No abstract

PurposeS-plasty for pilonidal disease reduces the tension on the midline by distributing it diagonally and flattening the natal cleft. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of S-plasty on simple midline primary closure and the clinical features of pilonidal patients in a low incidence country.MethodsS-plasty was applied on 17 patients from July 2008 to October 2010. Data of these patients were collected with computerized prospective database forms during a perioperative period and via telephone interview for follow-up. Surgical site infection (SSI) was defined according to the Center for Disease Control guidelines. The severity of surgical site infection was graded.ResultsAll patients were treated with primary S-plasty. Two patients (11.7%) developed low grade SSI. The average healing time after S-plasty was 18.1 days. No recurrences were observed. The mean follow-up period was 13.5 months (range, 6 to 33 months).ConclusionWe have shown that primary S-plasty for pilonidal disease is simple, and its surgical outcomes are compatible to the results of other surgical treatments. We present primary S-plasty as a feasible treatment option in a low incidence country.

The significance of serum levels of CEA and CA19-9 in forming a prognosis for colorectal cancer patients remains as subject for debating. The aim of this study is to assess their correlations with tumor pathology and their prognostic values. Methods: We analysed the data on 274 patients with colorectal cancer who had been treated by resection from Jan. 1997 to Aug. 2005. Correlation of the preoperative serum values of CEA and CA19-9 with clinocopathologic features, including prognosis, of the patients was investigated. Results: The positivity rates of the two tumor markes were significantly correlated with tumor size, differentiation, TNM staging, venous invasion, and neural invasion. In addition, the positivity rate of CEA was related to lymphatic invasion and that of CA19-9 to gender. In the univariate analysis, CEA (P＜0.001), CA19-9 (P＜0.001), tumor size (P=0.011), TNM staging (P＜0.001), lymphatic invasion (P=0.003), venous invasion (P＜0.001), neural invasion (P＜0.001), and differentiation (P=0.023) correlated with survival of the patients. In the stepwise multivariate analysis, an advanced TNM stage (P＜0.001), positive venous invasion (P=0.011), and positive neural invasion (P=0.013) were independent prognostic factors for poor survival. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that high serum levels of tumor markers were associated with more ag-gressive cancers, but in the multivariate analysis, CEA and CA19-9 were found not to be independent prognostic factors.