abscesses (Hinchey stage I-II) after a first phase of medical treatment were treated with deferred elective resection of the descending colon and sigmoid plus colorectal anastomosis performed on average 30 days after the onset of the acute episode. The pathologist's investigation of the surgical specimens demonstrated persistence of severe inflammatory lesions despite the apparently satisfactory clinical outcome. These data explain the frequent recurrences and indicate surgical treatment as being the only therapy capable of definitively resolving the condition. As compared with the emergency surgery performed by others, deferred elective resection makes it possible to operate on patients who, once the acute phase has been overcome, can have their hydroelectrolytic balance perfectly restored and be adequately monitored with treatment of associated diseases and perfect colon preparation. This strategy has allowed us to eliminate operative mortality and reduce the postoperative morbidity, both of which are significantly present in emergency surgical operations. Also the overall hospital stay in the two admissions, the interval between which can be reduced in ideal cases, does not significantly differ from that reported for emergency operations.

Acute Disease↗

[Laparoscopic adrenalectomy: an initial experience].

Our aim was to evaluate the short-term results of a series of 65 consecutive laparoscopic adrenalectomies performed on 63 patients with benign or metastatic tumours measuring < or = 7 cm. The surgical indication was primary hyperaldosteronism in 32 cases, pheochromocytoma in 7, Cushing syndrome and disease in 5 and 2 cases, respectively, incidentaloma in 11 and metastasis in 8 cases. The mean tumour size was 3.9 cm (range 0.6-7). Operative time averaged 130 min (range 45-270). In one case we produced an iatrogenic lesion by sectioning a peripheral recurrent branch of the left renal artery with consequent partial renal infarction. The conversion rate to the open approach was 6.1%; the morbidity rate was 4.6%. The mean hospital stay was 4 days (range 3-11). All patients were re-examined 30 days after surgery and no additional complications were observed. At this time 93.2% of patients with primary secreting tumours showed normal hormonal assays. Considering the 38 patients chronically treated during the preoperative period, we noted that the intake of specific drugs was suspended in 34.2%, reduced in 36.8%, maintained in 26.4% and transitorily augmented in 2.6%. On these basis we confirm the efficacy and safety of this surgical treatment.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗