Toon Allaeys

For patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or positive N1 nodes, multimodality treatment is indicated. However, the optimal management of patients presenting with ipsilateral positive mediastinal nodes (N2 disease) has not been determined yet. Different treatment regimens consisting of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery have been proposed and implemented previously. In more recent years, immunotherapy and targeted therapies have been added as therapeutic options. The role of surgery is currently redefined. Recent studies have shown that surgical resection after induction immunotherapy or targeted therapy is feasible and yields good short-term results. In this review, we summarize the latest data on multimodality treatment options for stage IIIA-N2 locally advanced NSCLC, depending on the extent of nodal involvement.

Multimodality therapy for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a complex and controversial issue, especially regarding optimal treatment regimens for patients with ipsilateral positive mediastinal nodes (N2 disease). Many trials investigating neoadjuvant immunotherapy and targeted therapy in this subpopulation have shown promising results, although concerns have risen regarding surgical feasibility. A thorough literature review was performed, analyzing all recent studies regarding surgical morbidity and mortality. Despite the fact that two major trials investigating this subject were terminated early, the overall consensus is that surgical management seems feasible. However, dissection of hilar vessels may be challenging due to hilar fibrosis. Further research is necessary to identify the role of surgery in these multimodality treatment regimens, and to define matters such as the optimal treatment regimen, the dosage of the different agents used, the interval between induction therapy and surgery, and the role of adjuvant therapy.

A 50-year-old woman was hospitalised because of a high fever. Her medical history revealed chronic pain after failed back surgery. Emboli were seen in the brain and left kidney. Transoesophageal ec...

Background: Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is a frequently carried out bariatric procedure, proven to be effective in the management of obesity and its accompanying health issues. Following its popularity, admission to the emergency department for abdominal pain is often seen with known early and late onset causes. We present a case of a young woman with vague abdominal pain years after her gastric bypass, who eventually underwent a resection of a ‘candy cane’ like biliopancreatic blind loop. Methods: A healthy 23-year-old woman has been suffering of vague abdominal complaints after a gastric bypass procedure 4 years earlier. Postprandial pain, diarrhoea and abdominal distension were present at a daily to weekly basis. Several investigations and management options were administered by surgeons, gastroenterologists as well as endocrinologists. On a performed explorative laparoscopy, a large blind loop at the entero-enteric anastomosis was seen and resected. Results: At current follow-up of 15 months the resection of the candy cane like blind end of the biliopancreatic loop resulted in a complete withdrawal of our patient’s symptoms. A tentative diagnosis of bacterial overgrowth in the blind loop was made. Conclusions: Abdominal pain after gastric bypass is a frequent cause of admission to the emergency department. Besides the more serious complications, internal hernia is often withheld as possible diagnosis in the differential diagnosis of late onset, postprandial epigastric pain. This case report highlights another possibility. At initial surgery, a candy cane shaped blind loop should be avoided both at the gastro-jejunal as well as the entero-enteric anastomosis.