Pancreatic transplantation is considered by the American Diabetes Association and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes an acceptable surgical procedure in patients with type 1 diabetes also undergoing kidney transplantation in pre-final or end-stage renal disease if no contraindications are present. Pancreatic transplantation, however, is a complex surgical procedure and may lead to a range of postoperative complications that can significantly impact graft function and patient outcomes. Postoperative computed tomography (CT) is often adopted to evaluate perfusion of the transplanted pancreas, identify complications and as a guide for interventional radiology procedures. CT assessment after pancreatic transplantation should start with the evaluation of the arterial Y-graft, the venous anastomosis and the duodenojejunostomy. With regard to complications, CT allows for the identification of vascular complications, such as thrombosis or stenosis of blood vessels supplying the graft, the detection of pancreatic fluid collections, including pseudocysts, abscesses, or leaks, the assessment of bowel complications (anastomotic leaks, ileus or obstruction), and the identification of bleeding. The aim of this pictorial review is to illustrate CT findings of surgical-related complications after pancreatic transplantation. The knowledge of surgical techniques is of key importance to understand postoperative anatomic changes and imaging evaluation. Therefore, we first provide a short summary of the main techniques of pancreatic transplantation. Then, we provide a practical imaging approach to pancreatic transplantation and its complications providing tips and tricks for the prompt imaging diagnosis on CT.
Objective: Surgical colonic emergencies frequently occur in elderly patients. In these cases a comprehensive preoperative assessment is crucial to tailor surgical invasiveness to individual risk profiles and potentially improve clinical outcomes. The aim of our study was to identify predictors of in-hospital mortality in octogenarians undergoing emergency colorectal resections, and compare the short-term outcomes between elderly and younger patients.Methods: This study included patients who underwent emergency colorectal resections at Our Department between January 2020 and December 2024. Exclusion criteria were age <18 years and palliative surgery. Patients were stratified into two cohorts: octogenarians (≥80 years, Group 1) and patients aged <80 years (Group 2). Baseline characteristics, perioperative variables, and short-term outcomes were compared and analyzed. A systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD420251050770) was conducted to identify the studies evaluating outcomes of emergency colorectal resections in octogenarians. MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE, and EBSCOhost were searched from database inception to April 2025.Results: Group 1 and Group 2 included 82 and 130 patients with median ages of 84 and 67 years, respectively. The in-hospital mortality rate was 24% in octogenarians and 8% in younger patients (p < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression identified hyperlactatemia as an independent negative prognostic factor for in-hospital mortality in octogenarians (p = 0.01). Through a systematic review of the literature we identified 12 publications, and the mortality rate ranged between 7.0 and 37.8%.Conclusions: Early identification of prognostic factors can improve clinical outcome in emergency scenarios. Our systematic review, the first reported in the literature, provides a comprehensive perspective in this field.
Cancer of the body-tail of the pancreas often involves adjacent structures. Thus, surgical treatment may be extended to other organs or vessels in order to achieve radical resection. The aim of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of extended distal pancreatectomy for ductal adenocarcinoma of the body and tail of the pancreas. Between January 2000 and December 2016, 101 patients underwent distal pancreatectomy (DP) for pancreatic cancer: 65 patients underwent standard-DP and 36 extended-DP, including the resection of the partial stomach (n = 12), adrenal gland (n = 7), liver (n = 7), colon (n = 8), celiac axis (n = 6), portal vein (n = 5), jejunum (n = 4) and kidney (n = 4). The two groups were compared in terms of their TNM classification, pathological grade, nodal status, state of resection margins, age, sex and levels of preoperative serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19.9). The morbidity and mortality were not statistically different in the two groups. The two groups disease-free and overall survival rates were significantly influenced by the tumor’s stage, nodal status, pathological features and resection margins. Survival was not influenced by the extent of the surgical resection. However, when patients were stratified according to the type of extended resection, survival was worse in the group of patients undergoing vascular resection. Multivariate analysis showed that the stage and resection margins are independent predictors of disease-free and overall survival. Extended distal pancreatectomy may be performed with acceptable morbidity and mortality rates. Survival is not significantly different after standard or extended resection. However, the rate of tumor recurrence is high, and long-term survival is a rare event, especially in those patients who undergo distal pancreatectomy associated with vascular resection.
1 January 2024 in Central European Journal of Urology
The Central European Journal of Urology is an open access quarterly-issued journal, which provides a forum for the presentation of original clinical, experimental and other research studies...