Human Injury Criteria for Underwater Blasts.

Underwater blasts propagate further and injure more readily than equivalent air blasts. Development of effective personal protection and countermeasures, however, requires knowledge of the currently unknown human tolerance to underwater blast. Current guidelines for prevention of underwater blast injury are not based on any organized injury risk assessment, human data or experimental data.

Endoprosthetic management of refractory ileocolonic anastomotic strictures after resection for Crohn's disease: report of nine-year follow-up and review of the literature.

Background: The role of endoluminal stenting in benign obstruction, especially for Crohn's disease (CD), is controversial, with limited data and widely disparate outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the long-term efficacy and safety of this technology in the treatment of fibrostenotic CD and to review the existing literature on this topic.

Methods: We undertook a retrospective review of all patients undergoing endoluminal stenting for CD strictures at our institution from 2001 to 2010.

Minimally invasive, endoscopically assisted colostomy can be performed without general anesthesia or laparotomy.

Purpose: Fecal diversion is frequently required in critically ill patients who may not be able to tolerate a laparotomy. Laparoscopic-assisted and trephine colostomies are alternative methods for colostomy without laparotomy, but require general anesthetic. The objective of this study was to evaluate the possibility of performing fecal diversion with the assistance of a colonoscope and without the additional morbidity of abdominal exploration or general anesthesia.