Distal transplant pancreatectomy during SPK: successful clinical outcome.

Simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplantation (SPK) is considered an extremely effective and well-established therapeutic option for selected patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), secondary to type 1 diabetes. Vascular complications in pancreas transplantation are more common than in any other solid organ transplant. Thrombosis is the most frequently observed surgical complication of pancreatic transplantation.

Graft pancreatitis: literature review.

Graft pancreatitis is an inflammatory disease leading to autodigestion of the gland. The failure of the pancreatic graft can be attributed to immunological or nonimmunological causes. It consists of a premature activation of pancreatic proenzymes.

Ethical issues in non-heart-beating donation.

A shortage of organ donors and the large number of patients desperately waiting for kidney transplant have led to the search for new sources of transplantable organs. The waiting list has grown at an alarming rate resulting in increased waiting times and deaths. The introduction of non heart beating (NHB) donation programmes generates a lot of ethical issues.

Tesio-Caths provide effective and safe long-term vascular access.

Background: Vascular access is judged on its ability to provide good dialysis adequacy, its durability and complication rates. Formation of a functional arteriovenous fistula is desirable but difficult to achieve in a significant proportion of patients. We report the large-scale use of Tesio-Caths, a twin-line single-lumen central venous catheter, to maximize dialysis adequacy where formation of an arteriovenous fistula was not possible.

Renal artery aneurysm: ex vivo repair and autotransplantation: case report and review of the literature.

The incidence of renal artery aneurysm is unknown, its natural history is unclear and unpredictable, and the clinical symptoms are of little or no value in diagnosis. The risk of rupture is high in pregnant women, as in splenic artery aneurysms and in aneurysms greater than 2 cm in size. Digital subtraction angiography is the best diagnostic test.

Perisplenitis as a cause of acute abdomen: a case report.

Splenitis can complicate blood-borne sepsis in hemodialysis patients. Symptoms include left upper quadrant pain and tenderness in addition to generalized systemic manifestation of infection. Clinical diagnosis is difficult and there is no specific investigation to confirm it.

Posttraumatic cyst of the spleen: a case report and review of the literature.

Splenic cysts are rare lesions. They are mainly divided into primary or genuine cysts and secondary or false cysts according to their etiology and pathophysiology. Primary cysts have a cellular lining that can be caused by either congenital events or parasitic infestations (Echinococcus).

Mirizzi syndrome: a case report and review of the literature.

The Mirizzi syndrome is a rare benign cause of obstructive jaundice. The syndrome is a result of the impaction of a large stone, or several smaller ones, in either the Hartmann's pouch or the cystic duct, causing obstruction to the common hepatic duct. It is particularly interesting to surgeons because the surgery has to be carefully planned to avoid unnecessary damage to the common bile duct.