Laparoscopic vs. open abdominal surgery in male pigs: marked differences in cortisol and catecholamine response depending on the size of surgical incision.

Objective: Minimally invasive operations, such as laparoscopic cholecystectomy and adrenalectomy, result in a more rapid recovery of normal function, less physiological disturbances and less stress to the organism than similar open operations. The purpose of this study was to determine the stress response associated with minimally invasive abdominal surgery compared to conventional small or large incision laparotomy.

Methods: We compared the responses of the stress hormones cortisol and the catecholamines adrenaline and noradrenaline to elective conventional and laparoscopic cholecystectomy and unilateral adrenalectomy in male pigs.

The use of isobutylcyanoacrylate as a tissue adhesive in abdominal surgery.

Background: The use of cyanoacrylate substances as tissue adhesives is of valuable aid in surgery, especially in cases of injuries of the intraabdominal organs, where the haemorrhage is very difficult to control.

Materials And Methods: We investigated the efficiency of isobutyl-2-cyanoacrylate as a tissue adhesive in the haemostasis and adhesion of different types of wounds in solid and hollow organs. Forty-six dogs underwent single-organ (26 dogs) and combined-organ (20 dogs) procedures; cuneiform excisions of the liver and the spleen, as well as incisions of the small intestine were carried out.

Surgical treatment of human echinococcosis.

Hydatid disease may affect several organs in the human body and thus represents a major challenge for the general surgeon. The aim of this study was to analyze the multiple clinical presentations of hydatid disease and the surgical options according to the involved organ. The medical records of 272 adult patients operated on for hydatid disease in our department during the period 1970-1996 were retrospectively reviewed.

The effect of various types of splenectomy on the development of B-16 melanoma in mice.

Two hundred and sixty CB57BL/J6 mice were used in an experimental protocol designed to investigate the effects of four different varieties of splenectomy on the growth rate of subcutaneously implanted GB-16 melanoma. In addition, the mean and absolute survival of the mice, the histopathology of the tumour and the effects of the same procedures on the immunological status of the tumour-bearing animals as assessed by serum IgG levels and immunoelectrophoresis were determined. The effects of timing of splenectomy and the removal of the primary tumour after splenectomy on the above parameters were also annotated.

Effect of impaired vasa vasorum flow on the structure and mechanics of the thoracic aorta: implications for the pathogenesis of aortic dissection.

Objective: To investigate the alterations of structure and mechanical properties of the aortic wall, resulting from impairment of vasa vasorum flow.

Methods: Eight healthy Landrace pigs were subjected to interruption of vasa vasorum flow to the upper segment of their descending thoracic aorta. Under sterile conditions, the periaortic tissue was excised and the contiguous intercostal arteries were ligated.