The outstanding cardiologist and cardiac surgeon Evgeny Nikolaevich Meshalkin was born on February 25, 1916 in the city of Yekaterinoslav, now Dnepropetrovsk. In 1918, the Meshalkin family moved to Rostov-on-Don, and in 1928 to Moscow, where Evgeny graduated from school in 1930, and then studied at the factory school at the Sickle and Hammer factory. In 1941, Evgeny Nikolaevich graduated from the 2nd Moscow Medical Institute and from August 1941 to May 1945 was a participant of the Great Patriotic War permanently in the field army. After demobilization from the army, E. N. Meshalkin worked from 1946 to 1956 at the department and at the clinic of Faculty Surgery of the 2nd Moscow State Medical Institute, headed by Academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences A. N. Bakulev. In 1950, he defended his PhD thesis «Intubation anesthesia», and in 1953, his first monograph «Intubation anesthesia Technique» was published. Evgeny Nikolaevich is rightfully considered one of the founders of the Russian anesthesiology. In 1953, E. N. Meshalkin defended his doctoral dissertation «Probing and contrast study of the heart and major vessels». In conditions of moderate nonperfusion hypothermia, Yevgeny Nikolaevich successfully operated on complex heart defects, performed the insertion of mechanical prostheses for mitral and aortic insufficiency. From January 1956 to 1960, he was the head of the Department of Thoracic Surgery and Anesthesiology of the Central Institute of Advanced Medical Training (now the Russian Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education). E.N.Meshalkin owns 47 copyright certificates and patents, which are implemented not only in the Research Institute of Circulatory Pathology, but also in other cardiac surgery centers in Russia. Honorary citizen of Novosibirsk Evgeny Nikolaevich Meshalkin passed away on March 8, 1997 and was buried in Novosibirsk at the Southern Cemetery. In memory of the outstanding scientist, the Novosibirsk Research Institute of Circulatory Pathology was named after Academician E. N. Meshalkin.

Introduction. The information presented in the literature on the use of minimally invasive interventions in the treatment of hyperparathyroidism is not fully justified by topographical and anatomical studies and does not take into account individual features of the location and syntopia of the parathyroid glands, which requires additional scientific research.

Objective.Based on the topographical and anatomical features of the structure of the anterior neck region, we determined the most rational methods of minimally invasive interventions on the parathyroid glands and evaluated their clinical effectiveness in patients with hyperparathyroidism.

Methods and materials. The design of the study consisted of two stages – topographical and anatomical, and clinical. Topographical and anatomical stage was performed on 2 levels: 1) on anatomical material, which included 15 human cadavers; 2) on plastinated cross sections of the neck (n=44) of human cadavers. During the clinical stage, we studied results of examination and treatment of 53 patients with hyperparathyroidism, who underwent surgery using three methods: Сonventional (n=18/34 %); Minimally Invasive Video-Assisted Parathyroidectomy (n=32/60 %) and Transoral Endoscopic Parathyroidectomy Vestibular Approach (n=3/6 %).

Results. During the topographical and anatomical stage, the validity and safety of minimally invasive video-assisted parathyroidectomy was proved. The use of this access in clinical practice as an alternative to the conventional one has shown its effectiveness in reducing the frequency of specific postoperative complications from 16.7 to 6.3 % with an acceptable increase in the duration of surgery from (42.8±15.7) to (64.4±23.5) minutes and maintaining the average duration of inpatient treatment after surgery at the level of (3.4±0.6) days.

Conclusion. Minimally invasive video-assisted parathyroidectomy can be considered the operation of choice in the treatment of patients with hyperparathyroidism. The use of this technique with the implementation of lateralization of the thyroid lobe, the preservation of the superior and inferior thyroid vessels, as well as the use of intraoperative neuromonitoring and identification of pathological and normal parathyroid tissue by fluorescent labeling with 5-aminolevulinic acid can improve the results of surgical treatment, reduce the number of postoperative complications, the frequency of persistence and relapse of the disease, and improve the quality of life of patients.

The Objective was to assess and improve the treatment results of victims with spleen injury in blunt abdominal trauma by using high-tech minimally invasive methods of diagnosis and treatment.

Methods and materials. The article analyzed the results of treatment of 86 patients with isolated and combined blunt spleen injuries who received conventional surgery, and 52 similar patients who were treated in accordance with the new algorithm. This algorithm included conventional splenectomy for unstable hemodynamics and non-operative and minimally invasive management for stable hemodynamics after MSCT. In the absence of CT signs of ongoing bleeding, non-operative management was performed, if ongoing bleeding signs were detected, angiography with selective angioembolization was performed.

Results. In both groups, most of the victims with blunt spleen injury were admitted to the trauma center after traffic accidents and catatraumas. There were no statistically significant differences in the injury severity (ISS, Tsibin scales), and the condition severity (VPH-SP). The tactics of non-operative and minimally invasive management was applied in 31 patients of the prospective group with stable hemodynamics. Non-operative management was performed on 16 patients of the prospective group. Four patients of this group underwent angiography and selective embolization of the branches of the splenic artery. In the retrospective group, there was a greater number of local complications compared to the prospective group (p=0.006). The decrease in the number of visceral and generalized complications was statistically insignificant (p>0.05). In the retrospective group, 21 victims died. Of these, 12 patients died from severe combined trauma and massive blood loss during the first 24 hours. In the prospective group, the total number of deaths was 10 patients. Of these, 6 died from polytrauma with acute massive blood loss, 1 – from severe traumatic brain injury, 1 – from PE, 2 – from sepsis. In the prospective group, among the patients with stable hemodynamics who had conservative treatment of abdominal trauma, 2 deaths were observed in the long-term period due to severe traumatic brain injury and PE.

Conclusion. Organ-preserving management was carried out in 26 of 52 (50 %) patients, the number of performed diagnostic laparocenteses was reduced by 50.6 %, laparoscopies – by 16.5 %, laparotomies – by 60.7 %, the duration of inpatient treatment of surviving patients was more than for 7 days, mortality – by 5.2 %.

The Objective was to study our treatment experience for the past 50 years of patients with acute embolism of the aorta and main arteries of the limbs (EAMAL).

Methods and materials. We analyzed our treatment experience of 3498 patients with EAMAL over the past 50 years, from 1971 to 2020. All patients were treated at a single department. It was one of the first vascular surgery departments established in St. Petersburg. All patients were admitted to our clinic in an emergency way, all of them received urgent angiosurgical care.

Results. 3091 (88.4 %) patients were operated on, in 2950 (95.4 %) cases the primary operation was revascularization (embolectomy), in 141 (4.6 %) – limb amputation. 2725 (77.9 %) patients were discharged from the hospital with a saved limb, another 160 (4.6 %) – after limb amputation, 614 (17.5 %) died. According to our findings, it was demonstrated that in recent decades there became significant changes in the ethiology of arterial embolism. Nowadays, 92.2 % of patients with EAMAL have atrial fibrillation as an independent disease or as a complication of another pathology. Over the past decades, the incidence of rheumatic heart disease as a direct cause of embolism has decreased by 8 times. Changes in the structure of embologenic diseases are associated primarily with an increase in the proportion of elderly and senile people suffering from severe concomitant diseases. In recent decades, there has been an increase in the number of patients with embolism of the distally located arteries, mainly of the brachial and popliteal arteries, and a decrease in the rate of embolism of the large arterial vessels – the aorta and iliac arteries. Modern approaches have made it possible to optimize treatment, stick to more aggressive tactics, improve surgical techniques, and thereby reduce the overall and postoperative mortality rate by more than 2 times, which is currently 9 % and 7.5 % respectively.

Conclusion. Despite modern advances in vascular surgery, EAMAL remains the actual and complex problem of the health care system of St. Petersburg for the past 50 years.

Introduction. Wound complications after the placing of various implants of the abdominal wall after hernia repair account for up to 15 % of all hospitalizations with purulent diseases. Their treatment is often accompanied by a high frequency of explantation of a mesh endoprosthesis with a risk of recurrent hernias in this category of patients.

The objective of the study was to improve the results of surgical treatment of patients with infected implants of the abdominal wall after herniaplasty based on the assessment of the effectiveness of the negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT).

Methods and materials. A retrospective analysis of the treatment results of patients with infected mesh endoprostheses of the anterior abdominal wall (n=68) was carried out. We formed for comparison two homogeneous representative groups of patients, who underwent adequate debridement of a purulent wound with empirical antibiotic therapy. Patients from the study group (n=38) received local therapy using NPWT, patients from the control group (n=30) received traditional local therapy. The evaluation of the treatment results was carried out according to a number of criteria: the course of the systemic inflammatory reaction, the dynamics of reparative processes in the wound of the anterior abdominal wall, evaluation of the clinical outcomes of treatment of patients.

Results. The use of vacuum therapy was accompanied by a positive effect on the course of the systemic inflammatory reaction, stimulation of reparative processes in the wound due to the rapid elimination of bacterial agents from the wound cavity (p= 0.003), as well as significant retraction of the wound cavity (p=0.004) compared to traditional methods of wound treatment. Patients from the study group had more favorable treatment outcomes such as a reduction in the duration of hospitalization (p=0.005) and the number of surgical interventions (p=0.003). Due to the NPWT, it was possible to save implants in 30 patients out of 38 (78.9%) with infected mesh endoprostheses of the anterior abdominal wall, which prevented the formation of recurrent hernias and helped to avoid reoperations in this category of patients.

Conclusion. The use NPWT is a safe and effective method for treating wounds of the anterior abdominal wall with infected mesh endoprostheses after hernioplasty.

The objective was to improve the early diagnosis efficiency of large pseudopapillary tumor of pancreas through the demonstration and analysis of three clinical cases.

Methods and materials. In this work, the observation period was two years, in which three cases were diagnosed and treated a large number of pseudopapillary tumors.

Results. With sufficient information on the characteristics of this disease, over the past 5 years we have had an opportunity to determine a diagnosis in two patients before the tissue examination.

Conclusion. The age of patients, clinical manifestations, tumor size and the age of tumor patients are not reliable criteria for predicting the possibility of malignant tumors. Performing the operation in compliance with the principles of radicalism provide the best opportunity for recovery and reduces the early incidence of postoperative complications.

The objective was to evaluate the efficacy of sternal closure using the «double twist» technique.

Methods and materials. The study included 37 patients with risk factors for sternal dehiscence (obesity, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). The patients were divided into 2 groups. In the first group (n=12), «double twist» technique was used. In patients of the second group (n=25), osteosynthesis was performed using standard technique (single wire ligatures). The efficacy of the «double twist» sternal closure was evaluated on the basis of clinical examination and multispiral computed tomography of the chest.

Results. In the early postoperative period, the sternal dehiscence, which required re-operation was detected in 12 % after standard sternal closure. Sternum was stable in all of the patients of «double twist» group (p=0.211). No deep sternal infection was observed in both groups. In the follow-up (up to 6 months), there were no clinical and tomographic sings of delayed sternal dehiscence or infection in «double twist» group.

Conclusions. Sternal closure using the «double twist» technique provides reliable fixation of the sternum in patients with the risk of its dehiscence.

Introduction. Sternomediastinitis in patients undergoing open heart operation remains a formidable complication. Treatment of a sternal infection is a complex and multi-component process. Closing of the sternal wound is one of the decisive steps in the treatment of sternomediastinitis. This is due to the fact that an insufficiently static state of the sternum in itself leads to a relapse of purulent-septic complications. At the same time, we have to work with non-native bone that has undergone inflammatory and destructive changes and multiple mechanical damage.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the results of using the developed bidirectional U-shaped sternal suture for reosteosynthesis of the sternum in patients after postoperative mediastinitis.

Methods and materials. The results of treatment of 16 patients with deep sternal infection in the early postoperative period were analyzed. All patients were divided into two groups according to the type of used sternal sutures. The first group consisted of 8 patients in whom a developed bidirectional U-shaped sternal suture was used for sternum reosteosynthesis. In the second group, in 8 patients, the sternal cusps were brought together using classic sternal figure-of-8 suture. A two-stage tactics of treatment was used both in the first and in the second groups of patients. Surgical debridement of the wound with removal of the primary sternal sutures was performed in the first stage. Subsequently, vacuum-assisted therapy was carried out using antiseptics. The second stage was the closure of the sternal wound after cleaning and decontamination of the wound.

Results. Signs of sternal suture failure were not observed in the first group. Three patients underwent repeated plasty of the sternum due to the incompetence of the sternal sutures in the second group. One patient had relapse of wound infection.

Conclusion. The developed bi-directional U-shaped sternal suture in patients after postoperative sternomediastinitis provides the prevention of inconsistency of sternum.

Введение. Чрескожная лазерная декомпрессия межпозвонковых дисков (ЧЛДД) представляет собой современный минимально инвазивный метод хирургического лечения пациентов с дегенеративным заболеванием межпозвонковых дисков. ЦЕЛЬ. Изучить и сравнить клиническую эффективность методик чрескожной лазерной декомпрессии дисков и микродискэктомии у пациентов с дегенеративным заболеванием поясничных межпозвонковых дисков.

Методы и материалы. Согласно критериям соответствия, в исследование включены 324 пациента, данные о которых рандомизированы. Среди всех пациентов, включенных в настоящее рандомизированное контролируемое исследование, у 218 респондентов выполнена ЧЛДД поясничного отдела позвоночного столба и у 106 пациентов выполнена поясничная микродискэктомия. Пациенты случайным образом распределены на группы с применением методики блоковой рандомизации в соотношении 2:1.

Результаты. Сравнение параметров комбинированной первичной конечной точки исследования продемонстрировало достоверное преимущество клинико-инструментальных показателей в группе пациентов, которым выполнена операция ЧЛДД поясничного отдела позвоночника (р<0,02). Спустя 36-месячный период послеоперационного наблюдения в группе респондентов, которым выполнена процедура ЧЛДД, отмечено достоверное снижение выраженности болевого синдрома в поясничном отделе позвоночного столба на 74 % (с (7,9±1,5) до (2,1±2,5) см), и в группе пациентов, перенесших операцию микродискэктомии, верифицировано снижение выраженности болевого синдрома на 68 % (с (7,9±1,5) до (2,6±3,0) см). Улучшение качества жизни пациентов по Oswestry Disability Index после ЧЛДД и поясничной микродискэктомии было сопоставимо и составило 67 % (с (57±14) до (19±18) %) и 61 % (с (59±14) до (24±20) %) соответственно. Частота встречаемости нежелательных явлений в течение всего периода послеоперационного наблюдения в группе респондентов, которым выполнена ЧЛДД, составила 30 %, а в группе пациентов, перенесших поясничную микродискэтомию, – 43 % (р=0,02). ЗАКЛЮЧЕНИЕ. Исследование наглядно продемонстрировало наличие схожих клинических исходов у пациентов, перенесших ЧЛДД поясничного отдела позвоночника и поясничную микродискэктомию.><0,02). Спустя 36-месячный период послеоперационного наблюдения в группе респондентов, которым выполнена процедура ЧЛДД, отмечено достоверное снижение выраженности болевого синдрома в поясничном отделе позвоночного столба на 74 % (с (7,9±1,5) до (2,1±2,5) см), и в группе пациентов, перенесших операцию микродискэктомии, верифицировано снижение выраженности болевого синдрома на 68 % (с (7,9±1,5) до (2,6±3,0) см). Улучшение качества жизни пациентов по Oswestry Disability Index после ЧЛДД и поясничной микродискэктомии было сопоставимо и составило 67 % (с (57±14) до (19±18) %) и 61 % (с (59±14) до (24±20) %) соответственно. Частота встречаемости нежелательных явлений в течение всего периода послеоперационного наблюдения в группе респондентов, которым выполнена ЧЛДД, составила 30 %, а в группе пациентов, перенесших поясничную микродискэтомию, – 43 % (р=0,02).

Заключение. Исследование наглядно продемонстрировало наличие схожих клинических исходов у пациентов, перенесших ЧЛДД поясничного отдела позвоночника и поясничную микродискэктомию.

In the presented case, the patient after orthotopic liver transplantation from an optimal cadaveric donor against the background of a smooth postoperative period and satisfactory graft function was followed by a series of biliary complications in the form of ongoing necrosis of the bile ducts of the graft, which required repeated surgical interventions, which led to the formation of a separate bicholangiostomy. The patient was put on the waiting list for a repeated liver transplantation. The developed complications led to sepsis, multiple organ failure and unstable hemodynamics, that required using of substitution therapy and high doses of inotropic, vasopressor drugs. A decision was made to assign the patient a «high-urgency» status with priority graft obtaining, and the coordination centers of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Leningrad and Moscow Regions and FMBA were notified. From the assignment of the «high urgency» status to receiving an organ has passed 10 hours. Hepatectomy with the formation of a temporary portocaval shunt began in advance of the donor liver’s admission to the clinic, which made it possible to stabilize the hemodynamic parameters and the recipient’s condition. However, against the background of massive blood loss, at the stage of graft revascularization, two episodes of cardiac arrest occurred, requiring indirect heart massage with chest and diaphragm compressions. Due to severe peripheral circulatory insufficiency, dry gangrene of the nail phalanx of the right forefinger was developed. Nevertheless, from the first postoperative day and thereafter, the graft demonstrated satisfactory function. Two months after the repeated transplantation, the patient was discharged in satisfactory condition. Subsequently, the index finger was amputated. Six months after the second operation, the patient returned to the work of a teacher.

Сочетание таких болезней, как ишемическая болезнь сердца и рак легких, является проблемой для определения тактики лечения. С одной стороны, наличие злокачественного образования предполагает оперативное лечение в срочном порядке; с другой стороны, наличие коронарной патологии не позволяет выполнить операцию в связи с огромным риском развития осложнений в раннем послеоперационном периоде. Представлен первый в России случай выполнения симультанной операции в объеме комбинированной видеоассистированной нижней лобэктомии слева и аортокоронарного шунтирования. Сначала был выполнен легочный этап операции, так как использование аппарата искусственного кровообращения во время шунтирования требует медикаментозной гипокоагуляции путем введения высоких доз гепарина, что значительно увеличивает риск интраоперационных кровотечений. В отечественной литературе мы не нашли сообщений о подобного рода операциях с использованием эндоскопической техники в лечении больных с сочетанием рака легких и выраженного стеноза коронарных артерий.

Surgical treatment of DeBakey type I acute aortic dissection is still accompanied by a relatively high mortality rate and complications. Organ malperfusion makes a serious contribution to the structure of mortality in the surgical treatment of patients with acute aortic dissection. At the same time, the spread of dissection to the brachiocephalic arteries is observed in 15–40 % of cases. Some of these patients suffer a transient ischemic attack or stroke in the preoperative period, which significantly aggravates the patient’s condition. We present a clinical case of successful surgical treatment of a patient with DeBakey type I acute aortic dissection, in whom intraoperatively a circular separation of intima from the mouth of the brachiocephalic trunk with its invagination into the lumen of the aortic arch was detected. The patient underwent supracoronary prosthetics of the ascending aorta with incomplete prosthetics of the entire arch and prosthetics of the brachiocephalic trunk. This clinical case demonstrates a variant of the natural course of DeBakey type I acute aortic dissection with a complete separation of intima, which requires active surgical tactics. Currently, due to the lack of sufficient clinical experience in the treatment of patients with such a diagnosis, the question of choosing the optimal surgical tactics remains open.

A clinical case of surgical management of patient with biliodigestive anastomosis stricture complicated by multiple intrahepatic lithiasis is presented. The patient was 57 years old woman. Anamnesis of the disease: in 2016, biliodigestive anastomosis was performed due to iatrogenic damage of the biliary tract. She was admitted to the hospital with complaints of the right upper abdomen pain, accompanied by chills, jaundice, and fever up to 39°C. The examination revealed a stricture of a previously formed biliodigestive anastomosis complicated by multiple intrahepatic cholelithiasis. Surgical intervention was performed: at the first stage – percutaneous transhepatic cholangiostomy; at the second stage – laparotomy, separation of hepaticojejunoanastomosis, intraoperative cholangioscopy with lithoextraction, resection of a small bowel section with a Brownian anastomosis, post-colon hepaticojejunostomy on a disconnected loop and replaceable transhepatic drains (Smith-Praden-Saypol-Kurian).

We present the case of treatment of choledocholithiasis complicated with obstructive jaundice and acute grade II cholangitis according to Tokyo criteria in the female patient aged 96 years with significant comorbidity. Peroral digital cholangioscopy and laser contact lithotripsy were made. No complications were observed in postoperative period, and the manifestations of cholangitis and obstructive jaundice regressed. In our opinion, high efficacy and safety of the used method are the strong argument for the use in patients with difficult choledocholithiasis who have significant comorbidities during the single-stage endoscopic operation.

Rupture of the diaphragm dome in severe combined trauma is an infrequent phenomenon. At the same time, untimely diagnosis in the acute period leads to various serious complications. The article presents a clinical case of treatment of a patient after a severe railway injury, when a rupture of the left dome of the diaphragm with gastric dislocation was not recognized for 4 months. Pain syndrome due to the patient’s empyema of the pleura and necrosis of the stomach wall was stopped for a long time by taking strong drugs.

Despite the fact that significant success has been achieved in the treatment of patients with infective endocarditis (IE), difficulties in clinical practice arise in the diagnosis of this disease. The article analyzes a clinical case of successful treatment of a patient with acute ischemia of the lower extremity due to thromboembolic syndrome in IE, the diagnosis of which was initially regarded as COVID-19. The clinical case occurred during the coronavirus infection (COVID-19) pandemic, and all patients who initially complained of fever were regarded as potentially infected, which, with insufficient examination, masked the clinical picture of infective endocarditis.

We carried out the systematic review of the domestic and foreign literature focusing on surgical treatment of patients with thymic pathology. Special attention was paid to the discussion of the advantages of minimally invasive surgery, particularly, video endoscopic thymectomy from subxiphoid access. Pubmed, Medline and E-library databases were searched for retrospective and prospective randomized trials. Based on the analysis of literature sources, we presented the data on tumor and non-tumor pathology of the thymus gland, clarified indications for surgical treatment in different types of thymic pathology. Variants of thymectomy were described, a brief historical review of the use of the surgical method in patients with thymus gland pathology was conducted. The technique of surgeries, advantages and weak points of various surgical approaches were described. We focused our attention on minimally invasive interventions, listed its advantages in comparison with the standard “open” surgical approach. The contemporary trends in surgical approaches in thymus pathology were discussed. Minimally invasive thymectomy is modern, safe and feasible variant of surgical treatment of patients with tumor and non-tumor pathology of the thymus gland. The subxiphoid approach allows to reduce postoperative pain, provides an excellent view of mediastinal structures and both pleural cavities, which improves the safety of operation with satisfactory cosmetic results.

Currently, the laparoscopic appendectomy is the preferred method for treatment of acute appendicitis. Laparoscopic approach resulted in a decrease of postoperative morbidity (especially for reducing the frequency of surgical site infection), allows to faster postoperative recovery of patients. The method of closure of the appendix stump is the main step of laparoscopic appendectomy. The risk of intra-abdominal complications is considered high during this step. Therefore, it is important to choose the safest method of closure of the appendix stump among the number of available options. The four prominent management options are endoloops, staplers, endoclips and inversion of appendix stump with intracorporal sutures. This literature review presents the advantages and disadvantages of these methods. The results of randomized studies and meta-analysis comparing the methods are also presented. It is shown that there is no evidence pointing to any of the existing methods to be a safer option. It is suggested that factors such as anatomy features, cost efficiency and personal experience of the surgeon using these methods are considered to determine the choice.