OBJECTIVE: To discuss the diagnosis and treatment of tarsal tunnel syndrome. METHODS: From 1998 to 1999, 10 cases of tarsal tunnel syndrome were reviewed, and the outcomes of operation were analyzed according to Pefeiffer’s method. Out of 10 cases, 6 were examined using electromyography preoperatively. RESULTS: After 1 to 2 year follow-up, postoperative outcomes were excellent in 5 cases, good in 4 cases, and poor in 1 case according Pefiffer’s methods. CONCLUSION: A combination of symptoms and physical signs, and electromyography may increase the diagnosis rate; and early operation will improve the therapy results.
Objective To compare the effectiveness of percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy (PTED) and unilateral biportal endoscopy (UBE) discectomy in the treatment of far lateral lumbar disc herniation (FLLDH). Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 60 patients with FLLDH, who were admitted between September 2021 and September 2024 and met the selection criteria, including 30 cases treated with PTED and 30 cases with UBE discectomy. There was no significant difference in baseline data between the two groups (P>0.05), such as gender, age, body mass index, responsible segment, preoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) scores for low back/leg pain, and modified Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). The operation time, incision length, intraoperative blood loss, and length of hospital stay in two groups were recorded. The VAS score was used to evaluate the severity of low back and leg pain, and the ODI was employed to assess the spinal functional status. X-ray films combined with CT three-dimensional reconstruction and MRI were performed to confirm the nerve decompression effect and soft tissue repair status. Results All patients successfully underwent operation. In the PTED group, 1 patient experienced intolerable lower extremity pain during the procedure, which was managed with potent analgesics allowing the operation to proceed uneventfully. In the UBE group, 1 patient developed peritoneal effusion postoperatively and required peritoneal puncture drainage. All incisions healed by first intention. The UBE group demonstrated significantly longer operation time and incision length, and more intraoperative blood loss compared to the PTED group (P<0.05). All patients were followed up for 12 months. After operation, both groups showed significant reductions in VAS scores for low back and leg pain as well as ODI compared to preoperative measurements, with continuous improvement over time. There were significant differences between different time points (P<0.05) in both groups. The VAS score for low back pain in the UBE group was significantly higher than that in the PTED group at 3 days after operation (P<0.05); there was no significantly between the two groups in other outcome indicators (P>0.05). Radiological re-examinations showed that both groups had limited resection of articular processes, adequate spinal canal decompression, good nerve root release, and satisfactory lumbar stability. No patients experienced incomplete decompression or required reoperation during follow-up. Conclusion Both PTED and UBE are effective minimally invasive approaches for FLLDH with confirmed short-term effectiveness. PTED offers advantages in reduced trauma and faster recovery, whereas UBE provides superior endoscopic visualization with lower nerve root injury risk.
Objective To analyze the early effectiveness of unilateral biportal endoscopy (UBE) laminectomy in the treatment of two-level lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Methods The clinical data of 98 patients with two-level LSS treated with UBE between September 2020 and December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 53 males and 45 females with an average age of 59.9 years (range, 32-79 years). Among them, there were 56 cases of mixed spinal stenosis, 23 cases of central spinal canal stenosis, and 19 cases of nerve root canal stenosis. The duration of symptoms was 1.5- 10 years, with an average of 5.4 years. The operative segments were L2, 3 and L3, 4 in 2 cases, L3, 4 and L4, 5 in 29 cases, L4, 5 and L5, S1 in 67 cases. All patients had different degrees of low back pain, among of which 76 cases were with unilateral lower extremity symptoms and 22 cases were with bilateral lower extremity symptoms. There were 29 cases of bilateral decompression in both segments, 63 cases of unilateral decompression in both segments, and 6 cases of unilateral decompression and bilateral decompression of each segment. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, total incision length, hospitalization stay, ambulation time, and related complications were recorded. Visual analogue scale (VAS) score was used to assess the low back and leg pain before operation and at 3 days, 3 months after operation, and at last follow-up. The Oswestry disability index (ODI) was used to evaluate the functional recovery of lumbar spine before operation and at 3 months and last follow-up after operation. Modified MacNab criteria was used to evaluate clinical outcomes at last follow-up. Imaging examinations were performed before and after operation to measure the preservation rate of articular process, modified Pfirrmann scale, disc height (DH), lumbar lordosis angle (LLA), and cross-sectional area of the canal (CAC), and the CAC improvement rate was calculated. Results All patients underwent surgery successfully. The operation time was (106.7±25.1) minutes, the intraoperative blood loss was (67.7±14.2) mL, and the total incision length was (3.2±0.4) cm. The hospitalization stay was 8 (7, 9) days, and the ambulation time was 3 (3, 4) days. All the wounds healed by first intention. Dural tear occurred in 1 case during operation, and mild headache occurred in 1 case after operation. All patients were followed up 13-28 months with an average of 19.3 months, and there was no recurrence or reoperation during the follow-up. At last follow-up, the preservation rate of articular process was 84.7%±7.3%. The modified Pfirrmann scale and DH were significantly different from those before operation (P<0.05), while the LLA was not significantly different from that before operation (P=0.050). The CAC significantly improved (P<0.05), and the CAC improvement rate was 108.1%±17.8%. The VAS scores of low back pain and leg pain and ODI at each time point after operation significantly improved when compared with those before operation, and the differences between each time points were significant (P<0.05). According to the modified MacNab criteria, 63 cases were excellent, 25 cases were good, and 10 cases were fair, with an excellent and good rate of 89.8%. ConclusionUBE laminectomy is a safe and effective technique with little trauma and fast recovery for two-level LSS and the early effectiveness is satisfactory.
Objective To investigate the influence of CO2-insufflation pressure on invasion potential of the colon cancer cells. Methods With an in vitro artificial pneumoperitoneum model, SW1116 human colon cancer cells were exposed to CO2-insufflation of 5 different pressure groups: 6, 9, 12, 15 mm Hg and control group, respectively for 1 h. The invasion capacities of SW1116 cells exposed to CO2-insufflation of 5 different pressure groups were detected by cell adhesion/invasion assay in vitro. Results Immediately following exposure to 15 mm Hg CO2 insufflation, the invasion of SW1116 cells decreased significantly compared to the cells before exposure. At the 0 h time point, the cells exposed to 15 mm Hg were significantly less invasive than those exposed to the other insufflation pressure (P＜0.05), and the cells exposed to 6 mm Hg were more invasive than cells exposed to the other insufflation pressure (P＜0.05). And 72 h after exposed to CO2-insufflation, the differences between the pressure groups were not significant. Conclusion CO2-insufflation induced a temporary change in the invasion capacity of cancer cells in vitro, higher pressure of CO2-insufflation inhibits the invasion potential.
ObjectiveTo compare the perioperative safety and oncologic efficacy of transanal endoscopic intersphincteric resection (TaE-ISR) and the completely transabdominal approach intersphincteric resection (CTA-ISR) for the treatment of ultra-low rectal cancer. MethodsClinical data of patients who underwent TaE-ISR or CTA-ISR at Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, from June 2022 to June 2023, were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 38 cases of TaE-ISR and 16 cases of CTA-ISR were included. Comparison of surgery-related indexes (including operation time, injury of adjacent organs, protective stoma, and placement of anal tube), postoperative recovery and complications, and oncological results (including positive rate of circumferential resection margin, positive rate of distal resection margin, and number of lymph nodes) were compared between the 2 groups. ResultsThe distance of the lower edge of the tumor from the anal verge was lower in the TaE-ISR group than that in the CTA-ISR group [4.0 (3.4, 4.5) cm vs. 4.9 (4.1, 5.9) cm, P<0.001]. A longer duration of the surgery [(177.18±37.24) min vs (146.25±38.86) min], a higher rate of the anal tube [97.4% (37/38) vs 56.3% (7/16)], a higher rate of protective stoma [94.7% (36/38) vs 12.5% (2/16)], and a higher rate of transanal specimen extraction [92.1% (35/38) vs 0% (0/16)], faster time to first postoperative semi-liquid diet [4 (3, 5) d vs 6 (5, 6) d] were observed in the TaE-ISR group (P<0.05). No adjacent organ injuries occurred in the TaE-ISR group, whereas 2 patients in the CTA-ISR group had intraoperative adjacent organ injuries (0% vs 12.5%), the difference was statistically significant (P=0.026). There was no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups in terms of postoperative hospitalization, postoperative time to first flatus, Clavien-Dindo grading of postoperative complications, the incidence of anastomotic leakage and anastomotic stenosis, distal margin distance, the total number of lymph nodes cleared, and the number of positive lymph nodes (P>0.05). Postoperative specimens in all cases were adequate for distal margins and negative for circumferential margins.ConclusionTaE-ISR and CTA-ISR can both be applied to anus-preserving surgery for ultra-low rectal cancer, but TaE-ISR may be a more reasonable approach than CTA-ISR when the lower edge of the tumor is closer to the anal verge.
