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Abstract: A total of 2,546,325 breast cancer survivors are estimated to live in the United States. The organized breast cancer follow-up programs do not generally include breast ultrasound in asymptomatic women. The purpose of our prospective study was to investigate the efficacy of breast ultrasound in detecting previously occult recurrences. A total of 735 eligible patients with a history of breast cancer were recruited. We assessed the same patient population before (routine follow-up program) and after (study follow-up program) the introduction of an additional ultrasound examination. In the routine follow-up program 245 of 735 patients (33.3% [95% confidence-interval (CI): 29.9–36.7]) had an ultrasound due to abnormal local or mammographic findings. 490 of 735 patients (66.7% [95% CI: 63.3–70.1]) were initially considered asymptomatic and received an additional ultrasound exclusively within the study follow-up program. All positive examination results were followed by accelerated core needle biopsy. The routine follow-up program led to a biopsy in 66 of 735 patients (9.0%) revealing a recurrent cancer in 27 cases (3.7%). The study follow-up program with the additional ultrasound led to another 21 biopsies raising the total number of patients who had to undergo a biopsy from 9.0% (95% CI: 6.9–11.1) to 11.8% (95% CI: 9.5–14.2). Finally, we diagnosed a previously occult malignant lesion in an additional six patients following this protocol. Therefore, the rate of detected recurrences rose from 3.7% (95% CI: 2.3–5.0) in the routine follow-up program to 4.5% (95% CI: 3.0–6.0) in the study follow-up program (p = 0.041). Negative side effects were the additional costs (the costs per detected malignancy in the routine follow-up program were $2455.69; the costs for each additionally detected malignancy in the study follow-up program were $7580.30), the higher overall biopsy rate (9.0 vs. 11.8%) and the elevated benign biopsies rate (59.1% vs. 71.4%). Regarding these results, the advantages and disadvantages of additional breast ultrasound must be discussed for every follow-up patient individually even today, as we can detect a significantly higher number of previously occult malignancies. (E-mail s@wojcinski.de) [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The incidence and reasons for early recurrences following laparoscopic hernioplasty have not been studied. Because the incidence is small and the follow up is short, a multi-institutional study was performed among the pioneers in the field. The incidence figures were obtained by survey of surgeons who had significant experience (over 100 cases) and kept concurrent records. Fifty-four recurrences (1.7%) occurred after 3229 laparoscopic hernia repairs. There were 1944 transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) repairs with 19 recurrences (1%) and 578 preperitoneal repairs with no recurrences. There were 345 onlay mesh (IPOM) repairs with seven recurrences (2%), and 286 plug and patch repairs with 26 recurrences (9%). Simple closures were performed 76 times with two recurrences (2.6%). Fifty-seven patients (three cases were referred to the author without incidence data but complete records for analysis) had 60 recurrent hernias. Recurrences were noted, on average, 5.1 months postoperatively (range 0-30 months). The most common reason for recurrence was that the mesh was too small - 36 (60%). The mesh was never stapled in 19 instances (32%), and the hernia was never repaired in three cases (20%). The clips pulled through the tissue in six cases (8%), and in 10 cases (15%) the repair has not yet been undertaken because the etiology was unclear. There was more than one reason in 19 patients. Technical factors were responsible for nearly all recurrences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is no international consensus on optimal follow-up schedules and which supplementary tests should be used after resection of a primary melanoma., Objective: We sought to analyze the performance of the follow-up components and identify procedures that detect melanoma metastasis earlier., Methods: This was a prospective cohort from 290 consecutive patients given a diagnosis of stage IIB, IIC, and III melanoma. Patients were followed up with an intensive protocol based on imaging studies (computed tomography of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis, and brain magnetic resonance imaging), periodic laboratory tests, regular physical examinations, and patient self-examinations., Results: A total of 2382 clinical examinations and 3069 imaging tests were performed. The patients completed 899.8 person-years of follow-up, with a median of 2.5 years. In all, 115 recurrences in 290 patients were recorded, of which computed tomography detected 48.3%; brain magnetic resonance imaging, 7.6%; laboratory test, 2.5%; physician, 23.7%; and patient, 17.8%., Limitations: Patients with stage III melanoma were not systematically classified into subgroups and overall survival was not evaluated., Conclusion: We observed that this intensive monitoring is appropriate for early detection of recurrence in stage IIB, IIC, and III melanoma. Prompt diagnosis of metastasis and the recent development of new therapeutic targets may improve overall survival., (Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)