Xiequn Xu

Schwannoma rarely originates from the recurrent laryngeal nerve, and there are few reports on schwannoma originating from the recurrent nerve in the mediastinum. Herein, we present an extremely rare case of schwannoma originating from the recurrent laryngeal nerve in the neck. This is a case report of one patient diagnosed with thyroid cancer with schwannoma originating from the recurrent laryngeal nerve in the neck, which was incidentally found during a thyroidectomy, and a review of the literature. Preoperative diagnostic examinations are of less use for detecting schwannoma originating from a recurrent laryngeal nerve in the neck in such small size, which may only incidentally be found during a thyroidectomy. Surgical excision with opening the capsule and shelling out the tumor is the treatment of choice. If the nerve is unable to be preserved, end-to-end recurrent laryngeal nerve anastomosis may be a simple and minimally invasive reconstruction procedure to improve phonation.

It is a growing trend that patients seek health information on the internet to self-educate and self-diagnose, which impacts their health decisions. The aim of the study was to investigate how Chinese patients undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) sought information about their disease and treatment, how they preferred the information to be presented, and how it influenced them. A descriptive, cross-sectional-designed questionnaire was employed to obtain information from 248 Chinese patients undergoing elective LC in Peking Union Medical College Hospital. A total of 223 patients (89.9 %) sought health information from the internet. Patients searching the internet for information about LC were younger than those who did not. It varied with employment status, educational level, and household average income. Among patients searching the internet for LC information, 35.4 % felt more worried and 37.2 % felt more assured; 15.2 % went to visit other doctors and 8.5 % considered changing their treatment because of internet use. A significant proportion of patients used the internet to obtain information about their disease. Age, employment status, educational level, and household average monthly income had an effect on internet usage for LC information. The use of the internet could cause mixed emotional outcomes among patients. Physicians should guide Chinese patients to professional websites of high quality and take time to discuss the information with patients during their visits and consultations.

A diverticulum is a bulging sack in any portion of the gastrointestinal tract. Small intestine diverticular disease is much less common than colonic diverticular disease. The most common symptoms include non-specific epigastric pain and a bloating sensation. Major complications include diverticulitis, gastrointestinal bleeding, acute perforation, intestinal obstruction, intestinal perforation, localized abscess, malabsorption, anemia, volvulus and bacterial overgrowth. We report one case of massive jejunal diverticula bleeding and one case of massive colonic diverticula bleeding, both diagnosed by acute abdominal computed tomography angiography and treated successfully by surgery.

The wide use of surgical endoclips in laparoscopic surgery has led to a variety of complications. Post-cholecystectomy endoclips migrating into the common bile duct after laparoscopic cholecystectomy is rare. A migrated endoclip can cause obstruction, serve as a nidus for stone formation, and cause cholangitis. While the exact pathogenesis is still unknown, it is probably related to improper clip application, subclinical bile leak, inflammation, and subsequent necrosis, allowing the clips to erode directly into the common bile duct. We present a case of endoclip migrating into the common bile duct and duodenum, resulting in choledochoduodenal fistula after laparoscopic cholecystectomy and a successful reconstruction of the biliary tract by a hepaticojejunostomy with a Roux-en-Y procedure. This case shows that surgical endoclips can penetrate into the intact bile duct wall through serial maceration, and it is believed that careful application of clips may be the only way to prevent their migration after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

INTRODUCTION: Gallstone disease is very common, but the gallstone bigger than 5 cm in diameter is very rare. It is very challenging to be removed by laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) and poses extra difficulty in emergency. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 70-year-old man complained of abdominal pain in the right upper quadrant with fever of 38 °C for two days. Abdominal ultrasound indicated acute cholecystitis and a single, extremely large gallstone (95 mm × 60 mm × 45 mm). Emergency laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed successfully. DISCUSSION: Gallstone over 5 cm in diameter is very rare. LC will be very difficult for these cases, especially for the emergency cases. Emergency laparoscopic cholecystectomy can be successfully performed with clear exposure of the anatomy of the Calot's triangle. To the best of our knowledge, such giant gallstone has been rarely reported. CONCLUSION: We have proven that for the rare giant gallstone about 10 cm in size, LC is a feasible option if the anatomy of the Calot's triangle can be clearly exposed; otherwise, open cholecystectomy is a safe choice.

The occurrence of adult intussusception from small intestinal lymphoma is quite rare. We present an 82-year-old man with a two-month history of intermittent abdominal pain, nausea and fatigue. Clinical symptoms included moderate abdominal tenderness in the right lower abdomen. Computed tomography scan of the abdomen revealed a mass in the terminal ileum with the sign of “bowel within bowel” which was suspicious of ileo-ileum intussusception. The patient underwent laparoscopic segmental ileal resection. Pathologic evaluation revealed a diffuse large B cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma of the ileum. The postoperative course was uneventful.