SECC is a new method for operative preparation of patients with obstructing colorectal cancers, which may reduce morbidity and mortality associated with this difficult problem.

absorption of medium-chain triglycerides, and the patients also showed a better physiological state.

We report the case of an omental cyst, a rare type of abdominal cystic lesion that is difficult to diagnose preoperatively. A 43-year-old man with no clinical symptoms was admitted to our hospital for investigation of an abdominal cyst detected by ultrasonography (US). We performed diagnostic examinations including US, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging. An omental cyst was diagnosed because of its position and connection to the surrounding tissues. Pathological examination of the surgical specimen revealed endothelial cells on its internal wall and colonies of lymphocytes, confirming a diagnosis of lymphangioma, which is the most common type of omental cyst.

We evaluated several markers to judge the postoperative state of protein nutriture in eight patients following surgery for cancer. Seven patients had a good prognosis and had no evidence of infections or other complications. Following surgery, all of the patients showed a shift toward abnormal values for the serum concentrations of albumin, transthyretin (TT), retinol-binding protein (RBP), and the amino acid (AA) ratio of nonessential to essential amino acids. In patients without complications, the AA ratio returned to normal first. When blood specimens were collected at 7-day intervals, concentrations of RBP and TT were revealed to be decreased and recovered at the same time, or TT was recovered after RBP was normalized. RBP and TT were usually abnormal until the AA ratio became normal. Although albumin moved toward normal concentrations after RBP and TT, the albumin concentrations in some patients were slightly above the lower reference value, whereas RBP and TT were significantly below their lower reference limits. In these patients, assessments over the next 7-14 days showed persistently low values for albumin, TT, and RBP. We recommend the selective use of TT and RBP for the postoperative assessment of protein nutriture in surgical patients.

No abstract