Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy for obesity: can it be considered a definitive procedure?

Background: Providing bariatric surgery services to an inner-city population is a challenge. Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is an effective operation for morbid obesity with a relatively low complication rate. LSG appears to be a suitable alternative procedure for this group of patients.

Lethality of standard total parenteral nutrition following major liver resection in rats is prevented by high arginine and high branched chain amino acids but not by glutamine.

Standard total parenteral nutrition (TPN), with or without fat, in amounts approximating the ad libitum intake of normal rats is highly lethal for rats following 70% hepatectomy. Because of significant metabolic changes including alterations of branched chain amino acids (BCAA), arginine (ARG), and glutamine (GLN) associated with serious injury, sepsis, and liver dysfunction, we hypothesized that (1) increasing concentrations of BCAA and ARG in TPN and (2) including glutamine in the TPN may diminish the lethality. Male Sprague-Dawley rats with 70% hepatectomy and jugular vein catheterization were divided into groups.

Comparison of reg I and reg III levels during acute pancreatitis in the rat.

Objective: To study alterations of serum levels of the pancreatic reg family of proteins in two models of acute pancreatitis.

Summary Background Data: The pancreatic reg family of proteins is expressed in the acinar pancreas. Reg I (pancreatic stone protein, PSP) and reg III (pancreatitis-associated protein, PAP) are induced after the onset of acute pancreatitis, and both have been proposed as potential markers of pancreatitis.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease: surgical considerations.

Technical advances are changing the attitude toward surgery as a last-resort treatment option for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Although a number of effective medications are currently available to manage GERD, surgery is definitive therapy, and its results are long-term, eliminating both medication compliance problems and the high cost of lifelong drug therapy. Numerous procedures are available for GERD; laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication is emerging as highly suitable and successful for most patients with simple GERD.