Context: Although some endocrine surgeons administer Lugol solution to decrease thyroid gland vascularity, there is still not an agreement on its effectiveness. Objective:The aims of this clinical trial are to evaluate thyroid blood flow and microvessel density in patients with Graves' disease who received Lugol solution treatment preoperatively.Design: This was a prospective clinical trial. Setting:This clinical trial took place at a tertiary referral center. Method:Thirty-six patients were randomly assigned to receive either preoperative treatment with Lugol solution (group 1, n ϭ 17) or no preoperative treatment with Lugol solution (group 2, n ϭ 19). Main Outcome Measures:Blood flow through the thyroid arteries of patients with Graves' disease was measured by color flow Doppler ultrasonography. The microvessel density (MVD) was assessed by immunohistochemical and Western blot analysis of the level of expression of CD-34 in thyroid tissue. The weight and blood loss of the thyroid gland were measured in all patients. Results:The mean blood flow, MVD, CD-34 expression, and blood loss in group 1 patients were significantly lower than those in group 2 patients. There was a negative correlation between Lugol solution treatment and blood flow (r s ϭ Ϫ0.629; P ϭ 0.0001), blood loss (r s ϭ Ϫ0.621; P ϭ 0.0001), MVD (r s ϭ Ϫ0.865; P ϭ 0.0001), and CD-34 expression (r s ϭ Ϫ0.865; P ϭ 0.0001). According to logistic regression analysis, Lugol solution treatment resulted in a 9.33-fold decreased rate of intraoperative blood loss. Conclusion

Open rectal cancer resection is associated with a higher rate of sexual dysfunction, but not bladder dysfunction, compared with laparoscopic surgery. Laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery offers a significant advantage with regard to preservation of postoperative sexual function and constitutes a true advance in rectal cancer surgery compared with the open technique. The proposed advantages can be attributed to improvement in visibility by the magnification feature of laparoscopic surgery.

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Although we did not identify a single feature indicative of malignancy in the sonographic examination of nodules, microcalcification and blurred margin were the strongest correlates for malignancy.

The aim of our study was to compare short-term outcomes of robotic and laparoscopic sphincter-saving total mesorectal excision (TME) in male patients with mid-low rectal cancer (RC) after neadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT). The study was conducted as a retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database, and we analyzed 14 robotic and 65 laparoscopic sphincter saving TME (R-TME and L-TME, respectively) performed by one surgeon between 2005 and 2013. Patient characteristics, perioperative recovery, postoperative complications and and pathology results were compared between the two groups. The patient characteristics did not differ significantly between the two groups. Median operating time was longer in the R-TME than in the L-TME group (182 min versus 140 min). Only two conversions occurred in the L-TME group. No difference was found between groups regarding perioperative recovery and postoperative complication rates. The median number of harvested lymph nodes was higher in the RTME than in the L-TME group (32 versus 23, p = 0.008). The median circumferential margin (CRM) was 10 mm in the R-TME group, 6.5 mm in the L-TME group (p = 0.047. The median distal resection margin (DRM) was 27.5 mm in the R-TME, 15 mm in the L-TME group (p = 0.014). Macroscopic grading of the specimen in the R-TME group was complete in all patients. In the L-TME group, grading was complete in 52 (80%) and incomplete in 13 (20%) cases (p = 0.109). R-TME is a safe and feasible procedure that facilitates performing of TME in male patients with mid-low RC after NCRT.

This study is aimed to investigate the BRAF (V600E) and TERT promoter mutation profile of 50 pediatric papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs) to refine their clinicopathological correlates. The median age at the time of surgery was 16 years (range, 6-18). No TERT promoter mutations were identified in this series. The BRAF (V600E) mutation was present in 15 (30 %) tumors. From genotype-histologic variant correlation perspective, 13 of 24 classic variant PTCs and 2 of 7 diffuse sclerosing variant PTCs were found to harbor BRAF (V600E) mutation. One cribriform-morular variant, 3 solid variant, and 15 follicular variant PTCs were BRAF wild type. While tumors with distant metastasis were BRAF wild type, two of five tumors with extrathyroidal extension (ETE) harbored BRAF (V600E) mutation. Nine of 15 BRAF (V600E) harboring tumors had central lymph node metastases. There was no significant correlation with BRAF (V600E) mutation and age, gender, tumor size, ETE, central lymph node metastasis, the status of pT, pN1a-b, and distant metastasis. An adverse correlation between BRAF (V600E) mutation and disease-free survival (DFS) was noted in the entire cohort; however, the predictive value of BRAF (V600E) mutation disappeared within the group of tumors displaying classic architecture as well as classic variant PTCs. The present cohort identifies that the classic architecture with multicentricity and local recurrence are correlates of BRAF (V600E) harboring pediatric PTCs. While the small size of this cohort is one of the limitations, neither the BRAF mutation status nor the classic tumor architecture does seem to be an independent prognosticator of DFS in this series. Evidence also suggests that TERT promoter mutations do not seem to play a major role in the pathogenesis of pediatric PTCs.

Lymphangiomas are benign malformations of the vessels. They are commonly located in the neck, axillary region and mediastinum. Lymphangioma of the adrenal gland is very rare. These lesions were first discovered as incidental autopsy findings. As the imaging techniques have improved, they now appear as incidental findings at abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography scan examinations. They are usually asymptomatic. We present a 26-year-old woman admitted to the hospital, complaining of weakness, putting on weight, and lumbago. Her laboratory findings were within normal limits. Radiological examination revealed a 7 cm cystic lesion located in the right adrenal gland. Right adrenalectomy was performed. Histopathological examination and immunohistochemical analysis of the cystic lesion was consistent with a lymphangioma.

N eoadjuvant chemoradiotheraphy (CRT) improves tumor downstaging, pathological complete response (pCR), and local control (1, 2). pCR rates of 13%-30% have been reported in phase II and phase III trials following 5-fluorouracil-based preoperative CRT (3, 4). Currently, management of patients with clinical complete response (cCR) remains controversial (5-8).A recent meta-analysis including 218 phase I/II or retrospective studies and 28 phase III trials of adjuvant CRT reported that T3 rectal cancer is associated with high local recurrence rates after nonsurgical treatment (9). In addition, similiar results were recently shown from a study using a "wait-and-see" policy after CRT (10).Accurate imaging methods are needed to evaluate CRT responses, and post-CRT magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is frequently used for this purpose. However, the method has low accuracy in predicting the pathological stage of the tumor and can often overstage T1 and T2 tumors due to the limited capability of MRI to differentiate viable tumor, residual fibrotic nontumoral tissue, and a desmoplastic reaction. Understaging of irradiated rectal cancer can affect treatment planning, including the surgical strategy, and thus affects the tumor recurrence rate and prognosis (11).Diffusion-weighted (DW)-MRI is a functional imaging technique that yields qualitative and quantitative information and provides unique insights regarding tumor cellularity, integrity of cell membranes, and microcirculation.