Hiromi Kanno-Okada

Background and Clinical Significance: Tumors of the lacrimal drainage system are rare but clinically important diagnostic pitfalls because they may mimic benign lacrimal drainage obstruction, chronic dacryocystitis, or sinonasal disease. Pleomorphic adenoma (PA) in this region is exceptionally rare, and delayed recognition may allow progressive extension into adjacent structures. Case Presentation: A 51-year-old woman presented with left nasal obstruction 16 years after external dacryocystorhinostomy for presumed lacrimal drainage obstruction. Examination showed a firm left lacrimal sac mass, proptosis, mild ocular motility limitation, and an intranasal mass. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed a large lesion centered in the lacrimal sac region and extending into the nasolacrimal duct, nasal cavity, and maxillary sinus, with orbital displacement. Preoperative biopsy showed epithelial neoplastic tissue without definitive malignant features, but low-grade epithelial malignancy could not be excluded. Complete en bloc excision and medial/inferior orbital wall reconstruction with an autologous calvarial outer table bone graft were performed. The tumor measured 55 × 35 × 25 mm. Final histopathology confirmed PA without malignant transformation. At 2 years postoperatively, there was no recurrence, and proptosis and ocular motility limitation had improved. Conclusions: This case illustrates two diagnostic pitfalls: an underlying tumor may masquerade as lacrimal drainage obstruction, whereas a large benign PA may clinically and radiologically mimic malignancy. Long-standing or atypical unilateral lacrimal symptoms should prompt consideration of tumors and selected use of imaging and tissue diagnosis before lacrimal drainage surgery.

Introduction: Epstein–Barr virus-associated gastric cancer (EBVaGC) sometimes appears as multiple gastric cancer lesions. Here, we report a case of robot-assisted laparoscopic total gastrectomy (RTG) for a relatively rare disease with four synchronized lesions in EBVaGC and discuss the usefulness of robotic gastrectomy. Presentation of case: A 60-year-old woman was diagnosed with multiple gastric cancer because she had five lesions in the stomach and biopsy showed the presence of adenocarcinoma in four of the five lesions. We performed robot-assisted laparoscopic total gastrectomy on the patient. The histopathological diagnosis was multiple gastric cancer T1bN0M0 pStage IA. The four lesions were positive for the Epstein–Barr virus encoding region in in-situ hybridization and were considered to be EBVaGC. The patient had no sign of recurrence without postoperative therapy for 24 months. Disscussion: EBVaGC was found in about 10% of all gastric cancer cases worldwide. EBVaGC sometimes appears as multiple gastric cancer, suggesting that EBV infection is closely related to the early stages of tumor formation. Total gastrectomy may be necessary for multiple gastric cancer such as EBVaGC, and robotic surgery is useful in total gastrectomy in terms of high-resolution three-dimensional images and using forceps with multi-joint functions. Conclusions: We performed RTG on a patient with four synchronous lesions of EBVaGC, which is relatively rare. Robot-assisted laparoscopic total gastrectomy is known to be a safe procedure, and we effectively performed total gastrectomy for multiple EBVaGC. Highlights: