Using Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging to Quantify Perfusion Quality in Kidney and Pancreas Grafts on Vascular Reperfusion: A Proof-of-Principle Study.

Unlabelled: The accuracy of intraoperative graft perfusion assessment still remains subjective, with doppler examination being the only objective adjunct. Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) has been used to assess intraoperative blood flow in neurosurgery and in various surgical specialties. Despite its ability to accurately quantify perfusion at the microvascular level, it has not been clinically evaluated in kidney/kidney-pancreas transplantation for perfusion characterization.

Recruitment strategies and HPV self-collection return rates for under-screened women for cervical cancer prevention.

In the United States, medically underserved women carry a heavier burden of cancer incidence and mortality, yet are largely underrepresented in cancer prevention studies. My Body, My Test is a n observational cohort, multi-phase cervical cancer prevention study in North Carolina that recruited low-income women, aged 30-65 years and who had not undergone Pap testing in ≥ 4 years. Participants were offered home-based self-collection of cervico-vaginal samples for primary HPV testing.

Bouveret's Syndrome: A Case Series and Literature Review on a Gallstone Disease Causing Gastric Outlet Obstruction.

Introduction Bouveret's syndrome refers to a gastric outlet obstruction due to the impaction of a large gallstone following retrograde migration via a bilio-duodenal fistula. Although no clear management guideline has been formulated, different treatment modalities have been described, including endoscopic stone removal using classical endoscopic devices, like snares and forceps, or fragmentation of stones with new devices, such as lasers and extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL). Results This case series reports six patients who have been diagnosed with Bouveret's syndrome and have presented with interesting radiological and endoscopic findings.

Prevalence of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine (TCAM) among adult cancer patients in Malawi.

Purpose: The objective of this study is to document the prevalence of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine (TCAM) use by adult cancer patients at a national teaching hospital in Malawi. We aim to document the products/therapies used, the reason for use, as well as patient-reported satisfaction with TCAM practitioners and modalities.

Methods: We conducted investigator-administered interviews with adult cancer patients presenting to the Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) Cancer Clinic in Lilongwe, Malawi between January and July 2018.

Bio-Degradable Stents: Primary Experience in a Tertiary Hepatopancreaticobiliary Center in the United Kingdom.

Background: Management of benign biliary strictures (BBS) post bilioenteric anastomoses requires a multidisciplinary approach including surgical, radiological, and/or endoscopic input. Patients often need multiple hospital visits for treatment with the long-term possibility of restenosis. Conventionally BBS have been treated with serial percutaneous transhepatic biliary dilatations necessitating repeat procedures for drain exchange or removal.

Laterality in laparoscopic hand assisted donor nephrectomy - Does it matter anymore? Outcomes of a large retrospective series.

This retrospective study was performed to analyse if laterality of the retrieved living donor kidney had any effect on donor and recipient outcomes after hand assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (HALDN). 739 donors who underwent HALDN between January 2006 and January 2018 at a large tertiary transplant centre in the United Kingdom were included. Donor outcomes in individuals undergoing right versus left HALDN were compared with respect to conversion rates, morbidity, warm and cold ischaemia times and recipient failure rates, vascular and ureteric complications.

Mandatory Vaccination in Europe.

Background: Mandatory vaccination has been effective in maintaining high vaccination coverage in countries such as the United States. However, there are no peer-reviewed analyses of the association between mandates and both coverage and subsequent incidence of vaccine-preventable disease in Europe.

Methods: Using data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organization, we evaluated the relationship between country-level mandatory vaccination policies and (1) measles and pertussis vaccine coverage and (2) the annual incidence of these diseases in 29 European countries.

Physiological parameters for Prognosis in Abdominal Sepsis (PIPAS) Study: a WSES observational study.

Background: Timing and adequacy of peritoneal source control are the most important pillars in the management of patients with acute peritonitis. Therefore, early prognostic evaluation of acute peritonitis is paramount to assess the severity and establish a prompt and appropriate treatment. The objectives of this study were to identify clinical and laboratory predictors for in-hospital mortality in patients with acute peritonitis and to develop a warning score system, based on easily recognizable and assessable variables, globally accepted.

Model of a training program in robotic surgery and its initial results.

Objective:: to describe the implementation of a training program in robotic surgery and to point the General Surgery procedures that can be performed with advantages using the robotic platform.

Methods:: we conducted a retrospective analysis of data collected prospectively from the robotic surgery group in General and Colo-Retal Surgery at the Samaritan Hospital (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), from October 2012 to December 2015. We describe the training stages and particularities.

The effect of vagotomy and pyloroplasty on colorectal tumor induction in the rat.

Epidemiologic studies have suggested that vagotomy increases subsequent colorectal cancer risk. This hypothesis was investigated in the rat 1,2 dimethylhydrazine (DMH) colorectal carcinogenesis model. Eighty-five rats were divided into four groups having either truncal vagotomy and Heineke-Mickulicz pyloroplasty, pyloroplasty alone, laparotomy alone, and anesthesia alone.

[Atheroembolic disease. Presentation of a case of multisystemic involvement and review of the literature].

The atheroembolic disease is an entity characterized by obstruction of multiple small arteries by cholesterol crystals. The incidence rises steeply with advancing age and following an invasive procedure involving arteries in patients with atherosclerosis. Actually it has a growing interest due to the increased frequency and to the lack of appropriate therapy.

Computerized axial manometry of the esophagus. A new method for the assessment of antireflux operations.

This is a presentation of a new manometric parameter of the mechanical competence of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), the lower esophageal sphincter vector volume (LESVV). It is determined by computer analysis of continuous-pressure measurements during constant speed pullback of a radially oriented 4- 6- or 8-channel manometry catheter across the LES. Patients were studied with this method both before aggressive medical therapy for esophagitis and before and after Nissen fundoplication.

Duodenoplasty and proximal gastric vagotomy in peptic stenosis. Experience with 43 cases.

Experience with 43 duodenoplasties as a complementary procedure of proximal gastric vagotomy used in peptic duodenal stenosis was reviewed. After a rigid protocol aimed at treating the metabolic imbalance, gastric dilation, and activity of the ulcer, the cases were very similar to elective ones. Two types of duodenoplasty were most commonly employed: anterior duodenectomy with a transverse duodenorrhaphy (26 cases) and Finney's duodenoplasty (15 cases).