Prognostic factors for survival following emergency Hartmann's procedure.

Introduction: Patients presenting with peritonitis require rapid treatment initiation including laparotomy. In the older population, this often leads to Hartmann's procedure being performed. The decision to perform surgery may be a difficult, multidisciplinary decision balancing premorbid comorbidity and quality of life with knowledge of the postoperative outcome.

Lymphangiogenesis and lymph node metastasis in breast cancer.

Introduction: There have been few studies on lymphangiogenesis in the past due to the lack of specific lymphatic endothelial markers, and lymphatic-specific growth factors. Recently, these limitations have been relieved by the discovery of a small number of potential lymphatic-specific markers. The relationship between lymphangiogenesis and regional or distant metastasis has not previously been investigated in humans.