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Mucinous lesions of appendix are a rare clinical entity and may be neoplastic or non-neoplastic. The diagnosis is usual incidental during computed tomography scan or colonoscopy performed for general abdominal symptoms or occasional finding during operation for acute appendicitis. For this reason, initial treatment should be tailored to the situation, aiming at complete resection of the appendix with disease-free margins: this can be achieved by simple appendectomy or more extensive resection. The pathological examination of the specimen is the key to offer the patient a correct and complete treatment, and, if a neoplastic pathology is found, the case should be discussed in multidisciplinary group. We describe three cases with different clinical presentation leading to different surgical treatment: one elective case, in which the diagnosis was suspected preoperatively; and two urgent cases, one mimicking an intussusception and another one presenting as an acute appendicitis.

Background The aim of our study was to investigate the postoperative course of calcium and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels after total thyroidectomy to define a proper and low cost protocol. Methods We studied 144 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy between 2007 and 2010. Ionized calcium was determined preoperatively and on day 1 (POD1), day 2 (POD2) and day 7 (POD7) postoperatively; PTH preoperatively and on POD7. Patients with ionized calcium ≤1.11 mmol/L were considered hypocalcemic and treated only if symptoms, ≤1 mmol/L were treated in all cases. Results Ionized calcium and PTH declined postoperative in all patients compared to preoperative levels (P=0.000). Ionized calcium increased on POD7 compared to POD1 and POD2 (P=0.000). All hypocalcemic untreated 30 patients returned normocalcemic on POD7. Thirty-eight hypocalcemic patients were treated but 23 (61%) safely suspended therapy on POD7. We tested PTH and ionized calcium as independent factors of prolonged hypocalcemia (that required therapy beyond 7 days) with the following results (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and overall accuracy): PTH ≤11 pg/mL (80%, 100%, 100%, 96% and 97%, respectively), ionized calcium ≤1.11 mmol/L (80%, 88%, 59%, 95%, and 87%, respectively) and ionized calcium ≤1 mmol/L (28%, 100%, 100%, 87% and 88%, respectively). Conclusions Our data show that our protocol, including serum ionized calcium on 1st, 2nd, 7th days and PTH on 7th day after surgery, is safe and low cost and therefore may be useful in the post-surgical management of total thyroidectomy.

Until recently, cirrhosis has been considered to be an absolute or relative contraindication of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. An evaluation of benefits and risks of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the treatment of gall bladder lithiasis in cirrhotic patients is presented. Thirty-three consecutive laparoscopic cholecystectomies in patients with cirrhosis were performed between March 1990 and March 1997. During the same period, no open cholecystectomy was performed in patients with cirrhosis. There was no morbidity or mortality; the conversion rate was 6% (2/33). No patient received blood transfusion, and the mean hospital stay was 2.8 days. These results favorably compare with the results of open cholecystectomy. Specific advantages of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in patients with cirrhosis include the absence of wound infection and a lower rate of postoperative hepatic failure. Finally, laparoscopic surgery reduces the risk of viral contamination (the hepatitis B virus, the hepatitis C virus, or the human immunodeficiency virus) of the surgical staff.

The aim of this study was to analyze, using a cognitive survey, how recurrent groin hernia are treated in our region by surgical centres. A form was sent to 49 surgical centres in our region, considering the period 2002 -first six months of 2004, asking the number of primitive hernias treated, surgical technique, number of recurrent hernias treated, surgical technique, kind of anaesthesia and types of complications. We sent 49 forms, 41 (83.7%) were given back. During the considered period, 18 580 primitive hernias and 1102 recurrent (5.6% of all repair) were treated. The greatest part of it was performed with an open mesh technique tension free (77% of primitive hernias, and 62% of recurrent ones). Laparoscopic repair was performed in 0.2% of primitive hernias and 3.2% of recurrent ones. The operations were carried out mainly in spinal anaesthesia (722, 65.5%). Recurrence occurred in 34 cases (3.1%). In our region inguinal hernia repair both for primitive and recurrent groin hernia has been performed mainly by an open mesh technique, tension free and sutureless and, in greatest part, in spinal anaesthesia. Laparoscopic repair has not been used very much.

Until recently, cirrhosis has been considered to be an absolute or relative contraindication of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. An evaluation of benefits and risks of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the treatment of gall bladder lithiasis in cirrhotic patients is presented. Thirty-three consecutive laparoscopic cholecystectomies in patients with cirrhosis were performed between March 1990 and March 1997. During the same period, no open cholecystectomy was performed in patients with cirrhosis. There was no morbidity or mortality; the conversion rate was 6% (2/33). No patient received blood transfusion, and the mean hospital stay was 2.8 days. These results favorably compare with the results of open cholecystectomy. Specific advantages of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in patients with cirrhosis include the absence of wound infection and a lower rate of postoperative hepatic failure. Finally, laparoscopic surgery reduces the risk of viral contamination (the hepatitis B virus, the hepatitis C virus, or the human immunodeficiency virus) of the surgical staff.