Background/AimsMechanical alterations of the spine, which can cause chronic low back pain (LBP), are a frequent indication for spinal fusion. Studies have shown differences between genders in patients’ evaluations of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after spinal procedures, but results have been conflicting, and some authors have suggested that cultural variation could explain these discrepancies. The objectives of this study were to determine the influence that gender plays on HRQoL, disability, and the correlation between the 2 in people undergoing spinal fusion for chronic LBP at a neurosurgical centre in Eastern Europe. MethodsPatients undergoing fusion surgery at a single centre for LBP with a duration of more than 3 months were included. They were evaluated using the Short Form Health Survey version-2.0 (SF-36v2) and Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Index (ODI) questionnaire preoperatively and 1 year after the surgical procedure to identify differences between genders and to evaluate correlations between disability and quality of life. ResultsWe included 31 female and 30 male patients. The male patients had higher disability scores at the preoperative evaluation, but improved more than females in all domains of disability at the postoperative evaluation. HRQoL improved similarly in both genders. The ODI score showed a strong or moderate correlation with 6 of the domains of the SF-36 in males, but with only 3 domains in females. Surgery had a positive impact on the mental status of more men than women at risk of depression. ConclusionThe type of benefit that surgery offers seems to be influenced by gender. While HRQoL improved in both genders, disability decreased significantly more in male patients. Male patients also showed a closer correlation between HRQoL and disability. We conclude that men and women place different importance on specific aspects of their overall quality of life.

Background and Aims: Laparoscopic radio-frequency ablation (L-RFA) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is used for unresectable tumors, with difficult location, unfitted for a percutaneous ablation technique. L-RFA has a high incidence of local recurrence. Even if intraoperative-ultrasound is standardized for staging and RFA probe guidance, the role of laparoscopic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (L-CEUS) for the real time monitoring of L-RFA efficacy has not been previously reported. We evaluated in a pilot observational study the efficacy of L-CEUS to assess the necrotic post-ablative area in difficult to treat HCC. Methods: Eight consecutive patients diagnosed with HCC (peripherally located) on liver cirrhosis were referred for L-RFA between May 2016 and December 2018. For L-RFA a SturBurst XL (AngioDinamics®) internally cooled electrode was used, being placed under ultrasound guidance. L-CEUS was used to assess the necrotic post-ablative area. The median follow up period was 18 months. Results: L-CEUS real time monitoring of the L-RFA efficacy indicated residual neoplastic tissue in 4 cases (50%). The procedure was repeated by reinserting the needle in the suspected areas indicated by L-CEUS. Complete tumor ablation was achieved in all treated patients. After a median follow-up of 18 months no recurrence of HCC was observed in 7 patients (87.5%). Conclusions: L-CEUS was a reliable procedure for the immediate assessment of L-RFA efficacy; half of the ablated HCC nodules required a second ablation session. This approach might decrease the local recurrences, but its role must be further investigated in larger cohorts.

RezumatIntroducere: Carcinomatoza peritoneală reprezintă un stadiu avansat al cancerelor abdominale în general şi a cancerului colorectal în particular. Singurele metode de tratament disponibile la momentul actual pentru această patologie sunt chimioterapia sistemică (caracter paliativ) şi chirurgia citoreductivă (CR) asociată cu chimioterapie intraperitoneală hipertermică (HIPEC). După revizuirea literaturii şi a ghidurilor de specialitate, putem afirma că procedura CR+HIPEC trebuie luată în considerare în managementul pacienţilor cu carcinomatoză peritoneală de origine colorectală, ovariană şi mucocel apendicular. Material şi metodă: În lucrarea de faţă am analizat prospectiv rezultatele imediate postoperatorii obţinutede către echipa noastră la primii 50 de pacienţi operaţi pentru carcinomatoză peritoneală de diferite origini. Am descris protocolul de selecţie, caracteristicile pacienţilor care au fost incluşi în programul nostru de CR+HIPEC şi am analizat incidenţa complicaţiilorşi a deceselor. Rezultate: Din ianuarie 2015 până în decembrie 2018 am evaluat pentru tratament 98 de pacienţi cu carcinomatoză peritoneală. Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy for the Treatment of Peritoneal Carcinomatosis: Our Initial Experience Chirurgia, 114 (2), 2019 www.revistachirurgia.ro 223 Dintre aceştia, doar 51 au beneficiat de tratament radical (CR+HIPEC); 33 nu au fost potriviţi pentru intervenţia chirurgicală datorită criteriilor de excludere şi la 15 s-a practicat doar laparotomie exploratorie. În ceea ce priveşte originea histopatologică, 30 de paciente au avut cancer ovarian; 19 pacienţi au avut carcinomatoză cu origine colorectală sau pseudomixom peritoneal de origine apendiculară. Nu a existat mortalitate la 30 de zile. Incidenţa complicaţiilor postoperatorii semnificative a fost de 15%. Concluzii: Chirurgia citoreductivă urmată de chimioterapie intraperitoneală hipertermică este o procedură complexă însoţită de o incidenţă acceptabilă a complicaţiilor şi a deceselor postoperatorii, rezultatele putând fi optimizate prin management perioperator standardizat şi selecţia atentă a pacienţilor. Rezultatele iniţiale obţinute de echipa noastră subliniază fezabilitatea acestei proceduri, cu rezultate imediate bune, obţinute ca rezultat a respectării unui protocol standardizat de selecţie a pacienţilor şi a managementului perioperator. Cuvinte cheie: carcinomatoză peritoneală, cancer colorectal, cancer ovarian, pseudomixom peritoneal, chimioterapie intraperitoneală hipertermică, rezecţii multiorgan. AbstractIntroduction: Peritoneal carcinomatosis represents an advanced stage of tumor dissemination of abdominal cancers in general and colorectal cancer in particular. The only therapeutic methods currently available for the treatment of this pathology are systemic chemotherapy (palliative character) and cytoreductive surgery (CR) with intraperitoneal chemotherapy. After evaluation of evidence-based medical literature and current guide lines we can state that CR + HIPEC procedure is considered to...

Intraoperative liver ultrasound represents an essential component in the hepatobiliary surgery arsenal, having an essential role in describing liver lesions, their topography, and loco-regional extension. It also has an important role in establishing surgical strategy, in modulating the surgeon decisions, and thus in preventing postoperative complications. This chapter tries to make a synthetic review of principal indications for using ultrasound in liver surgical treatment, underlining the liver's lesions characteristics and advantages brought by this method. Also, we wanted to underline the importance that ultrasound has for guiding the surgeon in interventional intraoperative techniques or in any anatomical liver resection. The role of enhanced contrast intraoperative ultrasound is put in front by the better diagnostic results obtained for both primary and metastatic tumors of the liver.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most common and frequently diagnosed malignant tumor of the pancreas with few treatment options and poor life expectancy. Despite the advances in the surgical field, 40% of the patients are diagnosed with locally advanced disease which is not suitable for surgery. Radio-frequency ablation (RFA) has been described as a new 'weapon' in the multimodal treatment of PDAC, representing a cytoreductive procedure which must be completed with radiotherapy or chemo-radiotherapy. A systematic research was carried out utilizing the PubMed database in regards to this subject, to evaluate the role of RFA in PDAC management. Abstracts, letters-to-the-editor and non-English language manuscripts were excluded. The literature showed that RFA can be used in open and laparoscopic surgery but it is also feasible for endoscopic ultrasound (EUS-guided RFA) or percutaneous approach. Even though we found optimistic and encouraging reports on overall survival (OS), randomized studies are still required to corroborate these findings. Our review research underline that surgical resection remains the only radical treatment option, RFA being a safe and feasible technique reserved for unresectable, non-metastatic pancreatic tumors.Its combination with oncological treatment can improve the OS of these patients.