Preliminary evaluation of laparoscopic herniorrhaphy.

Since November 1990, 50 laparoscopic herniorrhaphies have been done in 47 patients (three patients with bilateral repairs), including 31 indirect and 19 direct inguinal hernias, three of which were recurrent. The 47 patients included 42 men and five women. Small indirect hernias were treated by plugging the hernia orifice with a tightly rolled polypropylene mesh plug.

Hepaticopancreaticogastroduodenectomy with transplantation for metastatic islet cell carcinoma in childhood.

Symptomatic islet cell carcinoma of the pancreas with liver metastasis, a rare tumor cured only by complete resection, was unresponsive to chemotherapy and was treated with hepaticopancreaticogastroduodenectomy en bloc resection with transplantation in an 11-year-old girl. This radical surgery in conjunction with adjuvant chemotherapy and interstitial and external beam irradiation has resulted in symptomatic relief and no evidence of disease at 15 months posttransplant.

The current status of the University of Tennessee, Memphis, experience in pancreas transplantation.

SPK transplantation is associated with excellent rehabilitation and greater improvement in posttransplant functional status than is KTA transplantation. This improvement is not just a function of the magnitude of the improvement experienced by a few patients but was seen in the majority of patients and the majority of our study parameters. Since pancreatic transplantation adds to the morbidity of kidney transplantation for the uremic patient, longitudinal evaluation which demonstrates added benefits from the restoration of euglycemia by pancreas transplantation is important.

Use of technetium-labeled red blood cell scintigraphy in the detection and management of gastrointestinal hemorrhage.

The effectiveness of technetium 99m-labeled red blood cell scintigraphy in localizing hemorrhage, directing surgical intervention, and screening patients for arteriography was determined in 103 patients. The radionuclide scan result was compared to the bleeding site determined by arteriography, endoscopy, or surgery. Eighty-five patients had a bleeding site identified; 18 patients did not and were excluded.

Dynamic computed tomography as an ancillary screening test for traumatic thoracic aortic injuries: a critical review.

While the divergence of opinion on the matter of diagnostic modalities will probably continue, dynamic computed tomography scans should be considered as a necessary study in assessing a possible traumatic thoracic aortic injury. The use of this modality will decrease the need for thoracic angiograms and invariably increase the yield.

AAST organ injury scale: correlation of CT-graded liver injuries and operative findings.

The Organ Injury Scaling Committee of the AAST recently published a consensus classification of splenic, hepatic, and renal injuries (J Trauma, 29:1664, 1989). The hepatic injury scale (HIS), based on parenchymal laceration and intrahepatic hematoma, includes grades 1 to 6, representing the least to most severe injury. This study classifies liver injuries by findings at celiotomy, correlates operative findings with transfusion requirements and method of management of liver injury, and relates preoperative CT to anatomic findings at laparotomy.

New horizons in management of hypothermia and frostbite injury.

Diagnosing hypothermia requires a high index of suspicion. Restoring lost heat with careful attention to hemodynamics usually results in complete recovery. Frostbite is best treated by physicians who are cognizant of the pathophysiology of cold injury.

Preperitoneal herniorrhaphy for the acutely incarcerated groin hernia.

Elective preperitoneal or posterior repair for recurrent groin hernias and primary femoral hernias has been shown to be a technically advantageous approach. In addition to the ease of inguinal floor and femoral canal assessment, scar tissue from prior anterior herniorrhaphy can be avoided. The emergency management of the acutely incarcerated or strangulated hernia of the groin using this approach has not been addressed.

Characterization of Shigella dysenteriae serotypes 11, 12, and 13.

We conducted serologic and biochemical studies on strains of three provisional Shigella serotypes. Included were 19 strains of serotype 3873-50 from three countries (1 from Mexico, 1 from Netherlands Antilles, and 17 from the United States), 13 strains of serotype 3341-55 from three countries (1 from Canada, 1 from Bulgaria, and 11 from the United States), and 19 strains of serotype 19809-73 from two countries (16 from Israel and 3 from the United States). Reactions of these strains with homologous and heterologous Shigella antisera showed that serotypes 3873-50 and 19809-73 were unique.

Superiority of closed suction drainage for pancreatic trauma. A randomized, prospective study.

During a 42-month period, 65 patients sustaining pancreatic injuries were treated. They were randomized on alternate days (two separate trauma teams) to receive sump (S) or closed suction (CS) drainage. Twenty-eight patients were randomized to S and 37 to CS; there were six early deaths, which precluded drainage analysis, leaving 24 evaluable S patients and 35 CS patients.

Surgical management of perforated Crohn's disease.

The records of 102 patients operated on by one of the authors for Crohn's disease during the past 15 years were reviewed. Twenty-seven patients with confined (abscess present) or free perforation were evaluated. The average age was 31 years and the mean duration of disease was four years.

Primary repair of colon wounds. A prospective trial in nonselected patients.

102 patients with penetrating intraperitoneal colon injuries were entered into a prospective study. Colon wound management was undertaken without regard to associated injuries or amount of fecal contamination. Primary repair was performed in 83 patients, segmental resection with anastomosis in 12, and resection with end colostomy in 7.

Sigmoid volvulus. A four-decade experience.

During the 40 years from 1945 to 1984, 159 occurrences of sigmoid volvulus in 140 patients were diagnosed and managed. Treatment modalities gradually evolved from primarily operative decompression in the first 20 years to selective, sigmoidoscopic, nonoperative reduction in the most recent 10-year period. Operative reduction was associated with a 10 per cent mortality, while no deaths were associated with nonoperative reduction.

Investigation of passive venovenous shunts during the anhepatic period of canine hepatic transplantation.

The anhepatic period of canine orthotopic hepatic transplantation is usually accompanied by cardiovascular instability due to occlusion of both the portal and inferior systemic venous systems. The present study was undertaken in order to determine some of the hemodynamic and renal alterations that occur during a 2 hour anhepatic period in the dog and to investigate the use of a passive endoportal, endocaval venovenous shunt that places both the portal and infrahepatic vena caval limbs of the shunt directly into the divided ends of these vessels. Three groups of experimental animals were studied.

Conventional immunosuppressive therapy in modern renal transplantation.

Conventional immunosuppression has been replaced by cyclosporine protocols for renal transplantation in most centers. Some centers have continued using conventional immunosuppression in certain instances. In our series, 104 patients received 105 kidney allografts (58 cadaver, 47 living donor) in 1983 and 1984.