Mass-Forming Gastric Heterotopia of the Rectum: A Series of 3 Cases from a Single Tertiary Health Center.

BACKGROUND Gastric heterotopia is a benign entity found throughout the gastrointestinal tract but is rarely identified in the rectum. Since 1939, only 94 cases have ever been identified, and it can present as a mass formation with symptomatology that mimics colorectal malignancy. In some instances, malignancy has been shown to arise within rectal gastric heterotopia.

Use of a novel helical tack system for the management of challenging upper gastrointestinal defects.

Background And Aims: Increasingly, gastroenterologists are being asked to assist in the closure of defects. Although there are several available tools that can be used for defect closure, there remains a need for devices that are easy to use, effective, and durable. The aim of this case series is to demonstrate the use of a novel helical tack system in the closure of upper GI defects.

Single-session EUS-guided gastroenterostomy and EUS-guided gallbladder drainage in a patient with concomitant gastric outlet obstruction and acalculous cholecystitis.

Video 1Video presentation of a single session EUS-guided cholecystoduodenostomy and gastrojejunostomy.

Novel dilation technique and stent selection to reduce periprocedural adverse events in left hepaticogastrostomy.

Video 1Video demonstration of left hepaticogastrostomy with the assistance of an angioplasty balloon.

Endoscopic Management as a Viable Therapy for Pancreaticopleural and Pancreaticopericardial Fistulas.

Pancreatic fistulas are rare complications of chronic pancreatitis, typically caused when disruption of the pancreatic duct causes leakage of pancreatic fluid that erodes through neighboring organs and structures. Pancreatic fistulas to the pericardium and pleural spaces are extremely rare, and cases of multiple fistulas tracking from the pancreas have not been reported before. Management of these fluid collections is challenging with no consensus described in the current literature.

Endoscopic Management of Giant Walled-Off Pancreatic Necrosis With a High Risk of Bleeding.

Walled-off pancreatic necrosis (WOPN) is one of the late complications of acute pancreatitis. We present a 37-year-old man who developed a large WOPN 6 weeks after treatment of severe complicated pancreatitis. Imaging studies revealed a necrotic retroperitoneal fluid collection measuring 27 × 12 × 27 cm with large crossing blood vessels.

Somatic molecular analysis augments cytologic evaluation of pancreatic cyst fluids as a diagnostic tool.

Better tools are needed for early diagnosis and classification of pancreatic cystic lesions (PCL) to trigger intervention before neoplastic precursor lesions progress to adenocarcinoma. We evaluated the capacity of molecular analysis to improve the accuracy of cytologic diagnosis for PCL with an emphasis on non-diagnostic/negative specimens. In a span of 7 years, at a tertiary care hospital, 318 PCL endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspirations (EUS-FNA) were evaluated by cytologic examination and molecular analysis.

Multicenter evaluation of the clinical utility of laparoscopy-assisted ERCP in patients with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

Background And Aims: The obesity epidemic has led to increased use of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). These patients have an increased incidence of pancreaticobiliary diseases, yet standard ERCP is not possible because of surgically altered gastroduodenal anatomy. Laparoscopy-assisted ERCP (LA-ERCP) has been proposed as an option, but supporting data are derived from single-center small case series.

Thirty-day outcomes underestimate endocrine and exocrine insufficiency after pancreatic resection.

Background: Long-term incidence of endocrine and exocrine insufficiency after pancreatectomy is poorly described. We analyze the long-term risks of pancreatic insufficiency after pancreatectomy.

Methods: Subjects who underwent pancreatectomy from 2002 to 2012 were identified from a prospective database (n = 227).

Utility of liquid-based cytologic examination of distal esophageal brushings in the management of Barrett esophagus: a prospective study of 45 cases.

Introduction: The goal of Barrett esophagus surveillance is to identify high-grade dysplasia (HGD) for eradication. Surveillance programs currently rely on limited histologic sampling; however, the role of cytology in this setting is not well studied.

Materials And Methods: From December 1, 2011 to March 30, 2014, 45 patients underwent 4 circumferential brushings of the distal tubular esophagus followed by standard 4-quadrant biopsies.

Decreased concentrations of retinol-binding protein 4 in sera of epithelial ovarian cancer patients: a potential biomarker identified by proteomics.

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women. Absence of a reliable biomarker precludes early diagnosis of the disease. To identify new proteins with potential diagnostic or prognostic value for the therapy of ovarian cancer we performed comparative proteomic analysis of sera from ovarian cancer patients and healthy women.

Presurgical short term treatment of uterine fibroids with different doses of cetrorelix acetate: a double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter study.

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of different dosing schedules of cetrorelix acetate as a short term treatment for 4 weeks prior to surgery in patients with uterine fibroids.

Study Design: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Patients were 109 premenopausal women, with at least one uterine fibroid, more than 4 cm in diameter.

Expression of angiopoietic factors in normal and type-I diabetes human placenta: a pilot study.

Objectives: Morphological changes of blood vessel wall have been described in placenta from pregnancies complicated by diabetes mellitus type-I.

Study Design: We measured mRNA expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiopoietin 1 and 2 (Ang-1 and Ang-2), their receptors VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2, Tie-2, fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2), and its receptor FGF-2R in placental tissue of diabetes type-I patients, in normal term placenta, and endometrium of non-pregnant women by real time reverse transcriptase PCR.

Results: The expression of Ang-2 and VEGFR-1 mRNAs was significantly higher in placenta (P View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Improved implantation rate after chemical removal of the zona pellucida.

Objective: To evaluate the implantation rate achieved after chemical removal of the zona pellucida from day 5 human in vitro-derived embryos.

Design: Prospective, randomized, controlled study.

Setting: A tertiary care infertility clinic.

Role of therapy or monitoring in preventing progression to gastric cancer.

It is generally accepted that intestinal-type gastric adenocarcinoma arises through a multistep process originating with chronic gastritis, progressing through stages of atrophy, intestinal metaplasia, and dysplasia and finally invasive carcinoma. This sequential process, known as the "Correa cascade" is in many instances initiated by Helicobacter pylori infection and perpetuated by a number of environmental and host factors. Given that the development of carcinoma can be the end point of this sequential process, there is great interest in determining which if any of these steps may be reversible.

Significance of ultrasound vaginal cervicometry in predicting preterm delivery.

Background: The objective of the study was to verify whether ultrasound vaginal cervicometry, performed in the 18th-20th week of gestation, can effectively predict preterm delivery.

Material/methods: 279 singleton pregnancies were prospectively studied from the middle of gestation until delivery. In the 18th-20th week of gestation we performed ultrasound vaginal cervicometry, which we used to determine the length of the cervix, judge the shape of the internal os, and evaluate the cervicometry as normal or abnormal on the basis of these parameters.