SciCombinator

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread cancelation of electively scheduled surgeries, including for colorectal, pancreatic, and gastric cancer. The American College of Surgeons and the Society of Surgical Oncology have released guidelines for triage of these procedures. We seek to synthesize available evidence on delayed resection and oncologic outcomes, while also providing a critical assessment of the released guidelines.

Stapled pancreatic transection is widely used although pancreatic fistula remains a common post-surgical complication.

INTRODUCTION: The standard of care for achalasia is laparoscopic Heller’s cardiomyotomy. This procedure achieves satisfactory and long-standing results in over 85 % of patients. However, in 10-15 % of patients, esophageal function will progressively deteriorate, and up to 5 % will develop end-stage achalasia. Options in these difficult patients are limited, and include redo cardiomyotomy, repeat dilatation, and in severe cases, esophagectomy. METHODS: In this report, we describe an alternate approach, a cardioplasty, which was originally described by Heyrovsky in 1913. RESULTS: The development of an angulated stapling device now makes this operation feasible by a laparoscopic approach. CONCLUSION: This report highlights our technique for laparoscopic cardioplasty in patients with end-stage achalasia.

Most data on large studies of superior mesenteric artery syndrome (SMAS) were published over 30 years ago. New studies are needed so that current medical progress can influence SMAS diagnosis and improve therapeutic outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Posthepatectomy liver failure is the most severe complication after major hepatectomies and it is associated with an insufficient future liver remnant (FLR). Associating liver partition and portal vein ligation (PVL) has recently been described as a revolutionary strategy to induce a rapid and large FLR volume increase. We aim to describe our surgical technique, patient management, and preliminary results with this new two-stage approach. TECHNIQUE: During the first stage, liver partition and PVL of the diseased hemiliver are performed. The completion surgery is carried out after volumetric studies have demonstrated a sufficient FLR and provided the patient is in good condition. This is usually achieved after 7 days. In the second step, the patient undergoes a completion surgery with right hepatectomy, right trisectionectomy, or left trisectionectomy. RESULTS: Fifteen patients with advanced liver tumors were treated. Nine patients were males and the mean age was 54 years old. The mean difference between the preoperative and postoperative FLR volume was 303 ml (p < 0.001), which represented a mean volume increase of 78.4 %. All resections were R0. Morbidity and mortality rates were 53 and 0 %, respectively. The average hospital stay was 19 days. CONCLUSIONS: The presented technique was feasible and safe in the hands of experienced hepatobiliary surgeons, with satisfactory short-term results. It induces rapid liver hypertrophy and at the same time it offers the possibility of cure to patients previously declared unresectable.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Extrahepatic portal vein obstruction (EHPVO) is an important cause of chronic portal hypertension in children. Although usually idiopathic in etiology, genetic and acquired thrombophilia have been implicated in EHPVO. Meso-Rex bypass is increasingly used to treat EHPVO in children. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to assess the relationship of postoperative anticoagulation strategies and thrombophilic risk factors to the development of bypass thrombosis following the meso-Rex bypass. METHODS: Records of children who underwent meso-Rex bypass for EHPVO at a single institution from 1999 to 2009 were reviewed, and preoperative thrombophilia testing, perioperative anticoagulation strategies, and postoperative bypass patency based on imaging at last follow-up were examined. RESULTS: Sixty-five children with EHPVO underwent a first time meso-Rex bypass during the study period, and 9 of 65 (14 %) developed bypass thrombosis. The use of warfarin in the postoperative period was more common among children with thrombosed shunts than among those with open shunts [63 % vs. 20 %; OR, 6.5 (95 % CI, 1.3-31.5), p = 0.022]. The contribution of genetic or acquired thrombophilia to shunt thrombosis was inconclusive given variability in testing. CONCLUSIONS: Choice of anticoagulation following meso-Rex bypass may affect postoperative incidence of bypass thrombosis. Role of thrombophilic risk factors in the development of shunt thrombosis remains unclear.

Postoperative ileus (POI) can worsen outcomes, increase cost, and prolong hospitalization. We previously found that a disposable, non-invasive acoustic gastrointestinal surveillance (AGIS) biosensor distinguishes healthy controls from patients recovering from abdominal surgery. Here, we tested whether AGIS can prospectively predict which patients will develop POI in a multicenter study.

In bariatric surgery, ideal body weight (IBW) is used to calculate excess body weight (EBW) and percent excess weight lost (%EWL). Bariatric literature typically uses the midpoint of the medium frame from older Metropolitan Life Insurance (MetLife) tables to estimate IBW. This is neither universal nor always clinically accurate.

Post-operative pain relief in chronic pancreatitis (CP) is variable. Our objective was to determine clinical imaging or histopathologic predictor(s) of post-operative pain relief in CP patients undergoing the Whipple or Frey procedure.

Among surgeons worldwide, a concern with the use of minimally invasive techniques has been raised due to a proposed risk of viral transmission of the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) with the creation of pneumoperitoneum. Due to this proposed concern, we sought to collect the available data and evaluate the use of laparoscopy and the risk of COVID-19 transmission.