[An unusual presentation of superior vena cava syndrome].

Superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS) is a clinical picture resulting from the obstruction of superior vena cava. SVCS usually causes symptoms and signs related to the head, the neck, the upper extremities and the upper thorax. We report a case of unusual clinical presentation of SVCS in a 25-year-old male patient who suffered from lymphoblastic lymphoma in childhood.

Rectal cancer treatment in a teaching hospital.

Background: Rectal adenocarcinomas surgery morbidity and mortality might be impaired by neoadjuvant therapy. We performed this retropsective study to be compared with the PROCARE study running afterwards.

Methods: We performed a retrospective study of 95 patients operated on for rectal adenocarcinoma in a single institution during the period of 2007-2009.

Multi-centre European experience with intragastric balloon in overweight populations: 13 years of experience.

Background: The request to lose weight is expanding not only in obese and morbidly obese patients but also in overweight patients affected by co-morbidities as diabetes and hypertension and who do not tolerate diet regimen or lifestyle changes. The aim of this study is a multicenter evaluation of outcomes of intragastric balloon in overweight patients.

Methods: Patients (BMI 27-30 kg/m2) treated with a BioEnterics Intragastric Balloon (BIB) between 1996 and 2010 were extracted from the database of the participating centres in Rome (Italy), Liège (Belgium) and Madrid (Spain).

Is there a proper way to treat shortened oesophagus? About a series of 67 patients.

Introduction And Objective: During the work-up of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) patients, barium swallow may show a shortened oesophagus with a non-reducible gastro-oesophageal junction. In our department, in such cases, a Collis-Nissen operation is usually planned. But, the proper reducibility of the gastro-oesophageal junction (GOJ) in the abdomen is difficult to assess peroperatively.

Laparoscopic treatment of Barrett's esophagus: long-term results.

Background: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is considered the main etiologic process in the metaplastic development of Barrett's esophagus (BE). The most serious complication of BE is the possible dysplastic evolution to esophageal carcinoma. Many treatments have been described to prevent the progression of BE.

Clinical results of laparoscopic fundoplication at ten years after surgery.

Background: Several studies have demonstrated laparoscopic antireflux surgery (LAS) for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) to be efficient at short- and midterm follow-up evaluations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the results for LAS 10 years after surgery.

Methods: The 100 consecutive patients who underwent LAS by a single surgeon in 1993 were entered into a prospective database.

What becomes of patients one year after the intragastric balloon has been removed?

Background: The BioEnterics Intragastric Balloon (BIB) is a saline-filled balloon recommended to remain in the gastric cavity for a maximum of 6 months. Is this short period sufficient to change patients' lifestyle and eating practices to maintain weight reduction after BIB removal?

Methods: 100 patients who received a BIB were included in this prospective study and followed for 1 year after BIB removal. The post-implantation follow-up visits took place monthly, during which the patient was seen by the surgeon, dietitian, and if necessary, psychologist.

[Ghrelin and obesity].

Ghrelin is a peptide hormone secreted by the stomach. It was initially described as a stimulant of growth hormone secretion. Soon, however, it was discovered to play an important role in feeding behaviour in animals and in appetite regulation in man: ghrelin stimulates appetite, and as such is an orexigenic peptide implicated in energy balance mechanisms and weight gain.

Intravaginal slingplasty: short term results.

Background: Numerous surgical techniques have been described for the treatment of vaginal vault prolapses. In 1997, a new minimally invasive procedure was introduced by Petros: the infracoccygeal sacropexy, also known as Intravaginal Slingplasty (IVS). This technique is used to place a mesh in the recto-vaginal fascia and to reinforce the uterosacral ligament by placing a polypropylene tape between the perineum and the vaginal vault.

The sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the possibility and accuracy of this new diagnostic approach to the breast cancer disease in our centre.

Material And Methods: Since March 1999, every patient presenting with a cT1-T2 N0 breast carcinoma was scheduled for a sentinel lymph node search. An injection of Tc-99 labelled nanocolloïd with a dose of 1 mCu was injected either intramammary or intradermally.

The BioEnterics Intragastric Balloon (BIB): how to use it.

Background: The authors have been using the new saline-filled BioEnterics intragastric balloon (BIB) since 1995.

Methods: By now, more than 650 BIBs have been implanted on our Unit.

Results: Because of close collaboration between the engineers and the users, and after several modifications, an easy-to-use balloon is available.

[Adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. Palliative surgery].

In case of unresectable adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, laparoscopy can allow to perform gastric and biliary by-pass which will improve the quality of life at a lower cost than conventional surgery for the patients.

[Adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. Preoperative staging].

The authors assess the value of laparoscopy in the preoperative staging of the adenocarcinoma of the pancreas to prevent unnecessary pancreatic resections in a disseminated disease. By laparoscopy, a macroscopic evaluation, a peroperative liver and pancreas ultrasonography as well as biopsies are possible and are more accurate in assessing the extent of the disease than other means.

[Acquired diverticulosis of the small bowel].

The authors report about their surgical experience? On the basis of one case of pneumascos and one case of gastrointestinal hemorrhage with collapse, for which no origin was found preoperatively and which was attributed to the presence of diverticula in the small bowel. The analysis of the literature shows that this rare condition (0.1% of the population) is mainly expressed as acute complications: diverticulitis, perforation, hemorrhage, obstruction.

[Gallbladder volvulus].

We report two new cases of gallbladder volvulus. This rare condition principally affects elderly patients but is due to a congenital malformation related to the presence of a long mesocyst. Various factors such as kyphoscoliosis, multiparity and peristalsis of neighbouring organs favorise the occurrence of volvulus, the role of lithiasis is debatable.

Contribution of peripheral blood pooling to central hemodynamic disturbances during endotoxin insult in intact dogs.

The aim of the present study was to determine possible effects of Escherichia coli endotoxin on peripheral vascular compliance and relate them to concomitant central hemodynamic disturbances. Endotoxin was infused at 0.25 micrograms/kg.

Isolation of Campylobacter jejuni from the bile of a cholecystic patient.

Described is the isolation of Campylobacter jejuni from the bile of a cholecystic patient admitted for abdominal pain to an intensive care unit. A cholecystectomy was performed, and the patient responded to erythromycin therapy. Details of this uncommon isolation are given.

Effects of intravascular volume expansion on lung fluid balance in a canine model of septic shock.

We tested the early effects of endotoxin on both the permeability of capillary membranes and microvascular pressure. One group of dogs (n = 8) were fluid loaded (30 ml/kg dextran-40) after having been subjected to a 2-h Escherichia coli endotoxin infusion (0.25 micrograms/kg X min).

Pulmonary hydrostatic microvascular pressure changes and lung fluid balance during histamine infusion in intact dogs.

The effects of histamine on systemic and pulmonary hemodynamics of dogs were studied in six intact animals. Histamine infusion resulted in an almost immediate, precipitous fall in blood pressure (BP), pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP), and right atrial pressure (RA) as well as an increase in heart rate. Partial recovery occurred about 5 minutes after infusion was stopped.

A comparison of Escherichia coli endotoxin single bolus injection with low-dose endotoxin infusion on pulmonary and systemic vascular changes.

The purpose of this study was to compare effects of single bolus endotoxin injection with sustained low-dose endotoxin infusion on systemic and pulmonary hemodynamics in anesthetized dogs. When administered as a bolus (.01 mg/kg), endotoxin induced systemic vascular changes whose evolution could be divided into two consecutive phases.

Effects of Escherichia coli endotoxin on pulmonary vascular resistance in intact dogs.

The effects of endotoxin on pulmonary hemodynamics were studied in seven intact dogs. The distribution of pulmonary vascular resistance was estimated by the effective pulmonary capillary pressure, which was derived from the pressure transient recorded while the pulmonary artery catheter was rapidly wedged. After the injection of endotoxin, cardiac output and aortic pressure consistently fell.