How to do a spleen preserving porto-splenic pancreas transplantation.

Whole organ pancreas transplantation is a validated technique of the management of insulin sensitive diabetes and its complications. While several techniques have been described for this procedure that carries a significant morbidity and small mortality risk, surgery requires adequately sized vessels to implant the organ. In this paper, the authors describe a novel technique of implantation of the pancreas onto the splenic vessels with concomitant splenic preservation or other visceral vessels that they have employed when traditional implantation sites are not suitable with successful outcome on long term follow up.

A systematic review of dedicated models of care for emergency urological patients.

OBJECTIVE: To systematically evaluate the spectrum of models providing dedicated resources for emergency urological patients (EUPs). METHODS: A search of Cochrane, Embase, Medline and grey literature from January 1, 2000 to March 26, 2019 was performed using methods pre-published on PROSPERO. Reporting followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and meta-analysis guidelines. Eligible studies were articles or abstracts published in English describing dedicated models of care for EUPs, which reported at least one secondary outcome. Studies were excluded if they examined pathways dedicated only to single presentations, such as torsion, or outpatient solutions, such as rapid access clinics. The primary outcome was the spectrum of models. Secondary outcomes were time-to-theatre, length of stay, complications and cost. RESULTS: Seven studies were identified, totalling 487 patients. Six studies were conference abstracts, while one study was of full-text length but published in grey literature. Four distinct models were described. These included consultant urologists allocated solely to the care of EUPs ("Acute Urological Unit") or dedicated registrars or operating theatres ("Hybrid structures"). In some services, EUPs bypassed emergency department assessment and were referred directly to urology ("Urological Assessment Unit") or were managed by other dedicated means. Allocating services to EUPs was associated with reduced time-to-theatre, length of stay and hospital cost, and improved supervision of junior medical staff. CONCLUSION: Multiple dedicated models of care exist for EUPs. Low-level evidence suggests these may improve outcomes for patients, staff and hospitals. Higher quality studies are required to explore patient outcomes and minimum requirements to establish these models.

Renal colic causing Boerhaave syndrome.

Boerhaave syndrome is the spontaneous rupture of the oesophagus, usually due to vomiting. The condition is rare but can be fatal. A 30-year-old male presented with vomiting and pain in his left flank and chest. Computed tomography scanning of the chest, abdomen and pelvic revealed a 4 mm left proximal ureteric stone and pneumo-mediastinum due to oesophageal rupture, consistent with Boerhaave syndrome. The patient underwent insertion of left ureteric stent, with staged left ureteroscopy and laser lithotripsy. The patient's oesophageal rupture was managed conservatively, and he made a full recovery. This is only the second report of renal colic causing Boerhaave syndrome.

The impact of catheter-based bladder drainage method on urinary tract infection risk in spinal cord injury and neurogenic bladder: A systematic review.

AIMS: To systematically compare the impact of catheter-based bladder drainage methods on the rate of urinary tract infections (UTIs) amongst patients with neurogenic bladder. METHODS: A search of Cochrane Library, Embase, Medline, and Grey literature to February 2019 was performed using methods prepublished on PROSPERO. Reporting followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis guidelines. Eligible studies were published in English and compared UTI incidence between neurogenic bladder patients utilizing bladder drainage methods of the indwelling urethral catheter (IUC), suprapubic catheter (SPC) or intermittent self-catheterization (ISC). The odds ratio of UTI was the sole outcome of interest. RESULTS: Eight nonrandomized observational cohort studies were identified, totaling 2321 patients who utilized either IUC, SPC, or ISC. Studies enrolled patients with neurogenic bladder due to spinal cord injury (seven studies) or from any cause (one study). UTI rates were compared between patients utilizing IUC vs SPC (four studies), IUC vs ISC (six studies), and SPC vs ISC (four studies). Compared with IUC, five of six studies suggested ISC use was associated with lower rates of UTI. Studies comparing IUC vs SPC and SPC vs ISC gave mixed results. Meta-analysis was not appropriate due to study methodology heterogeneity. CONCLUSIONS: Low-level evidence suggests amongst patients with neurogenic bladder requiring catheter-based drainage, the use of ISC is associated with lower rates of UTI than IUC. Comparisons of IUC vs SPC and SPC vs ISC gave mixed results. Future randomized trials are required to confirm these findings.

Lessons learned from relocating an acute surgical unit to a new quaternary referral centre in Adelaide, South Australia: a tale of two hospitals.

BACKGROUND: On 4 September 2017, patient care was relocated from one quaternary hospital that was closing, to another proximate greenfield site in Adelaide, Australia, this becoming the new Royal Adelaide Hospital. There are currently no data to inform how best to transition hospitals. We conducted a 12-week prospective study of admissions under our acute surgical unit to determine the impact on our key performance indicators. We detail our results and describe compensatory measures deployed around the move. METHODS: Using a standard proforma, data were collected on key performance indicators for acute surgical unit patients referred by the emergency department (ED). This was supplemented by data obtained from operative management software and coding data from medical records to build a database for analysis. RESULTS: Five hundred and eight patients were admitted during the study period. Significant delays were seen in times to surgical referral, surgical review and leaving the ED. Closely comparable was time spent in the surgical suite. Uptake of the Ambulatory Care Pathway fell by 67% and the Rapid Access Clinic by 46%. Overall mortality and patient length of stay were not affected. CONCLUSION: We found the interface with ED was most affected. Staff encountered difficulties familiarizing with a new environment and an anecdotally high number of ED presentations. Delays to referral and surgical review resulted in extended patient stay in ED. Once in theatre, care was comparable pre- and post-transition. This was likely from early identification of patients requiring an emergency operation, close consultant surgeon involvement and robust working relationships between surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses.

Video-assisted thoracoscopy in the management of intrapleural extravasation of cytotoxic chemotherapy.

The extravasation of cytotoxic agents into subcutaneous tissue is a serious complication of chemotherapy. Unfortunately, if such extravasation occurs into the pleural space, limited data is available to guide appropriate management. We present the first report in the literature of video-assisted thoracoscopy combined with a topoisomerase II inhibitor and iron chelator, dexrazoxane, in the successful management of this complication.