We report a case of accessory breast cancer in the right axillary region. A 67-year-old woman visited our department complaining of a lump in the right underarm. We suspected cancer of an accessory breast from the findings of mammography and ultrasonography; a histological diagnosis of breast cancer was obtained by needle biopsy. With a preoperative diagnosis of accessorybreast cancer accompanied by ipsilateral axillary nodal involvement, the patient underwent wide local resection of the right axillary region with lymph-node dissection (level II). Histopathological findings of the resected specimen revealed that the tumor was composed of solid tubular carcinoma with intraductal component, with normal breast tissue in the region adjacent to the tumor. A diagnosis of right axillary accessory breast cancer (pT2, N1, pStage IIb) was confirmed. Postoperative chemotherapy and radiotherapy were administered. At present, 18 months after surgery, no sign of recurrence has been observed.

　　We report the first case in the Japanese literature of toxic shock syndrome following incisional hernia repair. We performed incisional hernia repair in a 54-year-old man with a BMI of 32.6 kg/m2 who underwent sigmoidectomy for cancer of the sigmoid colon one and half years earlier. Postoperative course was complicated by subcutaneous hemorrhage, which resolved with conservative management, and he was discharged on the 9th postoperative day. However, 3 days after discharge, he was readmitted with shock, high fever, diarrhea, vomiting, somnolence, and acute renal failure. He was diagnosed with toxic shock syndrome (TSS) due to TSS toxin-1 produced by MRSA infection of the subcutaneous hematoma. Drainage was performed and vancomycin, clindamycin, and gamma-globulin therapy were administered, with intensive supportive care. Treatment was successful and he was discharged 24 days after admission.

There are no signs of a drop in the number of deaths in accidents while at farmwork, hovering around 400 a year. Furthermore, the fact remains that accurate data about those farm accidents are not fully grasped.This reality gave birth to a Special Study Team on the Prevention of Farmwork Accidents in the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine.To cast light on the actuality of farm work accidents, questionnaires on accidents caused by farm machinery and instruments were sent to three medical institutions affiliated with the Association from October 2002 to March 2004. As a result, clinical data were collected on 141 clinical cases. Moreover, studies were performed on five cases in which rescue squads were dispatched to give aid to the injured.The data thus collected on the clinical cases revealed that grass cutters, harvesters, riding and push-on-foot types of tractors, and straw cutters were responsible for many accidents. Some individuals were involved in the accidents as operators of grass cutters were unaware of their existence nearby because of noise from the machines, some dragged in by the harvesters or straw cutters, and some pinned under the tractors.Case studies on death-induced accidents suggested the indispensability of fitting a safety frame and a seat belt to the tractor and installing a cabin on the speed sprayer.For the prevention of accidents by farm machinery, it is important to hold lecture meetings more frequently both on the basic method of their use and on first aid.
Prevention ; Clinical ; Accidents ; Industrial machine, NOS ; Research

We report a case of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy that developed after elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in an 80-year-old woman. She had been given a diagnosis of unstable angina complicated with mild hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). Her cardiac index began to fall 7 h postoperatively, and we needed to infuse fluids and increase dopamine dose (up to 5 µg/kg/min) to maintain cardiac index and blood pressure. CPK-MB level increased up to 140 IU/l at 12 h postoperatively. Transthoracic echocardiography showed akinesis and ballooning of the apex and hyperkinesis of the base with accelerated left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) flow and increased mitral regurgitation (MR). Emergency coronary artery angiography showed good patency of all bypass grafts and no new coronary lesion. We diagnosed Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. To improve the hemodynamic status, we started intra-aortic balloon pumping (IABP) instead of adding catecholamines. Blood pressure and cardiac index had improved temporarily, but became unstable again because of increased LVOT pressure gradient and moderate-to-severe MR. LV wall motion gradually improved, but the hemodynamic status stayed unstable, but improved after removal of IABP. In general, the prognosis of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is favorable with supportive care. However, when it is associated with LVOT stenosis and significant MR, low cardiac output syndrome can become intractable, thus we should manage critical conditions with extreme caution.

We report a case of septal branch aneurysm. A 61-year-old woman was referred to our hospital because of heart murmur. Septal branch aneurysm (25×15 mm) was diagnosed by echocardiography and coronary angiography, and followed up annually with multi-detector row computed tomography (MDCT). Nine years later, another aneurysm proximal to the known aneurysm, which protruded above the epicardium, has rapidly dilated from 5 to 11 mm. We therefore performed closure of the orifice of the septal branch concomitant with bypass grafting ; left internal mammary artery to distal LAD. After the procedure, the aneurysm in the septum had completely collapsed. Her postoperative course was uneventful.

We report a case of re-expansion pulmonary edema (REPE), which complicated mitral valve plasy via right small thoracotomy. A 56-years old man underwent mitral valve plasty for severe mitral regurgitation caused by P2 prolapse. After separation from heart-lung machine, massive yellow foamy secretion has begun to spout from the right side endotracheal tube and hypoxemia has ensued. Differential ventilation with high airway pressure and steroid pulse therapy could not counteract the exacerbation of hypoxemia. Echocardiography showed severe diffuse hypokinesis of left ventricular wall. Intra-aortic balloon pumping and percutaneous cardiopulmonary support (PCPS) were introduced, and they were very effective. After five-days' support, PCPS was successfully weaned. The patient recovered well. REPE complicated by mini-thoracotomy approach cardiac surgery, is rare, but can be fatal.

In this report, we present a case of successful treatment of a bowel fistula in the open abdomen by perforator flaps and an aponeurosis plug. A 70-year-old man underwent total gastrectomy and developed anastomotic leakage and dehiscence of the abdominal wound a week later. He was dependent upon extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, continuous hemodiafiltration, and a respirator. Bowel fluids contaminated the open abdomen. Two months after the gastric operation, a plastic surgery team, in consultation with general surgeons, performed perforator flaps on both sides and constructed, as it were, a bridge of skin sealing the orifice of the fistula. The aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle was elevated with the flap to be used as a plug. The perforators of the flaps were identified on preoperative and intraoperative ultrasonography. This modality allowed us to locate the perforators precisely and to evaluate the perforators by assessing their diameters and performing a waveform analysis. The contamination decreased dramatically afterwards. The bare areas were gradually covered by skin grafts. The fistula was closed completely 18 days after the perforator flap. An ultrasoundguided perforator flap with an aponeurosis plug can be an option for patients suffering from an open abdomen with a bowel fistula.
Abdomen* ; Abdominal Wound Closure Techniques ; Aged ; Anastomotic Leak ; Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation ; Fistula* ; Gastrectomy ; Hemodiafiltration ; Humans ; Intestinal Fistula ; Perforator Flap* ; Skin ; Surgeons ; Surgery, Plastic ; Transplants ; Ultrasonography ; Ultrasonography, Doppler ; Ventilators, Mechanical ; Wounds and Injuries

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Recent genome-wide analyses have provided strong evidence concerning adverse events caused by thiopurine drugs such as azathioprine (AZA) and 6-mercaptopurine. The strong associations identified between NUDT15 p.Arg139Cys and thiopurine-induced leukopenia and severe hair loss have been studied and confirmed over the last 2 years. However, other coding variants, including NUDT15 p.Val18_Val19insGlyVal, NUDT15 p.Val18Ile, and FTO p.Ala134Thr, and a noncoding variation in RUNX1 (rs2834826) remain to be examined in detail in this respect. Therefore, we investigated the correlation between these adverse events and the 5 recently identified variants mentioned above among Japanese patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). METHODS: One hundred sixty thiopurine-treated patients with IBD were enrolled. Genotyping was performed using TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assays or Sanger sequencing. RESULTS: None of the 5 variants were associated with gastrointestinal intolerance to AZA. However, NUDT15 p.Arg139Cys was significantly associated with the interval between initiation and discontinuation of AZA among patients with gastrointestinal intolerance. This variant was strongly associated with early (<8 weeks) and late (≥8 weeks) leukopenia and severe hair loss. Moreover, it correlated with the interval between initiation of thiopurine therapy and leukopenia occurrence, and average thiopurine dose. NUDT15 p.Val18_Val19insGlyVal, NUDT15 p.Val18Ile, FTO p.Ala134Thr, and RUNX1 rs2834826 exhibited no significant relationship with the adverse events examined. CONCLUSIONS: Of the 5 variants investigated, NUDT15 p.Arg139Cys had the strongest impact on thiopurine-induced leukopenia and severe hair loss; therefore, its genotyping should be prioritized over that of other variants in efforts to predict these adverse events in Japanese patients with IBD.
6-Mercaptopurine ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Azathioprine ; Clinical Coding ; Hair ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases* ; Leukopenia

The patient was an 80-year-old man who was diagnosed with cStage IIIB non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and early gastric cancer. The advanced lung cancer was treated with chemotherapy while the gastric cancer was monitored. Immune checkpoint inhibitors were effective against the lung cancer for a long period, but new gastric cancer appeared and progressed to an advanced stage, necessitating total gastrectomy 5 years after the diagnosis of NSCLC. The patient is currently being treated with a molecular targeted agent for progression of the lung cancer after gastrectomy. In the future, the number of cases with multiple primary cancers will increase alongside aging of the population and advances in cancer treatment, and a system for tumor-agnostic treatment selection and medical treatment will be necessary.

A 57-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with adhesive bowel obstruction following pancreaticoduodenectomy performed for cholangiocarcinoma 4 months earlier. After admission, the patient remained nil per os and was closely observed. On the third day of admission, he developed worsening abdominal pain, and computed tomography revealed strangulation of the small intestinal mesentery dorsal to the superior mesenteric artery, with prolapse of the small intestine into the right upper quadrant to form a closed loop. Strangulated bowel obstruction secondary to internal hernia was diagnosed, and he underwent emergency surgery. Intraoperatively, we detected a hernia orifice formed by the mesentery and peritoneum at the site of the defect following resection of the ligament of Treitz, and we observed that approximately 2 m of the small intestine had prolapsed into the right upper quadrant. The herniated intestine was returned to the abdominal cavity, and the hernia orifice was sutured following hernia reduction. Few reports have described an internal hernia after pancreaticoduodenectomy; however, it has been reported that this operation can result in various types of internal hernia because of the complicated reconstructive procedure. Here we report our findings in this unique case together with a literature review.