BACKGROUND - We sought to determine the efficacy of sutures, human fibrin glue and N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate for mesh fixation in patients undergoing the plug and mesh procedure for groin hernia. METHODS - A total of 156 patients with 167 inguinal hernias (11 bilateral) underwent a plug and mesh procedure and were randomly assigned to received either sutures (n = 59 hernias), human fibrin glue (n = 52) or N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate (n = 56) for mesh fixation. RESULTS - The overall morbidity rate was 38.98% in the suture group, 9.62% in the fibrin glue group and 10.71% in the N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate group (suture v. fibrin glue, p < 0.001; suture v. N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in morbidity between the fibrin glue and N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate groups. Overall, short-term morbidity was significantly higher in the suture group (27.12%) than in the fibrin glue (9.62%, p = 0.01) or N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate (8.93%, p = 0.004) groups, but there was no significant difference between the fibrin glue and N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate groups. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of mean postoperative stay (32.6 h in the suture group v. 30.8 h in the fibrin glue group v. 32.0 h in the N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate group) or mean time to return to work (20.4 d in the suture group v. 20.3 d in the fibrin glue group v. 19.8 d in the N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate group). Overall, long-term morbidity was significantly higher in the suture group (11.86%) than in the fibrin glue (0%, p = 0.001) or N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate (1.78%, p = 0.03) groups. There was no recurrence in any of the groups. Two cases (3.39%) of chronic groin pain were reported in patients in the suture group. A sensation of extraneous body was reported in 5 (8.47%) patients who received sutures and in 1 (1.78%) patient in the N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate group; there were no reported cases in the fibrin glue group (suture v. fibrin glue, p = 0.01; suture v. N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate, p = 0.03; fibrin glue v. N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate, p = 0.30). CONCLUSION - The use of human fibrin glue or N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate is better tolerated than sutures in tension-free inguinal open repair using the plug and mesh technique in terms of overall immediate results, and there is a better trend in the long-term data.

The Authors report a case of abdominal compartment syndrome due to a giant ovarian serous cystadenoma. Despite of the relief of intra-abdominal hypertension (IAP: 16 mmHg), mild symptomatology (clinostatic dyspnea) lead to defer the emergency surgical treatment; after CT scan of abdomen and pelvis was performed a resection en bloc of the cystic mass, oophorectomy and cholecystectomy. However it seems advisable to perform an emergency laparotomy in patients with abdominal compartment syndrome grade II (IAP: 16 mmHg)when presenting as an acute abdomen.

Intestinal obstructions/pseudo-obstruction of the small/large bowel are frequent conditions but their management could be challenging. Moreover, a general agreement in this field is currently lacking, thus SICUT Society designed a consensus study aimed to define their optimal workout.

Improvements in living conditions and progress in medical management have resulted in better quality of life and longer life expectancy. Therefore, the number of older people undergoing surgery is increasing. Frailty is often described as a syndrome in aged patients where there is augmented vulnerability due to progressive loss of functional reserves. Studies suggest that frailty predisposes elderly to worsening outcome after surgery. Since emergency surgery is associated with higher mortality rates, it is paramount to have an accurate stratification of surgical risk in such patients. The aim of our study is to characterize the clinicopathological findings, management, and short-term outcome of elderly patients undergoing emergency surgery. The secondary objectives are to evaluate the presence and influence of frailty and analyze the prognostic role of existing risk-scores. The final FRAILESEL protocol was approved by the Ethical Committee of "Sapienza" University of Rome, Italy. The FRAILESEL study is a nationwide, Italian, multicenter, observational study conducted through a resident-led model. Patients over 65 years of age who require emergency surgical procedures will be included in this study. The primary outcome measures are 30-day postoperative mortality and morbidity rates. The Clavien-Dindo classification system is used to categorize complications. The secondary outcome measures include length of hospital stay, length of stay in intensive care unit, and predictive value for morbidity and mortality of several frailty and surgical risk-scores. The results of the FRAILESEL study will be disseminated through national and international conference presentations and peer-reviewed journals. The study is also registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02825082).

The aim of our study was to evaluate the presence of incidental differentiated thyroid carcinomas, at final histological examination, in patients undergoing thyroidectomy or lobectomy for presumed benign pathology or in those with cytological diagnosis of indeterminate nodules (TIR3).

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of elective rectal resection for rectal cancer in adults by robotic surgery compared with conventional laparoscopic surgery. Summary of Background Data: Technological advantages of robotic surgery favor precise dissection in narrow spaces. However, the evidence base driving recommendations for the use of robotic surgery in rectal cancer primarily hinges on observational data. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, and CENTRAL for randomized controlled trials (until August 2016) comparing robotic surgery versus conventional laparoscopic surgery. Data on the following endpoints were evaluated: circumferential margin status, mesorectal grade, number of lymph nodes harvested, rate of conversion to open surgery, postoperative complications, and operative time. Data were summarized as relative risks (RR) or weighted mean differences (WMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Risk of bias of studies was assessed with standard methods. Results: Five trials were eligible, including 334 robotic and 337 laparoscopic surgery cases. Meta-analysis showed that RS was associated with lower conversion rate (7.3%; 4 studies, 544 participants, RR 0.58; 95% CI 0.35-0.97, P = 0.04, I 2 = 0%) and longer operating time (MD 38.43minutes, 95% CI 31.84-45.01: P < 0.00001) compared with laparoscopic surgery. Perioperative mortality, rate of circumferential margin involvement (2 studies, 489 participants, RR 0.82, 95% CI 0.39-1.73), and lymph nodes collected (mean 17.4 Lymph Nodes; 5 trials, 674 patients, MD -0.35, 95% CI -1.83 to 1.12) were similar. The quality of the evidence was moderate for most outcomes. Conclusion: Evidence of moderate quality supports that robotic surgery for rectal cancer produces similar perioperative outcomes of oncologic procedure adequacy to conventional laparoscopic surgery. Robotic surgery portraits lower rate of conversion to open surgery, while operating time is significantly longer than by laparoscopic approach.

Chyle fistula is an uncommon serious complication of neck surgery, occurring in 1-3% of radical neck dissections. An untreated chyle leak is a potentially dangerous condition that may rarely lead to hypovolemia, hyponatremia, hypochloremia, hypoproteinemia and lymphopenia. Anatomic variants of the terminal portion of the thoracic duct and suction drainage in the neck wound play a primary role in causing this kind of lesion. Poor is the literature concerning chyle fistula, due to its rarity, and mostly case reports; still debated--prevalently empiric--is the management of this disease. The Authors report a case of chyle fistula following a reintervention of cervical bilateral lymphectomy for medullary carcinoma of the thyroid in a 75 years old female. In the reported case the chyle fistula was successfully treated conservatively, in early post-operative period with a low-fat diet and total parenteral nutrition, definitely followed by sclerosant therapy. The injection of a sclerosant agent (4 g of sterile medical talc diluted in isotonic sodium chloride solution) into the supraclavicular wound bed, through the drainage tube (clamped for 2 hours), determined rapid decline in fistula output, hence obviating surgical intervention.