Feasibility and Efficacy of Magnetic Sphincter Augmentation for the Management of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Post-Sleeve Gastrectomy for Obesity.

Background: Patients with medically intractable GERD after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) have limited surgical options. Fundoplication is difficult post-LSG. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass may be used as a conversion procedure but is more invasive with potential for serious complications.

Minimally invasive surgical practice: a survey of general surgeons in Ontario.

Introduction: With the rapidly evolving techniques for minimally invasive surgery (MIS), general surgeons are challenged to incorporate advanced procedures into their practices. We therefore carried out a study to assess the state of MIS practice in Ontario.

Methods: A questionnaire was mailed to 390 general surgeons in Ontario.

The ethics of applying new medical technologies.

Medical technology itself, including minimally invasive surgery, has no morals; our morality revolves around when and how we use technology. This often involves the individual clinician's assessment of their own abilities and an awareness of two aspects of the technology: its proven efficacy and its safety. Is technology outpacing knowledge? Or do physicians adopt new technologies in a responsible way with good motives? No one knows for sure.

Minimally invasive adrenalectomy for pheochromocytoma during pregnancy.

Pheochromocytoma during pregnancy is a very rare condition; fewer than 200 cases have been reported in the literature. We present the case of a 24-year-old pregnant woman found to have a pheochromocytoma during investigation of abdominal pain. This is the second reported case of laparoscopic adrenalectomy for pheochromocytoma detected during pregnancy.