An interesting case of acute, severe postoperative hyponatraemia following carotid endarterectomy.

A 62-year-old man with no major comorbidities became acutely hyponatraemic on the second postoperative day following a routine carotid endarterectomy. He developed a headache, became hypertensive and confused, and then had a seizure and required intubation and admission to the intensive care unit. A CT angiogram of his head and carotid arteries was normal, as was a subsequent MRI head.

Delayed radionecrosis of rectum presenting as soft tissue inflammation of thigh--an unusual case.

This is a case report of a 53-yr-old gentleman with soft tissue inflammation of the thigh, secondary to delayed radionecrosis of rectum. He presented with this condition, one-and-half years after he had pre-operative radiotherapy and low anterior resection for Dukes'B adenocarcinoma of rectum. In this report we emphasise the need for the clinician to be alert of this delayed side-effect of pre-operative radiotherapy and also the need for patients receiving high-dose radiotherapy to be warned of this possible complication, although it is rare.

Prognostic significance of gastrin expression in patients undergoing R0 gastrectomy for adenocarcinoma.

Background: Gastrointestinal (GI) hormones regulate several GI functions, including the proliferation and repair of normal mucosa, and hormone receptors may therefore be implicated in the growth, invasion, and metastasis of cancers of the GI tract. The aim of this study was to determine the cellular distribution of gastrin in intestinal-type gastric cancers, and to determine its relationship to outcomes after R0 gastrectomy.

Methods: Eighty-six consecutive patients undergoing R0 gastrectomy for adenocarcinoma were studied.