[Classification of fistulas and crypts found in the tissue surrounding the anorectum. Definitions of hemorrhoidal fistula, anal fistula, rectal fistula].
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We describe two oesophago-pleural fistulas arriving respectively 40 months and 15 years after pneumonectomia, and two oesophago-bronchial fistulas due to perforated oesophageal diverticula. We evaluate diagnostic methods and discuss etiology of these oesophageal fistulas. Pleural fistulas treatment associate thoracic drainage, direct surgical treatment of the fistula with primary suturing of oesophagus. For oesophago-bronchial fistula treatment, we have made pneumonectomia one time and primary bronchial suturing another. In these two cases, oesophagus was only sutured without pleural or muscular flap. Transient alimentary gastrostomy was made. No fistula recidive of postoperative complication occurred. There is no operative mortality.
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BACKGROUND: In this study, we determined the long-term outcome of perianal fistulas treated with mucosal advancement flap (MF) or fistulotomy (FT). METHODS: One hundred three patients with perianal fistulas were treated by MF for high fistulas or FT for low fistulas and were retrospectively assessed by case-note review and examined at the out-patient clinic. The localization and time of recurrence of the fistula were recorded. RESULTS: Forty-one patients [median follow-up of 72 months (range 48-99)] were treated by an MF, and 62 patients [median follow up of 75 months (range 48-99)] were treated by FT. After 12, 48, and 72 months, the fistula had recurred in 9 (22%), 26 (63%), and 26 (63%) patients of the MF group and in 4 (7%), 16 (26%), and 24 (39%) patients of the FT group, respectively. Eighteen (69%) of the recurrences in the MF group and ten (33%) of the FT group occurred within 24 months after surgery (p=0.01). Four (15%) of the recurrences in the MF group and 13 (54%) of the recurrences in the FT group were present in a different localization (p=0.007). CONCLUSION: The success rate of both FT and MF techniques decreases with time. Recurrence appears to be caused by failure of treatment and by recurrent patient disease.
Fistulas manifesting in the perianal region but originating in the abdomen often have their true origin not recognized for extended periods. Examples of seven such complex cases are presented and discussed. Removal of the abdominal abnormality is mandatory before any cure can be effected; the perianal portion usually heals without any special local treatment.
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BACKGROUND: Renewed interest in transposed brachiobasilic fistulas has occurred since the release of the National Kidney Foundation-Dialysis Outcomes Quality Initiative (NKF-DOQI) guidelines because it is an alternative method to achieve an upper arm fistula in patients who cannot achieve a functional brachiocephalic fistula. The objective of this study was to compare outcomes among transposed brachiobasilic fistulas, upper arm grafts, and brachiocephalic fistulas. METHODS: A cohort of patients with upper arm accesses was retrospectively identified. Access outcomes were determined from medical records and contact with physicians, dialysis providers, and patients. Primary outcome was thrombosis-free survival. Secondary outcomes were primary failure, time to use, risk of catheter-related bacteremia, need for intervention, incidence of access-related complications, cumulative, and functional patency. Group differences in age, sex, race, diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, and number of previous accesses were adjusted for in the analysis where appropriate. RESULTS: Transposed brachiobasilic fistulas, upper arm grafts, and brachiocephalic fistulas were compared in 59, 82, and 56 patients, respectively. Compared with transposed brachiobasilic fistulas, upper arm grafts were more likely to thrombose with an adjusted relative risk (RR) of 2.6 (95% CI, 1.3 to 5.3) excluding primary failures and 1.6 (95% CI, 1.0 to 2.7) when accounting for the lower risk of primary failure for grafts. Transposed brachiobasilic fistulas also required less intervention (0.7 vs. 2.4 per access-year, P < 0.01) and were less likely to become infected (0 vs. 13%, P < 0.05) than grafts. Mature brachiocephalic fistulas were less likely to fail (RR 0.3, 95% CI, 0.1 to 1.0) and showed a trend for less thrombosis (RR 0.3, 0.1 to 1.1) than mature brachiobasilic fistulas. There was no significant difference in cumulative patency (failure-free survival) among the three types of access if primary failure was included at the median follow-up of 594 days. Transposed brachiobasilic fistulas provided catheter-free access one month sooner than brachiocephalic fistulas and one month later than upper arm grafts. CONCLUSIONS: Transposed brachiobasilic fistulas provide cumulative patency equivalent to upper arm grafts and brachiocephalic fistulas. They are less likely to thrombose and become infected than upper arm grafts. Compared with brachiocephalic fistula, they are more likely to mature but are at increased risk of thrombosis after maturation. Transposed brachiobasilic fistulas should be considered before placing an upper arm graft for patients that cannot achieve a functional brachiocephalic fistula.
PURPOSE: Long-term closure rates of anorectal fistulas using fibrin glue have been disappointing, possibly because of the liquid consistency of the glue. A suturable bioprosthetic plug (Surgisis, Cook Surgical, Inc.) was fashioned to close the primary opening of fistula tracts. A prospective cohort study was performed to compare fibrin glue vs. the anal fistula plug. METHODS: Patients with high transsphincteric fistulas, or deeper, were prospectively enrolled. Patients with Crohn's disease or superficial fistulas were excluded. Age, gender, number and type of fistula tracts, and previous fistula surgeries were compared between groups. Under general anesthesia and in prone jackknife position, the tract was irrigated with hydrogen peroxide. Fistula tracts were occluded by fibrin glue vs. closure of the primary opening using a Surgisis anal fistula plug. RESULTS: Twenty-five patients were prospectively enrolled. Ten patients underwent fibrin glue closure, and 15 used a fistula plug. Patient's age, gender, fistula tract characteristics, and number of previous closure attempts was similar in both groups. In the fibrin glue group, six patients (60 percent) had persistence of one or more fistulas at three months, compared with two patients (13 percent) in the plug group (P < 0.05, Fisher exact test). CONCLUSIONS: Closure of the primary opening of a fistula tract using a suturable biologic anal fistula plug is an effective method of treating anorectal fistulas. The method seems to be more reliable than fibrin glue closure. The greater efficacy of the fistula plug may be the result of the ability to suture the plug in the primary opening, therefore, closing the primary opening more effectively. Further prospective, long-term studies are warranted.
OBJECTIVE: Easy access to the vascular system is vital in patients with chronic renal failure undergoing long-term hemodialysis. Such patients often require multiple operations, and options for secondary or tertiary access procedures become increasingly limited. Brachiobasilic arteriovenous fistula offers excellent access in such difficult cases and is increasingly preferred over prosthetic grafts. Many surgical techniques have been described to create such fistulas. The purpose of this study was to determine the difference in long-term patency and dialysis-related complications among various techniques. METHODS: Seventy brachiobasilic arteriovenous fistulas were constructed in 70 patients. This was the secondary or tertiary access in 88.6% of patients. The basilic vein was transposed in 30 patients and elevated in 40 patients; twenty veins were elevated with a one-stage technique, and 20 were elevated with a two-stage (delayed elevation) technique. RESULTS: The early failure rate was 5.7% in the entire group. Sixty-six fistulas (94.3%) were successfully used for dialysis. Mean follow-up was 25.8 months (range, 4-36 months). Four fistulas (5.7%) required additional procedures during follow-up, 2 in the transposed vein group and 2 in the elevated vein group. Cumulative secondary patency rate, measured with the Kaplan-Meier survival method, was 86.7%, 90%, and 84.2% at 1 year for the transposed, one-stage, and two-stage elevation procedures, respectively, compared with 82.8%, 70%, and 68.4% at 2 years. The difference was statistically nonsignificant. Forty-two complications developed in 29 (43.9%) fistulas. Thirteen fistulas (19.7%) had more than one complication. Twelve complications in 10 fistulas (35.7%) were recorded in the transposition group, 15 complications in 9 fistulas (47.4%) in the one-stage elevation group, and 15 complications in 10 fistulas (52.6%) in the two-stage elevation group. The total complication rate was higher in the elevated fistulas (71.4% vs 28.6%); the difference was statistically highly significant (P <.001). The most common complication was arm edema (21.2%; n = 14), followed by puncture site-related hematoma (16.7%; n = 11) and thrombosis (16.7%; n = 11). Hematoma was statistically more common (P <.05) in the elevated vein group (26.3% vs 3.6%). The difference in thrombosis between the transposition and elevation groups (23.7% vs 7.1%) was not significant. Hematoma preceded thrombosis in 63.7% (7 of 11) of the fistulas, and it was the major predisposing factor for fistula failure. Transposed vein was easier to manage by dialysis staff. All nurses were satisfied with the transposed veins, but only 53.3% were satisfied with the elevated veins; the difference was statistically highly significant (P <.001). CONCLUSION: Available techniques for creating brachiobasilic arteriovenous fistula are associated with good patency rate, and most related complications can be treated conservatively without loss of the fistula. Among the various procedures, transposition has a lower complication rate and is favored by the dialysis staff dealing with such fistulas.
PURPOSE: The efficacy of Surgisis anal fistula plug in closure of Crohn's anorectal fistula was studied. METHODS: Patients with Crohn's anorectal fistulas were prospectively studied. Diagnosis was made by histologic, radiographic, or endoscopic criteria. Variables recorded were: number of fistula tracts (primary openings), presence of setons, and current antitumor necrosis factor therapy. Under general anesthesia and in prone jackknife position, patients underwent irrigation of the fistula tract by using hydrogen peroxide. Each primary opening was occluded by using a Surgisis anal fistula plug. Superficial tracts amenable to fistulotomy were excluded. RESULTS: Twenty consecutive patients were prospectively enrolled, comprising a total of 36 fistula tracts. At final follow-up, all fistula tracts had been successfully closed in 16 of 20 patients, for an overall success rate of 80 percent. Thirty of 36 individual fistula tracts (83 percent) were closed at final follow-up. Patients with single fistulas (with 1 primary opening) were most likely to have successful closure using the anal fistula plug. Successful closure was not correlated with the presence of setons or antitumor necrosis factor therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Closure of Crohn's anorectal fistula tracts using Surgisis anal fistula plug is safe and successful in 80 percent of patients and 83 percent of fistula tracts. Closure rates were higher with single tracts than complex fistulas with multiple primary openings.
OBJECTIVES: To assess fistula patency and complication rates in braciocephalic elbow fistulas of both the Gracz and the side-to-side configuration. DESIGN: Retrospective clinical study. METHODS: Life table patency and complications of 50 Gracz fistulas and 23 side-to-side elbow fistulas created between 1988 and 1993 were reviewed. RESULTS: The cumulative patency for the elbow fistulas was 84% after 1 year and 78% after 3 years. No difference was found between the Gracz fistula and the side-to-side elbow fistula. Stenosis was the most frequent indication for revision and thrombosis was the most frequent cause of fistula failure. CONCLUSION: The elbow fistula has a long patency with few complications and performs as well as wrist fistulas and better than the graft fistulas reported in the literature. The Gracz elbow fistula has results as good as the side-to-side elbow fistula. Graft fistulas should be reserved for tertiary procedures only.
BACKGROUND: The provision and maintenance of vascular access remains a major cost to end-stage renal failure programs. In addition, vascular access occlusion, results in significant morbidity in hemodialysis patients. Age, gender, diabetes mellitus, malignancy, smoking habits, administration of heparin per hemodialysis session, previous dialysis catheter insertion, number of hemodialysis sessions and location of the fistula may be associated with survival of the primary arteriovenous fistula. We examined the effects of various factors on fistulas in 412 chronic renal insufficiency patients. METHODS: From 1995 to 2004, 412 arteriovenous fistulas were created by the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at the Medical Faculty of Atatürk University for hemodialysis. The mean age of the patients was 45 years (range 6 to 62 years). We evaluated the effects of various factors for patency rates in the patients who had primary arteriovenous fistulas. Primary patency was defined as the duration of fistula patency without revision. Twenty-eight patients (6.7%) with ischemic cardiac disease did not require surgical interference. Analyzed data were age, gender, smoking habits, diabetes mellitus, malignant neoplasm, previous dialysis catheter insertion, number of hemodialysis sessions, and fistula location. RESULTS: In 298 patients, where lower-arm radiocephalic fistulas were created, the fistula patency was 74.1%, 64.2%, 49.8%, 33.7%, and 4.1% after 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years, respectively, in the other 114 patients, where upper-arm fistulas were created, these rates were 84.0%, 72.2%, 53.3%, 39.8%, and 12.3%, respectively. There was no significantly difference between the upper-arm fistulas and the lower-arm fistulas statistically (p = 0.069). Factors affecting the primary patency of arteriovenous fistulas were diabetes mellitus (p = 0.0001), hemodialysis counts > or =3 per week (p < 0.0005), presence of malignancy (p < 0.0005), previous catheter insertion (p < 0.0007), and administration of heparin per hemodialysis session (p = 0.0008). CONCLUSION: While primary arteriovenous fistula patency was shortened in chronic renal insufficiency patients with diabetes mellitus, presence of malignancy, and previous catheter insertion, patency was longer in patients with heparin used for hemodialysis and hemodialysis count per week (> or =3).
PURPOSE: The recommended closure techniques for transsphincteric fistulas demonstrate divergent results for postoperative continence and recurrence rates. An incontinence rate of 35 percent and a recurrence rate of up to 54 percent has been reported after transanal advancement techniques. The authors hypothesize that a direct closure of the internal fistula opening without tissue mobilization is easier to facilitate and generally leads to better clinical and functional results. METHODS: A prospective, observational study between 1995 and 1999 was undertaken in 90 patients with transsphincteric fistulas. A direct closure of the internal fistula opening without a flap was performed in all patients. A three-layer, nonstaggered closure of mucosa, submucosa, internal, and external anal sphincters was performed. The follow-up time periods ranged from one-half to six (median, 2.6) years and included assessment of fistula recurrence and continence using patients' histories, physical examinations, proctoscopy, and continence scores. Statistical analysis was performed using Student's t-test or chi-squared test. RESULTS: Data from 90 patients with a total of 106 operations were analyzed (65 males and 41 females; average age 46 (range, 22-78) years). Sixty-six patients had previous anorectal abscess surgery, and 41 had a previous fistula operation. The mean number of previous fistula operations was 1.7. All patients were continent before surgery. Mean elapsed operative time period was 37 +/- 11 minutes, and the mean anal retraction time was 20 +/- 7 minutes. Suture line dehiscence was the main postoperative complication. It was found to occur between the fourth and tenth postoperative days in 15 patients (14 percent). In 12 of 15 patients (80 percent), the fistula persisted and operative treatment was necessary. In three patients (20 percent), spontaneous closure took place. A recurrent fistula after wound healing was observed in seven patients (6.6 percent). The risk of developing a suture line dehiscence leading to a persistent fistula or a recurrent fistula was 22.5 percent. Ninety-four percent of the patients were continent (continence score 0), 6 percent had a minimal disorder of continence (score 4). A continence level for all patients was determined by the international classification of continence disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Direct closure for the treatment of transsphincteric fistulas is a safe and effective approach and achieves a good functional outcome; a small risk of suture line dehiscence, which may lead to a recurrent or persistent fistula, remains.
BACKGROUND: Measurement of blood flow within native arteriovenous fistula during haemodialysis is recommended to detect incipient fistula failure. In the present study the value of such flow measurements was assessed in a group of patients on maintenance haemodialysis, with access via native arteriovenous fistulas. METHODS: Flow was measured using the 'on-line' thermodilution technique, on three separate occasions, and correlated with subsequent fistula failure within 6 months. RESULTS: Of the 53 patients studied, there were six failures (three thromboses and three inadequate dialysis filtration rates). Flow rates in patients who progressed to fistula failure were significantly less than flow rates in patients whose fistulas did not fail (U = 13.0, P < 0.0003). Failure was no more common in one type of fistula than another (type fistula: F = 0.29, P = 0.88; flow predicting failure: F = 7.22, P = 0.010). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses confirmed flow measurement to be a useful predictor of fistula failure (area under ROC curve 0.91). The optimal threshold of 576 mL/min flow gave a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 81%. Measurement of access resistance was less useful in predicting failure (area under ROC curve 0.87). Measurement of fall in flow from the previous measurement was of no use (area under ROC curve 0.535). CONCLUSION: On-line thermodilution measurement of flow within established native arteriovenous fistula is useful in surveillance and early prediction of fistula failure. Fistula flow <576 mL/min may indicate incipient native fistula failure, and should prompt further investigation.
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BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: The fistula tract in esophageal atresia with tracheoesophageal fistula (EA-TEF) appears to arise from a trifurcation of the embryonic lung bud. Subsequently, it does not branch like the other bronchi, which also arise from the lung bud. Previous results have implied that aberrant mesenchymal-epithelial signaling in the developing foregut, possibly involving fibroblast growth factors, may allow for the nonbranching growth of the fistula, and the ultimate development of the fistula tract in TEF. METHODS: Adriamycin injections into pregnant rat dams induced EA-TEF formation in rat embryos. Control and Adriamycin-exposed embryos were harvested on the 13th gestational day, and the developing foregut was isolated with microdissection. mRNA was isolated from the developing fistula tract, embryonic lung, and normal embryonic esophagus. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the IIIb splice variant of the FGF2R receptor was performed. Foregut specimens also were processed for histologic analysis, and immunofluorescence for FGF1 was performed. RESULTS: FGF2R-IIIb is specifically absent from the developing fistula tract in TEF, whereas it is present in the normal developing lung and esophagus. FGF1 also is uniquely absent from the developing fistula tract, but it is present in the normal lung mesenchyme. CONCLUSIONS: FGF1, FGF7, and FGF10 are critical mesenchymal factors that mediate proliferation and branching morphogenesis by the developing respiratory epithelium. The absence of FGF2R-IIIb, the obligate common receptor for FGF7 and FGF10, from the fistula tract, and the absence of FGF1 in the fistula tract mesenchyme, collectively imply the absence of a specific FGF signaling pathway in the developing fistula tract. This absence of FGF signaling could explain the lack of branching by the developing fistula tract as it grows caudally in the abnormally developing embryo. Downregulation of these components of the FGF signaling pathways may allow for a patterned compensation by the embryo for the proximal foregut atresia in this anomaly. This compensation may then reestablish gastrointestinal continuity as the fistula tract connects to the developing stomach.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of thread-dragging through fistula method in treating patients with simple anorectal fistula. METHODS: In this multi-centered, prospective, and randomized controlled clinical trial, 244 patients with simple low or high anorectal fistula were randomly divided into study group (with the method of thread-dragging through fistula) and control group (with the method of incision or thread-drawing). The healing time and curative rate of anorectal fistula, and the integral calculus of clinical symptom and life quality evaluations before and after treatment were all examined. The maximal anal canal squeeze pressure was measured to compare the therapeutic safety between these two groups. The health economical benefits were also assessed to determine which therapeutic method was more economical. RESULTS: The curative rate of simple low and high anorectal fistula were of no significant differences between the study group and the control group. The healing time of simple low anorectal fistula in the study group and the control group were (22.26+/-8.67) d and (31.41+/-11.39) d respectively, while the healing time of simple high anorectal fistula in the study group and the control group were (24.73+/-8.15) d and (32.20+/-12.60) d respectively, and there revealed significant differences between these two groups. Each integral calculus of clinical symptom evaluation in the study group was not obviously different from those in the control group besides the integral calculus of anal sphincter function. The integral calculus of life quality between the study group and the control group of simple low anorectal fistula had no significant differences. The integral calculus of anal sphincter function and confidence in treatment in the study group of high anorectal fistula were better than those in the control group. The hospitalization expense of the study group was remarkably lower than that of the control group. The maximal anal canal squeeze pressure in the study group after treatment was not reduced obviously as compared with that in the same group before treatment, while it was decreased significantly in the control group after treatment as compared with those in the same group before treatment and in the study group after treatment. CONCLUSION: The method of thread-dragging through fistula in treating simple low and high anorectal fistula can shorten the course of the disease, save the hospitalization expenses, improve the life quality of the patients, and protect the anal sphincter function.