Repair of symptomatic paraesophageal hernias in elderly (>70 years) patients results in sustained quality of life at 5 years and beyond.

Background: Paraesophageal hernias (PEHs) involve herniation of stomach and/or other viscera into the mediastinum. These commonly occur in the elderly and can severely limit quality of life. Short term outcomes of repaired PEH demonstrated low morbidity and significant improvement in quality of life, but long-term data for all patients, especially the elderly, are lacking.

Robotic Resection of 3 cm and Larger Thymomas Is Associated With Low Perioperative Morbidity and Mortality.

Objective: The approach to thymoma resection has usually been determined by tumor size, although established guidelines do not exist. Minimally invasive approaches have been limited to tumors smaller than 5 cm, although 3 cm has been the suggested cutoff for performing an adequate oncologic procedure. No study has compared the perioperative outcomes of patients with 3 cm or larger tumors resected robotically versus sternotomy.

Clinical Outcomes of Reoperation for Failed Antireflux Operations.

Background: Up to 18% of patients undergoing antireflux operations will require reoperation. Authors caution that with each additional reoperation, fewer patients achieve satisfaction. The quality of life in patients who underwent revision operations was compared with patients who underwent primary antireflux operations to determine the effectiveness of revision operations.

Short-term outcomes using magnetic sphincter augmentation versus Nissen fundoplication for medically resistant gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Background: In 2012 the United States Food and Drug Administration approved implantation of a magnetic sphincter to augment the native reflux barrier based on single-series data. We sought to compare our initial experience with magnetic sphincter augmentation (MSA) with laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication (LNF).

Methods: A retrospective case-control study was performed of consecutive patients undergoing either procedure who had chronic gastrointestinal esophageal disease (GERD) and a hiatal hernia of less than 3 cm.