Return to sports after unilateral medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy in highly active patients: Analysis of factors affecting functional recovery.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the outcomes following opening-wedge high tibial osteotomy (HTO) focusing on return to sports in a consecutive series of highly active patients who underwent a unilateral osteotomy procedure.

Methods: Sixty-three consecutive patients with preoperative Tegner's activity score of five or more who underwent unilateral HTO for varus osteoarthritic knees were included in this study. The clinical results were evaluated using the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) and the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Subjective Score.

Robot-assisted laparoscopic hepatectomy for liver metastasis from clitoral malignant melanoma: a case report.

Introduction: Malignant melanomas occur most commonly in the skin, mucous membranes, or choroid. Clitoral malignant melanomas are extremely rare. Stage IV malignant melanomas have a poor prognosis, and molecularly targeted agents or immune checkpoint inhibitors are recommended.

Arthroscopic Belt Capsulodesis Using a Knotless Soft Suture Anchor for Extruded Medial Meniscus.

In recent years, degenerative meniscal lesions have received increasing attention as an etiologic factor of knee osteoarthritis. Among various relevant factors, medial meniscal extrusion has been shown to be an independent predictor of the onset and progression of knee osteoarthritis. Therefore, surgical reduction of the extruded medial meniscus to restore meniscal function is key to preventing osteoarthritis of the knee.

Preoperative Joint Line Convergence Angle as an Indicator of Clinical Outcomes and Accuracy of Alignment Correction After Double-Level Osteotomy.

Background: The relationship between postoperative alignment and clinical outcomes after double-level osteotomy (DLO) has not been clarified.

Purpose: To examine the radiological and clinical outcomes after DLO and specifically evaluate the influence of the joint-line convergence angle (JLCA) on the accuracy of alignment correction and surgical outcomes.

Study Design: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3.

Clinical validation of preoperative serum markers for liver fibrosis in living donor liver transplantation recipients.

Purpose: To validate the reliability of fibrosis markers as predictors of graft survival in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) recipients.

Methods: We reviewed data retrospectively, from 163 patients who underwent adult LDLT with preoperative measurements of type IV collagen (CIV), Mac-2 binding protein glycosylation isomer (M2BPGi), and hyaluronic acid (HA). Patients were divided into high and low groups for each biomarker, based on optimal cutoff values, and graft loss within 6 months was evaluated in each group.

Novel protocol for prevention from hepatitis B reactivation following living-donor liver transplantation.

Aim: Reactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) after liver transplantation (LT) remains a problem; thus, development of more effective HBV reactivation prophylaxis is desirable. We evaluated the efficacy of a combination of a long-term nucleotide analog (NA), such as entecavir (ETV) or tenofovir alafenamide (TAF), and short-term hepatitis B immunoglobulin (HBIG) in preventing HBV reactivation and compared it with conventional HBV prophylaxis.

Methods: Between February 1999 and August 2023, 135 patients underwent living-donor liver transplantation for liver cirrhosis or acute liver failure caused by HBV infection or received an LT from a hepatitis B core antibody-positive donor.

Robot-assisted laparoscopic hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma with Fontan-associated liver disease: a world-first case report.

Background: Fontan-associated liver disease (FALD) encompasses hepatic complications following the Fontan procedure, ranging from fibrosis to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Despite advancements in surgical techniques and perioperative care, robot-assisted laparoscopic hepatectomy (RALH) for HCC in patients with FALD has not been previously reported owing to concerns about the Fontan circulation.

Case Presentation: We present the first case of RALH for recurrent HCC in a 45-year-old man after the Fontan procedure.

Outcome of hepatectomy after systemic therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma: a Japanese multicenter study.

Background And Purpose: In recent years, new systemic therapies have been developed for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognosis of patients with unresectable HCC treated with R0 hepatectomy after systemic therapy.

Methods: Data from 27 patients who underwent hepatectomy for HCC after systemic therapy at six facilities were analyzed retrospectively.

The Association of Transferrin Receptor with Prognosis and Biologic Role in Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma.

Background: Ferroptosis is a cell death caused by iron-dependent accumulation of lipid peroxidation. Transferrin receptor (TFR) is a ferroptosis-related protein responsible for iron transport. The detailed biologic role of TFR in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is not fully elucidated.

The impact of perioperative synbiotics treatment in living-donor liver transplantation after induction of early enteral nutrition.

Purpose: Infectious complications, particularly post-transplant sepsis, have a critical impact on postoperative outcomes. This study examined the effects of perioperative synbiotic treatment on postoperative outcomes in patients receiving early enteral nutrition.

Methods: We reviewed 210 living-donor liver transplantation procedures and retrospectively analyzed the postoperative outcomes with and without perioperative synbiotic treatment (live lactic acid bacteria, bifidobacteria, and oligosaccharides) 5 days before and after living-donor liver transplantation.

Association of serum lactate dehydrogenase with prognosis and tumor metabolism in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab therapy.

Purpose: Treatment outcomes are predicted by analyzing peripheral blood markers such as serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). We conducted this study to investigate whether serum LDH levels can predict the prognosis of patients treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (ATZ/BEV) therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and whether LDH levels correlate with metabolic changes.

Methods: We enrolled 66 HCC patients treated with ATZ/BEV.

Prediction of portal venous pressure in living donor liver transplantation: A retrospective study.

Liver transplantation is the definitive treatment for advanced liver cirrhosis with portal hypertension. In Japan, the scarcity of deceased donors leads to reliance on living donors, often resulting in smaller grafts. Managing portal venous pressure (PVP) is critical to prevent fatal posttransplant complications.

What is the crux of successful living-donor liver transplantation for recipients aged 70 and beyond?

Aim: There is limited evidence regarding the feasibility of living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) for patients aged over 70. The aims of this study were to assess postoperative outcomes in elderly recipients and to ascertain the potential feasibility and acceptability of LDLT.

Methods: Data were collected from 762 recipients, including 26 in the elderly group (aged ≥70) and 736 in the younger group (aged <70), and reviewed even by propensity score matching (PSM).

Is preoperative weight reduction of living-donor liver transplant recipients and donors harmful to postoperative outcomes?

Purpose: Although the incidence of recipients and donors with overweight and obesity is increasing worldwide, few reports have focused on outcomes of preoperative weight reduction (WR) in living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT). Therefore, we examined the outcomes and the impact of WR on the postoperative course.

Methods: We analyzed 217 consecutive LDLT procedures performed from 2017 to 2022.

Impact of electrical muscle stimulation on serum myostatin level and maintenance of skeletal muscle mass in patients undergoing living-donor liver transplantation: Single-center controlled trial.

Aim: Sarcopenia is reportedly associated with a poor prognosis in patients who undergo living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT), most of whom are not able to tolerate muscle strengthening exercise training. Myostatin is one of the myokines and a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth. The clinical feasibility of an electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) system, which exercises muscle automatically by direct electrical stimulation, has been reported.

Venous reconstruction using a round ligament-covered prosthetic vascular graft in right‑lobe living‑donor liver transplantation: a technical report.

Purpose: To evaluate the short term-outcomes of venous reconstruction using a round ligament-covered prosthetic vascular graft and assess its effectiveness in the prevention of prosthetic vascular graft migration in right‑lobe living donor liver transplantation (LDLT).

Methods And Results: Thirty patients underwent reconstruction of the middle hepatic vein (MHV) tributaries during right lobe LDLT between January, 2021 and October, 2022. These patients were divided into the autologous vascular graft group (A group, n = 24) and the round ligament-covered prosthetic vascular graft group (RP group, n = 6).

Impact of ACSL4 on the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma: Association with cancer-associated fibroblasts and the tumour immune microenvironment.

Background & Aims: Recently, the association between hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and ferroptosis has been the focus of much attention. The expression of long chain fatty acyl-CoA ligase 4 (ACSL4), a marker of ferroptosis, in tumour tissue is related to better prognosis in various cancers. In HCC, ACSL4 expression indicates poor prognosis and is related to high malignancy.

A successful case of deceased-donor liver transplantation from a donor with Marfan syndrome: a case report.

Background: Liver transplantation is the definitive therapy for patients with decompensated cirrhosis. Marfan syndrome is a systemic inheritable connective tissue disease associated with fibrillin-1 gene mutations, which cause abnormalities in connective tissue. Vascular changes due to Marfan syndrome occur mostly in the main vessels due to the high amount of connective tissue within the vessel wall and the high pressure and blood flow to which they are exposed.

Association of gut microbiota with portal vein pressure in patients with liver cirrhosis undergoing living donor liver transplantation.

Background And Aim: Many recent studies have shown a relationship between various systemic diseases and the gut microbiota (GM), with the gut-liver axis receiving particular attention. In contrast, no report has comprehensively shown the effects of GM on the pathophysiology of patients undergoing living donor liver transplantation (LDLT).

Method: We enrolled 16 recipients who underwent LDLT for liver cirrhosis, and 17 donors constituted the reference group.

Pretreatment eosinophil count predicts response to atezolizumab plus bevacizumab therapy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aim: Pretreatment peripheral blood markers have value in predicting the treatment outcome of various cancers. In particular, the eosinophil count has recently gained attention. However, no study has reported the influence of the pretreatment eosinophil count on the outcomes of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (ATZ/BEV), which is the recommended first-line systemic therapy for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (u-HCC).

Hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy and gastropancreatic fold division: a less-invasive simplified technique of Hassab's procedure for refractory esophagogastric varices.

Some patients with refractory esophagogastric varices require surgery, such as gastric devascularization and splenectomy (Hassab's procedure). However, these patients are at risk of perioperative morbidities when undergoing devascularization to develop collateral vessels. We performed a more simplified procedure, splenectomy, and en bloc gastropancreatic fold division (GPFD) with hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery.

Evaluation of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Risk During a Jump-Landing Task Using 3-Dimensional Kinematic Analysis Versus the Landing Error Scoring System.

Background: The Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) has been utilized on the field or in the clinic to identify patients with an increased risk for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries; however, its validity and efficacy have not been fully confirmed.

Purpose: To assess the efficacy of the LESS in identifying the ACL injury risk by examining the correlation between the LESS score and motion patterns on 3-dimensional kinematic analysis.

Study Design: Controlled laboratory study.