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Biomedical subjects

A J Edis

Publications and source records attributed to A J Edis.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Biliary decompression in hilar obstruction. Round ligament approach.

In some patients with biliary obstruction, access to the hepatic hilus is hindered by extensive tumor or by dense vascular scar tissue. In such patients, the biliary tract may be decompressed via the left hepatic duct away from the affected hilus. Access to the left hepatic duct in the left intersegmental plane is gained by dividing the round ligament, freeing it from the undersurface of the liver, and following it to its junction with the left portal vein. The left hepatic duct, which lies superior to the vein, is exposed by dividing the liver overlying the round ligament in the relatively avascular plane between the lateral and the medial segments of the left hepatic lobe. Decompression can be effected by simple tube drainage or, if the duct is large enough, by Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy.

Biliary Tract Diseases

The surgical aspects of insulinomas.

The clinical diagnosis of insulinoma rests on the demonstration of Whipple's triad (symptoms of hypoglycimia, low circulating glucose and prompt relief of symptoms after glucose administration). Biochemically, the association of an increased value of immunoreactive insulin with a low glucose value is diagnostic of insulin-mediated hypoglycemia. Angiographic localization of these tumors is accomplished in more than 90% of cases. The pathologic changes are usually due to a single adenoma, for which surgical enucleation is the procedure of choice. Malignancy and persistent hypoglycemia occur in slightly less than 10% of cases and can be fairly successfully managed by diazoxide and streptozotocin.

Adenoma, Islet Cell

The undescended "parathymus". An occasional cause of failed neck exploration for hyperparathyroidism.

Arrested descent of the inferior parathyroid gland ("parathymus") during embryologic development may leave the gland stranded high in the neck. Adenomas of such undescended glands are a rare cause of primary hyperparathyroidism, but they may not be uncommon among patients who have already had a failed cervical exploration. Unless the surgeon is aware of this entity, he will probably overlook it. If one is to find these tumors, it is necessary to extend the dissection upward above the superior pole of the thyroid gland, sometimes as far as the angle of the jaw. Adenomas of undescended "parathymus" glands were encountered in seven patients during a recent 20 month (May 1975 through December 1976) surgical experience encompassing 414 primary operations and 27 reoperations for hyperparathyroidism. These tumors were found at initial exploration in one patient and at reoperation in six patients. The individual case histories are presented to illustrate the difficulties posed by this anatomic variant.

Adenoma

Pheochromocytoma associated with hypercalcemia and ectopic secretion of calcitonin.

A 17-year-old woman manifested fever, abdominal pain, headache, and hypertension caused by a solitary, benign pheochromocytoma. She also had hypercalcemia and elevated plasma immunoreactive calcitonin levels. After removal of the pheochromocytoma, calcium and calcitonin levels returned to normal. Studies of peripheral and tumor venous blood showed no excess or ectopic parathyroid hormone secretion, but the tumor contained and secreted calcitonin. Sporadic pheochromocytoma may secrete calcitonin and cause hypercalcemia by non-parathyroid hormone-mediated mechanisms. The potential is clearly present for confusion with multiple endocrine neoplasia, type 2 (medullary thyroid carcinoma, pheochromocytoma, and primary hyperparathyroidism).

Adolescent

Results of subtotal parathyroidectomy for primary chief cell hyperplasia.

Analysis of the long-term results of subtotal parathyroidectomy in patients with primary chief cell hyperplasia provides evidence that refutes the recent assertion that such treatment is often ineffective. With the use of rigid criteria, 55 patients with unequivocal chief cell hyperplasia were culled from 1,576 patients who had been operated on for primary hyperparathyroidism at the Mayo Clinic between July, 1959, and July, 1976. Follow-up information, including serum levels of calcium, was obtained for all patients up to at least July, 1977. Follow-up for surviving patients ranged from 1 year to 17 years (average, 3.9 years). Seven patients (13%) were not cured by subtotal parathyroidectomy and were left with persistent hyperparathyroidism after operation, presumably because a supernumerary gland was overlooked. However, not a single patient experienced recurrent hyperparathyroidism during the 213 patient-years of follow-up. In only three patients (5%) did permanent hypoparathyroidism develop following operation. These results reaffirm the efficacy of subtotal parathyroidectomy for primary chief cell hyperplasia and call into serious question the recent advocacy of total parathyroidectomy and autotransplantation of parathyroid tissue in these cases.

Female

Primary hyperparathyroidism and peptic ulcer disease.

To determine whether primary hyperparathyroidism is related to peptic ulcer disease, we evaluated 46 cases of concomitant primary hyperparathyroidism and peptic ulcer disease. Among these patients, there was no sex preponderance. The pathologic findings at parathyroid surgery, as well as the features of peptic ulcer disease, were the same as in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism or with peptic ulcer disease alone. The ulcer symptoms of 58% of the patients with adequate follow up improved after parathyroidectomy. Sixty-six percent of the patients who had active peptic ulcer disease at surgery improved as compared with only 44% of the patients who had complicated peptic ulcer disease. None of the factors studied (age, sex, serum calcium and serum parathyroid hormone levels, location, and duration of ulcer) had any effect on the peptic ulcer symptoms after parathyroidectomy. Our results and a critical review of the experimental and clinical literature suggest that the association between primary hyperparathyroidism and peptic ulcer disease is no more than coincidental.

Follow-Up Studies

Primary hyperparathyroidism with multiple parathyroid gland enlargement: review of 53 cases.

Of 53 patients who had hyperparathyroidism assocated with multiple parathyroid gland enlargement, 39 (74%) had primary hyperparathyroidism without clinical or laboratory evidence of associated endocrine gland dysfunction, 2 had documented familial primary hyperparathyroidism, and 12 had hyperparathyroidism as part of the multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome. When last studied, 31 of the 39 patients with nonfamilial hyperparathyroidism had normal serum calcium levels, 3 had permanent hypoparathyroidism, 2 had recurrent hyperparathyroidism, and 3 were lost to follow-up. The two patients with familial hyperparathyroidism were treated by removal only of enlarged parathyroid glands, and in each, hyperparathyroidism recurred. Five patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia, type 1, were treated by removal only of enlarged parathyroid glands, and hyperparathyroidism recurred in four. Four patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia, type 1, were treated by removal of three or more parathyroid glands, and there were no instances of recurrent hyperparathyroidism. In one patient, permanent hypoparathyroidism developed. Three patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome, type 2, had total parathyroidectomies as a part of thyroidectomy for medullary thyroid carcinoma. In each patient, permanent hypoparathyroidism developed. When primary hyperparathyroidism occurs in the absence of a definite history of polyendocrine or familial disease, only the glands that are definitely enlarged should be removed, and normal-appearing glands should be tagged rather than risk the possibility of permanent hypoparathyroidism that may attend routine subtotal parathyroid gland excision.

Adolescent

Value of preoperative radionuclide bone scan in suspected primary breast carcinoma.

The value of radionuclide bone scanning performed before "curative" surgery in 100 female patients with suspected (91 patients) or known (9 patients) carcinoma of the breast was assessed. Limitations of the bone scan in this patient population were (1) a weak relationship between scan abnormalities and pathologic stage of the primary breast cancer, (2) a high incidence of equivocal scans, and (3) a low incidence of definite scan abnormalities which could not be accounted for by benign osseous disorders. The limited value of preoperative bone scanning in this study may be a result of the high proportion of patients with favorable breast lesions, who would be expected to have a low incidence of bone metastases at the time of primary surgical therapy. Guidelines for the use of bone scanning in the management of primary carcinoma of the breast are discussed.

Adult

A syndrome of osteoporosis, increased serum immunoreactive parathyroid hormone, and inappropriately low serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D.

Although most patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis have normal or low values for serum immunoreactive parathyroid hormone (iPTH), we have reported previously that a small subset (about 10% of the total group) have increased values. We studied three patients representative of this latter group. Serum iPTH was two to three times higher than the age-adjusted normal mean, serum ionized calcium and total calcium were in the lower half of the normal range, and serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D] was in the low-normal range. Six months of treatment of one patient with 0.5 microgram/day of synthetic 1,25(OH)2D improved calcium absorption and balance; however, serum iPTH remained high. After surgical removal of 1,010 mg of hyperplastic parathyroid tissue, serum iPTH decreased to normal. These and other data suggest that increased serum iPTH in these patients was caused by secondary hyperparathyroidism, possibly because of inadequate conversion of 25-OH-D to 1,25(OH)2D.

Aged

Results of reoperation for hyperparathyroidism, with evaluation of preoperative localization studies.

During the past 3 years (June, 1974, to July, 1977), 51 patients underwent reoperation for persistent or recurrent hyperparathyroidism at the Mayo Clinica. The overall success rate for cervical reoperation was 72% and for mediastinal reoperation, was 64%. Arteriography alone provided accurate preoperative localization of missing parathyroid tumors in 11 of 17 patients at a cost per patient benefited of approximately $1,700. Selective thyroid venous sampling with parathormone assay alone correctly lateralized hyperfunctioning glands in only four of nine patients at a cost per patient benefited of approximately $1,900. When used in combination, these studies provided correct localization or lateralization of parathyroid tumors in five of seven patients at a cost per patient benefited of approximately $2,000. Three patients experienced significant neurological complications as a result of thyrocervical arteriography. There were no complications due to venous sampling. In patients who has undergone a less than thorough initial explorations due to venous sampling. In patients who had undergone a less than thorough initial exploration of the neck, the success rate for reoperation was not enhanced by obtaining preoperative tumor localization studies. However, in those patients who had had a thorough and systematic exploration of the neck at their first operations, the success rate for reoperation was almost doubled when preoperative arteriography or venous sampling (or both) was employed.

Adenoma

Unusual problems in parathyroid surgery.

Although parathyroid surgery is difficult because of the smallness of the glands and the variability in their location and number, a surgeon who is well versed in the embryology, gross anatomy, pathology of the glands, and the fine points of gross identification of normal and abnormal tissue should be able to identify these glands in most instances. In a review of 122 cases during a two year period, pathologic change was found in 96 per cent, even though 11 per cent were secondary cervical explorations and the mediastinum was entered by a sternal split approach in only two cases. Although the abnormal glands were found in varying locations and ten were outside the usual areas of search, all were consistent with failure to descend or excessive descent and with a relationship to anatomic structures having similar embryologic origin. Sophisticated localizing procedures such as arteriography and selective venous sampling for parathormone are rarely necessary.

Humans

Surgical treatment for thyroid cancer.

Thyroid cancer, although a rare disease, may cause significant disability and even death. Its proper surgical management is based on an understanding of the different biolgoic behavior of the four subtypes. Papillary and follicular cancers are best managed by total lobectomy on the side of the lesion and subtotal lobectomy on the contralateral side, unless there is gross disease bilaterally or distant metastasis (in which circumstances total thyroidectomy is performed). Cervical lymph node metastasis, when present, is handled satisfactorily by modified neck dissection. Because of its high incidence of multicentricity and its more serious prognosis, medullary thyroid carcinoma is managed by total thyroidectomy and--usually--radical neck dissection for involved nodes. For anaplastic carcinoma, there is no effective treatment at present. Postoperatively, all patients should be given suppressive doses of thyroid hormone to prevent myxedema and to prevent cancer from recurring. Radioiodine therapy may be of value in suppressing metastasis of some papillary and follicular cancers that exhibit a high degree of follicular differentiation.

Adenocarcinoma