Portal and Hepatic Venous Territorial Mapping in Healthy Human Livers: Virtual Three-Dimensional Computed Tomography Size-Shape-Topography Study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess portal and hepatic venous volumes as related to the planning of complex liver resections and segmental liver transplant. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed 3-dimensional computed tomography of portal and hepatic vein territorial maps of 140 potential living related liver donors. Portal and hepatic vein maps were simulated both separately and in overlap (cross-mapping) to calculate inflow and outflow volumes. RESULTS: In total liver volume, the right hemiliver was always dominant (mean 64.7 ± 4.8%) and the right medial sector (mean 36.4 ± 6.8%) and segment 8 (mean 19.1 ± 4.3%) accounted for the largest volumes, whereas the left medial sector(mean 13.5 ± 3.1%) and segment 4A (mean 5.8 ± 1.8%) accounted for the smallest volumes (with exclusion of caudate lobe). The right hepatic vein was dominant for both right hemiliver and right lateral sector and had the largest drainage volume in total liver volume (mean 40.0 ± 11.2%). The left hepatic vein was dominant for both left hemiliver and left lateral sector but had the smallest drainage volume fortotal liver volume (mean 21.3 ± 5.0%). The middle hepatic vein drained 50.2 ± 12.5% of the right medial sector and 75.8 ± 15.4% of the left medial sector. In 67 cases, an accessory vein (inferior hepatic vein) drained 16.5 ± 13.2% ofthe right hemiliver, 31.4 ± 25.1% ofthe right lateral sector, 26.6 ± 23.2% of segment 7, and 37.4 ± 31.3% of segment 6. CONCLUSIONS: The portal and hepatic vein territorial anatomy was characterized by extensive individual variability. An extremely smallremnant volume (<25% of total liver volume) precluded a minority of virtual extended left and a majority of extended right hepatectomies. Left trisectionectomy was associated with risky drainage from the middle hepatic vein, extensive segment 6 remnant congestion volume in 8% of cases, and right lateral sector-favorable inferior hepatic vein large drainage pattern in 13% of livers.

Osteonectin as a screening marker for pancreatic cancer: A prospective study.

Objective Osteonectin plays a central role in various processes during the development of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. This prospective pilot study was performed to determine the feasibility of serum osteonectin as a screening tool for pancreatic cancer. Methods Blood samples were collected from 15 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer and 30 matched healthy controls. Serum osteonectin was measured using an osteonectin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. The primary outcomes were the diagnostic performance of serum osteonectin and the threshold value for differentiation of patients from controls. Results The median/quartile range of serum osteonectin in patients and controls were 306.8/288.5 ng/mL and 67.5/39.8 ng/mL, respectively. Osteonectin concentrations significantly differed among the study groups. A plasma osteonectin concentration of >100.18 ng/mL as selected by the receiver operating characteristic curves demonstrated an estimated area under the curve of 86% for prediction of pancreatic cancer. Tumour size was a significant predictor of serum osteonectin. A statistically significant difference in serum osteonectin between T1/T2 and T3/T4 tumours was found. Post-hoc comparisons revealed statistically significant differences in the serum osteonectin among the control, T1/T2, and T3/T4 groups. Conclusion Osteonectin may be used as a screening tool for pancreatic cancer, although this must be validated in prospective studies.

Potential Prediction of Acute Biliary Pancreatitis Outcome on Admission.

OBJECTIVES: This pilot study aimed to determine the feasibility of serum values of osteonectin, adiponectin, transforming growth factor beta 1, and neurotensin being used in clinical practice to predict the severity of acute pancreatitis. METHODS: Blood samples were collected from 45 consecutive newly diagnosed acute pancreatitis patients and 30 matched healthy controls. The 2 groups were matched according to age, sex, weight, height, diabetes, smoking, and alcohol consumption. The aforementioned markers were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. RESULTS: Characteristics of acute pancreatitis patients and healthy controls were comparable. Osteonectin values differed significantly (P < 0.0001). Median/lower quartile/upper quartile of osteonectin levels for acute pancreatitis patients and healthy controls were 263.5/110.3/490.36 and 63.2/46.1/87.2 ng/mL, respectively. Two patients died, 1 patient underwent necrosectomy, and 4 patients had a prolonged intensive care unit/hospital stay. Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II and Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome scores neither predicted serum values of any of the measured substances nor the clinical outcome (need for intervention, prolonged intensive care unit/hospital stay and mortality). Osteonectin was the only independent predictor for clinical outcome (P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Serum osteonectin strongly discriminates healthy individuals from acute pancreatitis patients. Serum osteonectin shows promise in the prediction of the clinical outcome.

High-dose vs. Low-dose Proton Pump Inhibitors post-endoscopic hemostasis in patients with bleeding peptic ulcer. A meta-analysis and meta-regression analysis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Present meta-analysis aims to evaluate studies of low- versus high-dose proton pump Inhibitors (PPI) post-endoscopic hemostasis, including the newly published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and to conclude whether low-dose PPI can generate the comparable results as high-dose PPI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To identify suitable trials, the electronic databases PubMed, Medline, Cochrane Library, and the Embase were used. All RCTs concerning low- versus high-dose PPI administration post-endoscopic hemostasis published until December 2016 were identified. Primary outcomes were rebleeding rates, need for surgical intervention, and mortality. RESULTS: Studies included a total of 1.651 participants. There were significantly less cases of rebleeding in the low-dose PPI treatment arm (p=0.003). All but one study provided data concerning need for Surgical Intervention and Mortality. The respective effect sizes were [odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.35, 0.72-2.53] and [OR, 95% CI: 1.20, 0.70-2.05]. Both treatment arms were comparable considering the aforementioned outcomes (p=0.35 and p=0.51, respectively). Meta-regression analysis likewise unveiled comparable outcomes between studies using pantoprazole versus lansoprazole concerning all three outcomes [rebleeding (p=0.944), surgical intervention (p=0.884), and mortality (p=0.961)]. CONCLUSION: A low-dose PPI treatment is equally effective as a high-dose PPI treatment following endoscopic arresting of bleeding. However, we anticipate the completion of more high-quality RCTs that will embrace distinct ethnicities, standardized endoscopic diagnosis and management, double-blind strategies, and appraisal of results working specific standards over clear-cut follow-up periods.

Management of patients after recovering from acute severe biliary pancreatitis.

Cholelithiasis is the most common cause of acute pancreatitis, accounting 35%-60% of cases. Around 15%-20% of patients suffer a severe attack with high morbidity and mortality rates. As far as treatment is concerned, the optimum method of late management of patients with severe acute biliary pancreatitis is still contentious and the main question is over the correct timing of every intervention. Patients after recovering from an acute episode of severe biliary pancreatitis can be offered alternative options in their management, including cholecystectomy, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and sphincterotomy, or no definitive treatment. Delaying cholecystectomy until after resolution of the inflammatory process, usually not earlier than 6 wk after onset of acute pancreatitis, seems to be a safe policy. ERCP and sphincterotomy on index admission prevent recurrent episodes of pancreatitis until cholecystectomy is performed, but if used for definitive treatment, they can be a valuable tool for patients unfit for surgery. Some patients who survive severe biliary pancreatitis may develop pseudocysts or walled-off necrosis. Management of pseudocysts with minimally invasive techniques, if not therapeutic, can be used as a bridge to definitive operative treatment, which includes delayed cholecystectomy and concurrent pseudocyst drainage in some patients. A management algorithm has been developed for patients surviving severe biliary pancreatitis according to the currently published data in the literature.

Recipient Criteria Predictive of Graft Failure in Kidney Transplantation.

Several classifications systems have been developed to predict outcomes of kidney transplantation based on donor variables. This study aims to identify kidney transplant recipient variables that would predict graft outcome irrespective of donor characteristics. All U.S. kidney transplant recipients between October 25,1999 and January 1, 2007 were reviewed. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to model time until graft failure. Death-censored and nondeath-censored graft survival models were generated for recipients of live and deceased donor organs. Recipient age, gender, body mass index (BMI), presence of cardiac risk factors, peripheral vascular disease, pulmonary disease, diabetes, cerebrovascular disease, history of malignancy, hepatitis B core antibody, hepatitis C infection, dialysis status, panel-reactive antibodies (PRA), geographic region, educational level, and prior kidney transplant were evaluated in all kidney transplant recipients. Among the 88,284 adult transplant recipients the following groups had increased risk of graft failure: younger and older recipients, increasing PRA (hazard ratio [HR],1.03-1.06], increasing BMI (HR, 1.04-1.62), previous kidney transplant (HR, 1.17-1.26), dialysis at the time of transplantation (HR, 1.39-1.51), hepatitis C infection (HR, 1.41-1.63), and educational level (HR, 1.05-1.42). Predictive criteria based on recipient characteristics could guide organ allocation, risk stratification, and patient expectations in planning kidney transplantation.

The Impact of Educational Status on the Postoperative Perception of Pain.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative (PO) pain interferes with the recovery and mobilization of the surgical patients. The impact of the educational status has not been studied adequately up to now. METHODS: This prospective study involved 400 consecutive general surgery patients. Various factors known to be associated with the perception of pain including the educational status were recorded as was the preoperative and postoperative pain and the analgesia requirements for the 1(st) PO week. Based on the educational status, we classified the patients in 3 groups and we compared these groups for the main outcomes: i.e. PO pain and PO analgesia. RESULTS: There were 145 patients of lower education (junior school), 150 patients of high education (high school) and 101 of higher education (university). Patients of lower education were found to experience more pain than patients of higher education in all postoperative days (from the 2(nd) to the 6(th)). No difference was identified in the type and quantity of the analgesia used. The subgroup analysis showed that patients with depression and young patients (< 40 years) had the maximum effect. CONCLUSIONS: The educational status may be a significant predictor of postoperative pain due to various reasons, including the poor understanding of the preoperative information, the level of anxiety and depression caused by that and the suboptimal request and use of analgesia. Younger patients (< 40), and patients with subclinical depression are mostly affected while there is no impact on patients over 60 years old.

The late effect of intraoperative wound infiltration with local anaesthetic in surgical patients; is there any? A randomized control trial.

INTRODUCTION: Intraoperative wound infiltration with local anaesthetic is commonly used. Apart from the obvious immediate action it has been supported that a possible down regulation of pain receptors may lead to longer effects. Our aim was to compare the use of local anaesthetic versus placebo in order to assess if indeed there is a late beneficial effect. METHODS: We conducted an RCT involving 400 consecutive general surgery patients randomized in 2 groups: Group A = placebo, Group B = wound infiltration with 15 ml of ropivacaine 10%. We recorded the preoperative and postoperative pain for the 1st week as well as the type and quantity of the analgesia used during the study period. RESULTS: No significant difference was found between the groups in all known confounding factors recorded. No significant difference was found in the intensity of postoperative pain. More people of group A required NSAIDs during the first 3 PO days while more people of Group B required stronger painkillers. For those patients who underwent a non urgent operation and especially laparoscopic surgery higher pain score was recorded in the group B from the 3rd PO day onwards. DISCUSSION: Intraoperative local infiltration of the wound with local anaesthetic offers no further benefit for the general surgery apart from that of the immediate PO period. There is no late effect for pain control. Considering that during the immediate postoperative period stronger systematic painkillers are given the intraoperative, infiltration of the wound with the local anaesthetic under study offers no obvious benefit.

Risk of venous congestion in live donors of extended right liver graft.

AIM: To investigate middle hepatic vein (MHV) management in adult living donor liver transplantation and safer remnant volumes (RV). METHODS: There were 59 grafts with and 12 grafts without MHV (including 4 with MHV-5/8 reconstructions). All donors underwent our five-step protocol evaluation containing a preoperative protocol liver biopsy Congestive vs non-congestive RV, remnant-volume-body-weight ratios (RVBWR) and postoperative outcomes were evaluated in 71 right graft living donors. Dominant vs non-dominant MHV anatomy in total liver volume (d-MHV/TLV vs nd-MHV/TLV) was constellated with large/small congestion volumes (CV-index). Small for size (SFS) and non-SFS remnant considerations were based on standard cut-off- RVBWR and RV/TLV. Non-congestive RVBWR was based on non-congestive RV. RESULTS: MHV and non-MHV remnants showed no significant differences in RV, RV/TLV, RVBWR, total bilirubin, or INR. SFS-remnants with RV/TLV < 30% and non-SFS-remnants with RV/TLV ≥ 30% showed no significant differences either. RV and RVBWR for non-MHV (n = 59) and MHV-containing (n = 12) remnants were 550 ± 95 mL and 0.79 ± 0.1 mL vs 568 ± 97 mL and 0.79 ± 0.13, respectively (P = 0.423 and P = 0.919. Mean left RV/TLV was 35.8% ± 3.9%. Non-MHV (n = 59) and MHV-containing (n = 12) remnants (34.1% ± 3% vs 36% ± 4% respectively, P = 0.148. Eight SFS-remnants with RVBWR < 0.65 had a significantly smaller RV/TLV than 63 non-SFS-remnants with RVBWR ≥ 0.65 [SFS: RV/TLV 32.4% (range: 28%-35.7%) vs non-SFS: RV/TLV 36.2% (range: 26.1%-45.5%), P < 0.009. Six SFS-remnants with RV/TLV < 30% had significantly smaller RVBWR than 65 non-SFS-remnants with RV/TLV ≥ 30% (0.65 (range: 0.6-0.7) vs 0.8 (range: 0.6-1.27), P < 0.01. Two (2.8%) donors developed reversible liver failure. RVBWR and RV/TLV were concordant in 25%-33% of SFS and in 92%-94% of non-SFS remnants. MHV management options including complete MHV vs MHV-4A selective retention were necessary in n = 12 vs n = 2 remnants based on particularly risky congestive and non-congestive volume constellations. CONCLUSION: MHV procurement should consider individual remnant congestive- and non-congestive volume components and anatomy characteristics, RVBWR-RV/TLV constellation enables the identification of marginally small remnants.

Laparoscopic versus Open Adrenalectomy for Stage I/II Adrenocortical Carcinoma: Meta-Analysis of Outcomes.

AIM: The aim of the present meta-analysis was to investigate the safety and oncologic efficacy of laparoscopic adrenalectomy for stage I and II adrenocortical carcinoma. The issue of level I evidence is entirely unreturned. METHODS: Electronic databases were used to search for articles from 1992 to 2014 in the English language literature. The primary end point of the study was to evaluate the safety of the laparoscopic procedure in terms of complications and the oncologic effectiveness of the procedure comparing the R0 resection, disease free survival and overall survival of patients treated with open adrenalectomy versus laparoscopic adrenalectomy. RESULTS: Differences in postoperative complications and R0 resections did not reach statistical significance between treatment arms. There were not statistical significant differences between treatment arms considering the two-year, three-year, four-year overall survival while five-year overall survival was in favor of open adrenalectomy group. There were not statistical significant differences between treatment arms considering the two-year, three-year, four-year, and five-year disease free survival. CONCLUSIONS: It seems that postoperative complications, R0-resection, overall, and disease free survival of stage I/II adrenocortical carcinoma are comparable and independent to the procedure though the five-year survival was in favor of the open group. Further research is likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimates of effect and may change the estimates.

Corticosteroid-free immunosuppression in liver transplantation: an evidence-based review.

Thirty-six randomized controlled trials and two meta-analyses were reviewed. With respect to adult patients undergoing first orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), steroid replacement resulted in fewer cases of overall acute rejection in the corticosteroid free-immunosuppression arm. Initial steroid administration for two weeks and early tacrolimus monotherapy is a feasible immunosuppression regimen without steroid replacement, although further investigations are needed in view of chronic rejections. No significant differences were noted between the treatment groups in terms of patient and graft survival independently of steroid replacement. Renal insufficiency, de novo hypertension, neurological disorders and infectious complications did not differ significantly among steroid and steroid-free groups. Diabetes mellitus, cholesterol levels and cytomegalovirus infection are more frequent in patients within the steroid group. With respect to diabetes mellitus and hypercholesterolemia, the difference was independent of steroid replacement. In relation to transplanted hepatitis C virus patients, mycophenolate mofetil does not appear to have a significant antiviral effect despite early reports. Male gender of donors and recipients, living donors, cold ischemia times, acute rejection, and early histological recurrence were related to the development of advanced hepatitis. There is sufficient scientific clinical evidence advocating avoidance of the ab initio use of steroids in OLT.

Recurrent inguinal hernia repair: what is the evidence of case series? A meta-analysis and metaregression analysis.

To examine, if case series considered together with observational studies tend to produce similar results as randomized-controlled trials (RCTs), on recurrent hernia repair. A systematic literature review and meta-analysis between 1990 and 2013 revealed 46 nonrandomized studies (NRCTs) and 5 RCTs including 25,730 patients. A direct comparison of the summary estimates between RCTs and NRCTs is presented. Outcomes, within or across studies, were compared. Comparisons of all outcomes in NRCTs and RCTs failed to show statistical significance. Prospective/retrospective cohort studies, case series, and RCTs did not differ significantly in their estimates. Adjusted testing for metaregression disclosed that rerecurrence among NRCTs was independent of the study design. The number of included patients and study setting were independent predictors of outcome. Our proposed methodology for a systematic review could potentially give answers where level I evidence is missing or could be a tool for optimization of a RCT design.

The combined use of serum neurotensin and IL-8 as screening markers for colorectal cancer.

This pilot study aimed to determine the feasibility of serum neurotensin/IL-8 values being used as a screening tool for colorectal cancer. Fifty-six patients and 15 healthy controls were assigned to seven groups according to their disease entity based on theater records and histology report. Blood samples for neurotensin and IL-8 were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. There were no differences in the clinical and biochemical parameters of patients and controls. Group (p=0.003) and age (p=0.059, marginally significant) were independent predictors of neurotensin plasma values. Neurotensin (p=0.004) and IL-8 (p=0.029) differed between healthy and colorectal cancer patients. Neurotensin values differentiate the control group from all remaining groups. The value of plasma neurotensin ≤ 54.47 pg/ml at enrollment selected by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves demonstrated a sensitivity of 77 %, specificity of 90 %, and an estimate of area under ROC curve (accuracy) of 85 % in predicting colorectal cancer. At enrollment, the value of plasma IL-8 ≥ 8.83 pg/ml had a sensitivity of 85 %, specificity 80 %, and an estimate of area under ROC curve (accuracy) of 81 % in predicting colorectal cancer. IL-8 should be used complementary to neurotensin due to its lower specificity. None of the colorectal cancer patients displayed a combination of high neurotensin and low IL-8 values (beyond cutoffs). It seems that a blood neurotensin/IL-8 system may be used as a screening tool for colorectal cancer, but much has to be done before it is validated in larger-scale prospective studies.

The value of plasma neurotensin and cytokine measurement for the detection of bowel ischaemia in clinically doubtful cases: a prospective study.

The aim of this prospective study was to examine whether serum neurotensin, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-8 are early predictor of bowel ischaemia especially in clinically equivocal cases. To this end, 56 patients were assigned to the following groups according to their disease: bowel ischaemia (group 1: n = 14), small bowel obstruction (group 2: n = 12), acute inflammation (group 3: n = 6), perforation (group 4: n = 8), and colorectal adenocarcinoma (group 5: n = 16). Fifteen healthy controls were assigned to group 6. Blood samples were obtained at enrollment, all measurements were done blindly, and all patients underwent surgery. Pretreatment doubtful diagnosis comprised of ileus, mild abdominal pain, and indeterminate imaging. Blood urea nitrogen, lactic acidosis, diagnostic workup, and IL-6 were predictors of diagnosis in univariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, IL-6 (P < 0.001) and diagnostic workup (P < 0.01) were independent predictors of the definite diagnosis. Neurotensin and IL-8 did not differentiate among groups. Considering clinically doubtful cases, IL-6 perfectly differentiates mesenteric ischaemia (of infarction/embolic/occlusive aetiology) from the rest of the indeterminate pathologies. The optimum cut-off point for IL-6 was 27.66 pg/mL. The value of serum IL-6 (27.66 pg/mL) had sensitivity = 1 and specificity = 1. In conclusion, plasma IL-6 measurement on admission might be an additional diagnostic tool that can predict bowel ischaemia in doubtful clinical situations.

Prognostic scoring system predictive of survival after surgical resection of esophageal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The aim of our study was to develop a prognostic index score for patients undergoing surgical resection for esophageal cancer that accurately determines survival with specific clinicopathological characteristics. METHODS: Clinical, histological, and demographical variables of 475 patients were entered in an univariate and multivariate regression model, followed by individual calculation of the Prognostic Indicator Score and model validation via simulation. RESULTS: Significant variables included in the scoring system were number of positive lymph nodes, pT, pL, R, obesity, and American Society of Anesthesiologist classification. Survival probability and its associated hazard function was significantly different between the scores, with an increase of hazard ratio ranging from 2.56 (score 2) to 20 (score 6 or higher). Comparing histological cancer entities revealed statistical significance only between stage IIA versus IIB in squamous cell and stage IIIA versus IIIB in adenocarcinoma. CONCLUSIONS: According to our methodology, an individualized follow-up by each possible score might allow interdisciplinary selection of patients for treatments based on expected survival. This may represent a breakthrough in patient selection for currently available treatments and clinical studies.

Endoscopic and surgical resection of T1a/T1b esophageal neoplasms: a systematic review.

AIM: To investigate potential therapeutic recommendations for endoscopic and surgical resection of T1a/T1b esophageal neoplasms. METHODS: A thorough search of electronic databases MEDLINE, Embase, Pubmed and Cochrane Library, from 1997 up to January 2011 was performed. An analysis was carried out, pooling the effects of outcomes of 4241 patients enrolled in 80 retrospective studies. For comparisons across studies, each reporting on only one endoscopic method, we used a random effects meta-regression of the log-odds of the outcome of treatment in each study. "Neural networks" as a data mining technique was employed in order to establish a prediction model of lymph node status in superficial submucosal esophageal carcinoma. Another data mining technique, the "feature selection and root cause analysis", was used to identify the most important predictors of local recurrence and metachronous cancer development in endoscopically resected patients, and lymph node positivity in squamous carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma (ADC) separately in surgically resected patients. RESULTS: Endoscopically resected patients: Low grade dysplasia was observed in 4% of patients, high grade dysplasia in 14.6%, carcinoma in situ in 19%, mucosal cancer in 54%, and submucosal cancer in 16% of patients. There were no significant differences between endoscopic mucosal resection and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for the following parameters: complications, patients submitted to surgery, positive margins, lymph node positivity, local recurrence and metachronous cancer. With regard to piecemeal resection, ESD performed better since the number of cases was significantly less [coefficient: -7.709438, 95%CI: (-11.03803, -4.380844), P < 0.001]; hence local recurrence rates were significantly lower [coefficient: -4.033528, 95%CI: (-6.151498, -1.915559), P < 0.01]. A higher rate of esophageal stenosis was observed following ESD [coefficient: 7.322266, 95%CI: (3.810146, 10.83439), P < 0.001]. A significantly greater number of SCC patients were submitted to surgery (log-odds, ADC: -2.1206 ± 0.6249 vs SCC: 4.1356 ± 0.4038, P < 0.05). The odds for re-classification of tumor stage after endoscopic resection were 53% and 39% for ADC and SCC, respectively. Local tumor recurrence was best predicted by grade 3 differentiation and piecemeal resection, metachronous cancer development by the carcinoma in situ component, and lymph node positivity by lymphovascular invasion. With regard to surgically resected patients: Significant differences in patients with positive lymph nodes were observed between ADC and SCC [coefficient: 1.889569, 95%CI: (0.3945146, 3.384624), P < 0.01). In contrast, lymphovascular and microvascular invasion and grade 3 patients between histologic types were comparable, the respective rank order of the predictors of lymph node positivity was: Grade 3, lymphovascular invasion (L+), microvascular invasion (V+), submucosal (Sm) 3 invasion, Sm2 invasion and Sm1 invasion. Histologic type (ADC/SCC) was not included in the model. The best predictors for SCC lymph node positivity were Sm3 invasion and (V+). For ADC, the most important predictor was (L+). CONCLUSION: Local tumor recurrence is predicted by grade 3, metachronous cancer by the carcinoma in-situ component, and lymph node positivity by L+. T1b cancer should be treated with surgical resection.

Laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal versus open preperitoneal mesh repair for inguinal hernia recurrence: a decision analysis based on net health benefits.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to evaluate the most cost-effective treatment strategy using preperitoneal mesh for patients with recurrent inguinal hernia. Currently, the issue of cost-effectiveness is entirely unresolved. METHODS: A decision analysis was carried out based on the results of a systematic literature review of articles concerning recurrent inguinal hernia repair that were published between 1979 and 2011. A virtual cohort was programmed to undergo three different treatment procedures: (1) laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal hernia repair (TEP), (2) open preperitoneal mesh repair according to Stoppa, and (3) open preperitoneal mesh repair according to Nyhus. We carried out a base-case analysis and varied all variables over a broad range of reasonable hypotheses in multiple one-way and two-way sensitivity analyses. RESULTS: The average cost-effectiveness ratio of Nyhus, Stoppa, and TEP per quality-adjusted life year was US $ ($)1,942, $1,948, and $2,011, respectively. In terms of the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), Stoppa was dominated. The choice between TEP or Nyhus procedure depends on the combination of a specific center's rates of recurrence and morbidity as disclosed by three-way sensitivity analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Nyhus and TEP repairs are possible optimal choices depending primarily on the institution's rates of recurrence and morbidity. Based on our net benefit-related decision analysis, a hypothetical "fixed budget trade-off" suggests potential annual incremental health system cost savings of $200,000 attained by shifting care for 1,000 patients from TEP to Nyhus repair (depending on clinical end-points, which is a decisive factor).

Novel prognostic scoring system after surgery for Klatskin tumor.

Klatskin tumor is a rare hepatobiliary malignancy whose outcome and prognostic factors are not clearly documented. Between April 1998 and January 2007, 96 patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma underwent resection. Data were collected prospectively. Thirty-one variables were evaluated for prognostic significance. There were 40 trisectionectomies, 40 hemihepatectomies, five central hepatectomies, and 11 biliary hilar resections. Thirty-seven (n = 37) patients required vascular reconstruction. There were 68 R0, 26 R1, and two R2 resections. Age (P = 0.048), pT status (P = 0.046), R class (P = 0.034), and adjuvant chemoradiation (P = 0.045) showed predictive significance by multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis. A point scoring system was determined as follows: age younger than 62 years:age 62 years or older = 1:2 points; pT1:pT2 to 4 = 1:2 points; R0:R1/2 = 1:2 points; and chemoradiation yes:no = 1:2 points. The only model that reached statistical significance (P = 0.0332) described the following three groups: score 6 or less; score = 7; and score = 8. Median survival for score 6 or less, score = 7, and score = 8 was 26.5, 12, and 2.2 months, respectively (P = 0.032). The corresponding 1- and 3-year survival rates were 73 to 56 per cent, 52 to 38 per cent, and 17 to 0 per cent, respectively. We propose a scoring system predictive of long-term surgical outcome that could potentially improve patient selection for further postoperative oncologic treatment for Klatskin tumors.

The "carving" liver partitioning technique for graft hepatectomy in live donor liver transplantation: a single-center experience.

BACKGROUND: In adult live donor liver transplantation, postoperative venous congestion of graft and remnant livers can lead to life-threatening complications. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and benefits of our 3-dimensional, computed tomographic, computer-assisted donor hepatectomy using the "carving" partitioning technique. METHODS: Eighty-three consecutive adult live donor liver transplantations were performed based on data obtained from individualized preoperative 3-dimensional, computed tomographic reconstructions and virtual graft hepatectomies. RESULTS: There were 71 right and 12 left grafts. Small grafts (graft volume body weight ratio, <1.0) were used in 20 cases. We observed no clinically important differences in postoperative function between right and left grafts. Four recipients developed lethal small-for-size syndrome. Reversible small-for-size syndrome was observed in a right graft recipient and in 2 right graft donors. CONCLUSION: Preoperative 3-dimensional, computed tomographic, computer-assisted planning using virtual liver partitioning allowed for: (1) an individualized carving technique based on specific donor anatomic characteristics, (2) donor safety based on individualized patterns of venous outflow, and (3) optimized drainage of the medial area of the graft based on the preferential inclusion of the middle hepatic vein.