Journey of a stone-thirty years on.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the gold standard surgical treatment of gallstone disease and a commonly performed procedure in general surgery. Retained gallstones from intraoperative spillage remain largely asymptomatic and complications are rare. Peak incidence of presentation occurs within a year; however, it is important to recognize retained gallstones as a differential for acute presentations even many years postoperatively.

Descending mediastinitis managed by sternotomy, taurolidine and delayed closure.

Descending necrotizing mediastinitis is a rare complication of upper respiratory infections. A quick diagnosis and prompt and complete surgical drainage is important for a successful outcome. A 74-year-old man with descending necrotizing mediastinitis needed a sternotomy, multiple washouts, and delayed sternal closure.

Early postoperative bioprosthetic valve calcification.

Bioprosthetic valves are implanted in elderly patients with good follow up results. The degeneration of these valves is slow and there are multiple aetiologies for that. It is unclear whether renal failure accelerates the degeneration of bioprosthetic valves in patients with normal calcium levels.

Cerebritis: an unusual complication of Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Cerebritis is part of a continuum of brain infection and is difficult to diagnose. Cerebritis caused by Klebsiella in immunocompetent adults without predisposing factors such as neurosurgery or penetrating brain injury has not been reported before. We report a case of Klebsiella cerebritis in an adult patient with a proven extracranial focus of infection.