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Introduction: The advantages of laparoscopic surgery for ventral hernia repairs are well documented, but its application for small paraumbilical hernias has been less studied. There is no consensus regarding the best technique. Methods: All patients who had open (suture or mesh) and laparoscopic repair of primary paraumbilical hernia between September 2007 and September 2017 in a single center were identified. Hernial defects of 2 cm or less were included; recurrent hernias were excluded. Primary outcomes included operative time, length of hospital stay, and surgical complications. Results: Seventy‐seven patients were recruited: 54 (70.1%) had open repair and 23 (29.9%) had laparoscopic repair. Forty‐six patients (85%) in the open group had primary suture repair. The mean operative time was significantly shorter in the open group than in the laparoscopic group (27.2 vs 56.1 min, P < 0.05). The length of hospital stay in the open group was significantly shorter than in the laparoscopic group (0.8 vs 1.4 days, P = 0.00). Early complications rates were similar, with wound complications in 5.6% (3/54) of open repair patients and 4.3% (1/23) of laparoscopic repair patients (P = 1.0). Among open repair patients, 19 patients (35.2%) were successfully discharged within 12 h after operation. Two patients (3.7%) in the open simple suture group developed recurrence, but no recurrence was identified in the laparoscopic group; this was not statistically significant (P = 1.0). Conclusion: The laparoscopic approach is comparable to the open approach in the repair of small paraumbilical hernias. For small paraumbilical hernias, we recommend that laparoscopic repair be reserved for obese patients or those with suspected multiple hernial defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is the most predominantly occurring type of esophageal cancer worldwide. Locally advanced ESCC patients are treated by neoadjuvant chemoradiation for tumor downstaging prior to tumor resection. Patients receiving this treatment have an increased expectation of cure via the following tumor resection and have better survival outcomes. However, not all patients respond well to chemoradiation and poor responders suffer from treatment‑associated toxicity and complications without benefits. No method is currently available to predict patient chemoradiation response and to exclude poor responders from ineffective treatment. To address this clinical limitation, the present study aimed to identify non‑invasive biomarkers for predicting patient chemoradiation response. Due to the features of microRNA (miRNA) in cancer diagnosis, prognosis and treatment response prediction, serum miRNA arrays were performed to identify potential miRNA(s) that may be used for chemoradiation response prediction in ESCC. Using an miRNA array to compare pre‑treatment serum sample pools from 10 good responders and 10 poor responders, the present study identified miR‑193b, miR‑942 and miR‑629* as candidate miRNAs for predicting chemoradiation response. Subsequent validation using reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction confirmed that miR‑193b, however not miR‑942 and miR‑629*, were significantly increased in sera from 24 good responders, compared with 23 poor responders. Further analyses using the receiver operating characteristic curve revealed a strong predictive power of serum miR‑193b on discriminating good responders from poor responders to chemoradiation. In addition, a high serum level of miR‑193b was significantly associated with better survival outcomes. Therefore, serum miR‑193b may be considered a promising biomarker for predicting chemoradiation response and post‑therapy survival of ESCC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) has established itself as an important imaging modality in many oncological and nononcological specialties and, as a consequence, it is increasingly being used in clinical practice. Since the first report of FDG being taken up by metastatic differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) cells >20 years ago, various groups of investigators have explored the potential role of FDG-PET scanning in patients with benign and malignant thyroid neoplasms. With the increasing demand for FDG-PET scanning, clinicians are faced with the challenge of managing an increasing number of FDGPET- detected thyroid incidentalomas because their significance remains unclear. The aims of this review are to address some of these issues, specifically, the clinical significance of FDG-PET-detected thyroid incidentalomas, the ability of FDG-PET to characterize thyroid nodules, especially those with indeterminate fine needle aspiration cytology results, and the role of FDG-PET in patients with confirmed primary DTC and with suspected recurrent DTC, by reviewing the current literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The incidence of recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury after esophagectomy can be as high as 60–70% especially when lymphadenectomy is performed along bilateral RLN. Vocal cord paralysis is associated with increased pulmonary complication rate, longer hospital stay, and impaired quality-of-life. The authors have modified the Continuous Intraoperative Nerve Monitoring (CIONM) method for minimally invasive esophagectomy. This study reviews our experience in the first 102 patients. Methods From May 2014 to January 2018, patients who underwent thoracoscopic esophagectomy were recruited. CIONM and intermittent nerve stimulation were routinely used during left RLN lymphadenectomy. For right RLN dissection, only intermittent nerve stimulation was used because of much lower chance of nerve injury. Routine direct laryngoscopy was performed on postoperative day one to assess the vocal cord status. Patients with RLN palsy are referred to otorhinolaryngologist for assessment and treatment. Surgical outcome, especially RLN palsy and recovery rates were documented. Results 102 patients were recruited and 73 patients had more than one year follow up. Twenty-two patients had RLN palsy (21.6%); right side in 3, left side in 18, and bilateral in one. Thirty-eight patients (37%) had only unilateral or no RLN dissection performed. This was because of R2 resection negating the benefits of RLN dissection (15.6%), poor pulmonary exposure (9.8%), other technical difficulties (7.8%), preoperative vocal cord palsy (2%), intraoperative complications (1%) and uncertain contralateral nerve integrity (1%). For those 90 patients with successful CIONM, 20 RLN palsy (22.2%), 10 of whom underwent injection thyroplasty within 2–80 days. Thyroplasty was not performed in 12 patients as they had good compensation from the contralateral cord (58.3%), early recovery within 2 weeks (16.7%) tracheostomized status (16.7%) or refusal (8.3%). Thirteen patients (59%) recovered within 2–72 weeks (Median 6 weeks). For the 73 patients with more than 1 year follow up, only 4 has residual vocal cord paralysis, making a genuine cord palsy rate of 5.5%. Conclusion Lymphadenectomy along bilateral RLN is technically demanding. CIONM is a sensitive tool to guide surgeons for safer dissection. Proper patient selection, postoperative assessment and treatment protocol can reduce the morbidity of RLN injury. Majority of the vocal cord paralysis is temporary Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Esophagectomy remains the mainstay treatment for esophageal cancer. Minimally invasive techniques have gained popularity in recent years. Whether minimally invasive methods result in equivalent or superior outcome to open esophagectomy or not is still controversial. The aim of the current study is to compare outcomes of minimally invasive and open esophagectomy from a single institution, using propensity score matching to lessen biases. Methods From 1994–2016, 724 patients with squamous cell cancer of the esophagus who underwent esophagectomy were studied. Data were retrieved from a prospectively collected database. Patients were divided into two groups: 453 had open esophagectomy (open group), and 271 had VATS esophagectomy with gastric mobilization either via laparotomy or laparoscopically (MIE group). A propensity score was generated for each patient based on age, gender, tumor level, use of neoadjuvant therapy, American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) score, pathologic stage of disease, site of anastomosis, and residual tumour (R) categories and the two matched groups were compared in clinico-pathological features, morbidity and mortality rates, and long-term survival. All statistical calculations were performed with SPSS version 24 (SPSS, Chicago, IL). Results A total of 158 patients in MIE and 187 in open group are matched for comparison (1:3 matching). MIE resulted in less blood loss (220 vs 400ml, P  < 0.001) but longer operative time (461 vs 305 mins, P  < 0.001). Wound infection (3.7% vs 10.7%, P  = 0.01) and respiratory complications (29% vs 55.1%, P  < 0.001) were also less in MIE group. Except for a higher rate of conduit ischemia (6.3% vs 1.6%, P  = 0.02), MIE had comparable surgical outcomes with open technique in rates of anastomotic leakage (5.7% vs 5.3%, P  = 0.89), recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy (20.1% vs 18.7%, P  = 0.10), reoperation (10.8% vs 8.6%, P  = 0.49), and length of postoperative hospital stay (13 vs 14 days, P  = 0.50). Lymph node harvest was significantly higher with MIE (35 vs 21, P  < 0.001), a longer median survival was also evident compared to the open group (42.3 vs 24.7 months, P  = 0.03). Conclusion Although requiring longer operative time, MIE led to less wound and respiratory complications without jeopardizing surgical and oncological outcome. The more comprehensive lymphadenectomy could potentially improve prognosis. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is the first-line renal replacement therapy for end-stage renal failure patients in Hong Kong. Abdominal wall hernia is a common mechanical complication of PD, and early surgical repair has been advocated to reduce complications. This study aims to review the outcomes of tension-free mesh repair of inguinal hernia in PD patients., Methods: All PD patients who underwent elective repair of inguinal hernia from 2009 to 2015 were identified from a single centre for retrospective analysis. Primary outcomes included surgical complications, perioperative dialysis technique and recurrence., Results: Twenty-one patients with a total of 26 inguinal hernia repairs were included in this 7-year retrospective study. All were males, and the mean age was 68 ± 10 years. Diabetic nephropathy ( n = 9, 42.9%) and glomerulonephritis ( n = 7, 33.3%) were the two most common causes of renal failure. All hernias were detected after the initiation of PD, and the mean duration of PD to hernia detection was 16 months (range 1-65 months). Lichtenstein open mesh repair was performed in all patients. Complications included seroma ( n = 3, 11.5%) and ischaemic orchitis ( n = 1, 3.8%). There were no mesh infection or recurrence. Twenty patients (95.2%) received intermittent peritoneal dialysis post-operatively and returned to continuous ambulatory PD in 15 to 30 days. Only one patient (4.8%) required bridging haemodialysis due to Tenckhoff catheter blockage., Conclusions: Tension-free mesh repair is associated with low morbidity and low recurrence rates in PD patients. Timely management and close collaboration with renal physicians are essential to continue PD after repair.