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Background: Surgical treatment of Graves' disease (GD) has a potentially increased incidence of postoperative hypoparathyroidism, recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy (RLNP) and bleeding. The aim of this study was to evaluate the current extent of surgery for the treatment of GD and its safety as a short-term outcome. Methods: Patients who underwent thyroid resection for GD were identified from the prospective StuDoQ/Thyroid registry. Patient data were retrospectively analyzed regarding demographics, surgical procedures and perioperative outcomes. Statistics were performed with Student's t-test or Fisher's exact test and multivariate Cox regression analysis. The level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: A total of 1808 patients with GD with a median age of 44 (range 14–85) years were enrolled in a 25-month period by 78 departments, of which 35.7% (n = 645) had an endocrine orbitopathy and 0.1% (n = 6) had thyrotoxic crisis. Conventional open surgery was used in 98.6% of cases and minimally invasive or remote-access approaches were used in 1.4%. Total thyroidectomy was performed in 93.4% of cases (n = 1688). Intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) was used in 98.9% (n = 1789) of procedures. In 98.3% (n = 1777) at least one parathyroid gland was visualized and in 20.7% (n = 375) parathyroids were autografted. The rates of unilateral and bilateral transient RLNP were 3.9% (n = 134/3429 nerves at risk) and 0.1% (n = 4/3429 NAR). The rates of transient RLNP tended to be higher when intermittent IONM was used compared to continuous IONM (4.1% vs. 3.4%, p < 0.059). The rate of transient postoperative hypoparathyroidism was overall 29% (n = 525/1808). Multivariate analysis revealed fewer than 300 thyroid resections and fewer than 15 thyroid resections for GD per year, male sex, BMI > 30, autotransplantation of parathyroid glands and previous bilateral thyroid surgery as independent risk factors for postoperative temporary hypoparathyroidism. Reoperations for bleeding (1.3%) were rare. Conclusion: Total thyroidectomy with IONM is safe and currently the most common surgical therapy for GD in Germany. Postoperative hypoparathyroidism is the major complication which should be focused on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are few, but controversial data on the prognostic role of upfront primary tumour resection and mesenteric lymph node dissection (PTR) in patients with diffuse metastatic small intestinal neuroendocrine neoplasia (SI-NEN). Therefore, the prognostic role of PTR and other factors was determined in this setting. This retrospective cohort study included patients with stage IV SI-NETs with unresectable distant metastases without clinical and radiological signs of acute bowel obstruction or ischaemia. Patients diagnosed from January 2002 to May 2020 were retrieved from a prospective SI-NEN database. Disease specific overall survival (OS) was analysed with regard to upfront PTR and a variety of other clinical (e.g., gender, age, Hedinger disease, carcinoid syndrome, diarrhoea, laboratory parameters, metastatic liver burden, extrahepatic and extra-abdominal metastasis) and pathological (e.g., grading, mesenteric gathering) parameters by uni- and multivariate analysis. A total of 138 patients (60 females, 43.5%) with a median age of 60 years, of whom 101 (73%) underwent PTR and 37 (27%) did not, were included in the analysis. Median OS was 106 (95% CI: 72.52-139.48) months in the PTR group and 52 (95% CI: 30.55-73.46) in the non-PTR group (p = 0.024), but the non-PTR group had more advanced metastatic disease (metastatic liver burden ≥50% 32.4% vs. 13.9%). There was no significant difference between groups regarding the rate of surgery for bowel complications during a median follow-up of 51 months (PTR group 10.9% and non-PTR group 16.2%, p = 0.403). Multivariate analysis revealed age < 60 years, normal C-reactive protein (CRP) at baseline, absence of diarrhoea, less than 50% of metastatic liver burden, and treatment with PRRT as independent positive prognostic factors, whereas PTR showed a strong tendency towards better OS, but level of significance was missed (p = 0.067). However, patients who underwent both, PTR and peptide radioreceptor therapy (PRRT) had the best survival compared to the rest (137 vs. 73 months, p = 0.013). PTR in combination with PRRT significantly prolongs survival in patients with stage IV SI-NEN. Prophylactic PTR does also not result in a lower reoperation rate compared to the non-PTR approach regarding bowel complications., (© 2021 The Authors. Journal of Neuroendocrinology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Society for Neuroendocrinology.)

Background: Surgical site infections are the third most frequent type of nosocomial infections. Evidence-based recommendations have been given regarding preoperative hospitalization, hygiene and air-conditioning, patient conditions, and wound dressing. However, no general recommendations concerning wound closure exist. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses suppose a benefit of intracutaneous suture compared to skin staples in orthopedic and obstetric surgery. Literature data for skin closure in elective abdominal surgery are still deficient., Methods/design: Patients scheduled for any elective abdominal surgery requiring midline or horizontal laparotomy are potentially eligible for the trial. Trial-specific exclusion criteria are date of admission exceeding four days prior to surgery, antibiotic treatment within the past 14 days, any previous midline or horizontal laparotomy in case the procedure requires the same skin incision as before, neurophysiological deficits or severe psychiatric or neurologic diseases that do not allow an informed consent or compliance, and participation in any other interventional trial with interference of intervention and outcome. The trial is created for process innovation within standardized surgical procedures. It is designed as a prospective randomized controlled single center trial in a parallel design including an active comparator and an intervention group. The intervention addresses the closure of skin after the main surgical procedure: intracutaneous suture in the intervention group and transcutaneous skin stapling in the control group. The rate of superficial surgical site infections is defined as the primary endpoint. Secondary endpoints are time for skin closure, satisfaction with the cosmetic outcome 30 days after surgery, prolongation of hospital stay, and duration of sick-leave due to surgical site infections. The primary efficacy analysis follows the intention-to-treat principle. A χ2 test will be applied., Discussion: The trial is expected to balance the shortcomings of the current evidence. It will help to define the gold standard for wound closure in elective abdominal surgery. Patients' safety and quality of life are assumed to be enhanced. Therapy costs are likely to be reduced and health care optimized., Trial Registration: German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS) DRKS00004542.