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Cholecystectomy is among surgical procedures with the longest waiting list and a significant amount of patients waiting for surgery suffer from symptoms related to complications of cholelithiasis. The aim of this study is to evaluate the economic impact caused by waiting lists.A retrospective study was performed on patients undergoing intervention of cholecystectomy. 86 patients were included in the study. A comparative analysis was carried out among patients without complications (group A) and patients who faced complications while waiting for surgery, therefore requiring unplanned hospital admissions (group B), and patients who were operated in emergency for complications (group C).The overall cost of health care amounted to 1.849,4 € for each patient of group A, 3.513,2 € for each patient of group B and 2.584,6 € for each patient of group C. Each patient of group B was about 1.9 times more expensive than an asymptomatic one (group A) and about 1.36 times more expensive than one operated in emergency (group C). The conversion rate of the groups was not statistically significant, whereas the length of hospital stays was: patients in group B had longer hospital stays compared to patients in groups A and C.Early laparoscopic cholecystectomy for complicated cholelithiasis is the cheapest treatment considering the costs of health care, causing lower social costs related to absence from work and an improved perception of the quality of life.Cholecystectomy, Complications, Medical care costs, Waiting list.Lo scopo dello studio è stato valutare l’incidenza di complicanze correlate alla calcolosi della colecisti in pazienti in lista d’attesa per l’intervento di colecistectomia e quantificare le implicazioni economiche di quest’attesa in termini di costi sanitari relativi agli esami ematochimici, strumentali, alla degenza, all’intervento chirurgico e alle terapie somministrate. La popolazione oggetto dello studio è stata di 86 pazienti, 39 uomini e 47 donne, inseriti in lista d’attesa per intervento chirurgico di colecistectomia in un periodo compreso fra aprile 2007 e aprile 2010. Di tali pazienti sono stati raccolti dati anagrafici, la durata del tempo d’attesa, dettagli sugli accessi in PS ed eventuali ricoveri durante l’attesa, esami e terapie eseguite, il tipo di intervento chirurgico effettuato e i giorni di degenza. È stato fatto uno studio comparativo di natura economica tra tre gruppi di pazienti: A: asintomatici durante l’attesa, B: complicati ma non operati in urgenza, C: complicati e operati in regime d’urgenza. Utilizzando il tariffario regionale delle prestazioni di assistenza specialistica ambulatoriale e quello delle prestazioni di assistenza ospedaliera per acuti erogate in regime di ricovero diurno abbiamo stimato che un singolo paziente complicato ma non operato in regime d’urgenza abbia determinato un ingente spesa per il sistema sanitario ( gruppo B: circa 3513,2 €) circa 1.9 volte in più se paragonata a un paziente che durante l’attesa non abbia sviluppato complicanze ( gruppo A: circa 1.849,4 €) o 1.36 volte in più di un paziente precocemente operato in regime d’urgenza (gruppo c: circa 2.584,6 €). Nel nostro limitato, ma a nostro parere esplicativo, campione abbiamo stimato i costi specifici legati alla lunghezza delle liste d’attesa pari a circa 26.112 €. In questo periodo di crisi economica, che ha portato numerosi tagli anche al sistema sanitario, questo significativo ammontare di denaro, a nostro avviso, potrebbe essere usato per razionalizzare le risorse prevedendo, per esempio, sedute operatorie aggiuntive per patologie molto comuni di interesse chirurgico, come la colelitiasi, al fine di abbattere le liste d’attesa e prevenire l’insorgenza di “costose” complicanze.

The aim of this retrospective study is to evaluate the immediate and late outcomes of the surgical and conservative treatment of adhesive small bowel obstruction. A series of 163 consecutive patients affected by adhesive occlusion were analysed. 63 patients were submitted to emergency surgery and 100 to conservative treatment; 15 of these ones were operated on because they did not improve or deteriorated. The in-hospital mortality and morbidity, the length of the ileus, the time required for the operatori, the length of the recovery, and the late results after a median follow-up of 3.6 years (range: 1-6 years) are reported. The overall mortality was 3.26% and there was no significant difference (p = 0.764) between the treatment modalities. The patients submitted to conservative therapy had a lower morbidity, shorter length of the ileus and shorter hospital stay and a better outcome at follow-up. In the surgical group, the patients submitted to emergency surgery had a lower mortality, a shorter ileus and shorter hospital stay than the patients submitted to delayed surgery. Conservative treatment of adhesive occlusions should be opted for when the indications are correct (no intestinal ischaemia, no occlusion by a bridle). In doubtfui cases, the patient should be submitted to emergency surgery to avoid the risks of surgical delay.

Purpose: Accidental injury to the parathyroid glands (PTGs) is common during thyroid and parathyroid surgery. To overcome the limitation of naked eye in identifying the PTGs, intraoperative autofluorescence imaging has been embraced by an increasing number of surgeons. The aim of our study was to describe the technique and assess its utility in clinical practice. Methods: Near-infrared (NIR) autofluorescence imaging was carried out during open parathyroid and thyroid surgery in 25 patients (NIR group), while other 26 patients underwent traditional PTG detection based on naked eye alone (NO-NIR group). Primary variables assessed for correlation between traditional approach and autofluorescence were number of PTGs identified and incidence of postoperative hypoparathyroidism (hypoPT). Results: 81.9% of PTGs were detected by means of fluorescence imaging and 74.5% with visual inspection alone, with an average of 2.72 PTGs visualized per patient using NIR imaging versus approximately 2.4 per patient using naked eye (p = 0.38). Considering only the more complex total thyroidectomies (TTs), the difference was almost statistically significant (p = 0.06). Although not statistically significant, the observed postoperative hypoPT rate was lower in the NIR group. Conclusion: Despite the limitations and technical aspects still to be investigated, fluorescence seems to reduce this complication rate by improving the intraoperative detection of the PTGs.

Purpose. Aim of the study was to assess the impact of the Italian Society of Anatomic Pathology and Diagnostic Cytology (SIAPEC) classification of 2014, on the treatment of indeterminate thyroid lesions (TIR3). Methods. We retrospectively analyzed patients undergoing thyroid surgery for TIR3 lesions between 2013 and 2018, at the General Surgery Department of Trieste University Hospital. According to the SIAPEC classification, patients were divided into TIR3A and TIR3B groups. All patients treated before 2014 underwent surgical treatment, and surgical specimens were retrospectively classified after revision of fine-needle aspiration cytology. Starting 2014, TIR3A patients were treated only when symptomatic (i.e., coexistent bilateral thyroid goiter or growing TIR3A nodules), whereas TIR3B patients always received surgical treatment. Hemithyroidectomy (HT) was the procedure of choice. Total thyroidectomy (TT) was performed in case of concurrent bilateral goiter, autoimmune thyroid disease, and/or presence of BRAF and/or RAS mutation. Lastly, we analyzed the malignancy rate in the two groups. Results. 29 TIR3A and 90 TIR3B patients were included in the study. HT was performed in 10 TIR3A patients and 37 TIR3B patients, respectively, with need for reoperation in 4 TIR3B (10.8%) patients due to histological findings of follicular thyroid carcinoma >1 cm. The malignancy rates were 17.2% in TIR3A and 31.1% in TIR3B, (p=0.16). Predictability of malignancy was almost 89% in BRAF mutation and just 47% in RAS mutation. Conclusions. The new SIAPEC classification in association with biomolecular markers has improved diagnostic accuracy, patient selection, and clinical management of TIR3 lesions.

Aims and background Primary bilateral adrenal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is an extremely rare entity. Only 44 cases have been reported in the literature. The most common presenting symptoms are abdominal pain, fever, asthenia, constipation, weight loss or typical symptoms of adrenal insufficiency, hypertension, darkening of skin, orthostatic hypotension or an addisonian crisis. Methods The case is presented of a 57-year-old man suffering from primary bilateral adrenal lymphoma with symptoms of adrenal insufficiency syndrome associated with bilateral, stabbing lumbar pain and a palpable mass on the left side. Laboratory tests revealed a considerable increase in lactate dehydrogenase levels, adrenal insufficiency, and high corticotropin levels. Results Abdominal CT scan showed two large adrenal masses. A CT-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy revealed a large B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Combination chemotherapy according to the CHOP protocol with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone was initiated, which caused a slight reduction in size of the two adrenal masses. The patient underwent a bilateral adrenalectomy with almost complete excision of the tumors. Replacement therapy with cortisone acetate was initiated postoperatively. Adjuvant combination chemotherapy according to the CHOP protocol was started but renal failure gradually emerged and the treatment could not be completed. The patient died seven months after surgery due to acute bronchial pneumonia and progression of disease. Conclusions Primary bilateral adrenal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma mainly affects adult men. Diagnosis is based on histological examination. Whether associated or not with radiotherapy, chemotherapy is the most recommended treatment. Surgery, where possible, seems to lead to an increase in survival rates, but it is not possible to draw any definite conclusions on its effectiveness as yet.