Fistulae are diagnosed preoperatively in 69% of cases and can be suspected in as many as 42% of patients with an abdominal mass. Fistulae are the primary or single indication for surgical treatment and are directly responsible for a stoma only in a few patients. Treatment, based on resection of the diseased bowel and extirpation of the fistula, can be accomplished with minimal morbidity and mortality.

From 1966 through 1970 we performed resections in 216 patients with carcinoma of the large bowel. The relative five year survival for all patients was 65.5%. The relative five year survival for all potentially curable patients was 80.4%. Patients with positive lymph nodes and full-thickness penetration of their tumors had a five year survival of 70.5% and a 10 year survival of 60.5%. In performing this study we have tested the principles of wide anatomical resection and radical lymphadenectomy. For their specific influences on survival we have also examined stage, site, age, sex, race, margins, local recurrence, hypogastric lymph node dissection, serosal penetration and various aspects of nodal status. The information derived from these parameters has confirmed our hypothesis that survival is directly related to radical anatomical resection and lymphadenectomy. For rectal cancer, extensive resection also reduces the incidence of local recurrence. We are persuaded that the principles of operation for large-bowel cancer are valid and that they merit universal adoption.

Between 1946 and 1987, 647 patients with periampullary tumors were diagnosed at the University of Chicago Medical Center. These included 549 tumors located in the head of the pancreas, 40 in the distal common bile duct, 29 in the duodenum, and 29 at the ampulla of Vater. Ninety-eight per cent of all tumors were adenocarcinoma, with 93% of the remaining being duodenal carcinoid or sarcoma. Operability rate ranged from 81% to 97%, according to the tumor location and histologic type. A combination of laparotomy, biopsy, and bypass was performed in 433 patients and only one survived 5 years (0.2%). Resectability rate ranged from 16.5% for pancreatic adenocarcinoma to 89.3% for ampullary tumors. Of the 133 resections, 80 were pancreatoduodenectomies, 29 total pancreatectomies, 7 duodenectomies, 2 gastrectomies, 8 common bile duct resections, and 7 local excisions. Overall 19% of patients who underwent radical resection died in the immediate postoperative period, although mortality has decreased to 5% since 1981. Mortality was 20% after a standard pancreatoduodenectomy and 24.1% after a total pancreatectomy. Five-year actuarial survival rates, including perioperative deaths, were 8.8%, 20%, and 32% for pancreatic, duodenal, and ampullary adenocarcinoma, respectively. One half of patients with sarcoma and two-thirds with carcinoid of the duodenum survived 5 years. No patient with distal common bile duct adenocarcinoma achieved a 5-year survival rate. Multivariate analysis on all patients operated on (n = 566) revealed that the 5-year survival rate was significantly related to intent of operation (palliative 0.2%, curative 12%; p less than 0.001), histologic type (adenocarcinoma 2%, carcinoid and sarcoma 31%; p less than 0.0001), and site (ampullary and duodenal 21%, biliary and pancreatic 0.9%; p less than 0.001). A second multivariate analysis, evaluating only those patients with adenocarcinoma who survived the perioperative period of the radical resection (n = 97) analyzed the influence of tumor size and differentiation, lymphatic, capillary, and perineural microinvasion, lymph node status, and type of procedure (pancreatoduodenectomy vs. total pancreatectomy) on 5-year survival. None of these additional variables was significantly associated with long-term survival rates. In addition we evaluated the presence of local or distant recurrence after resection by analyzing the findings from all autopsies performed on these patients (n = 49): 29.4% of patients died with local recurrence alone, 23.5% with distant recurrence alone, and 47.1% had both local and distant recurrences.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Between 1970 and 1988, 1379 patients with Crohn's disease were treated at the University of Chicago. Of these, 639 (mean age, 32.5 years; 322 men, 317 women) required at least one surgical procedure. The most common indications for operation were failure of medical treatment (n = 215, 33%), presence of a fistula (n = 154, 24%), and bowel obstruction (n = 141, 22%). A fistula was the most common intraoperative Crohn's-related complication. In 582 patients (92%), a resection was necessary, with primary anastomosis in 416 (65%), a temporary stoma in 124 (20%), and a permanent stoma in 42 (7%). The remaining 57 patients underwent diverse procedures (stricturoplasty, bypass, and so on). Two patients (0.3%) died. Follow-up data was obtained in 95%. One hundred eighteen patients developed recurrence requiring reoperation. The recurrence rate was 20% at 5 years and 34% at 10 years. The recurrence involved a permanent stoma or a previous anastomosis in 62 patients (afferent limb in 46, efferent in 16). In the 391 patients without previous surgery for Crohn's disease, a covariate analysis was performed to determine those variables significantly associated with recurrence. Variables included demographic data, findings at operation, surgical procedures, and histopathologic characteristics. The analysis revealed that the number of sites involved was the only variable that was significantly associated with the intra-abdominal recurrence rate (p less than 0.001). The annualized risk of recurrence was 1.6% for patients with single-site involvement and 4% for those with multiple-site involvement. Perineal disease was associated with a significantly higher risk of local recurrence than any other site (p less than 0.02). A subanalysis of 236 patients with single-site involvement but no previous operation allowed us to study the influence of site on indications for surgery and type of operative procedure. Failure of medical treatment was the most common indication for all sites. In contrast the site involved influenced the procedure: resection and primary anastomosis was feasible in 88% of jejunoileal and terminal ileal cases and a temporary ileostomy was necessary in only 12%. No patients with small bowel localization required a permanent stoma. A resection with primary anastomosis was feasible in only 32% of patients with colonic disease. The remaining two thirds of patients required either a temporary or a permanent stoma. It is concluded that multisite involvement is associated with 2.5 times the rate of recurrence of single-site disease, while the presence of perineal disease has a significantly higher incidence of local recurrence.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

A total of 250 patients with rectal adenocarcinoma were operated on at the University of Chicago Medical Center between 1965 and 1981. The operation performed was curative resection in 154 patients, palliative resection in 16 patients, diverting colostomy in 21 patients, exploratory laparotomy in 11 patients, and transanal removal in 48 patients. Of the 154 curative resections, 115 were abdomino-perineal (APR), three were total proctocolectomies, and 36 were low anterior resections (LAR). No anastomotic complications were observed in this latter group. Operative mortality was 3%. Complete follow-up was obtained in 152 patients (98.7%). Five- and 10-year actuarial survival rates were 68.8 and 59.4%, respectively, for patients with Dukes' B1 adenocarcinoma (n = 32), 55.8 and 44.2% for Dukes' B2 tumors (n = 52), and 42.9% and 25.4% for Dukes' C tumors (n = 63). Distant metastases developed in 59 patients (39.6%), and pelvic recurrence developed in another 18 patients (12%); 5-year survival rates were 23.6% and 22.2%, respectively. Multivariate analysis with Cox regression showed that stage (p = 0.0001), race (p = 0.03), tumor morphology (p = 0.02), and vascular and/or lymphatic microinvasion (p = 0.001) were statistically significant in their association with survival. Logistic regression analysis confirmed these results and allowed for the estimation of 5-year survival probabilities in 16 groups of patients defined by various associations of these four factors. These estimates ranged from a high of 92% in Caucasian patients with Stage B, exophytic tumors with no vascular or lymphatic microinvasion, to a low of 14% in black patients with Stage C, nonexophytic tumors and with the presence of vascular and/or lymphatic microinvasion. Univariate analysis showed that histologic type (p = 0.0006), stage (p = 0.05) and vascular and/or lymphatic microinvasion (p less than 0.001) were significantly associated with the incidence of pelvic recurrence. Analysis of the extent of the operation revealed that the incidence of pelvic recurrence was reduced by the performance of a wide pelvic lymphadenectomy (9.4% vs. 16.4%), but the result did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.16). In conclusion, this study confirms the well-established prognostic value of the Dukes' staging classification of rectal carcinoma. Further, the analysis reveals that race, tumor morphology, and the presence or absence of lymphatic and/or vascular microinvasion significantly influence outcome. By associating these four statistically significant and independent variables, the prognosis for any individual patient can be estimated more precisely than by using Dukes' staging alone.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)