Leveraging access to technology and enhanced surgical technique (LATEST) in laparoscopic bile duct exploration (LBDE).

Unlabelled: Single-stage management of choledocholithiasis with concomitant gallstones consists of performing either laparoscopic bile duct exploration (LBDE) or intra-operative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography at the same time as laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Transductal LBDE is associated with significantly higher post-operative morbidity, longer operative times and longer hospital stay when compared to transcystic LBDE. The aim of this study was to report the transcystic exploration rate and post-operative outcomes from LBDE before and after implementation of the LATEST (Leveraging Access to Technology and Enhanced Surgical Technique) principles.

Porcine Aorto-Renal Artery (PARA) model for laparoscopic transcystic common bile duct exploration: the evolution of a training model to meet new clinical needs.

Background: The transcystic approach to laparoscopic common bile duct exploration has gained popularity for the single-stage management of choledocholithiasis with concomitant gallstones. Our team previously described the use of a porcine aorta segment to simulate the common bile duct during laparoscopic skill training.

Methods: With the advent of the transcystic approach as a contender for the first-line technique of accessing the common bile duct, we present an evolution of the laparoscopic training model using a Porcine Aorta-Renal Artery (PARA) specimen to simulate the structural integrity, dimensions and spatial distribution of both the human cystic and common bile ducts.

Trans-infundibular choledochoscopy: a method for accessing the common bile duct in complex cases.

Purpose: During laparoscopic common bile duct exploration (LCBDE) where Calot's triangle cannot be safely dissected due to a 'frozen' hepatic hilum secondary to severe inflammation or fibrosis, the preferred transcystic approach to the common bile duct (CBD) is precluded. The aim of this paper is to describe a safe method of accessing the CBD via a trans-infundibular approach (TIA) in complex cases where conventional access to the cystic duct or CBD is denied.

Methods: A retrospective review of 154 consecutive patients who underwent LCBDE at a single centre between 2014 and 2018 was performed.

Bariatric surgery and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

The rising prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with the increasing global pandemic of obesity. These conditions cluster with type II diabetes mellitus and the metabolic syndrome to result in obesity-associated liver disease. The benefits of bariatric procedures on diabetes and the metabolic syndrome have been recognized for some time, and there is now mounting evidence to suggest that bariatric procedures improve liver histology and contribute to the beneficial resolution of NAFLD in obese patients.

Laparoscopic gastric surgery for cancer: where do we stand?

Gastric cancer poses a significant public health problem, especially in the Far East, due to its high incidence in these areas. Surgical treatment and guidelines have been markedly different in the West, but nowadays this debate is apparently coming to an end. Laparoscopic surgery has been employed in the surgical treatment of gastric cancer for two decades now, but with controversies about the extent of resection and lymphadenectomy.

A novel technique of needle-guided laparoscopic enucleation of insulinomas.

Insulinomas are rare, usually benign and solitary neuroendocrine tumors that cause oversecretion of insulin. Surgical excision remains the only treatment modality with the potential for cure. Compared to open extensive pancreatic resections, laparoscopic enucleation of these tumors offers effective treatment, and significantly reduced risks of complications.

Two cases of ectopic liver attached to the gallbladder wall.

Background: Ectopic liver tissue is occasionally found either attached to the gallbladder or elsewhere in the upper abdomen.

Case Outlines: A 49-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman were found to have a tongue of liver tissue attached to the serosa of the gallbladder (but separate from the liver) during laparoscopic cholecystectomy for gallstones. The ectopic liver was removed with the gallbladder and was histologically normal in each case.

Pancreaticoduodenectomy for periampullary malignancies: the effect of bile colonization on the postoperative outcome.

Objectives: The presence of bacteria in the bile of patients undergoing biliary tract surgery has been proposed as associated to an increased incidence of postoperative complications. The present study was designed to determine whether colonization of the bile has an adverse effect in terms of postoperative infectious or noninfectious complications and mortality in a homogenous population of patients suffering from periampullary region malignancies, who all underwent resectional (curative) procedures.

Materials And Methods: Between January 1997 and December 2002, 115 patients (n = 115) suffering from periampullary region malignancies underwent resectional procedures.

Why does laparoscopic common bile duct exploration fail?

Laparoscopic common bile duct exploration (LCBDE) for choledocholithiasis carries an overall ductal clearance rate of between 85% and 95%. We present our single institute experience with LCBDE. Between July 1999 and July 2003, 60 patients (42 females, 18 males; median age, 59.

Limitations of fluoroscopic intraoperative cholangiography in cases suggestive of choledocholithiasis.

Background: Fluoroscopic intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) has been proposed as a safe and accurate screening method for choledocholithiasis, with a sensitivity and specificity of nearly 100% in selected cases. In the present study we retrospectively reviewed the diagnostic accuracy of IOC in cases highly suggestive of choledocholithiasis.

Materials And Methods: Between January 1999 and December 2002, 103 patients underwent IOC as an imaging method for common bile duct (CBD) stone detection.

Diffuse oesophageal spasm masking achalasia.

Several reports have suggested that esophageal motility disorders may progress from one type to another. A 41-year-old female patient underwent thoracoscopic esophagomyotomy for diffuse esophageal spasm (DOS) with normal resting pressure and complete relaxation of the LOS; findings were confirmed in two preoperative esophageal manometries. Postoperatively, she developed severe dysphagia, and a new esophageal manometry concluded achalasia.