The British journal of surgery
-
Observational Study
Cardiopulmonary fitness before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with oesophagogastric cancer.
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy may have a detrimental impact on cardiorespiratory reserve. Determination of oxygen uptake at the anaerobic threshold by cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) provides an objective measure of cardiorespiratory reserve. Anaerobic threshold can be used to predict perioperative risk. A low anaerobic threshold is associated with increased morbidity after oesophagogastrectomy. The aim of this study was to establish whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy has an adverse effect on fitness, and whether there is recovery of fitness before surgery for oesophageal and gastric adenocarcinoma. ⋯ There was a decrease in cardiorespiratory reserve immediately after neoadjuvant chemotherapy that was sustained up to the point of surgery at 4 weeks after chemotherapy.
-
The number of transmen seeking gender-confirming surgery has risen steadily throughout the last decade. Pathologists are increasingly confronted with transmale mastectomy specimens. It is not clear whether routine histopathological examination is useful. This study explored the possible benefit of routine investigation through detailed description of lesions encountered in mastectomy specimens after female-to-male gender-confirming surgery. ⋯ The discovery of an unexpected breast cancer in a 31-year-old transman emphasizes the importance of thorough routine histopathological examination of mastectomy specimens. The number of tissue blocks taken should be based on age and breast weight.
-
Development and evaluation of a patient-centred measurement tool for surgeons' non-technical skills.
Non-technical skills are essential for safe and effective surgery. Several tools to assess surgeons' non-technical skills from the clinician's perspective have been developed. However, a reliable measurement tool using a patient-centred approach does not currently exist. The aim of this study was to translate the existing Non-Technical Skills for Surgeons (NOTSS) tool into a patient-centred evaluation tool. ⋯ A novel nine-item assessment tool has been developed. The Patients' Evaluation of Non-Technical Skills (PENTS) tool allows valid and reliable measurement of surgeons' non-technical skills from the patient perspective.
-
Recovery after colonic surgery is invariably delayed by disturbed gut motility. It is commonly assumed that colonic motility becomes quiescent after surgery, but this hypothesis has not been evaluated rigorously. This study quantified colonic motility through the early postoperative period using high-resolution colonic manometry. ⋯ Distal gut motility becomes markedly hyperactive with colonic surgery, dominated by cyclic motor patterns. This hyperactivity likely represents a novel pathophysiological aspect of the surgical stress response. Hyperactive motility may contribute to gut dysfunction after surgery, potentially offering a new therapeutic target to enhance recovery.
-
Comparative Study
Survival following liver transplantation for liver-only colorectal metastases compared with hepatocellular carcinoma.
Liver transplantation is considered the standard of care for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) within the Milan criteria. Liver transplantation in patients with unresectable colorectal cancer with liver-only disease has been shown to be associated with a 5-year overall survival rate of 56 per cent, compared with 9 per cent in patients receiving standard palliative chemotherapy. The aim of the present study was to compare disease-free (DFS) and overall (OS) survival after liver transplantation in patients with HCC and those with colorectal metastases. ⋯ The low-risk group of patients with colorectal cancer and unresectable liver-only disease had a 5-year OS rate following liver transplantation similar to that of patients with HCC with lesions within the Milan criteria.