Laparoscopic adrenalectomy: new gold standard.

Nearly 600 cases of laparoscopic adrenalectomy have been described in the world literature, documenting the safety and effectiveness of the procedure. Comparative studies have demonstrated the advantages of the laparoscopic approach when compared to traditional open approaches to adrenalectomy, documenting a more rapid and comfortable recovery, shorter hospitalization, and fewer complications. Several techniques of laparoscopic adrenalectomy have been described.

Management of pancreatic pseudocysts.

Background: Operative internal drainage has been standard treatment for chronic unresolved pancreatic pseudocysts (PPs). Recently, percutaneous external drainage (PED) has become the primary mode of treatment at many medical centers.

Study Design: A retrospective chart review was performed of 96 patients with PPs who were managed between 1987 and 1996.

Management of biliary tract stones in heart transplant patients.

Objective: The authors report their experience with biliary tract stones in adult and pediatric heart transplant patients, and review the current literature relative to this problem.

Summary Background Data: Prior studies in adults have noted that heart transplant patients frequently have cholelithiasis, but offer no consensus about treatment strategy. Few studies exist for pediatric heart transplant patients.

Idiopathic fibrosing pancreatitis: a rare cause of obstructive jaundice in children.

Idiopathic fibrosing pancreatitis is a rare cause of obstructive jaundice in children and young adults. Only 30 cases have been previously reported. Four children with this entity have been treated at Egleston Children's Hospital at Emory University since 1970.

Granulomatous peritoneal cryptococcomas. An unusual sequela of disseminated cryptococcosis.

We report an unusual case of fibrosing peritoneal cryptococcal granulomas in a 36-year-old human immunodeficiency virus-negative man with small-bowel obstruction who previously had been treated for cryptococcal meningitis. At laparotomy, multiple pinhead-sized granulomas studded the visceral peritoneum. Microscopic examination showed cryptococcal granulomas characterized by peripheral fibrosis and central caseous necrosis.