UNASSIGNED: Vaginal cuff dehiscence (VCD) in the setting of acute infection is an uncommon but serious complication of total hysterectomy without clear guidelines for management. There is a need for further documentation of best practices around treatment, particularly when it comes to surgical drain utilization and placement.
UNASSIGNED: We present a case of a 68-year-old with primary peritoneal carcinoma who underwent a robot-assisted total laparoscopic hysterectomy as part of an interval debulking surgery and had a VCD. The cuff was repaired vaginally in the operating room with placement of a Malecot catheter for pelvic abscess drainage.
UNASSIGNED: The literature is sparse in regard to clear guidelines for management of VCD. Surgical and expectant management approaches are dependent on patient stability, surgical experience, local practice norms, and evidence of intra-abdominal injury. Interventional radiology has become a primary source of drain placement in management of VCD and vaginal cuff abscess. Malecot drains are a low cost, and effective intervention for such management and an important resource for the gynecologic surgeon.

UNASSIGNED: As an emerging minimally invasive technology, endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has been reported to treat pelvic abscess instead of surgical or image-guided percutaneous drainage (PCD) under certain conditions. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of EUS-guided drainage for patients with pelvic abscesses.
UNASSIGNED: We conducted a comprehensive literature search on PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases (inception-March 2022). The main outcomes were technical success, clinical success, and complications. Comprehensive meta-analysis software was used to calculate the pooled event rate.
UNASSIGNED: Twelve studies containing 272 patients were included. These pelvic abscesses most frequently developed after abdominal and pelvic surgery (n = 180, 66.2%), inflammatory bowel disease (n = 32, 11.8%), and other inflammatory conditions. Respectively, the pooled technical and clinical success rate was 100% and 88.7% [95% confidence interval (CI): 83.8-92.2%, I2 = 1.0%, p < 0.001]. After excluding an individual study, the pooled rate of complications changed from 11.5% (95% CI: 7.4-17.4%, I2 = 38.8%, p < 0.001) to 8.2% (95% CI: 5.0-13.3%, I2 = 0, p < 0.001).
UNASSIGNED: EUS-guided drainage of the pelvic abscess was feasible, effective, and safe. Further randomized-controlled studies with large-sample sizes were required in the future.

BACKGROUND: Intra-abdominal and pelvic abscesses can develop because of multiple etiologies. Typically, these abscesses are managed via a combination of medical (antibiotics) and surgical (drainage) interventions. This is a unique case report of a giant idiopathic pelvic abscess with necrotizing fasciitis that failed conservative management with antibiotics, requiring urgent surgical intervention and complex closure of the wound.
METHODS: A 71-year-old female presented to the emergency department in sepsis, complaining of right hip and flank pain of one-month duration. Imaging revealed a giant right flank abscess with necrotizing fasciitis. The abscess extended from the pelvis to the right retroperitoneal space, traversing several soft tissue planes, to the skin. She was treated emergently with open surgical drainage, debridement, and delayed complex closure. The patient significantly improved post-operatively and was subsequently discharged.
CONCLUSIONS: Pelvic abscesses are commonly due to gastrointestinal, genitourinary, post-surgical, or rarely idiopathic causes. US, CT, or MRI are the imaging modalities effective in diagnosing and staging abscess severity. Currently percutaneous, image-guided abscess drainage is the primary management due to it being minimally invasive, having better outcomes and reduced hospital stay. In large, multi-loculated abscess as exhibited by our patient, open surgical drainage and debridement of the infected cavity was not only successful but imperative in effective resolution.
CONCLUSIONS: Most pelvic abscesses can be treated with percutaneous drainage but those complicated by necrotizing fasciitis, or multi-loculated collections may be better treated with open drainage.

BACKGROUND: Appendicitis, the inflammation of the appendix, is the most common abdominal surgical emergency requiring expedient surgical intervention. Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) are bacterial enzymes that catalyse the degradation of the beta-lactam ring of penicillins and cephalosporins (but without carbapenemase activity), leading to resistance of these bacteria to beta-lactam antibiotics. Recent increases in incidence of ESBL-producing bacteria have caused alarm worldwide. Proportion estimates of ESBL-Enterobacteriaceae hover around 46% in China, 42% in East Africa, 12% in Germany, and 8% in the United States.
METHODS: The impact of ESBL-producing bacteria on appendiceal abscesses and consequent pelvic abscesses are yet to be examined in depth. A literature review using the search words \"appendiceal abscesses\" and \"ESBL Escherichia coli (E. coli)\" revealed very few cases involving ESBL E. coli in any capacity in the context of appendiceal abscesses. This report describes the clinical aspects of a patient with appendicitis who developed a postoperative pelvic abscess infected with ESBL-producing E. coli. In this report, we discuss the risk factors for contracting ESBL E. coli infection in appendicitis and post-appendectomy pelvis abscesses. We also discuss our management approach for post-appendectomy ESBL E. coli pelvic abscesses, including drainage, pathogen identification, and pathogen characterisation. When ESBL E. coli is confirmed, carbapenem antibiotics should be promptly administered, as was done efficaciously with this patient. Our report is the first one in a developed country involving ESBL E. coli related surgical complications in association with a routine laparoscopic appendectomy.
CONCLUSIONS: Our report is the first involving ESBL E. coli and appendiceal abscesses, and that too consequent to laparoscopic appendectomy.