Publications by authors named "James Ramus"

Background: Retraction of the left lobe of the liver is an important step in most bariatric surgical procedures. Bariatric patients may have enlarged, fatty livers and retraction can be complicated with injuries, haematoma, or necrosis. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of two standard liver retractors, Nathanson and PretzelFlex on patients undergoing laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB).

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Obesity among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals is on the rise. Bariatric procedures such as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG) alter the GI tract. Whether this alteration has any impact on the absorption of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), thus affecting HIV disease markers such as CD4 cell count or viral load (VL), is not yet known.

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Background: Gastric band slippage is a significant challenge in gastric band surgery and can result in poor weight loss, pain and dysphagia, often requiring re-operation. The Royal Berkshire Hospital is one of 49 UK centres performing bariatric surgery. We audited our band slippage rates.

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Aim: To investigate the lifetime risk of development of esophageal adenocarcinoma and/or high-grade dysplasia in patients diagnosed with Barrett's esophagus.

Methods: Data were extracted from the United Kingdom National Barrett's Oesophagus Registry on date of diagnosis, patient age and gender of 7877 patients from who had been registered from 35 United Kingdom centers. Life expectancy was evaluated from United Kingdom National Statistics data based upon gender and age at year at diagnosis.

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Introduction: Haemobilia is a rare complication of acute cholecystitis and may present as upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

Presentation Of Case: We describe two patients with acute cholecystitis presenting with upper gastrointestinal bleeding due to haemobilia. Bleeding from the duodenal papilla was seen at endoscopy in one case but none in the other.

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Torsion of the vermiform appendix is a rare disorder that causes symptoms similar to those of acute appendicitis. Primary and secondary causes of appendiceal torsion have been reported in the literature. Laparoscopy appears to be the most appropriate modality for diagnosis and treatment where the condition is suspected.

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A 41-year-old man presented with chylous ascites 6 weeks after a laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication. The chyle leak was successfully treated with laparoscopic ligation of the leaking duct at the right crus. We would now recommend early consideration of this as a treatment option for this rare complication.

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The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between smoking and oesophageal high-grade dysplasia (HGD) or adenocarcinoma (AC) in a large cohort of patients with Barrett's columnar-lined oesophagus (CLO). A total of 1280 patients diagnosed with CLO and registered with the UK National Barrett's Oesophagus Registry were included. Data, including smoking habits, were collected from the patient's notes and development of HGD or AC noted.

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Introduction: Incidence of oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC) is increasing rapidly. OAC arises in columnar-lined oesophagus (CLO), a metaplastic change affecting some patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD). As yet there is no reliable method of identifying those at highest risk.

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Aims: To examine the natural history of columnar-lined oesophagus with routinely diagnosed low-grade dysplasia and ascertain the risk of oesophageal adenocarcinoma development.

Methods And Results: A multicentre retrospective cohort study of 283 patients with low-grade dysplasia. Follow-up data were obtained from examination of hospital records.

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Barrett's columnar-lined oesophagus is the precursor lesion for oesophageal adenocarcinoma. The overall rate of progression to adenocarcinoma is 0.59% per annum.

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Objectives: The prevalence of columnar-lined oesophagus seems to have increased steadily in the past three decades in Europe and North America. Although the vast majority of columnar-lined oesophagus will not progress to malignancy, it is nevertheless important to identify the risk factors associated with this condition. This study investigates whether there has been a change, at diagnosis, in age of columnar-lined oesophagus patients between 1990 and 2005, or an increase in the number of patients aged less than 50 years.

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Objectives: Endoscopic surveillance of patients with columnar-lined oesophagus (CLO) may identify those with early adenocarcinoma (AC). The benefits of surveillance are unproven and there is little evidence to support recommendations for precise endoscopic intervals. We sought to examine surveillance practice for CLO in the UK and the impact of endoscopic intervals on detection of dysplastic disease.

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Columnar metaplasia is the precursor lesion for esophageal adenocarcinoma, resulting from prolonged gastroesophageal reflux. The influence of the efficacy of reflux control on the development of neoplastic change in columnar-lined esophagus is not established. This study compares the rate of development of dysplasia and adenocarcinoma in patients with columnar metaplasia of the esophagus between patients treated pharmacologically and those treated with antireflux surgery.

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The management of the columnar-lined oesophagus (CLO) has remained controversial for the last 10 years, with practices varying between individual physicians and centres throughout the United Kingdom. Various guidelines exist, although international consensus over issues such as the recognition of short-segment disease and surveillance policies for uncomplicated and dysplastic disease is lacking. Questionnaires examining the practice of diagnosis and surveillance of CLO were sent to 41 centres spread throughout the United Kingdom.

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Objective: In the USA, detection of intestinal metaplasia is a requirement for enrollment in surveillance programmes for dysplasia or adenocarcinoma in columnar-lined oesophagus. In the UK, it is believed that failure to detect intestinal metaplasia at index endoscopy does not imply its absence within the columnarized segment or that the tissue is not at risk of neoplastic transformation. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors predicting the probability of detection of intestinal metaplasia in the columnarized segment.

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Objective: Longer columnar-lined oesophagus (CLO) segments have been associated with higher cancer risk, but few studies have demonstrated a significant difference in neoplastic risk stratified by CLO segment length. This study establishes adenocarcinoma risk in CLO by segment length.

Methods: This is a multicentre retrospective observational study.

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Spontaneous rupture of the superficial femoral artery (SFA) is rare. It may occur in the presence of an SFA aneurysm or in a nonaneurysmal, but usually atherosclerotic, artery. Previously these ruptures have been treated by surgical exclusion, often with bypass grafting.

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The relationship between Helicobacter pylori infection and reflux-induced esophageal diseased is controversial. We examined esophageal disease severity in patients with columnar-lined esophagus and compared results between patients with and without Helicobacter pylori infection. Medical records of 1000 patients diagnosed with columnar-lined esophagus were examined.

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