Thirty-seven patients with hairy cell leukemia underwent splenectomy. The postoperative course was uneventful for 34 patients. Improvement of peripheral cytopenia was obtained in the majority of patients. Survival time of patients who underwent splenectomy was significantly longer than for patients who did not undergo this procedure. Splenectomy is a habitually effective form of treatment for hairy cell leukemia, although not completely free of risks.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

[Hairy cell leukemia: study of the development of 211 cases].

Large series of patients with hairy cell leukaemia have only recently been published. The 211 cases reported here provide useful information on the clinical presentation, prognostic factors, evolution and management of this uncommon disease. At presentation, 28% of the patients had no spleen enlargement, and only 20% had severe pancytopenia. However, severe neutropenia (less than 0.5 X 10(9)/l) was present in 32% of the cases. Prognosis was primarily related to the degree of peripheral cytopenia, usually corrected by splenectomy, but it was poor in both non-splenomegalic and splenectomized patients with persistent anaemia and neutropenia, and it is in these patients that other treatments should be tested.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

[Epidermoid cysts of the spleen. Apropos of 2 cases].

The authors report two new cases of splenic epidermoid cyst. They stress the importance of sonography and the need for thorough examination of the surgical specimen for establishing the diagnosis. They also discuss several etiological hypotheses. Although uncommon, the possibility of an epidermoid cyst must always be considered once the echinococcal nature of the cyst has been ruled out, in all cases of splenic cysts in children or young adults.

Adult↗

PubMed1983

[Schwannomas and schwannosarcomas of the duodenum and the duodenojejunal angle. Apropos of 3 cases].

The authors report on three cases of benign neurogenic tumors of the duodenum, two of which degenerated. They discuss the difficulties involved in diagnosis and treatment. In one case, the tumor was simply excised. In the two cases of malignant tumors, the excision was wider because of extensions to the liver or colon. Postoperative chemotherapy was applied in both cases, but to little effect as the two patients died within two years of the operation.

Adult↗

PubMed1983

[Angiodysplasias of the colon and small intestine: a not uncommon cause of gastrointestinal hemorrhage. 3 cases].

Three cases of bowel angiodysplasia with digestive bleeding were reported. In all cases, diagnosis was confirmed by arteriographic and/or histological data. Angiodysplasia of the colon was the most often an acquired and degenerative disease, and most commonly affecting patients after the seventh decade of life. This condition was a frequent and misinterpreted cause of bleeding per rectum in patients after fifty years. Selective superior mesenteric angiography, after colonoscopy (except during major bleeding) was the best investigation, showing pathognomonic images and specifing the site, often located in the caecum and/or ascending colon. Treatment was surgical, but endoscopic methods provided encouraging results.

Adult↗

PubMed1983