Switch from intravenous or intramuscular to subcutaneous hepatitis B immunoglobulin: effect on quality of life after liver transplantation.

Background: Hepatitis B immunoglobulin (HBIG) therapy is available in intravenous (IV) or intra-muscular (IM) formulations. Recently, a subcutaneous (SC) formulation was introduced. This study evaluated changes in quality of life when liver transplant (LT) recipients were switched from IV or IM HBIG to the SC formulation.

Laparoscopic vs. open surgery for treating benign liver lesions: assessing quality of life in the first year after surgery.

Laparoscopic liver surgery has not yet gained widespread acceptance among liver surgeons. Some questions remain regarding indications to surgery and health related quality of life (HRQOL) after surgery, especially for the treatment of benign lesions, has so far not yet been investigated. The aim of this study is to evaluate HRQOL at 1 month, 6 months and 1 year after surgery in two groups of patients undergoing liver resections for benign liver lesions either by laparoscopic or open surgery.

Laparoscopic splenectomy: a single center experience. Unusual cases and expanded inclusion criteria for laparoscopic approach.

Laparoscopic splenectomy (LS) is nowadays considered as the gold standard for most hematological diseases where splenectomy is necessary, but many questions still remain. The aim of this study was to analyze our 5-years experiences consisting of 48 consecutive LS cases in order to assess the optimal approach and the feasibility of the procedure also in malignant diseases and unusual cases such as a primary spleen lymphoma, a big splenic artery aneurism, or a spleen infarct due to a huge pancreatic pseudo-cyst. Forty-eight consecutive patients underwent LS from January 2006 to January 2011 with at least 1-year follow-up.

Trocar site hernia after laparoscopic colectomy: a case report and literature review.

Background. Trocar Site Hernia (TSH) is defined as an incisional hernia which occurs after minimally invasive surgery on the trocar incision site.In 2004 Tonouchi classified trocar site hernias into 3 types: Early onset type; Late onset type; Special type.

Recurrent adenoid cystic carcinoma in the liver: a repeated laparoscopic surgical approach.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is characterized by a particularly aggressive behavior even many years after resection of primary tumor. The evolution of metastasis dramatically affects the final outcome but resection should always be evaluated. Herein is described a case of aggressive ACC of the parotid gland in a 30-year-old female.

Emergency treatment of complicated incisional hernias: a case study.

Background: The emergency treatment of incisional hernias is infrequent but it can be complicated with strangulation or obstruction and in some cases the surgical approach may also include an intestinal resection with the possibility of peritoneal contamination. Our study aims at reporting our experience in the emergency treatment of complicated incisional hernias.

Methods: Since January 1999 till July 2008, 89 patients (55 males and 34 females) were treated for complicated incisional hernias in emergency.

A severe case of hemobilia and biliary fistula following an open urgent cholecystectomy.

Background: Cholecystectomy has been the treatment of choice for symptomatic gallstones, but remains the greatest source of post-operative biliary injuries. Laparoscopic approach has been recently preferred because of short hospitalisation and low morbidity but has an higher incidence of biliary leakages and bile duct injuries than open one due to a technical error or misinterpretation of the anatomy. Even open cholecystectomy presents a small number of complications especially if it was performed in urgency.

Virtual colonoscopy in stenosing colorectal cancer.

Background: Between 5 and 10% of the patients undergoing a colonoscopy cannot have a complete procedure mainly due to stenosing neoplastic lesion of rectum or distal colon. Nevertheless the elective surgical treatment concerning the stenosis is to be performed after the pre-operative assessment of the colonic segments upstream the cancer. The aim of this study is to illustrate our experience with the Computed Tomographic Colonography (CTC) for the pre-operative assessment of the entire colon in the patients with stenosing colorectal cancers.

Feasibility of laparoscopy for small bowel obstruction.

Background: Adherential pathology is the most common cause of small bowel obstruction. Laparoscopy in small bowel obstruction does not have a clear role yet; surely it doesn't always represent only a therapeutic act, but it is always a diagnostic act, which doesn't interfere with abdominal wall integrity.

Methods: We performed a review without any language restrictions considering international literature indexed from 1980 to 2007 in Medline, Embase and Cochrane Library.