Current State of Liver Transplantation for Cholangiocarcinoma: A Comprehensive Literature Review.

Cholangiocarcinoma is the second most common primary hepatic neoplasm, accounting for 10% to 20% of primary liver tumors and 3% of all gastrointestinal neoplasms. The 3 anatomic types (intrahepatic, perihilar, and distal) have distinct epidemiologies, etiopathogenesis, and clinical outcomes. Surgical resection remains the current standard of treatment, but outcomes remain poor. With the continued expansion of liver transplant programs, use of liver transplant for malignant indications has also increased, with reports of encouraging outcomes. However, given the scarcity of livers fortransplant and accompanying possible complications, liver transplant for treatment of patients with cholangiocarcinomas remains experimental in most of the world. We reviewed the existing literature on treatment modalities for cholangiocarcinoma with emphasis on the pros and cons of surgical resection and indications, protocols, and outcomes of liver transplant as a treatment modality for patients with cholangiocarcinoma.

Clinical evaluation of improvised gauze-based negative pressure wound therapy in military wounds.

The use of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) in civilian and military wounds is found effective in promoting granulation tissue, decreasing exudate and improving patient comfort. The Use of gauze-based NPWT is increasing in civilian trauma cases with availability of proprietary systems using gauze as filler material rather than the traditionally used reticulated open-cell foam. Military trauma wounds differ from civilian trauma wounds in energy of impact, degree and nature of contamination as well as the hostile environments. The Use of gauze as filler material for NPWT in military trauma wounds is less well studied. This study is a retrospective analysis of use of improvised gauze-based NPWT in military trauma wounds. The whole assembly was constructed from commonly available operation theatre supplies and no proprietary system was used. Results were very encouraging and the use of this improvised method can be useful and cheap alternative to costly proprietary systems.