[Tumors of the small intestine--diagnosis, therapy and prognosis]

Between 1965 and 1983 91 patients suffering from primary tumors of the small intestine underwent surgical treatment. These patients comprise 1.24% of the total number having gastrointestinal tumors in that period. In 33% exact preoperative diagnosis was set. The delay in establishing diagnosis (6.3 months) was due to nonspecific symptoms. The majority of patients underwent operation because of vital indication without former specific investigation. Benign tumors could be resected radically without lethality. Curative resection could be performed in 62.5% and palliative resection in 37.5% of malignant lesions. Surgical lethality was 17.8%. The most common histologic type were the adenocarcinoma at one side and the adenoma at the other. The 5-year-survival-rate for curatively resected patients ranged from 60% for carcinoids, 25% for carcinomas up to 20% for lymphomas. The mean survival rate for patients who underwent curative resection was 44.12 months, for those with palliative treatment 13.37 months. 18 patients, 51.4% of the curatively treated group, are still alive, mean follow-up time being 5 years. Rareness, challenge in diagnosis, surgical procedures, postoperative complications, reoperation frequency and long-term prognosis seen from various points of view are discussed. Our study emphasizes the importance of thorough gastroenterologic investigation of patients with tumor-suspective abdominal symptoms and the eminence of explorative laparotomy as final diagnostic and therapeutic step as well as the postulation for ultimate surgical radicality.