Rapunzel syndrome is an extremely rare complication of a gastric trichobezoar in. We report here the unusual case of a case of a 16 years old girl presented with severe abdominal pain and vomiting. Clinical examination revealed a malnourished girl, with presence of a mobile and sensitive abdominal mass of 20x15 cm witch filled the upper quadrant. An abdominal computed tomography scan showed a heterogeneous mass occupying the whole stomach cavity with extension into the third portion of the duodenum. A diagnostic of giant trichobezoar is suspected after further questioning reveling a trichotillomania, trichophagia and onychophagia. The removal of the trichobezoar endoscopically failed and it was possible to pull only few fibers of hair to comfort the diagnostic. She was subjected to an exploratory laparotomy. An antral gastrostomy were performed and a 25x10x7 cm trichobezoar was extracted. The patient had an uneventful postoperative outcome and was derived to psychiatry. Rapunzel syndrome is an uncommon trichobezoar, it’s commonly found in young females usually with an underlying psychiatric disorder. Management requires gastrotomy. A psychiatric assessment and a long-term follow-up are advocated as a regular part of treatment to prevent recurrence.
Introduction
The mainstay of management for locally advanced rectal cancer is chemoradiotherapy followed by surgical resection. Following chemoradiotherapy, a complete response may be detected clinically and radiologically (cCR) prior to surgery or pathologically after surgery (pCR). We aim to report the overall complete pathological response (pCR) rate and the reliability of detecting a cCR by conventional pre‐operative imaging.
Methods
A pre‐planned analysis of the European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP) 2017 audit was performed. Patients treated by elective rectal resection were included. A pCR was defined as a ypT0 N0 EMVI negative primary tumour; a partial response represented any regression from baseline staging following chemoradiotherapy. The primary endpoint was the pCR rate. The secondary endpoint was agreement between post‐treatment MRI restaging (yMRI) and final pathological staging.
Results
Of 2572 patients undergoing rectal cancer surgery in 277 participating centres across 44 countries, 673 (26.2%) underwent chemoradiotherapy and surgery. The pCR rate was 10.3% (67/649), with a partial response in 35.9% (233/649) patients. Comparison of AJCC stage determined by post‐treatment yMRI with final pathology showed understaging in 13% (55/429) and overstaging in 34% (148/429). Agreement between yMRI and final pathology for T‐stage, N‐stage, or AJCC status were each graded as ‘fair’ only (n = 429, Kappa 0.25, 0.26 and 0.35 respectively).
Conclusion
The reported pCR rate of 10% highlights the potential for non‐operative management in selected cases. The limited strength of agreement between basic conventional post‐chemoradiotherapy imaging assessment techniques and pathology suggest alternative markers of response should be considered, in the context of controlled clinical trials.
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