Hypothesis Hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery (HALS) is a safe therapeutic approach to remove megaspleens of any size. Conventional laparoscopic splenectomy for splenomegaly is difficult because of limited exposure and complex vascular control, with increased risk of intraoperative bleeding and conversion to open surgery. HALS can overcome some of these limitations, reducing the risk of conversion to open surgery and resulting in a postoperative course similar to that of conventional laparoscopy. Design Single-institution single-surgeon retrospective review. Setting University hospital. Patients An analysis was performed of all patients with splenomegaly (splenic weight, >700 g) seen during a 10-year period. Main Outcome Measures Preoperative data, indications for splenectomy, splenic weight, operative variables, clinical outcome, and rates of conversion to open surgery, complications, and operative mortality were compared between patients undergoing HALS vs conventional laparoscopy. Results Splenomegaly was present in 85 patients, of whom 43 underwent HALS splenectomy and 42 underwent conventional laparoscopic splenectomy. The HALS group had larger spleens. Rates of conversion to open surgery and operative mortality were similar in the HALS group vs the conventional laparoscopy group (2.3% [1 of 43] vs 2.4% [1 of 42] and 2.3% [1 of 43] vs 0.0% [0 of 42], respectively), with no difference in hospital length of stay in the absence of morbidity. Portal system thrombosis was the most serious complication. Conclusions HALS can minimize surgical trauma in patients with massive splenomegaly who otherwise would be candidates only for open surgery and results in a clinical outcome similar to that of conventional laparoscopy. With the availability of HALS, any patient with splenomegaly can be offered a minimally invasive surgical option. Portal system thrombosis is common, regardless of the surgical technique.

Obesity is increasingly prevalent among adolescents. Clinical and research data support the use of bariatric surgery (BS) as a treatment option for severely obese adolescents, with good results in terms of weight loss, improvement or resolution of comorbidities, and compliance to follow up. Nevertheless, concerns still remain, with significant disparities among countries and ethical concerns mainly raised by performing an irreversible and invasive procedure in adolescence, with potential life-long alterations. In this context, the purpose of this narrative review was to discuss the main current ethical challenges in performing BS in adolescence and to inform appropriate clinical management in the field. The core ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice were revised in terms of patient-centered healthcare through the lens of psychosocial implications. The review concludes with a discussion regarding the potential directives for future research for effective, patient-centered, and ethical management of obesity in the adolescent population.

There is only one previous case report of a poorly differentiated carcinoma arising from an adenolymphoma of the parotid gland (Warthin's tumour). The absence of clinical symptoms, and the aspecificity of the radiological pattern make the diagnosis very difficult. We here report the case of a 73-year-old man with Warthin's tumour who was brought to our attention because of a swelling in the parotid region. In this case with an atypical clinical presentation, the intra-operative examination of a frozen section of the parotid mass allowed us to diagnose the malignant tumour correctly and consequently undertake its radical excision.

Background: Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a glycoprotein, which is present in the foetal colon, some benign conditions and different malignancies, particularly in colon adenocarcinoma. We focused this study on non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). NMSC is a common malignancy and it is an important source of morbidity and death in the world. In this study we evaluated whether CEA level increases in NMSC. Patients and Methods: A total of 566 patients with non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) were enrolled; 286 patients with NMSC showed CEA levels above normal values, and 280 showed CEA levels below normal values. Patients with high levels of CEA underwent abdominal ultrasound, gastro endoscopy, colonoscopy, and abdominal CT scans. Results: We studied 566 patients, 286 were positive to CEA and 280 were negative. Of the 286 patients positive to CEA, 132 had basal cell carcinoma (64 patients had an associated cancer) and 154 had squamous cell carcinoma (75 patients were affected by cancer). Of the 280 patients negative to CEA, 130 had basal cell carcinoma (12 were associated with cancer), and 150 had squamous cell carcinoma (18 were associated with cancer). The mean age of the 566 case control subjects were 65–81 years. Of the 10 subjects that were the positive control for CEA, two had cancer. Of the 556 subjects that were the negative control for CEA, three had cancer. Conclusions: In patients that present high serum levels of CEA, we give attention to adenocarcinoma tumour first. The pattern of association may be attributable to bias because the group with NMSC were frequently evaluated than those with no history of NMSC. Our results showed that out of 286 patients that were CEA-positive, 139 had cancer, and of the 280 that were CEA-negative, 30 had cancer. Therefore, 20% of patients do not follow the trend. Other markers should be investigated.

Background: Conventional Right Colectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy (RC-D2) currently represent the most common surgical treatment of right-sided colon cancer (RCC). However, whether it should be still considered a standard of care, or replaced by a routine more extended D3 lymphadenectomy remains unclear. In the present study, we aim to critically review the patterns of relapse and the survival outcomes obtained from our 11-year experience of RC-D2. Methods: Clinical data of 489 patients who underwent RC-D2 for RCC at two centres, from January 2009 to January 2020, were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with synchronous distant metastases and/or widespread nodal involvement at diagnosis were excluded. Post-operative clinical–pathological characteristics and survival outcomes were evaluated including the pattern of disease relapse. Results: We enrolled a total of 400 patients with information follow-up. Postoperative morbidity was 14%. The median follow-up was 62 months. Cancer recurrence was observed in 55 patients (13.8%). Among them, 40 patients (72.7%) developed systemic metastases, and lymph-node involvement was found in 7 cases (12.8%). None developed isolated central lymph-node metastasis (CLM), in the D3 site. The estimated 3- and 5-year relapse-free survival were 86.1% and 84.4%, respectively. The estimated 3- and 5-year cancer-specific OS were 94.5% and 92.2%, respectively. Conclusions: The absence of isolated CLM, as well as the cancer-specific OS reported in our series, support the routine use of RC-D2 for RCC. However, D3 lymphadenectomy may be recommended in selected patients, such as those with pre-operatively known CLM, or with lymph-node metastases close to the origin of the ileocolic vessels.