Laparoscopic management of gastric band erosions: a 10-year series of 49 cases.

BACKGROUND: Intragastric erosion is a rare but major complication of laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (LAGB) surgery for morbid obesity. Many techniques to treat this problem have been described, with little supporting evidence. The authors review their experience with laparoscopic removal of eroded gastric bands. METHODS: The prospectively collected bariatric surgery database of the authors' practice was queried for the period January 2000 until February 2011, and the medical records for all patients with the diagnosis of band erosion were reviewed. Symptoms, time to erosion, interval between diagnosis and treatment, and complications of treatment were reviewed. All patients had undergone laparoscopy, cut-down onto the band, unclasping or division of the band near the buckle, removal of the band, and primary closure of the gastrotomy with omental patch reinforcement. RESULTS: During the study period, 2,097 LAGB operations were performed and 53 (2.53%) of these resulted in intragastric erosion. All the bands placed were LapBands (Allergan, Inc., Irvine, CA, USA). Erosions occurred with 14 of the 10-cm bands, 11 of the Vanguard bands, 14 of the AP Small bands, and 14 of the AP Large bands. Three patients elected to have their revisional surgery elsewhere and thus were lost to follow-up evaluation. One patient declined to have her band removed. The remaining 49 patients were included in the analysis. The mean time from band placement to the diagnosis of erosion was 31.5 months, and the mean time from diagnosis to band removal was 32 days. The mean hospital stay was 4 days. The complications included one postoperative leak, four superficial wound infections, and one pleural effusion. There were no deaths. CONCLUSIONS: This review demonstrates the safety of laparoscopic removal of eroded gastric bands with primary closure and omental patch repair. The time from diagnosis of erosion to treatment can be short, in contrast to endoscopic removal, in which the requirement for further erosion of the band to free the buckle often necessitates delayed treatment.

Bleeding from the pancreatic cut surface post pancreaticoduodenectomy: a review of a tertiary referral centre.

BACKGROUND: Haemorrhage from the pancreatic cut surface after pancreaticoduodenectomy is uncommon. The optimal treatment for post-pancreatectomy haemorrhage (PPH) from the pancreatic cut surface remains controversial. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis including all patients who underwent a pancreatiocoduodenectomy between 2008 and 2018 at a single tertiary institution in Melbourne, Australia, to analyse the incidence, potential risk factors, treatment and outcomes of cut surface PPH. RESULTS: A total of 168 pancreaticoduodenectomies were performed during the study period with pancreaticogastrostomy being the most common method of reconstruction at our institution (84.5%). There were 12 instances of cut surface PPH (7.1%). The majority of cases of cut surface PPH occurred within 48 h following pancreaticoduodenectomy (67%) with 41.7% occurring in the first 24 h. All but one patient required surgical intervention but length of stay did not appear to be increased compared to those without cut surface PPH. There was a trend towards patients with cut surface PPH being more likely to have a non-dilated pancreatic duct (75% versus 49%; P = 0.079). No significant differences were noted between patient with and without cut surface PPH with regards to abnormalities in platelet counts (3.2% versus 0%; P = 0.529), international normalized ratio (4.5% versus 8.3%; P = 0.694) and prophylactic anticoagulant administration or continuing antiplatelet use (28.2 versus 16.7%; P = 0.630). CONCLUSION: We believe that an unobstructed pancreas, in combination with the acidic environment associated with a dunking pancreaticogastrostomy anastomosis, may predispose to bleeding from the cut surface of the pancreas.

Novel application of four-dimensional wide-area detector computed tomographic angiography for investigation of median arcuate ligament syndrome.

The median arcuate ligament syndrome is a rare disorder characterised by postprandial intestinal angina caused by compression of the coeliac artery by the median arcuate ligament. To date, the diagnosis and treatment of median arcuate ligament syndrome has remained controversial. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of coeliac artery compression demonstrated on the four-dimensional wide-area detector CT angiogram.

Management of CBD stones in patients having laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a private setting in Australia.

INTRODUCTION: Laparoscopic bile duct exploration at the time of laparoscopic cholecystectomy has been promoted as being equally successful as endoscopic bile duct clearance. Further, if successful it offers the possibility of reducing the number of interventions required and therefore reducing overall costs. However, there is little in the literature that describe current treatment patterns in the Australian environment. METHODS: Medicare data were obtained for the number of patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy, intraoperative cholangiography, laparoscopic transcystic bile duct exploration, laparoscopic choledochotomy and bile duct exploration, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), sphincterotomy and endoscopic biliary stent insertion. RESULTS: Although there was significant state-to-state variation in the prevalence of laparoscopic bile duct exploration (0.6-3.7%), ERCP remained the predominant method of bile duct clearance in the setting of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (5.4%). Transcystic bile duct exploration is far more common than laparoscopic choledochotomy, which is a rare procedure. This suggests that patients with a dilated common bile duct and large or multiple stones are typically undergoing ERCP rather than laparoscopic bile duct clearance. CONCLUSION: Despite the apparent attractiveness of laparoscopic bile duct exploration at the time of cholecystectomy, ERCP remains the most common method of dealing with choledocholithiasis in the setting of an intact gallbladder in Australia.

Diarrhoea after laparoscopic cholecystectomy: incidence and main determinants.

BACKGROUND: Data on the effect of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) on bowel function are controversial. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of postcholecystectomy diarrhoea (PCD) and to identify patient characteristics that can be used as predictors in daily practice. METHODS: In 100 consecutive patients who underwent LC, data were obtained from clinical records and telephone survey 6-12 months postoperatively using standardized questionnaire. RESULTS: Postoperatively, 19 patients had diarrhoea, including 17 with new onset. Two patients with preoperative and postoperative diarrhoea were excluded from further analysis. Of 98 patients (mean age 58.1 +/- 19.4 years; 62 women) 34 were younger than 50 years, 33 were overweight (BMI 25-29.9 kg/cm(2)) and 29 were obese (BMI >30 kg/cm(2)). PCD was significantly associated with younger age (odds ratio (OR) 3.4; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.16-9.96; P = 0.026), higher BMI (OR 1.1; 95%CI 1.01-1.18; P = 0.019) and food intolerance postoperatively (OR 3.4; 95%CI 1.18-10.08; P = 0.025). PCD was most common with combination of two or three of the following factors: age <50 years, male sex, BMI >25 kg/cm(2). The highest risk of developing PCD was observed in obese men younger than 50 (OR 26.1), and the lowest in persons aged >50 years with BMI <25 kg/cm(2) (OR = 0.8). CONCLUSION: After LC, 17% of patients reported troublesome new-onset diarrhoea. PCD was independently associated with younger age, especially <50, and postoperative food intolerance. Coexistence of age <50 with high BMI and male sex was predictive for PCD.