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"Robots set up in the operating theater. The patient's benefit after a minimally invasive approach stimulated the robotic approach of abdominal and thoracic surgical procedures. Although much more expensive, the robots improve the vision of the operating field, the precision of the gestures with a faster training course for the surgeon who operates more comfortably. Surgeons eager for technological progress quickly adopted this technique in urology and gynecology and then in thoracic and digestive procedures. In France, the support for this innovation by academic and medical institutions is limited by several factors including the supremacy of Intuitive which imposes its prices, the absence of scientifically proven superiority, the absence of surveys under the responsibility of scientific societies and the lack of criteria concerning the surgeon training.""Les robots s’installent au bloc opératoire. Les bénéfices de l’approche mini-invasive abdominale et thoracique ont stimulé l’approche robotique. Bien que beaucoup plus coûteux, les robots améliorent la vision du champ opératoire, la précision des gestes avec un apprentissage plus rapide pour le chirurgien qui opère plus confortablement. Les chirurgiens avides de progrès technologiques s’emparent rapidement de cette technique en urologie et en gynécologie puis en thoracique et en digestif. Le monopole imposé par la société Intuitive qui impose ses prix, l’absence de supériorité démontrée scientifiquement, de registres sous la responsabilité de sociétés scientifiques et de critères concernant la formation des chirurgiens à cette nouvelle technique ne favorise pas le soutien des institutions françaises pour accompagner cette innovation."

Summary Background GRECCAR 2 was the first multicentre, randomised trial to compare local excision with total mesorectal excision in downstaged low rectal cancer. Encouraging oncological results were noted at 3 years' follow-up but needed to be corroborated with longer follow-up. In this study, we aimed to report the 5-year oncological outcomes, including local recurrence, metastatic disease, and survival. Methods Patients age 18 years and older with T2T3 low rectal cancer, of maximum size 4 cm, who were clinically good responders after chemoradiotherapy (residual tumour ≤2 cm) were randomly assigned before surgery to either local excision or total mesorectal excision. Randomisation was centralised and not stratified and used permuted blocks of size eight. In the local excision group, a completion total mesorectal excision was performed if pathological tumour stage was ypT2–3. The primary objective of this study was to assess the 5-year oncological outcomes of local recurrence, metastatic disease, disease-free survival, overall survival, and cancer-specific mortality, which were the secondary endpoints of GRECCAR 2. We used Kaplan-Meier estimates and Cox modelling to estimate and compare recurrence and survival in modified intention-to-treat and as-treated populations. This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov , number NCT00427375 . Findings Between March 1, 2007, and Sept 24, 2012, 148 patients who were good clinical responders were randomly assigned to treatment, three patients were excluded after randomisation (because they had metastatic disease, tumour >8 cm from anal verge, or withdrew consent), leaving 145 for analysis: 74 in the local excision group and 71 in the total mesorectal excision group. Median follow-up was 60 months (IQR 58–60) in the local excision group and 60 months (57–60) in the total mesorectal excision group. 23 patients died and five were lost to follow-up. In the local excision group, 26 had a completion total mesorectal excision for ypT2–3 tumour. In the modified intention-to-treat analysis, there was no difference between the local excision and total mesorectal excision groups in 5-year local recurrence (7% [95% CI 3–16] vs 7% [3–16]; adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0·71 [95% CI 0·19–2·58]; p=0·60), metastatic disease (18% [CI 11–30] vs 19% [11–31]; 0·86 [0·36–2·06]; p=0·73), overall survival (84% [73–91] vs 82% [71–90]; 0·92 [0·38–2·22]; p=0·85), disease-free survival (70% [58–79] vs 72% [60–82]; 0·87 [0·44–1·72]; p=0·68), or cancer-specific mortality (7% [3–17] vs 10% [5–20]; 0·65 [0·17–2·49]; p=0·53). Interpretation The 5-year results of this multicentre randomised trial corroborate the 3-year results, providing no evidence of difference in oncological outcomes between local excision and total mesorectal excision. Local excision can be proposed in selected patients having a small T2T3 low rectal cancer with a good clinical response after chemoradiotherapy. Funding National Cancer Institute of France.

Minimally invasive sphincter-saving rectal resection represents a challenging procedure. Robotic surgery for rectal cancer has several advantages over conventional surgery in performing precise dissection and was proved to be safe and effective in previous studies. However, comparison between laparoscopic and robotic rectal resection has drawn contradictory results. The aim of the present study was to compare robotic and laparoscopic sphincter-saving rectal resections for short-term and pathological outcomes.Between January 2013 and May 2016, we performed a total of 258 robotic surgeries, including 146 colorectal resections (56%). For this study, we included the first 65 sphincter-saving robotic resections and compared them to the last 65 consecutive laparoscopic resections. The laparoscopic group was constituted by the last 65 consecutively operated patients who matched the inclusion criteria.Patients' baseline characteristics were similar in both the groups. Conversion rate was greater in the laparoscopic group (17 vs. 5%, p=0.044). Reoperation rate, overall and severe morbidity, and median hospital stay were similar in both the groups. Quality of mesorectal excision specimen was considered complete or near complete in 97 and 96% in the laparoscopic and robotic groups, respectively. There was no difference in the rates of negative circumferential radial margin, distal margin, and surgical success measured by composite criteria.The main finding of this study was that robotic proctectomy for sphincter-saving procedures offers similar quality of TME with a statistically significant lower rate of conversion when compared to laparoscopic proctectomy.

International audience; Purpose: Anal squamous cell carcinoma is associated with multiple risk factors, including infection with human papillomavirus and human immunodeficiency virus, immunosuppression, multiple sex partners, receptive anal sex and tobacco smoking. The aim of our study was to identify prognostic factors associated with poor outcomes after radiotherapy for anal cancer.Methods: We analysed retrospectively the medical records of 171 patients treated by (chemo)radiotherapy for non-metastatic anal cancer in our institution from 2000 to 2015. Patients and tumour characteristics, treatments (chemotherapy, radiotherapy [RT] and surgery) and outcomes were reported. Colostomy-free survival (CRF), disease-free survival and overall survival (OS) at 5 years were studied. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed by logistic regression to determine factors associated with poor progression-free survival (PFS).Results: Patients' characteristics were as follows: median age, 62 years (range = 36-89); gender, 45 men (26%) and 126 women (74%); HIV serology, positive: 21 patients (12%); tobacco smoking, 86 patients (50%), among whom 28 patients and 58 patients were current and former smokers, respectively. Tumours were classified as locally limited (T1-2, N0, M0) for 86 patients (50%) and locally advanced (T3-4 or N+, M0) for 85 patients (50%). The median total dose was 64.4 Gy (range = 54-76.6), and 146 patients were treated by concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Factors associated with poor PFS in univariate analysis were as follows: tumour size >4 cm, lymph node involvement, tobacco smoking, no initial surgical excision and anal warts at diagnosis. In multivariate analysis, only tobacco smoking status was significantly associated with poor PFS (hazard ratio = 2.85, 95% confidence interval [1.25-6.50], p = 0.013). Five-year PFS for non-smokers, former smokers and current smokers was 88.1%, 76.7% and 73.8%, respectively (p = 0.038). Tobacco smoking was also associated with poor overall survival (p = 0.03), locoregional relapse-free survival (LRFS; p = 0.05) and CFS (p = 0.02).Conclusions: Tobacco smoking status is associated with poor OS, LRFS, PFS and CFS in patients treated for anal cancer by high RT dose ± chemotherapy.

Summary Background Organ preservation is a concept proposed for patients with rectal cancer after a good clinical response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, to potentially avoid morbidity and side-effects of rectal excision. The objective of this study was to compare local excision and total mesorectal excision in patients with a good response after chemoradiotherapy for lower rectal cancer. Methods We did a prospective, randomised, open-label, multicentre, phase 3 trial at 15 tertiary centres in France that were experts in the treatment of rectal cancer. Patients aged 18 years and older with stage T2T3 lower rectal carcinoma, of maximum size 4 cm, who had a good clinical response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (residual tumour ≤2 cm) were centrally randomly assigned by the surgeon before surgery to either local excision or total mesorectal excision surgery. Randomisation, which was done via the internet, was not stratified and used permuted blocks of size eight. In the local excision group, a completion total mesorectal excision was required if tumour stage was ypT2–3. The primary endpoint was a composite outcome of death, recurrence, morbidity, and side-effects at 2 years after surgery, to show superiority of local excision over total mesorectal excision in the modified intention-to-treat (ITT) population (expected proportions of patients having at least one event were 25% vs 60% for superiority). This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00427375. Findings From March 1, 2007, to Sept 24, 2012, 186 patients received chemoradiotherapy and were enrolled in the study. 148 good clinical responders were randomly assigned to treatment, three were excluded (because they had metastatic disease, tumour >8 cm from anal verge, and withdrew consent), and 145 were analysed: 74 in the local excision group and 71 in the total mesorectal excision group. In the local excision group, 26 patients had a completion total mesorectal excision. At 2 years in the modified ITT population, one or more events from the composite primary outcome occurred in 41 (56%) of 73 patients in the local excision group and 33 (48%) of 69 in the total mesorectal excision group (odds ratio 1·33, 95% CI 0·62–2·86; p=0·43). In the modified ITT analysis, there was no difference between the groups in all components of the composite outcome, and superiority was not shown for local excision over total mesorectal excision. Interpretation We failed to show superiority of local excision over total mesorectal excision, because many patients in the local excision group received a completion total mesorectal excision that probably increased morbidity and side-effects, and compromised the potential advantages of local excision. Better patient selection to avoid unnecessary completion total mesorectal excision could improve the strategy. Funding National Cancer Institute of France, Sanofi, Roche Pharma.

Endoscopic sphincterotomy can benefit patients with suspected biliary pancreatitis, although there are procedure-related complications. EUS can be used to select patients for endoscopic sphincterotomy. The results of this strategy were assessed.Information on patients referred for EUS were recorded in a database. One hundred twenty-three patients with suspected biliary pancreatitis (57 men, 66 women; median age 55 years) were included and followed. All underwent EUS followed by endoscopic sphincterotomy during the same procedure if choledocholithiasis was identified. Outcomes were studied in relation to the initial severity of biliary pancreatitis (Ranson and Balthazar scores), presence of stones, and time span between onset of biliary pancreatitis and EUS plus endoscopic sphincterotomy.Thirty-five patients (28%) had a Ranson score greater than 3 on admission and 38 (31%) were Balthazar D-E. The median time from admission to EUS was 3 days. EUS imaging of the bile duct was complete in all but 3 patients. Thirty-three patients (27%) had choledocholithiasis on EUS and underwent endoscopic sphincterotomy. Stones were more frequent in patients with jaundice (p0.005) and when EUS was performed less than 3 days after admission (p0.05). One hundred patients (81%) recovered without complication. Two patients (1.6%) died, 1 had recurrent BP develop, 6 (5%) had further biliary symptoms, and 16 (13%) had complications of pancreatitis develop (9 pseudocysts). There were 3 mild endoscopic sphincterotomy-related complications (complication rate 6.5%).In this series in which endoscopic sphincterotomy was performed selectively depending on the endosonographic presence or absence of ductal stones early in the course of the pancreatitis, and not according to its predicted severity, mortality and complications of endoscopic sphincterotomy were low and unrelated to the predicted severity of biliary pancreatitis or the presence of choledocholithiasis. Controlled trials are needed to confirm the superiority of this strategy compared with ERCP alone for the management of biliary pancreatitis.

Background Mechanical anastomosis has been claimed to reduce the rate of leakage compared with manual anastomosis. No randomized trials have been performed to date to prove this specifically in esophagogastric anastomosis. Methods. One hundred fifty-four patients, 139 men and 15 women ranging in age from 36 to 83 years (mean, 50±10 years) and undergoing elective resection of esophageal or cardial carcinoma, were included in this multiinstitutional (14 centers) randomized study comparing the rate of anastomotic leakage after esophagogastric anastomosis performed manually or mechanically. Eligible for this study were patients with esophageal or cardial carcinoma located between the esophagogastric junction (included) and the upper border of the aortic arch. The choice between resection with or without thoractomy was left to the discretion of the operating surgeon. Proximal resection of the fundus was mandatory. Intestinal tract continuity was reestablished in a one-stage procedure by an esophagogastric anastomosis without interposition of either the jejunum or the colon. The site of the anastomosis could be either intrathoracic or cervical. The principal end point was anastomotic leakage as judged by (1) egress of intestinal fluids or orally ingested methylene blue through drains, (2) sodium diatrozate swallow prescribed either routinely for all patients between postoperative days 3 and 8 or because of signs of leakage, or (3) reoperation or autopsy. Results. After two patients were withdrauwn for protocol violation, 152 patients, 74 in the manual group and 78 in the mechanical group, were studied. The number of anastomotic leakages was identical in both groups (n=12, 16% and 15%, respectively). Overall 30-day mortality was 11%. Fewer deaths occurred in the manual group (7%), which had three anastomotic leakages, than in the mechanical group (15%), which had five anastomotic leakages, and fewer repeat operations were done in the manual group (n=9) than in the mechanical group (n=13), but both of these differences were not statistically significant. The duration of anastomosis and of operation was similar in both groups. In the mechanical group 16 anastomoses (20%) gave rise to technical mishaps (either in the fashioning of the purse-string, dilation of the esophagus, or in stapling). Among the factors recognized as potentially preventing leakage, only testing for airtightness was significantly correlated with less postoperative leakage (p Conclusions. When mechanical staples rather than manual sutures are chosen, the disadvantages (technical mishaps and higher costs) are not counterbalanced by a gain of time or a decrease in the rate or severity of anastomotic leakage.

Three patients who were seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus underwent surgery for infected aneurysm of the abdominal aorta. Fever and abdominal pain were the principal presenting clinical features. None of the patients had any opportunistic infections or endocarditis. In two cases, a ruptured aneurysm was demonstrated radiographically. In the remaining case, sonograms were diagnostic. The organisms responsible were salmonella, Hemophilus influenzae, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In two cases, the infectious origin was evidenced by bacteriologic examination of the aortic wall, which revealed the presence of Salmonella enteritidis and Koch's bacillus. Although Hemophilus influenzae was not found in the aortic wall of the remaining case, the infectious origin of the aneurysm was established because preoperative blood cultures were positive for this pathogen, and pathohistologic examination of the specimen showed destruction associated with leukocyte infiltration of the aneurysmal wall. An in situ prosthetic graft replacement protected by omentum was performed in all three cases. Antibiotic therapy was continued for several weeks. All patients are well with follow-up ranging from 10 to 21 months. Infectious aneurysm associated with human immunodeficiency virus seropositivity results in bacterial infestation of an atheromatous aorta. Infected phenomena are promoted by cellular immunodeficiency. Surgery was justified in these cases because of the immediate threat of rupture.

Hypothesis The anti-infective actions of povidone-iodine (PVI) and sodium hypochlorite enemas are different. Design Prospective, randomized, single-blind study. Setting Multicenter. Patients Five hundred seventeen consecutive patients with colorectal carcinoma or sigmoid diverticular disease undergoing elective open colorectal resection, followed by primary anastomosis. Intervention All patients received senna (1-2 packages diluted in a glass of water) at 6PMthe evening before surgery. Patients were administered two 2-L aqueous enemas of 5% PVI (n = 277) or 0.3% sodium hypochlorite (n = 240) at 9PMthe evening before surgery and at 3 hours before operation. Intravenous ceftriaxone sodium (1 g) and metronidazole (1 g) were administered at anesthetic induction. Main Outcome Measure Rate of patients with 1 infective parietoabdominal complication or more. Results The percentages of patients with 1 infective parietoabdominal complication or more did not differ between the 2 groups (13.7% in the PVI-treated group vs 15.0% in the sodium hypochlorite–treated group). Tolerance was better in the PVI-treated group than in the sodium hypochlorite–treated group (79.4% vs 67.9%), with fewer patients experiencing abdominal pain (13.0% vs 24.6%) or discontinuing their preparation (3.0% vs 9.0%) ( P =.02 for all). There were more patients with malaise in the PVI-treated group than in the sodium hypochlorite–treated group (9.1% vs 4.9%, P Conclusion When antiseptic enemas are chosen for mechanical preparation before colorectal surgery, PVI should be preferred over sodium hypochlorite because of better tolerance and avoidance of necrotic ulcerative colitis.

The authors present a case of left epididymo-orchitis associated with rectal adenocarcinoma and suspected fistula between the left seminal vesicle and the rectum. This fistula was confirmed by pelvic computed tomography and surgical exploration. Treatment consisted of parenteral antibiotics and surgical drainage of the abscess associated with colorectal resection. This is an original case, as, retrospectively, the cancer of the rectum, diagnosed 4 days previously, was found to be responsible for the recto-seminal fistula and the seminal vesicle abscess.

The spleen may be preserved during distal pancreatectomy (DP) for benign disease. The aim of this retrospective study was to compare the postoperative course of DP with or without splenectomy.From June 1992 to June 1997, 40 adult patients without chronic pancreatitis underwent elective DP for benign lesions. Fifteen underwent spleen-preserving DP (Conservative Group) and 25 DP with splenectomy (Splenectomy Group). In spleen-preserving DP, we attempted to preserve the splenic artery and vein.Spleen-preserving DP was successfully performed in all 15 cases. Patient groups were comparable for clinical features, indication for DP, and surgical procedure. There were no postoperative deaths. The overall incidence of pancreatic fistula was 23%, but was significantly higher in the Conservative Group (40%) than in the Splenectomy Group (12%; p0.05). Subphrenic abscesses were more frequently observed in the Conservative Group than in the Splenectomy Group (p0.05). The mean duration of postoperative hospital stay was 19 days (range 6 to 46 days) in the Conservative Group and 12.5 days (range 7 to 45 days) in the Splenectomy Group (p0.05). At the end of mean followup of 30 months (range 8 to 40 months), no severe postsplenectomy sepsis was observed in the Splenectomy Group.In our experience, DP with splenectomy has a lower morbidity rate and we consider it to be the best procedure for benign pancreatic disease.

We report two cases of innominate artery involvement in patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. In the first patient, spontaneous dissection of the innominate artery was treated successfully. In the other, the patient died of spontaneous rupture of the innominate artery in the early postoperative course after operation for aneurysm of the celiac artery. Arterial complications occurring in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome are rare but pose difficult diagnostic and therapeutic problems for the vascular surgeon due to arterial wall fragility.

Hypothesis Senna is more efficient than polyethylene glycol as mechanical preparation before elective colorectal surgery. Design Prospective, randomized, single-blind study. Setting Multicenter study (18 centers). Patients Five hundred twenty-three consecutive patients with colonic or rectal carcinoma or sigmoid diverticular disease, undergoing elective colonic or rectal resection followed by immediate anastomosis. Intervention Two hundred sixty-two patients were randomly allotted to receive senna (1 package diluted in a glass of water) and 261 to receive polyethylene glycol (2 packages diluted in 2-3 L of water), administered the evening before surgery. All patients received 5% povidone iodine antiseptic enemas (2 L) the evening and the morning before surgery. Ceftriaxone sodium and metronidazole were given intravenously at anesthetic induction. Main Outcome Measures Degree of colonic and rectal cleanliness. Results Colonic cleanliness was better ( P =.006), fecal matter in the colonic lumen was less fluid ( P =.001), and the risk for moderate or large intraoperative fecal soiling was lower ( P= .11) with senna. Overall, clinical tolerance did not differ significantly between groups, but 20 patients receiving polyethylene glycol (vs 16 with senna) had to interrupt their preparation, and 15 patients (vs 8 with senna) complained of abdominal distension. Senna, however, was better tolerated ( P =.03) in the presence of stenosis. There was no statistically significant difference found in the number of patients with postoperative infective complications (14.7% vs 17.7%) or anastomotic leakage (5.3% vs 5.7%) with senna and polyethylene glycol, respectively. Conclusion Mechanical preparation before colonic or rectal resection with senna is better and easier than with polyethylene glycol and should be proposed in patients undergoing colonic or rectal resection, especially patients with stenosis.

We analyzed the results of an aggressive surgical approach to intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Between 1990 and 1997, 30 of 42 patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma underwent resection with curative intent. Mean tumor size was 10 +/- 5 cm, and the tumors were classified as TNM type III, IVa, and IVb in 63%, 34%, and 3% of the patients, respectively. All patients underwent hepaticoduodenal lymphadenectomy. Fifteen patients received adjuvant radio- and chemotherapy. The overall survival rates at 1, 2, and 3 years were 86%, 63%, and 22%, respectively, and the median survival time was 28 months. Tumor recurrence was the main cause of death. Three patients survived for more than 5 years, including 2 patients with no evidence of recurrence. Factors influencing survival were: presence of satellite nodules (P = 0.007) and lymph node invasion (P = 0.05). The width of the resection margin and the use of an adjuvant therapy had no impact on survival. Complete surgical resection may offer a chance for long-term survival in selected patients and may improve the quality of life of patients with more advanced disease.

Background: The risk of conversion to open surgery is inevitably present during any minimally invasive colorectal surgical procedure. Conversions have been associated with adverse postoperative and oncologic outcomes. No previous study has evaluated the specific causes and consequences of conversion during a minimally invasive right colectomy (MIS-RC). Materials and Methods: We analyzed the Minimally invasivE surgery for oncologic Right ColectomY (MERCY) study database including patients who underwent laparoscopic or robotic RC because of colon cancer between 2014 and 2020. Descriptive analyses were performed to determine the different reasons for conversion. Uni- and multivariate logistic regressions were run to identify potential variables associated with this outcome. Cox regression analyses were used to evaluate the impact of conversion on tumor recurrence. Results: Over a total of 1574 MIS-RC, 120 (7.6%) were converted to open surgery. The main reasons for conversion were procedural difficulties related to adherences from previous abdominal surgical procedures (39.2%), or owing to large tumor size or infiltration of adjacent structures (26.7%). Only 16.7% of the conversions were caused by intraoperative medical or surgical complications. Converted patients required longer operative times and developed more postoperative complications, both overall (39.2% versus 27.5%; P = .006) and severe ones (13.3% versus 8.3%; P = .061). Male gender (odds ratio [OR] = 1.89 [95% confidence interval: 1.31-2.71]), obesity (OR = 1.99 [1.4-2.83]), prior abdominal surgery (OR = 1.68 [1.19-2.37]), and pT4 cancers (OR = 4.04 [2.86-5.69]) were independently associated with conversion. Conversion to open surgery was not significantly associated with tumor recurrence (hazard ratios = 1.395 [0.724-2.687]). Conclusions: Although conversion to open surgery during MIS-RC for cancer is associated with worsened postoperative outcomes, it seems not to impact on the oncologic prognosis.