Bilateral Renal Auto-Transplantation for Retroperitoneal Sarcomas: Is It Underutilized?

Sarcomas are a rare tumor of mesenchymal origin. The liposarcoma is the most common sarcoma of the retroperitoneum. Liposarcomas are typically low grade, and present at an advanced stage and a large size.

Breast Cancer Screening, Diagnosis, and Surgery during the Pre- and Peri-pandemic: Experience of Patients in a Statewide Health Information Exchange.

Background: Measures taken to address the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted routine diagnosis and care for breast cancer. The aim of this study was to characterize the effects of the pandemic on breast cancer care in a statewide cohort.

Patients And Methods: Using data from a large health information exchange, we retrospectively analyzed the timing of breast cancer screening, and identified a cohort of newly diagnosed patients with any stage of breast cancer to further access the information available about their surgical treatments.

Specialized care improves outcomes for patients with cirrhosis who require general surgical operations.

Background: General surgical operations on patients with cirrhosis have historically been associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. This study examines a contemporary series of patients with cirrhosis undergoing general surgical procedures.

Methods: A retrospective evaluation of 358 cirrhotic patients undergoing general surgical operations at a single institution between 2004-2015 was performed.

CT and MRI imaging and interpretation of hepatic arterioportal shunts.

Hepatic arterioportal shunts (HAPS) occur due to organic or functional fistulization of blood flow between arterial hepatic vasculature and venous portal systems. It is a type of hemodynamic abnormality of the liver being observed increasingly with the use of temporal imaging modalities. HAPS occur due to other underlying hepatic abnormalities including the presence of an underlying tumor or malignancy.

Role for targeted resection in the multidisciplinary treatment of metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor.

The management of advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) has evolved in the modern era due to the discovery of mutations and the development of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Until the advent of TKIs such as imatinib, the median survival reported for patients with advanced GIST was 19 months. Although surgery is the treatment of choice for resectable primary GIST, its role in cases of recurrence and metastasis remains to be unclear.

Integrating therapies for surgical adult soft tissue sarcoma patients.

Sarcomas are an uncommon group of over 50 different individual histological malignancies arising from mesenchymal (non-epithelial or connective) tissues. Overall, they constitute 1% of human malignancies with an annual incidence rate of fewer than 5 patients per million. Sarcoma may arise from any mesenchymal cell lineages including fat, muscle, or other connective tissues.

Meloxicam increases epidermal growth factor receptor expression improving survival after hepatic resection in diet-induced obese mice.

Background: Patients with fatty liver have delayed regenerative responses, increased hepatocellular injury, and increased risk for perioperative mortality. Currently, no clinical therapy exists to prevent liver failure or improve regeneration in patients with fatty liver. Previously we demonstrated that obese mice have markedly reduced levels of epidermal growth factor receptor in liver.

Biliary Bypass with Laparoscopic Choledochoduodenostomy.

Laparoscopic choledochoduodenostomy (LCDD) is employed to treat many benign biliary diseases when endoscopic or percutaneous techniques are not feasible. We describe our technique for LCDD, which utilizes common bile duct transection and an end-to-side biliary-enteric anastomosis. This procedure includes the following elements: isolation and transection of the common bile duct, mobilization of the duodenum (Kocher maneuver), inspection of the common bile duct, and end-to-side biliary-enteric anastomosis.

Sarcopenia is a Significant Predictor of Mortality After Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair.

Aims: Repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) decreases the incidence of rupture and death. In cancer patients, sarcopenia has been associated with increased surgical complications and mortality. The impact of sarcopenia on survival after AAA repair has yet to be described.

An Assessment of the Academic Impact of Shock Society Members.

Professional society membership enhances career development and productivity by offering opportunities for networking and learning about recent advances in the field. The quality and contribution of such societies can be measured in part through the academic productivity, career status, and funding success rates of their members. Here, using Scopus, NIH RePORTER, and departmental websites, we compare characteristics of the Shock Society membership to those of the top 55 NIH-funded American university and hospital-based departments of surgery.

Bone Pain and Muscle Weakness in Cancer Patients.

Purpose Of Review: In this article, we will discuss the current understanding of bone pain and muscle weakness in cancer patients. We will describe the underlying physiology and mechanisms of cancer-induced bone pain (CIBP) and cancer-induced muscle wasting (CIMW), as well as current methods of diagnosis and treatment. We will discuss future therapies and research directions to help patients with these problems.

The positive association of Association for Academic Surgery membership with academic productivity.

Background: To evaluate the academic productivity and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding of members of the Association for Academic Surgery (AAS).

Methods: Academic metrics including, numbers of publications, citations, and NIH funding history were determined for 4015 surgical faculty at the top 55 NIH-funded departments of surgery, using Scopus, NIH RePORT, and the Grantome online databases.

Results: AAS membership included 20.

Is American College of Surgeons NSQIP organ space infection a surrogate for pancreatic fistula?

Background: In the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP), pancreatic fistula has not been monitored, although organ space infection (OSI) data are collected. Therefore, the purpose of this analysis was to determine the relationship between ACS NSQIP organ space infection and pancreatic fistulas.

Study Design: From 2007 to 2011, 976 pancreatic resection patients were monitored via ACS NSQIP at our institution.

Liver transplantation versus liver resection in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis of observational studies.

Background: A number of cohort studies have compared the outcomes of liver transplantation (LT) and liver resection (LR) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. However, the effects of LT versus LR remain unclear. We searched electronic databases and reference lists for relevant articles published before February 2013.

Unplanned intubation: when and why does this deadly complication occur?

Background: Risk factors for unplanned intubation have been delineated, but details regarding when and why reintubations occur as well as strategies for prevention have not been defined.

Methods: Over a 2-year period, 104 of 3,141 patients (3.3%) monitored via the American College of Surgeons-National Surgical Quality Improvement Program required unplanned intubation.

Clipping versus coiling for ruptured intracranial aneurysms: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background And Purpose: Endovascular treatment has increasingly been used for aneurismal subarachnoid aneurismal hemorrhage. The aim of this analysis is to assess the current evidence regarding safety and efficiency of clipping compared with coiling.

Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis of studies that compared clipping with coiling between January 1999 and July 2012.

The role of R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry score in the era of robot-assisted partial nephrectomy.

Purpose: We studied the role of the R.E.N.

ASGR1 expressed by porcine enriched liver sinusoidal endothelial cells mediates human platelet phagocytosis in vitro.

Background: Porcine liver xenografts represent a potential solution to the organ shortage, but thrombocytopenia occurs within minutes to hours after xenotransplantation, preventing clinical application. Recently, it was discovered that porcine liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSEC) bind and phagocytose human platelets. We examined the role of ASGR1 in binding and removing human platelets by the pig liver endothelium.

Comparison of pulsatile perfusion and cold storage for paired kidney allografts.

Use of pulsatile perfusion to optimize outcomes in deceased donor kidney transplantation remains controversial. This study is a retrospective analysis of all cadaveric renal allografts procured locally by our center over a 3-year period. Kidney pairs were identified in which one kidney underwent pulsatile perfusion and transplantation at our center, whereas the contra-lateral kidney underwent cold storage and transplantation at another center.