Eye lens exposure to medical staff during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.

The paper presents a study of the radiation doses to eye lens of medical staff during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures performed in a busy gastroenterology department. For each procedure the dose equivalent to the eye, exposure time, dose rate, Kerma Area Product and fluoroscopy time were recorded. Measurements were performed for a period of two months in four main positions of the operating staff, and then extrapolated to estimate annual doses. The fluoroscopy time per ERCP procedure varied between 1.0 min and 28.8 min, with a mean value of 4.6 min. The calculated mean eye dose per procedure varied between 34.9 µSv and 93.3 µSv. The results demonstrated that if eye protection is not used, annual doses to the eye lens of the gastroenterologist performing the procedure and the anesthesiologist can exceed the dose limit of 20 mSv per year.

Liver transplantations in Bulgaria--initial experience.

The filed of liver transplantation (LT) continues to evolve and is highly effective therapy for many patients with acute and chronic liver failure resulting from a variety of causes. Improvement of perioperative care, surgical technique and immunosuppression in recent years has led to its transformation into a safe and routine procedure with steadily improving results. The aim of this paper is to present the initial experience of the transplant team at Military Medical Academy - Sofia, Bulgaria. For the period of April 2007 - August 2014 the team performed 38 liver transplants in 37 patients (one retransplantation). Patients were followed up prospectively and retrospectively. In 36 (95%) patients a graft from a cadaveric donor was used and in two cases--a right liver grafts from live donor. The mean MELD score of the transplanted patients was 17 (9-40). The preferred surgical technique was "piggyback" with preservation of inferior vena cava in 33 (86%) of the cases and classical technique in 3 (8%) patients. The overall complication rate was 48%. Early mortality rate was 13% (5 patients). The overall 1- and 5-year survival is 81% and 77% respectivelly. The setting of a new LT program is a complex process which requires the effort and effective colaboration of a wide range of speciacialists (hepatologists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, psychologists, therapists, coordinators, etc.) and institutions. The good results are function of a proper selection of the donors and the recipients. Living donation is an alternative in the shortage of cadaveric donors.

[Pancreatic cancer--multidisciplinary approach and possibilities for surgical treatment].

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most serious and severe diseases and takes a significant part of malignant diseases in Bulgaria, during the last years. The fast progression of this disease requires complex treatment and is still a considerable challenge for the conservative and the surgical approaches. We present a series of 196 consecutive patients operated in our clinic for the period September 2003-February 2008. 106 radical pancreatic resections and 90 palliative procedures were performed. All of the patients were assessed before operation by multimodality team using standard protocols. The criteria for respectability are absence of distant metastasis as well as absence of data for infiltration of celiac trunk and superior mesenteric artery. In the presented series the percent of respectability is 54.1%. 35 Whipple procedures. 49--Traverso-Longmire (PPPD--resections), 15-distal pancreatectomies and 7 papillectomies were performed. In 28 cases the pancreatic resection was combined with vessel resection. 17 patients underwent extended resections. The average postoperative stay for the patients with radical operations is 16.1 days. 39 patients (36.8%) had complications. Six patients among the radically operated died (5.6%). The average survival rate for the patients with radical surgical interventions is 16.2 months. The surgical resection is the only method of choice for radical treatment of pancreatic cancer and periampular tumors. The indications for pancreato-duodenal resections have expended thanks to the development of the surgical technique and reanimation care during the last ten years. In order to achieve better results it's recommended that type of surgery to be concentrated in highly specialized centers.

[Contemporary aspects in the performance of pancreatic anastomosis after pancreatoduodenal resecions].

BACKGROUND: Historically, the pancreatic anastomosis has a significant impact on the high morbidity levels in pancreatoduodenal resections. This leads to parallel development of alternative techniques for reconstruction. The major methods are pancreato-jeuno and pancreato-gastroanastomosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We present 82 consecutive cases with pancreatoduodenal resections for the reason of pancreatic head malignancies. Pancreato-jeunal anastomosis is the preferred method and the evolution in the anastomosing technique of pancreatic rermnat is presented. RESULTS: Nine patients had pancreatic fistula (10.9%) and in six cases (7.3%) intra abdominal abscess was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Our experience as well as the analysis of different investigations confirmed the thesis that each center should choose one of the major techniques and develop it--clear tendency of decrease of the frequency of pancreatic fistulas with the growth of the experience, is observed.

The types and timing of the degenerative changes seen in the cysts during and after benzimidazole treatment of cystic echinococcosis.

In a large-scale Bulgarian study, 122 patients with abdominal and/or lung echinococcosis were randomly selected for treatment with albendazole or mebendazole. The main aims were to evaluate the effect of each drug on the hydatid cysts, to follow the changes in cyst morphology during and after treatment, and to determine how quickly each drug produced the first, detectable, degenerative changes in the cysts. Follow-up was based on periodic ultrasonography, chest radiography and computed tomography. The abdominal cysts were categorised as small (<5 cm in diameter) or large. As albendazole treatment had effects that were almost identical to those of mebendazole treatment, the results for the two drugs were combined. In the lungs and, particularly, in the abdomen, the size of the cysts being treated influenced the character and timing of the degenerative changes seen in them. The initial change seen in each abdominal cyst was detachment of the endocyst, which occurred 1-3 months (small cysts) or 2-5 months (large cysts) after the initiation of treatment (P<0.05). The abdominal cysts then developed a hyper-echoic/hyper-dense appearance, became smaller, and finally disappeared 3.3-9.3 months (small cysts) or 5.6-13.9 months (large cysts) after treatment began (P<0.05). The first degenerative change noted in the lung cysts was cyst rupture, which occurred as early as day 10 of therapy but was generally observed 1 or 2 months after treatment began. After their complete evacuation, the ruptured lung cysts shrank and became deformed, some disappearing within 5-9 months of the initiation of treatment. The degenerative changes recorded, which began significantly earlier in the lung cysts than in abdominal cysts, indicate serious damage to the cysts and the parasiticidal, curative effect of each of the two benzimidazoles employed.