Standardization and learning curve in laparoscopic hernia repair: experience of a high-volume center.

Purpose: Groin hernias are a common condition that can be treated with various surgical techniques, including open surgery and laparoscopic approaches. Laparoscopic surgery has several advantages but its use is limited due to the complexity of the posterior inguinal region and the need for advanced laparoscopic skills. This paper presents a standardized and systematic approach to trans-abdominal pre-peritoneal (TAPP) groin hernioplasty, which is useful for training young surgeons.

Sensitivity and specificity of EtG in hair as a marker of chronic excessive drinking: pooled analysis of raw data and meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy studies.

Background: To assess the debated diagnostic performance of ethyl glucuronide in the 3-cm proximal scalp hair fraction (HEtG) as a marker of chronic excessive drinking.

Methods: In July 2012/May 2013, after a systematic search through the MEDLINE, OVID/EMBASE, WEB OF SCIENCE, and SCOPUS databases, 8 studies were included in the pooled analysis that report raw single data on HEtG concentration and self-reported daily alcohol intake (SDAI). A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and a Spearman rank-order correlation test were used.

Micro-CT features of intermediate gunshot wounds severely damaged by fire.

Incineration or extensive burning of the body, causing changes in the content and distribution of fluids, fixation and shrinking processes of tissues, can alter the typical macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of firearm wounds, hampering or at least complicating the reconstruction of gunshot fatalities. The present study aims at evaluating the potential role of micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) for detecting and quantifying gunshot residue (GSR) particles in experimentally produced intermediate-range gunshot wounds severely damaged by fire. Eighteen experimental shootings were performed on 18 sections of human calves surgically amputated for medical reasons at three different firing distances (5, 15 and 30 cm).

End-stage achalasia in a patient with neurofibromatosis treated with laparoscopic Heller myotomy.

Achalasia is an esophageal motility disorder for which the pathophysiology is only partially known for the idiopathic subtype. Many factors are known to be involved with the development of secondary achalasia. Neurofibromatosis is one of the most common autosomal dominant conditions affecting the nervous system, and 25% of those with the disease have been reported to have involvement of the gastrointestinal tract.

Machinery-related deaths: relevance of workplace investigation and antemortem radiological data in reconstructing the fatality.

Machinery-related fatalities are one of the leading causes of traumatic occupational deaths. In our report, we present the case of a 40-year-old male who suffered a severe head trauma while working in a cut-foam industry and died despite an early craniectomy. The radiological reconstruction of the skull based on preoperative computed tomography scans disclosed a large depressed conical fracture of the left parietal bone.