Surgical complications in hematological malignancies

Surgical complications in oncohematological practice appear a primary problem for their high incidence, diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties and unfavourable prognosis. The authors present data from a retrospective study of 93 patients from the Clinic of Hematology and Surgical Clinic of the Higher Medical Institute in Plovdiv for the period from 1990 to 1997. Surgical complications occurred in 9.9% of the patients treated for hematological malignancies. Most frequent and hazardous were the cases of acute abdomen, followed by soft tissue purulent infections. The authors suggest that high risk of surgical complications exists in patients undergoing vigorous chemotherapy. Patients are particularly vulnerable in the neutropenic period after chemotherapy when the abdominal and anorectal complications may be fatal.