[Ultrasound detection of pneumoperitoneum based on typical ultrasound morphology].

The correspondence of sonography and radiography to figure out a pneumoperitoneum was studied in a group of 140 patients having undergone abdominal surgery. Sonography revealed 14 (82.4%) out of 17 radiographically positive patients.

[Reconstruction-plasty of iatrogenic choledochal stenoses using human pericardium. An experimental study in the domestic pig].

The effect of human pericardial patch plastic for reconstruction of iatrogenic common bile duct stenosis was investigated in experiments performed in pigs. All patches (n = 8) were overgrown with immature biliary epithelium detectable on light and electron microscopy within 6 weeks. No restenosis nor any fistula developed during this observation period.

[Extracorporeal shock wave treatment of calcium containing gallbladder calculi].

A total of 50 patients--37 female and 13 male--with an average age of 50 +/- 27 years (23-86 years), suffering from rim-calcified gallbladder stones, underwent extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (ESWL), using an ultrasound-guided overhead module of Lithostar Plus (Siemens Company). The total number of stones was 87, with an average diameter of 16 +/- 7 (7-38) mm. 29 patients had a solitary stone, 13 had two and 8 patients three or more stones.

[Technique of recurrent laryngeal nerve exposure within the scope of interventions of the thyroid gland].

In anatomical preparations performed during autopsy we developed a well-defined approach for the identification of the recurrent laryngeal nerve during surgery on the thyroid gland. The principle of this concept is to visualize the nerve near the branching of the inferior thyroid artery, where it shows a 30 degree angle to the trachea in a direction running from caudal lateral to cranial medial and lies in front of, behind, or between the branches of the artery. This preparation mode has been prospectively performed in 100 patients undergoing thyroid surgery.