Laparoscopic surgery in the elderly: personal experience in 141 cases.

Introduction: As life expectancy increases, the number of elderly patients presenting with surgically correctable diseases will rise as well. For advantages, which are well recognized in young patients, laparoscopic surgery has been proposed also for older patients. Because of underlying chronic diseases, however, elderly patients have been considered at high risk for the laparoscopic approach.

Surgical repair of type II paraesophageal hernia: our experience.

Type II paraesophageal hiatal hernia is a rare entity that is rarely discussed in the literature. This report is intended to depict the clinical profile of the disease and to discuss several controversial issues involved in the repair, including indications for surgery, the most appropriate surgical approach, and the need for a concomitant antireflux procedure. This study retrospectively reviews the experience with 12 patients affected by paraesophageal hernia who underwent a surgical repair between 1973 and 2001.

[Uncommon abdominal sites of hydatid disease. Our experience with the surgical treatment of 15 cases].

The aim of this retrospective study is to report on a series of 15 patients with abdominal hydatid disease in uncommon sites submitted to surgery in our unit over the period 1974-2003. Eight women and 7 men (mean age: 48.4 years) were included in the study.

[Surgical treatment of para-esophageal hernia. Our experience].

The authors report on 12 cases of para-oesophageal hernia surgically managed over the period from 1973 to 2001. They describe the etiopathogenetic factors responsible for the disease and the normal evolution of the clinical picture with the main complications, which are often the first manifestations. The main problems of surgical treatment are discussed with particular regard to the operative approach and to the usefulness of combining an antireflux procedure with the hiatoplasty.

[Etiopathogenic and clinico-therapeutic considerations on Spigelian lateral ventral hernia. A caseload and review of the literature].

The authors report on 6 cases of Spigelian hernia surgically managed over the period from 1973 to 2002. They describe the anatomy of the anterolateral abdominal wall and the etiopathogenetic factors of this rare type of hernia. The clinical features of the disease are discussed and the diagnostic usefulness of a thorough physical examination is stressed, as is the value of imaging procedures when the hernia is not evident.

[Surgical treatment of hepatic hydatidosis. Analysis of results of conservative and radical surgery in our experience].

The authors review a series of 194 cases of hepatic hydatidosis submitted to surgery over the period from July 1973 to December 2001, comparing the results of conservative and radical operatins. In this period we performed 164 conservative operations (140 indirect marsupialisations, 5 delaminations with capitonnage of the residual cavity and 19 partial pericystectomies), 26 total pericystectomies and 4 liver resections. The main outcome measures analysed were postoperative hospital stay, mortality, morbidity and recurrence rates.

[Our experience with the use of a plastic prosthesis and self-expanding stents in the palliative treatment of malignant neoplastic stenoses of the esophagus and cardia. Comparative analysis of results].

Rapid palliation of malignant dysphagia is usually possible by means of the endoscopic implantation of a plastic prosthesis, but this device has a high morbidity rate. Recently, expandable metal stents have become available and may reduce the morbidity and mortality rates. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate self-expanding metal stents compared with conventional plastic prosthesis in malignant strictures of the oesophagus and cardia.

[Stromal tumors of the small intestine. Retrospective analysis of 9 cases surgically treated].

The authors report on their experience with 9 patients with small bowel stromal tumours who underwent surgical treatment over the period 1974-2001. Seven were males and 2 females, with an average age of 63.1 years (range: 49-72 years).