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To describe severe complications during pregnancy requiring surgery in patients with a history of obesity surgery.A retrospective study in a hospital with tertiary care perinatology and an obesity reference center, on all pregnancies following bariatric surgery over a 10-year period, analyzing all cases of surgical complications.There were 8 major complications related to the procedure in 141 pregnancies with bariatric surgery. The 2 complications in women with gastric banding were band slippage resulting in severe dysphagia, one of which leading to intractable vomiting and serious hydrolectric disorders. Among the 6 complications after bypass surgery, 4 were occlusions: 3 on internal hernias of which 2 with volvulus and 1 associated with intestinal invagination, as well as one with intestinal invagination only. One patient had a laparotomy for a suspected invagination which was not confirmed. The other surgical complications after gastric bypass were a hernia and an exploratory laparotomy for suspected intussusception which was overturned. There was no case of maternal or perinatal death.Pregnancies in patients with a history of bariatric surgery are at high risk, in particular for complications related to the surgery and thus require careful interdisciplinary surveillance, and determination of predictive factors.

Desmoplastic small round cell tumour (DSRCT) is a very rare, highly aggressive neoplasm. Most cases have been reported in adolescent and young male patients. These tumours occur mainly in the peritoneal cavity, with peritoneal and lymphatic dissemination. Their histologic features are unspecific and immunohistochemistry and cytogenetic or biomolecular techniques are required for their diagnosis. Involvement of the pancreas is exceptional and is difficult to differentiate from other pancreatic primary tumours. We report here the case of a 49-year-old woman who had a DSRCT of the pancreas with metastasis to the breast. She died within one year after the diagnosis despite an aggressive surgical strategy.

Most pseudoaneurysms (PsA) of the peripancreatic arteries cause direct erosion of the arterial wall from pancreatic enzymes that are usually in contact with or in a pseudocyst (PC). Rupturing is a rare and serious complication (90% mortality if untreated). We report the case of a 56-year-old patient with chronic alcoholic pancreatitis who developed a cephaloisthmic PC, complicated with a PsA of the gastroduodenal artery revealed by pain and deglobulization associated with cholestasis. After a diagnostic scan, emergency selective arteriography with coil embolization was performed. Five days later, hemorrhage recurred and a cephalic duodenopancreatectomy was performed. PsA of the gastroduodenal artery occur in the first 10 years of chronic pancreatitis. They are revealed by abdominal pains and/or gastrointestinal hemorrhage or shock from rupture. A scan with arterial reconstruction provides diagnosis. Arteriography is the most sensitive technique to locate the aneurysm and its branches and to perform selective embolization with coils. The failure rate is between 0 and 23%. Surgical treatment (elective ligation of the artery or partial pancreatic excision) should be limited to when embolisation fails and/or recurrent hemorrhage.

This Mini-review summarizes the epidemiology, predisposing and pre-cancerous conditions related to carcinoma of the gallbladder. In 75% of cases, gallbladder cancer is a cholangiocarcinoma, usually presenting in a late and advanced stage, and it carries one of the worst prognoses of all GI malignancies. Early stage disease is usually discovered incidentally by the pathologist in a gallbladder specimen removed for calculous cholecystitis. It occurs three times more frequently in women than in men and invasive forms usually occur after the age of 60. Incidence varies with geographic location. Besides genetic and geographic factors, the presence of one or more large gallstones is a major risk factor. Gallbladder polyps larger than 1.5 cm. (especially solitary sessile hypoechogenic polyps) are associated with a 50% risk of malignancy. Choledochal cysts and other variations of the biliopancreatic junction are also associated with high risk; cancer may occur at a much younger age in these patients and in the absence of gallstones. Porcelain gallbladder is a risk factor, particularly when there is calcification of the gallbladder mucosa. Chronic gallbladder infection has been implicated as a risk factor for malignant degeneration. Finally, cancer of both the gallbladder and the bile ducts is more frequent in patients suffering from primary biliary cirrhosis.

The frequency of bariatric surgery has increased markedly in France in recent years, partly due to a better appreciation of the problem of morbid obesity but also due to the commercial introduction of adjustable gastric banding devices which can be placed by laparoscopic approach. Numerous complications of this surgery are known and require recognition to be appropriately treated. Studies of complications suffer from selection bias, methodologic flaws, and lack of follow-up. The incidence and type of complication are affected by the learning curve and surgical techniques. Postoperative mortality varies from 0.14% for laparoscopic gastric banding (LGB), to 0.31% for vertical banded gastroplasty (VBGP) and 0.35% for Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (GBP); pulmonary embolus accounts for 60-70% of deaths in all groups combined. Early post-operative complications vary with specific procedures. Abdominal wall complications, already frequent in an obese population, are decreased from 10% for open procedures to 6% for laparoscopic gastric banding. Both VBGP and GBP are now being done laparoscopically with increasing frequency. Complications specific to LGB include gastric perforation (0.3%), or port problems (5%). Complications with VBGP and GBP include fistula (1-3%), deep abscess, and pulmonary embolus (2%). Global early morbidity is 4.2% for LGB, and varies from 6.4%-22% for VBGP and 6.2%-11.3% for GBP depending on laparoscopic versus open approach. Late mechanical complications are also specific to type of surgery. Pouch dilatation is the most common late complication of LGB (6.3%) and seems related both to operative experience and to site of placement of the band; it has decreased with higher positioning of the band to leave a minimal gastric pouch and with dissection through the pars flaccida of the lesser omentum instead of directly along the muscular wall of the stomach. It usually requires reintervention. Erosion of the gastric band into the stomach (1.6%) is often asymptomatic and is suggested by late weight gain. With VBGP, disruption of a gastric staple line occurs in 12.1% and stenosis of the outlet with proximal dilatation in 6.5%; erosion of the calibrating band of Marlex or silastic occurs in 2.7%. With GBP, the disruption of a staple line across an intact stomach (23%) has become less of a problem with division of the gastric pouch from the distal stomach (2%). Stenosis of the gastrojejunostomy (3.7%) and marginal ulcer (3.5%) are not uncommon. The incidence of wound hernia, obstructive adhesions, and late cholecystectomy vary with the length and thoroughness of follow-up. Late functional complications such as vomiting, dysphagia, heartburn and esophagitis vary with the quality and length of follow-up study. GBP may cause diarrhea and dumping syndrome. Nutritional complications are more common with GPB than with purely restrictive procedures; iron, folate, and Vitamin B12 deficiency are the rule with GBP and require routine replacement therapy; iron deficiency has been noted even with LGB. ate death seems more related to co-morbidities than to the intervention itself. Thorough long-term follow-up study of complications is indispensable for assessment of outcomes and improvement of laparoscopic techniques. Even the less traumatic surgical approach of laparoscopic band placement should not be considered free of risk; strict adherence to pre-operative surgical indications should be maintained.

Obesity is defined as morbid when the Body Mass Index (BMI) exceeds 40 kg/m(2). The initial approach should be a multidisciplinary medical assessment. The three principal surgical interventions practiced in France are: placement of an adjustable gastroplasty ring, vertical banded gastroplasty, and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (short circuit). The indications for surgical therapy are those defined by recent consensus conferences: Morbid Obesity (BMI 40), Major Obesity (BMI 35) with associated factors of co-morbidity, or stable or worsening obesity of five years duration resistant to multidisciplinary medical management for a least a year. Studies of these three surgical techniques with at least one year of follow-up shows significant average weight loss on the order of 20-50 kg. Studies of adjustable ring gastroplasty show an average loss of 45% of excess weight at one year; maintenance of weight loss beyond one year is not yet well documented. Long term results of vertical banded gastroplasty and gastric bypass are better defined. Initial weight loss for vertical banded gastroplasty is about 61%; some patients maintain this weight loss and others tend to regain some of their excess weight. For gastric bypass, the initial weight loss is about 68% of excess weight and there is a greater tendency to maintain this weight loss. Comparative studies, mostly from North America and of variable methodologic quality, conclude that weight loss with gastric bypass is superior to that with vertical banded gastroplasty. The indications for the respective techniques vary according to the severity of the obesity (BMI), and to the patient's eating habits. Gastric bypass which has the best short and long term results may be best reserved for patients with the most severe obesity or co-morbid conditions.

Radiotherapy and chemotherapy have been used for more than twenty years as adjuvant treatment of operable cancer of the esophagus. The palliative effect of adjuvant (or neoadjuvant) radio- and/or chemotherapy has been demonstrated in numerous randomized trials. The purpose of this review is to present the principal randomized trials conducted in the treatment of operable cancer of the esophagus. Alone, radiotherapy does not significantly improve survival in patients with operable cancer of the esophagus, irrespective of the pre- or postoperative timing (three trials and one meta-analysis for preoperative, three trials for postoperative, and one trial for pre- and postoperative radiotherapy). Likewise, alone chemotherapy does not significantly improve survival whether given preoperatively (four trials), postoperatively (two trials) or pre- and postoperatively (one trial). Radiochemotherapy combinations appear to provide more hope, but preliminary results are insufficient to draw a clear conclusion. Nevertheless, trial comparing radiotherapy results with chemotherapy, conducted pre- or postoperatively (four trials) appear to demonstrate a significant effect of chemotherapy. The two trials using neoadjuvant therapy have been conducted on patients with adenocarcinomas of the cardia and/or the lower esophagus and have demonstrated very encouraging results for a small number of patients. Finally, the Herslovic trial, while conducted in patients who were initially inoperable, is the only one which has demonstrated superiority of radiochemotherapy over radiotherapy alone. In conclusion, there is still much room for improvement in survival using combined radio- and chemotherapy with different forms (new agents, new associations) and treatment modes (pre- and postoperative or postoperative alone). Despite the wide use of radiotherapy and chemotherapy for cancer of the esophagus, it must be recalled that surgical resection remains the method providing the best chances of survival.

Ectopic subdiaphragmatic development of a bronchogenic cyst is rare. We report the case of a 28-year-old woman with a symptomatic bronchogenic cyst of the right hemidiaphragm simulating a hydatic cyst of the liver on ultrasonography and CT scan. Diagnosis of a diaphragmatic lesion was made during laparotomy, and complete resection was successful. Final diagnosis was done on pathology.

The aim of this study was to determine long term prognostic factors of gastric cancer in a population-based series.Out of 1 462 gastric cancers diagnosed in the Côte-d'Or area (494 000 residents) over a 20-year period (1976-1995), 649 (44.4 %) were resected for cure. Prognostic factors were determined using the actuarial method and relative survival and a multidimensional relative survival model.The 10-year crude survival rate was 8.7 % and the corresponding relative survival rate was 14.9 %. Age, stage and period of diagnosis were independent prognostic factors. After surgery for cure, operative mortality decreased from 18.3 % (1976-1979) to 6.6 % (1988-1991) and 10-year relative survival increased from 30.8 % to 37.2 % (NS). After resection for cure (postoperative mortality excluded), the 10-year survival rate remained stable over time. Stage at diagnosis was the main prognostic factor: the relative risk of death was more than 10 times higher at stages IIIB and IV than at stage I. Age, site and macroscopic type of growth were prognostic factors independently of stage. Prognosis did not improve over time after resection for cure.Although improving, the overall prognosis of gastric cancer remains poor. Improvement in prognosis was mainly due to decrease in operative mortality. Earlier diagnosis and effective adjuvant treatment represent two ways to improve prognosis.

Laparoscopic colectomies have been recently shown to be feasible and safe, with the use of stapling devices to fashion the anastomosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of laparoscopic intra-abdominal hand-sewn anastomosis.Seven patients (four males and three females, mean age 48 years) were included. There were two ileocolic resections for recurrence of Crohn's disease, two right colectomies (one for Crohn's disease and one for carcinoid tumor of the appendix), two left colectomies for diverticulitis and one segmental colectomy for sigmoid volvulus. There were: four side-to-side anastomoses, two side-to-end anastomoses and one end-to-end anastomosis. Anastomoses were fashioned with interrupted single layer sutures in four cases (two ileo-colic and two colorectal anastomoses) and with single layer running sutures in three cases (two ileo-colic and one colo-colic anastomoses). The specimens were retrieved by means of a plastic bag through a 3 to 5 cm long minilaparotomy in five cases and through the rectum in two cases.Mean additional time to perform hand-sewn intra-corporeal anastomosis was 90 +/- 15 min. There was no operative mortality and no intraoperative complications. Postoperative course was uneventful in six patients. Patients were started on an oral fluid diet on day 2 and discharged on day 5, except for one patient with Crohn's disease who had a severe anastomotic bleeding on postoperative day 2 and who required laparotomy for hemostasis through a service colotomy with a single suture. He was discharged on day 8.Intra-abdominal hand-sewn anastomoses are feasible and seem reliable. This represents a new step making laparoscopic procedures even closer to conventional techniques. This technique must be evaluated in larger series.

The North American consensus conference held in 1990 concluded that the best currently available adjuvant treatment for cancer of the rectum (T3, N1 to N3) was postoperative combination radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In 1994, the consensus conference held in Paris concluded that the benefit observed after preoperative irradiation warranted assessment of the effect of preoperative radiochemotherapy. To decide between these two consensus conclusions, it would be most logical to compare preoperative radiotherapy with postoperative radiochemotherapy in a group of patients with similar echo-endoscopic or imaging findings.

Gastric cancer (GC) still remains a major cancer problem in the world. Its prognosis is poor with an overall 5-year survival rate less than 20%. Surgical resection is still the only curative treatment of GC. Curative resection depends on tumoral location and extension, particularly lymph node involvement. Proximal GC (fundus, body) are treated by total gastrectomy (TG). For distal GC (antrum, pylorus), the TG is no more the recommended treatment and distal sub-total gastrectomy can safely be performed when carcinologic rules are respected: 5-6 cm free margin for the remnant stomach and at least 2 cm resection of the proximal duodenum. Cardia cancers, upon to their tumoral extension toward the esophagus, can require either TG or proximal esophagogastrectomy by combined thoracic and abdominal approach. As demonstrated in the last controlled studies, D2 extensive lymphadenectomy, in spite of its contribution to a better prognostic staging, does not improve long term survival after curative surgery. TG extended to the spleen or to the pancreas should not be performed in curative surgery because of a high rate of postoperative complications. Limited gastric resections for superficial GC have to be evaluated in Western countries. Palliative exploratory laparotomies should be avoided by better preoperative explorations. Laparoscopic staging in GC could be indicated when palliative resection or bypass are possible. The results of adjuvant chemotherapy is still disappointing and new protocols have to be evaluated. Intraperitoneal chemotherapy with or without hyperthermia represents a serious hope in the treatment of GC, but its significative action on the survival is not well demonstrated, while its morbidity and mortality rate is high.

Lymph node involvement is the major prognostic factor in gastric carcinoma. The benefit of extended regional lymph node dissection D2 is still controversial. For Japanese, these dissection can improve significantly long-term survival, while in western countries discussion is still open. Rationale for extensive lymphadenectomy in Japan is based on the results of many studies about lymph node (number involved, number resected per station, ratio, location, grouping, radical clearance ...). However, these studies are not controlled studies. Four prospective randomized controlled studies comparing D2 to D1 in the curative treatment of gastric cancer were performed during the 10 last years. Currently, all have failed to demonstrate any improvement on survival after D2. But in the two last studies, final survival results are pending for two years. On the other hand, mortality and morbidity of D2 are significantly higher, particularly because of anastomotic leakage, and distal pancreatectomy and/or splenectomy. Benefit of D2 dissection in general practice of curative gastric cancer surgery is not proved. A middle position, as a D "1.5" dissection, avoiding distal pancreatectomy, might be suggested. Final survival results could counterbalance the negative effects of D2 on morbidity and mortality, and would question present data.

The incidence of gastric carcinoma is variable through the world. This incidence has significantly decreased during recent decades, in France and in industrialized countries. The decline of gastric carcinoma is attributable to changes in the living habits and mostly to preservation of foodstuffs by refrigeration; it is explained by the decrease in number of intestinal or differentiated histologic type carcinomas according to the Lauren's classification; on the contrary, diffuse or poorly differentiated histologic type carcinomas became more common in France and in low-risk areas, but is it a relative or an absolute increase? There has been also an unexplained change in location of the tumor with a decreasing incidence in the cancers occurring in the prepyloric area and an increasing incidence in those occurring in the gastric cardia area. Early gastric carcinoma should be really a precursor of the invasive gastric carcinomas. Diagnosis of gastric carcinoma is now based on gastroscopy and biopsy of the lesion. Tumoral extension through the gastric wall and nodal involvement can be appreciated by endoscopic sonography. The procedure (subtotal versus total gastrectomy) depends on the site and extent of the lesion. Elective total gastrectomy is not advocated in patients with carcinoma of the antrum. The value of extended lymph node dissection commonly performed in Japan, is still controversial in Western countries. In patients with carcinoma of the gastric cardia, there is controversy concerning the approach and type of resection, in relation with the frequent esophageal and mediastinal extension of the tumor. In a global series including 408 operated patients, the 5-year survival rate was 51% after resection with curative intent and the overall 5-year survival was 28%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The aim of this study was to analyze the evolution of surgical indications in alcoholic chronic pancreatitis (ACP) and to compare long term results after medical (n = 72) and surgical (n = 150) treatment with or without pancreatic resection. Since 1968, a retrospective study was carried out on 222 consecutive male patient. 68% of them, were operated on for unrelieved pain or complications at a mean of 5 years after the onset of the symptom. The mean follow-up was 10 years. The study of evolution of the indications and results of surgical treatment was made on two consecutive ten-year periods and showed that 68% of pancreaticoduodenectomies and 55% of distal pancreatectomies (DP) were performed during the first period. Indications for primary pancreaticoduodenectomy did not decrease since 1980, while those of distal pancreatectomy (DP) changed (no DP for acute pancreatic effusion with fistula before 1980, no DP for unrelieved pain after 1980). Ten patients underwent operative drainage of pseudocysts before 1980 versus 21 after 1980 (13% vs 29%) with no operative death. Twenty patients underwent biliary and/or intestinal and/or ductal drainage during the first period versus 22 during the second (25% vs 30%). The overall 12-year actuarial survival between operated and non operated patients was no significantly different (respectively 72% +/- 10% and 64% +/- 12%). The actuarial 10-year survival rate was significantly better after DP (73% versus 53% after drainage and 28% after pancreaticoduodenectomy). No patients underwent specific pancreatic reoperation after pancreaticoduodenectomy versus 25% after DP.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the independent influence of clinical and pathological variables on survival of patients with gastric carcinoma using the Cox regression proportional hazard model. Of 156 patients operated on for gastric adenocarcinoma, 46 (29.5%) underwent palliative operation, 24 (15.5%) had a palliative resection, and 86 (55%) had a curative resection. The overall 5-year survival rate was 25 +/- 4%. After curative resection, the 5-year survival rate was 44 +/- 6%. Univariate analysis applied to these patients showed that poor survival was related (p less than 0.01) to: age (over 80 years), absence of epigastric pain, vomiting and dysphagia, total gastrectomy, tumor size (more than 4 cm), lymph node involvement (LNI), invasion through the muscularis propria, absence of intestinal metaplasia near the tumor, and linitis plastica. In multivariate analysis, lymph node involvement was found to be the only independent prognostic factor. The 5-year survival rate was 75.5 +/- 8% without LNI, 28 +/- 10% with proximal LNI and 7 +/- 6% with distal LNI. Our results suggest that classification into 3 LNI groups is the best staging system for curative resection in gastric carcinoma.

It may be better to use the term of "superficial carcinoma" than "early gastric carcinoma". Out of 194 patients operated on for gastric carcinoma, 37 had a superficial carcinoma (19%). Seventeen had previously been treated for duodenal (n = 10) or gastric (n = 7) ulcer. Out of 23 barium meal examinations, 3 were normal. The macroscopic appearance at endoscopic examination was normal in 4 patients. In these cases the carcinoma was identified in biopsies. At laparotomy the gastric wall was normal in 16 patients. Gastric resection was subtotal (n = 28), total (n = 6), or partial (n = 1). The tumor was multifocal in 8 cases, and associated with intestinal metaplasia in 24 cases. The five-year actuarial survival rate was 77%. It is important to do not miss superficial carcinoma even in patient treated for peptic ulcer, and to perform biopsies even if endoscopic examination is normal. A subtotal gastrectomy may be performed with excellent results.

The surgical treatment of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in adults as in children, usually comprises section and suture, but a certain number of technical precautions must be taken. The aortic wall is often fragile due to atheromatous lesions which are more common with increasing age. Associated hypertension may add to the fragility. Controlled medicated hypotension and reinforcement of sutures with a piece of pericardium may be useful in reducing the risk of haemorrhage. It is sometimes necessary to use partial femoro-femoral cardiopulmonary bypass circuit. The presence of an aneurysm at the aortic end of a calcified ductus necessitates the same precautions. When PDA is complicated by pulmonary hypertension, the surgical indication can only be considered when the left-to-right shunt remains voluminous and when pulmonary artery pressures fall significantly during catheter or peroperative trials of closure. The operative risk in these cases increases with age. Cardiopulmonary bypass may also be very useful in these cases. Secondary repermeabilisation of an operated ductus, and cases complicated by endocarditis require an endopulmonary approach under cardiopulmonary bypass because of the fragility of the ductus region and difficulty in controlling haemorrhage. This technique is also preferred when an associated intracardiac malformation is to be corrected. Between 1965 and 1981, 37 patients were operated in the department of thoracic and cardiac surgery at the Pitié Hospital. The ages ranged from 20 to 65 years with a mean of 34 years. Cardiopulmonary bypass was necessary in 5 cases, (partial in 4, and total in 1 case of endoaortic closure).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)