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Biomedical subjects

C M Lo

Publications and source records attributed to C M Lo.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Surgery for malignant obstructive jaundice: analysis of mortality.

Surgery on patients with malignant obstructive jaundice carries formidable morbidity and mortality rates. Clinical records of 120 consecutive patients who had a serum total bilirubin levels of 100 mumol/L or greater before exploration were analyzed retrospectively to provide guidelines for better management. Although most patients underwent bilienteric bypass to either the extrahepatic (n = 45) or intrahepatic ductal system (n = 28), resection was possible in 32 (26.7%). Complications developed in 42 patients (35%), among whome 12 (10%) required reexploration and 32 (26.7%) died within the same hospitalization. Identification of risk factors associated with hospital deaths after surgery was conducted on 84 of the 120 (group A) patients randomly selected from the entire study period. Based on multivariate analysis, age greater than 65 years, a raised serum aspartate transaminase value greater than 90 IU, and serum urea level greater than 7 mmol/L before surgery were the risk factors selected from 39 different clinical (n = 6), laboratory (n = 26), and operative (n = 7) parameters studied. The predictive value was validated in the remaining 36 patients (group B), and a high-risk patient population had been isolated. Because both serum urea and aspartate transaminase values correlated significantly with the necessity of urgent exploration, aggressive nonoperative treatment should be used to control the emergency. Alternative therapeutic options or perioperative management should be considered for the selected high-risk patients before definitive surgical biliary decompression.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Treatment of hepatolithiasis: improvement of result by a systematic approach.

In previous decades the result of treatment of hepatolithiasis has been unsatisfactory. The incidence of residual stones after surgery might reach 77%. In the past 6 years we adopted a systematic approach comprised of accurate delineation of disease in the liver and biliary tract by direct cholangiography, ultrasonography, and computed tomography; tailored surgical treatment according to the extent of involvement of the liver and biliary tract; access to the intrahepatic ducts through the left duct or round ligament approach when there was difficulty with common bile duct exposure; routine use of flexible choledochoscopy; and application of electrohydraulic lithotripsy for large and impacted stones. Complete stone clearance was achieved in 114 of 127 patients (89.8%). Of those patients who had incomplete stone clearance, only six cases (4.7%) were related to technical failure of postoperative choledochoscopy. The incidence of stone recurrence was 15.8%, the lowest rate so far reported. It was the same regardless of whether a biliary drainage procedure had been performed, but the treatment for recurrent stones was facilitated by previous hepaticocutaneous jejunostomy. Overall the surgical treatment required for stone recurrence was of a lesser magnitude than that in the past.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Percutaneous transhepatic choledochoscopic electrohydraulic lithotripsy for common bile duct stones: experience in four high-risk patients.

Choledochoscopic electrohydraulic lithotripsy was applied through a percutaneous transhepatic approach in four high-risk patients with common bile duct stones that were not extractable by duodenoscopic means. All stones were fragmented and removed from three patients, but one patient died from bronchopneumonia before ductal clearance could be achieved. The procedure was well tolerated, without any complication. The major disadvantage is the multiple maneuvers required and the prolonged hospital stay. Percutaneous transhepatic choledochoscopic electrohydraulic lithotripsy provides a safe and effective alternative for nonoperative treatment of common bile duct stones in high-risk patients when the duodenoscopic approach fails.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Urgent biliary decompression after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.

Acute cholangitis complicating diagnostic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is potentially fatal. Among 323 consecutive patients with proved biliary obstruction, 21 (7 percent) developed acute cholangitis after examination. Four patients underwent emergency surgery for the control of sepsis with two deaths. Of the 21 parameters chosen for evaluation, malignant obstruction, fever (higher than 37.5 degrees C) within 72 hours before the procedure or when afebrile, and an increased aspartate transaminase level of 70 IU or more were the independent predictive factors identified by multivariate analysis. An increased temperature should be regarded as an absolute contraindication to examination unless followed by immediate ductal drainage. Since the risk of septic complications is minimal when none of the risk factors are present, routine urgent biliary decompression after ERCP is probably unnecessary for these selected patients. For patients with malignant obstruction or other risk factors, early elective surgical drainage is advisable. When surgery is not feasible, nonoperative drainage of the obstructed biliary system as a preventive measure might be considered.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1989

Exploratory laparotomy alone in carcinoma of the oesophagus and gastric cardia.

A retrospective analysis of 453 patients with carcinoma of the oesophagus and gastric cardia was carried out in order to identify the incidence, operative findings, and outcome of patients who underwent laparotomy only without a definitive procedure. Of 343 patients who underwent surgery, 81% had their tumours resected and 15% had a bypass procedure. The remaining 14 patients (4%) had an exploratory laparotomy alone. The incidence of performing a laparotomy only was 1.5% for patients with carcinoma of the thoracic oesophagus but was 14% for patients with tumour of the gastric cardia (P less than 0.001). The reasons for exploration alone in these 14 patients were advanced local disease (12), bilobar liver metastases (seven), extensive abdominal lymph node metastases (seven), peritoneal seedlings (six) and malignant ascites (four). All except one patient had more than one feature which led to the decision of exploration only. As the overall incidence of exploratory laparotomy was low, it would not be appropriate for all patients to undergo exhaustive and expensive investigations. Surgical exploration continues to be the only reliable method to determine the actual extent of disease and whether a definitive procedure is possible. However, patients with cancer of the cardia with clinical features of advanced disease might warrant additional evaluations as the incidence of exploratory laparotomy alone with minimal prior investigation is relatively high.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1987

Misdiagnosed localized arteriovenous malformation.

We report a case of an 11-year-old girl with a pulsatile mass in the thigh diagnosed by angiography as localized arteriovenous malformation. Recent increase in tenderness and size of the lesion brought the patient to hospital and excision was performed at the parents' request. Subsequent histologic examination revealed that this lesion was an alveolar soft-part sarcoma in disguise. The angiographic and pathologic results are presented. Other investigators should be aware of this uncommon and highly vascular sarcoma, which might be misdiagnosed as a localized arteriovenous malformation and thus treated only conservatively.

Arteriovenous Malformations↗
PubMed1975

Norepinephrine turnover in the heart and spleen of the cardiomyopathic Syrian hamster.

Although a reduction in myocardial norepinephrine stores in cardiac hypertrophy and congestive failure is well documented, norepinephrine turnover has been inadequately studied in such hearts. We compared norepinephrine turnover in control and cardiomyopathic hamsters by following the decline in specific activity of myocardial norepinephrine after labelling with an intraperitoneal tracer dose of 3H-norepinephrine. Adult myocardial norepinephrine concentrations were not attained until 4 weeks of age in both strains. There was no difference in the rate of constant (K) for myocardial norepinephrine turnover (0.107+/-0.004 hours-1 vs. 0.100+/-0.005 hours-1) in the two strains of hamsters during the neonatal period. In young control hamsters, K fell to 0.064+/-0.004 hours-1, but that for age-matched hamsters with mild cardiac hypertrophy was 0.102+/-0.001 hours-1 (P less than 0.001). There was little change in K as control hamsters aged. With the development of more severe hypertrophy in cardiomyopathic hamsters, cardiac norepinephrine decreased and resting K rapidly increased to approach the value obtained when hamsters were subjected to immobilization stress (0.302+/-0.013 hours-1). The maximum achievable K remained the same for both control and dystrophic hamsters even during terminal disease. Prolonged immobilization led to a reduction in cardiac norepinephrine in both strains. Ganglionic blockade of failing hamsters completely restored the levels of both cardiac norepinephrine and K to control values. Splenic noradrenergic nerves showed no change in K, norepinephrine content, or maximum K during cardiac decompensation. We conclude that, in the late stages of hamster cardiomyopathy, there is a progressive and possibly specific increase in cardiac sympathetic tone which leads to a concomitant decrease in cardiac norepinephrine. With the loss of sympathetic reserve, congestive failure supervenes.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Anterior approach for difficult major right hepatectomy.

In selected patients with huge right hepatic tumors that had infiltrated the surrounding structures, injudicious mobilization of the liver before transection, as in the conventional manner, may result in excessive bleeding, prolonged ischemia from rotation of the hepatoduodenal ligament, and spillage of cancer cells into the systemic circulation. Alternatively, the "anterior" approach, which involves initial completion of the parenchymal transection before the right hepatic lobe is mobilized, can be adopted for these patients with difficult right hepatic tumors. After hilar control of the inflow vessels, liver parenchyma was transected using an ultrasonic dissector until the anterior surface of the inferior vena cava is exposed. The right hepatic lobe is then mobilized laterally by securing all venous tributaries, including the right hepatic vein. The prospective data of 25 patients who had major right hepatectomy using the "anterior" approach were compared with data from 34 patients who had their operation performed in the conventional manner. Despite the facts that larger tumors (p < 0.004), more extrahepatic structures (p < 0.05), and the caudate lobes (p < 0.03) were resected, the amount of perioperative blood transfusion, fluid replacement, and outcome between the two groups of patients were comparable. There were three hospital deaths, among which one could be attributed to an intraoperative catastrophe during hepatectomy using the conventional approach. The "anterior" approach is a safe, effective option for selected patients undergoing complicated major right hepatectomy.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is an uncommon neoplasm of liver compared with hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatic resection seems to provide the only chance for therapeutic success. The records of 77 patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma treated over a 28-year period were studied to determine demographics, clinical features, laboratory findings, diagnostic tests, operative management, and results of therapy. Survival was analyzed according to three treatment groups: conservative management, palliative operation, and hepatic resection. Conservative management was used for 15 patients, and hepatic resections were performed in 39 patients. The remaining 23 patients had laparotomy alone (10 patients), bile duct intubation (4 patients), hepatic artery ligation (3 patients), bilienteric bypass (3 patients), gastrojejunostomy (1 patient), insertion of a hepatic artery port for regional chemotherapy (1 patient), or open drainage of an abscess (1 patient). The median survival after conservative management, palliative operation, and hepatic resection were 1.8, 2.9, and, 12.2 months, respectively. After hepatic resection, patients without lymphatic permeation (p < 0.02) or hilar nodal metastases (p < 0.0003) survived significantly longer. We concluded that hepatic resection is indicated for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma when it is deemed resectable.

Bile Duct Neoplasms↗
PubMedDate not supplied

T lymphocyte function in patients with malignant biliary obstruction.

The T lymphocyte function in 59 patients with malignant biliary obstruction undergoing pre-operative endoscopic drainage (group Ia, n = 24) or surgery (group Ib, n = 35) was evaluated by mitogen stimulation test with phytohaemagglutinin. The T lymphocyte function before endoscopic or surgical intervention was found to be impaired as compared with patients with gastric cancer (group II, n = 27) and with normal persons (group III, n = 19). Regression analysis showed a significant negative correlation between T lymphocyte function and the serum bilirubin level (correlation coefficient -0.3, P = 0.01) and a positive correlation with serum albumin level (correlation coefficient 0.34, P = 0.01) and serum transferrin level (correlation coefficient 0.45, P = 0.001). After 18 +/- 3 days of endoscopic biliary drainage, the T lymphocyte function of group Ia patients did not change substantially. At postoperative day 14, there were more patients in both groups Ia and Ib having deterioration of T lymphocyte function than those with improvement. The incidence of postoperative sepsis was found to be significantly higher in patients with deterioration than those with improvement of T lymphocyte function (18/31 vs 7/26, P = 0.036). It is concluded that endoscopic biliary drainage and surgery could not reverse the T lymphocyte dysfunction in patients with malignant biliary obstruction.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Diagnosis and management of biliary obstruction due to periportal tuberculous adenitis.

Biliary obstruction due to periportal tuberculous adenitis is a rare condition which is difficult to diagnose and treat. We describe two patients presenting with obstructive jaundice due to periportal tuberculous adenitis managed by two different approaches. In one patient the diagnosis was made after laparotomy and lymph node biopsy, and segment III biliary enteric bypass was performed with good relief of obstruction. In another patient the diagnosis was established by laparoscopy and the patient was successfully managed conservatively with percutaneous biliary drainage and antituberculous treatment. The different approaches of diagnosis and management of this rare condition are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Liver transplantation--perspective from Hong Kong.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We report our experience of 27 orthotopic liver transplantations in 26 patients performed at Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong during the period of October 1991 to October 1995. PATIENTS AND METHODS: There were 19 adults and 7 pediatric patients with a mean age of 29 years (range 8 months to 62 years). The underlying liver diseases of the 26 patients were biliary atresia (n = 6), Alagille syndrome (n = 1), primary biliary cirrhosis (n = 2) cryptogenic cirrhosis (n = 2), alcoholic cirrhosis (n = 5), Wilson's disease (n = 1), fulminant hepatic failure (n = 3), polycystic liver (n = 2), secondary biliary cirrhosis (n = 1), HBV cirrhosis (n = 2) and autoimmune hepatitis with hepatocellular carcinoma (n = 1). The pathology leading to re-transplantation in a pediatric patient was post-transplant hepatitis of unknown etiology. The liver grafts were obtained from 19 brainstem dead and 8 living donors. The pediatric patient requiring re-transplantation received a left lateral segment graft from her mother. Two adults received left lobe grafts from their family members. RESULTS: The overall graft survival is 88% and patient survival is 92%. There were only 2 deaths: one patient developed primary graft nonfunction and died from intracerebral bleeding 39 days after transplantation and the other died from graft rejection resistant to salvage by steroid pulse and OKT3. The other patients are well with functioning grafts. CONCLUSIONS: We hope that the current success rate can convince people in our locality in cadaveric organ donation so that living donors do not run the risk of dying from the operation, although the risk is estimated to be very small.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Malignancy associated with hepatolithiasis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Malignancy is known to be associated with hepatolithiasis. The present report summarizes the results of our management of patients with cholangiocarcinoma associated with hepatolithiasis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty patients with cholangiocarcinoma and associated hepatolithiasis were analyzed retrospectively. There were 12 males and 8 females, with a mean age of 59.3 years. The clinical records of these patients were reviewed to determine demographic characteristics, clinical features, laboratory findings, diagnostic tests, operative management and results of therapy. RESULTS: One patient was moribund on presentation and was treated conservatively. Fourteen patients underwent hepatic resection. Three of them had palliative resection. Hepatic resection was less likely to be performed in patients having right lobe disease (50%) as compared to patients having left lobe disease (90%) (p = NS). The overall operative morbidity and mortality rates after hepatic resection were 36% and 7%, respectively. Non-resective operations were performed in five patients. The overall operative morbidity and mortality rates after non-resective operations were 20% and 0%, respectively. After curative hepatic resection (11 patients), the 1- and 2-year survival rates were 81% and 51%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A suspicion of malignancy is necessary in managing patients with hepatolithiasis. Hepatic resection is the treatment of choice for cholangiocarcinoma when it is resectable.

Adenocarcinoma↗