Short-term surgical mission to the Dominican Republic: a cost-benefit analysis.

Objective: This study determines the cost-effectiveness of a recurring short-term surgical mission trip to the Dominican Republic.

Background: The global burden of surgical disease is significant. Recent investigations have shown surgical treatment to be cost-effective at established hospitals within low- or middle-income countries (LMIC), drawing attention to surgical diseases world-wide.

Surgery for diverticulitis: a re-evaluation of the changing trends.

The surgical management of diverticulitis continues to evolve but recent literature has not qualified just how different current practice is compared with the previous era. This study aims to update the seminal paper by Rodkey and Welch regarding indications and operation types performed for diverticulitis by comparing their findings with present practice at a community based institution. The charts of 407 patients admitted with "diverticular disease" between 2005 and 2010 were identified.

Clinicopathological significance of the expression of estrogen receptor-beta and vascular endothelial growth factor-A in colorectal cancer.

Estrogen-receptor-beta (ERβ), progesterone receptor (PR) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) have been implicated in colorectal cancer. However, the clinicopathological significance of any expression of these markers remains unclear. Immunohistochemical assays of ERα, ERβ, PR, and VEGF-A were performed on 72 colorectal cancer cases.

Management of enterocutaneous fistulae: A 10 years experience.

Aim: To compare the outcomes of conservative vs surgical treatment of enterocutaneous fistulae (ECF) in a community teaching hospital over a decade.

Methods: All cases of ECF between 1997 and 2007 were reviewed for management strategy.

Results: Of the 83 patients with ECF, 60 (72%) were postoperative.

Gastrointestinal carcinoids: an increasing incidence of rectal distribution.

Carcinoid tumors are slow-growing and usually become symptomatic late in the course of the disease. We evaluated our 10-year experience in the management of GI carcinoid tumors. The records of 133 patients with GI carcinoids were reviewed.

Oral vitamin A enhances the effectiveness of formalin 8% in treating chronic hemorrhagic radiation proctopathy.

Purpose: Chronic radiation proctopathy occurs in 5 to 20% of patients receiving radiation therapy, with rectal bleeding as its most common presentation. Although formalin treatment for rectal bleeding is promising, improvement is possible. Given the success of vitamin A in other radiation-induced treatments, we studied the efficacy of combining formalin with vitamin A in controlling bleeding symptoms of chronic radiation proctopathy.