Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty for treatment of class 1 and 2 obesity (MERIT): a prospective, multicentre, randomised trial.

Background: Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) is an endolumenal, organ-sparing therapy for obesity, with wide global adoption. We aimed to explore the efficacy and safety of ESG with lifestyle modifications compared with lifestyle modifications alone.

Methods: We conducted a randomised clinical trial at nine US centres, enrolling individuals aged 21-65 years with class 1 or class 2 obesity and who agreed to comply with lifelong dietary restrictions.

A Laboratory-Friendly CTC Identification: Comparable Double-Immunocytochemistry with Triple-Immunofluorescence.

The source of circulating tumor cells (CTC) in the peripheral blood of patients with solid tumors are from primary cancer, metastatic sites, and a disseminated tumor cell pool. As 90% of cancer-related deaths are caused by metastatic progression and/or resistance-associated treatment failure, the above fact justifies the undeniable predictive and prognostic value of identifying CTC in the bloodstream at stages of the disease progression and resistance to treatment. Yet enumeration of CTC remains far from a standard routine procedure either for post-surgery follow-ups or ongoing adjuvant therapy.

Nonoperative management of splenic injury: are follow-up computed tomographic scans of any value?

Objective: To determine the value of follow-up abdominal computed tomography in patients with splenic trauma managed nonoperatively.

Design: Retrospective chart review.

Materials And Methods: A total of 108 consecutive patients with splenic injuries treated at a single institution from 1990 to 1996 were studied.

Neoplasms in long-term Hartmann's pouches.

A Hartmann's pouch is a blind segment of the rectum created in conjunction with a colon resection in which primary bowel reanastomosis is judged unsafe. Often forgotten, this defunctionalized rectal pouch has a high potential of pathologic lesions, including disuse proctitis, ulcers, bleeding and occasionally neoplasm formation. What are the consequences of Hartmann's pouches left unattended? In this paper, we discuss three patients with neoplasms in a long-term Hartmann's pouch and the pathophysiology of the long-term defunctionalized rectum.