Routine hiatal hernia repair in laparoscopic gastric banding.

Laparoscopic gastric banding is now well established as an effective means of obtaining safe, healthy weight loss in the morbidly obese patient population. The procedure has evolved over the years to minimize complications and optimize results. Preoperative patient evaluation includes upper endoscopy to assess the baseline integrity of the stomach and rule out pathology.

Laparoscopy in the management of pediatric intraabdominal tumors.

Background And Objectives: Unresectable intraabdominal tumors pose a challenge to the pediatric oncology team. Tumor tissue is needed for diagnostic and prognostic analyses. Laparotomy is quite invasive and computerized tomography-guided needle biopsies, though less invasive, may not procure enough tissue for a complete analysis.