Who needs prenatal counselling with a pediatric surgeon? Experience from a large tertiary care university hospital

Objectives To describe our experience with prenatal counselling for surgical anomalies in a large volume center. The secondary aim is to suggest a list of prenatal abnormalities warranting counselling by a pediatric surgeon. Methods We reviewed all prenatal counselling consultations performed by the pediatric surgery team between January 1st, 2015 and December 31st, 2016. Results A total of 169 patients or couples had a prenatal consultation with a pediatric surgeon. Prenatal work-up included a fetal MRI in 26% of cases, mainly for digestive and thoracic pathologies (56.1% of cases). Consultation with the pediatric surgeon led mainly to recommendations concerning the place of delivery. Induction for reasons related to the fetal anomaly occurred in 22.2% of cases. Most children were surgically treated within the first year of life (63.5%). Correlation between predicted prognosis and actual status at four years of life was 96.9%. Correlation between prenatal and postnatal diagnosis was 87.4%. Conclusions Prenatal counselling by a pediatric surgeon allows couples to obtain clear information on the pathology of their unborn child, giving them greater autonomy in their decision to continue the pregnancy.

Single-Use vs. Reusable Digital Flexible Ureteroscope to Treat Upper Urinary Calculi: A Propensity-Score Matching Analysis

Objective: The purpose of this research was to compare the treatment outcomes and costs of a single-use and reusable digital flexible ureteroscope for upper urinary calculi.Methods: Four hundred forty patients with reusable digital flexible ureteroscope and 151 patients with single-use flexible digital ureteroscope were included in this study. Through exclusion and inclusion criteria and 1:1 propensity-score matching analysis based on baseline characteristics, ultimately, 238 patients (119:119) were compared in terms of treatment outcomes. The cost analysis was based on the costs of purchase, repair, and reprocessing divided by the number of all procedures in each group (450 procedures with reusable digital flexible ureteroscope and 160 procedures with single-use digital flexible ureteroscope).Results: There was no statistical significance in mean operation time (P = 0.666). The single-use digital flexible ureteroscope group has a shorter mean length of hospital stay than the reusable digital flexible ureteroscope group (P = 0.026). And the two groups have a similar incidence of postoperative complications (P = 0.678). No significant difference was observed in the final stone-free rate (P = 0.599) and the probability of secondary lithotripsy (P = 0.811) between the two groups. After 275 procedures, the total costs of a single-use flexible ureteroscope would exceed the reusable flexible ureteroscope.Conclusion: Our data demonstrated that the single-use digital flexible ureteroscope is an alternative to reusable digital flexible ureteroscopy in terms of surgical efficacy and safety for upper urinary calculi. In terms of the economics of the two types of equipment, institutions should consider their financial situation, the number of FURS procedures, the volume of the patient's calculus, surgeon experience, and local dealerships' annual maintenance contract when making the choice.

Reducing complication rates for repeat craniotomies in glioma patients: a single-surgeon experience and comparison with the literature

Background There is a concern that glioma patients undergoing repeat craniotomies are more prone to complications. The study’s goal was to assess if the complication profiles for initial and repeat craniotomies were similar, to determine predictors of complications, and to compare results with those in the literature. Methods A retrospective study was conducted of glioma patients (WHO grade II–IV) who underwent either an initial or repeat craniotomy performed by the senior author from 2012 until 2019. Complications were recorded by discharge, 30 days, and 90 days postoperatively. New neurologic deficits were recorded by 90 days postoperatively. Multivariate regression was performed to identify factors associated with complications. A meta-analysis was performed to identify rates of complications based on number of prior craniotomies. Results Within the cohort of 714 patients, 400 (56%) had no prior craniotomies, 218 (30.5%) had undergone 1 prior craniotomy, and 96 (13.5%) had undergone ≥ 2 prior craniotomies. There were 27 surgical and 10 medical complications in 30 patients (4.2%) and 19 reoperations for complications in 19 patients (2.7%) with no deaths by 90 days. Complications, reoperation rates, and new neurologic deficits did not differ based on number of prior craniotomies. On multivariate analysis, older age (OR1.5, 95%CI 1.0–2.2) and significant leukocytosis due to steroid use (OR12.6, 95%CI 2.5–62.9) were predictors of complications. Complication rates in the cohort were lower than rates reported in the literature. Conclusion Contrary to prior reports in the literature, repeat craniotomies can be as safe as initial operations if surgeons implement best practices.

Laparoscopic versus open surgery in the treatment of colorectal cancer

Because of the initial case study results suggesting high recurrence rates at port sites, adoption of the laparoscopic approach for colorectal cancer treatment was slow. Surgical resection remains the cornerstone and most important facet in management of colon cancer. The use of minimally invasive approach in colorectal surgery has been reported by several authors in the literature. Some difficult about the use of laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer still raises, particularly with the technique’s complexity, learning curve and longer duration. Scientific literature published from January 2010 to April 2020 was reviewed. Phase III randomized clinical trials were included. Analysis of the scientific literatures confirmed that for the curative treatment of colon and rectal cancer, laparoscopy is not inferior to open surgery with respect to overall survival, disease-free survival and rate of recurrence. Laparoscopic resection can be considered an option for the curative treatment of colon and rectal cancer; but must take into consideration surgeon experience, tumour stage and potential contraindications; and that laparoscopic resection for rectal cancer be performed only by appropriately trained surgeons.

Facial basal cell carcinoma: a clinicopathological analysis of incomplete excision

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common malignancy in humans. Incomplete excision following conventional surgical excision requires careful consideration given the potential for disease recurrence. We performed a retrospective study analyzing facial BCC treated by conventional surgical excision to investigate factors influencing the likelihood of tumour clearance. In total, 456 cases of facial BCC were reviewed to collect a dataset of 50 tumours with involved margins and these compared to 50 completely excised tumours from the same cohort. Statistical comparison between incomplete and complete excision cases was performed using several metrics including tumour location, histology, grade, surgeon experience and method of wound reconstruction. Interestingly, our results demonstrated that only tumour location and histological type had a statistically significant impact on the completeness of resection. Infiltrative, morphoeic and mixed tumours had a higher chance of incomplete excision, as did tumours located on the inner canthus and ala nasi. In addition, the overall incomplete excision rate was 10.96% in line with previous studies. Our results help inform surgical practice and support consideration of extending the recommended macroscopic surgical margin for higher risk tumours. More research is needed to further categorize facial BCC to optimize surgical management.

Efficiency benchmarks in the surgical management of primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment: a monocentric register cohort study of operating room time metrics and influential factors

ObjectivesTo investigate the effect of clinical, methodological and logistic factors on operating room (OR) efficiency in the surgical management of primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD).DesignMonocentric retrospective register cohort study.SettingSingle tertiary centre in the western region of Austria.ParticipantsWe audited patients diagnosed with primary RRD who were treated between January 2014 and August 2019. In total, 783 eyes of 776 consecutive patients were included in this study. Various risk factors affecting OR time efficiency and anatomical success after pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) procedures and scleral buckle (SB) surgery were analysed.Primary and secondary outcome measuresOR efficiency was the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcome measures were the primary success rate after PPV procedures and SB surgery.ResultsPPV was performed in 641 (81.9%) eyes and SB surgery in 142 (18.1%) eyes. Mean surgical times in PPV and SB under retrobulbar anaesthesia (RA) were 74.0 (±32.6) min and 62.1 (±24.6) min (p<0.001), respectively, while under general anaesthesia (GA), these values were 112.0 (±52.0) min and 76.0 (±22.5) min (p<0.001), respectively. A regression analysis revealed the following main risk factors for prolonged OR time for the surgical management of RRD with PPV (all p<0.001): presence of a giant tear (β=24.01; 32%), proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR)-C (β=16.43; 22%), surgery postponed for 72 hours after diagnosis (β=21.40; 29%), GA (β=23.64; 32%) or surgery performed by a trainee (β=17.35; 23%). PVR (p=0.022) in PPV cases, after-hours settings (p=0.006) and surgeon experience (p=0.030) in SB cases were independent risk factors for reduced success rates.ConclusionsOR coordinators should consider various independent clinical (giant tear, PVR-C, advanced detachment), methodological (PPV vs SB) and logistic (GA vs RA, after-hours setting and surgeon experience) factors to improve the success rate and surgical management planning of RRD accurately while optimising OR resources and staff efficiency.

A taxonomy for brainstem cavernous malformations: subtypes of midbrain lesions

OBJECTIVE Anatomical taxonomy is a practical tool that has successfully guided clinical decision-making for patients with brain arteriovenous malformations. Brainstem cavernous malformations (BSCMs) are similarly complex lesions that are difficult to access and highly variable in size, shape, and position. The authors propose a novel taxonomy for midbrain cavernous malformations based on clinical presentation (syndromes) and anatomical location (identified with MRI). METHODS The taxonomy system was developed and applied to an extensive 2-surgeon experience over a 30-year period (1990–2019). Of 551 patients with appropriate data who underwent microsurgical resection of BSCMs, 151 (27.4%) had midbrain lesions. These lesions were further subtyped on the basis of predominant surface presentation identified on preoperative MRI. Five distinct subtypes of midbrain BSCMs were defined: interpeduncular (7 lesions [4.6%]), peduncular (37 [24.5%]), tegmental (73 [48.3%]), quadrigeminal (27 [17.9%]), and periaqueductal (7 [4.6%]). Neurological outcomes were assessed using modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores. A postoperative score ≤ 2 was defined as a favorable outcome; a score > 2 was defined as a poor outcome. Clinical and surgical characteristics and neurological outcomes were compared among subtypes. RESULTS Each midbrain BSCM subtype was associated with a recognizable constellation of neurological symptoms. Patients with interpeduncular lesions commonly presented with ipsilateral oculomotor nerve palsy and contralateral cerebellar ataxia or dyscoordination. Peduncular lesions were associated with contralateral hemiparesis and ipsilateral oculomotor nerve palsy. Patients with tegmental lesions were the most likely to present with contralateral sensory deficits, whereas those with quadrigeminal lesions commonly presented with the features of Parinaud syndrome. Periaqueductal lesions were the most likely to cause obstructive hydrocephalus. A single surgical approach was preferred (> 90% of cases) for each midbrain subtype: interpeduncular (transsylvian-interpeduncular approach [7/7 lesions]), peduncular (transsylvian-transpeduncular [24/37]), tegmental (lateral supracerebellar-infratentorial [73/73]), quadrigeminal (midline or paramedian supracerebellar-infratentorial [27/27]), and periaqueductal (transcallosal-transchoroidal fissure [6/7]). Favorable outcomes (mRS score ≤ 2) were observed in most patients (110/136 [80.9%]) with follow-up data. No significant differences in outcomes were observed between subtypes (p = 0.92). CONCLUSIONS The study confirmed the authors’ hypothesis that taxonomy for midbrain BSCMs can meaningfully guide the selection of surgical approach and resection strategy. The proposed taxonomy can increase diagnostic acumen at the patient bedside, help identify optimal surgical approaches, enhance the consistency of clinical communications and publications, and improve patient outcomes.