Surgical complications of human immunodeficiency virus infection

To assess the role of the general surgeon in the care of patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related complex (ARC) the hospital records of all patients with AIDS or ARC who underwent a major operation at the General Surgical Service of Crawford W. Long Memorial Hospital were reviewed. Of 79 patients with AIDS or ARC diagnosed since 1982, 14 required major abdominal surgery. Operations performed were for gastrointestinal (GI) complications of opportunistic infections and neoplasms (four), diagnosis of major retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy (four), and treatment of AIDS-related immune thrombocytopenia (six). GI complications consisted of two cases of cytomegalovirus perforation of ileum and colon, one case of bleeding ileocolonic lymphoma, and one case of cryptosporidium cholecystitis. Laparotomy for diagnosis of retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy was performed in four patients and provided diagnostic material in three of them. Six patients underwent splenectomy for AIDS-related immune thrombocytopenia. Four of these patients had previously been treated with prednisone without impressive results. All patients had marked improvement of their platelet counts and clinical bleeding after splenectomy. Postoperative complications were common and consisted of wound infection, disseminated intravascular coagulation, GI bleeding, pneumocystis pneumonia, small-bowel obstruction, and cytomegalovirus pneumonia. One patient died after laparotomy for perforated ulcers of the ileum and colon.