Preoperative progressive pneumoperitoneum (PPP) is a safe and effective procedure in the treatment of large incisional hernia (size > 10 cm in width or length) with loss of domain (LIHLD). There is no consensus in the literature on the amount of gas that must be insufflated in a PPP program or even how long it should be maintained. We describe a technique for calculating the hernia sac volume (HSV) and abdominal cavity volume (ACV) based on abdominal computerized tomography (ACT) scanning that eliminates the need for subjective criteria for inclusion in a PPP program and shows the amount of gas that must be insufflated into the abdominal cavity in the PPP program. Our technique is indicated for all patients with large or recurrent incisional hernias evaluated by a senior surgeon with suspected LIHLD. We reviewed our experience from 2001 to 2008 of 23 consecutive hernia surgical procedures of LIHLD undergoing preoperative evaluation with CT scanning and PPP. An ACT was required in all patients with suspected LIHLD in order to determine HSV and ACV. The PPP was performed only if the volume ratio HSV/ACV (VR = HSV/ACV) was>or=25% (VR >or= 25%). We have performed this procedure on 23 patients, with a mean age of 55.6 years (range 31-83). There were 16 women and 7 men with an average age of 55.6 years (range 31-83), and a mean BMI of 38.5 kg/m(2) (range 23-55.2). Almost all patients (21 of 23 patients-91.30%) were overweight; 43.5% (10 patients) were severely obese (obese class III). The mean calculated volumes for ACV and HSV were 9,410 ml (range 6,060-19,230 ml) and 4,500 ml (range 1,850-6,600 ml), respectively. The PPP is performed by permanent catheter placed in a minor surgical procedure. The total amount of CO(2) insufflated ranged from 2,000 to 7,000 ml (mean 4,000 ml). Patients required a mean of 10 PPP sessions (range 4-18) to achieve the desired volume of gas (that is the same volume that was calculated for the hernia sac). Since PPP sessions were performed once a day, 4-18 days were needed for preoperative preparation with PPP. The mean VR was 36% (ranged from 26 to 73%). We conclude that ACT provides objective data for volume calculation of both hernia sac and abdominal cavity and also for estimation of the volume of gas that should be insufflated into the abdominal cavity in PPP.

CLINICS 2007;62(6):785-90 Spontaneous intramural small bowel hematoma induced by anticoagulant therapy Sorbello MP et al. CLINICS 2007;62(6):785-90 Spontaneous intramural small bowel hematoma induced by anticoagulant therapy Sorbello MP et al.

BackgroundTreatment of chronically infected wounds is a challenge, and bacterial environmental contamination is a growing issue in infection control. Ozone may have a role in these situations. The objective of this study was to determine whether a low dose of gaseous ozone/oxygen mixture eliminates pathogenic bacteria cultivated in Petri dishes.MethodsA pilot study with 6 bacterial strains was made using different concentrations of ozone in an ozone-oxygen mixture to determine a minimally effective dose that completely eliminated bacterial growth. The small and apparently bactericidal gaseous dose of 20 μg/mL ozone/oxygen (1:99) mixture, applied for 5min under atmospheric pressure was selected. In the 2nd phase, eight bacterial strains with well characterized resistance patterns were evaluated in vitro using agar-blood in adapted Petri dishes (105 bacteria/dish). The cultures were divided into 3 groups: 1- ozone-oxygen gaseous mixture containing 20 μg of O3/mL for 5 min; 2- 100% oxygen for 5 min; 3- baseline: no gas was used.ResultsThe selected ozone dose was applied to the following eight strains: Escherichia coli, oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, oxacillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae, carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, Acinetobacter baumannii susceptible only to carbapenems, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa susceptible to imipenem and meropenem. All isolates were completely inhibited by the ozone-oxygen mixture while growth occurred in the other 2 groups.ConclusionA single topical application by nebulization of a low ozone dose completely inhibited the growth of all potentially pathogenic bacterial strains with known resistance to antimicrobial agents.

Patients with colorectal cancer admitted to the emergency room are generally at more advanced stage of the disease and are usually submitted to a resection with curative intent in a smaller scale. In such scenario, one of the aspects to be considered is whether the principles of oncologic resection are observed when those patients diagnosed with colon cancer are treated with surgery. We selected 87 patients with adenocarcinoma of colon and/or upper rectum submitted to an emergency surgical resection. The major variables reviewed retrospectively were: the extent of resection performed, the number of dissected regional lymph nodes and the overall survival rate. Intestinal obstruction was observed in 67 patients (77%) while perforation was found in 20 patients (23%). Seven (8%) specimens had circumferential compromised margins, all found in patients with T4 tumors combine with poor clinical status. The number of dissected regional lymph nodes was greater than, or equal to, 12 in 71% of patients. While the average days of stay in the ICU was 5.7 days, the median was 3 days. The morbidity and peri-operative mortality stood at 33.6% and 20%, respectively. The outcome of an emergency surgery of colorectal cancer observed in this study was similar to those found in the literature. The principles of oncologic resection were respected when considering and analyzing the extent of the resection, the surgical margins and the number of dissected lymph nodes.

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