Complications of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding: our local experience.

Obesity is a major medical problem both within Australia as well as throughout the developed world. Achievement of weight loss for any individual patient brings an additional desirable benefit of improvement or resolution of a wide range of comorbid conditions. Bariatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention and treatment of obesity and allied diseases.

Prolonged Intestinal Mucosal Barium Coating due to Ischemic Necrosis.

A case of a 63-year-old man with small bowel ischemia six weeks after transplantation surgery is presented. Plain abdominal radiograph obtained several days after ingestion of barium shows the sign of prolonged barium coating indicating severe mucosal damage. Abdominal CT scan demonstrates small bowel wall thickening as well as pockets of peritoneal fluid collections.

Biodegradability of naltrexone-poly(DL) lactide implants in vivo assessed under ultrasound in humans.

Ultrasound was used to assess the in vivo biodegradability of a sustained release poly(DL)lactide naltrexone implant in 71 persons previously treated for heroin dependence. We assessed 139 implant sites ranging from 2 to 1808 days post implant. Ultrasound assessment showed that implant tablets were initially well demarcated from each other and from the surrounding tissues.

Superior vena cava obstruction by tumour thrombus in invasive thymoma: diagnosis and surgical management.

Thymomas are common mediastinal tumours. We report a rare case of thymoma invasion into the superior vena cava with resultant venous obstruction. The tumour was resected.

Comparison of radiologists and technologists in the performance of air-contrast barium enemas.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the rate of polyp detection and the quality of air-contrast barium enema (ACBE) procedures performed by technologists differ from those performed by radiologists.

Conclusion: Our results showed that well-trained certified technologists can perform ACBE similar in overall quality and accuracy to ACBE performed by attending physicians and residents. Training technologists to perform ACBE may help to alleviate the radiology staffing shortage in the United States.

Causes of errors in polyp detection at air-contrast barium enema examination.

Purpose: To retrospectively determine the cause of errors in air-contrast barium enema (ACBE) examination for detection of polyps 6 mm or larger.

Materials And Methods: The study had institutional review board approval. Informed consent was waived for this HIPAA-compliant study.