Heterotopic gastric mucosa in the gallbladder: report of two cases.

This report presents two cases of heterotopic gastric mucosa in the gallbladder. In case 1, the patient was a 43-year-old man who presented with diarrhea and fever. Abdominal ultrasonography showed a sessile polypoid lesion in the body of the gallbladder that grew over 2 months.

Large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma in the thymus.

Large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma in the thymus is a rare cancer that is more aggressive and leads to a poorer prognosis than other thymic epithelial tumors. A 67-year-old woman presented with an anterior mediastinal mass in the thymus. Histological examination after thymectomy revealed large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma in the thymus.

Laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy is effective in a porcine model.

Background: Laparoscopic pancreatic surgery is rapidly evolving due to improving instrumentation and surgical techniques. The challenges confronting laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy (LPD), however, are its technical difficulty and its appropriateness for oncologic treatment. This study sought to develop a novel technique for LPD in an acute porcine model and to evaluate the safety and feasibility of LPD before clinical trials are undertaken.

Treatment strategy for hilar cholangiocarcinoma, with special reference to the limits of ductal resection in right-sided hepatectomies.

The surgical anatomy of the hepatic hilar region is characterized by the three-dimensional formation of the branches of the bile duct, portal vein, and hepatic artery. The limit of ductal resection in hepatectomy for hilar cholangiocarcinoma is the most peripheral point where the hepatic ducts can be separated from the vasculature. The limit is different for each type of hepatectomy because the portal vein branches that should be preserved or divided vary with the extent of the hepatectomy, and therefore the limit of separation of the hepatic ducts differs.

Laparoscopic modified Devine exclusion gastrojejunostomy as a palliative surgery to relieve malignant pyloroduodenal obstruction by unresectable cancer.

Background: Malignant pyloroduodenal obstruction by an unresectable cancer makes ingesting food or liquids impossible for patients. The patient's quality of life deteriorates rapidly, leading to a dismal prognosis. The modified Devine exclusion (MDE) method of open laparotomy has been reported to be effective in such cases.

Distal pancreatectomy with en bloc celiac axis resection for locally advanced pancreatic body cancer: long-term results.

Objective: To analyze the long-term results of distal pancreatectomy with en bloc celiac axis resection (DP-CAR), a newly designed extended surgical procedure for locally advanced cancer of the pancreatic body.

Summary Background Data: Pancreatic body cancer often involves the common hepatic artery and/or the celiac axis and is regarded as an unresectable disease. We previously reported the feasibility and safety of DP-CAR in 10 patients and 3 preliminary cases; however, the long-term results are unknown.

[Informed consent for surgery for biliary tract carcinoma].

Surgical resection has been considered to be the only hope for the cure of biliary carcinoma. The prognosis of biliary carcinoma patients is still poor due to its location and complicated anatomic characteristics. Extensive surgery such as major hepatectomy in hilar cholangiocarcinoma and concomitant vascular resection in pancreatiticoduodenectomy seems to increase radicality and improve long-term results.

A new, simple stapling technique for pulmonary emphysema: its effects and safety for improving respiratory function.

Purpose: We performed lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) in an experimental model using a simple stapling technique (SST) for pulmonary emphysema. The technique uses a stapler to isolate the affected lung from the remaining lung instead of removing it. We performed the present experiment using dogs to study the effects and safety of LVRS using the SST.

Improved healing of small-caliber, long-fibril expanded polytetrafluoroethylene vascular grafts by covalent bonding of fibronectin.

Purpose: To evaluate the intermediate performance of small-caliber, long-fibril expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) vascular grafts pretreated with covalent bonding of fibronectin in dogs.

Methods: Small-caliber (4 mm), long-fibril (60 microm), ePTFE vascular grafts, 10 cm in length, were pretreated by covalent bonding of fibronectin. Bilateral iliac grafting was done in dogs using a fibronectin-bonded graft on one side and a nonbonded control graft on the other side.

Relationship between fibril length and tissue ingrowth in the healing of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene grafts.

Purpose: To determine whether fibril length is correlated with graft healing as well as cellular and capillary ingrowth in a canine carotid implantation model.

Methods: Expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) vascular grafts with three different fibril lengths (30, 60, and 90 microm) were implanted into the carotid artery in dogs. They were retrieved 4 weeks later, and subjected to histomorphometric analysis.

Primary small cell carcinoma of the common bile duct, in which surgical treatment was performed after neoadjuvant chemotherapy: report of a case.

Primary small cell carcinoma of the hepatobiliary tract is rare. Most cases occur in the gallbladder or in the ampulla of Vater, and such cases in the common bile duct (CBD) are extremely rare. We herein report a case of small cell carcinoma arising in the CBD.