Idiopathic Pulmonary Hypertension After Liver Transplantation.

Pulmonary hypertension is one of the problems that can be encountered before liver transplantation. It is not expected in cases with no additional disease in postoperative period. Herein, we report on a 43-year-old woman who developed idiopathic pulmonary hypertension in the early postoperative period. Further investigation both pathologically and clinically is needed in patients undergoing living donor liver transplantation that may help to solve the problems such as pulmonary arterial hypertension before it occurs and manage complex hemodynamic changes successfully in the future.

Advantages of Epidural Analgesia on Pulmonary Functions in Liver Transplant Donors.

OBJECTIVE: Epidural analgesia (EA) has positive effects on anesthetic requirement, blood loss, postoperative analgesia, and pulmonary function tests (PFTs). The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of EA on postoperative PFTs in liver transplant donors (LTDs). METHODS: In the present study, 66 LTDs were classified as total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) and TIVA+EA groups. Patient's age, sex, body mass index, induction and maintenance dose of propofol (IDP and MDP), operation duration, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC ratio, visual analog scale (VAS), atelectasis scores, and lengths of intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stays were recorded. RESULTS: In the TIVA+EA group, IPD, MPD, delta-FEV1 delta-FVC, VAS for all time, atelectasis score and length of hospital stay were significantly lower than in the TIVA group (P < .001 for all). Whereas VAS at the end of the operation was negatively correlated with delta-FEV1 and delta-FVC (r2 = 0.26 P < .001; r2 = 0.41 P < .001; respectively), it was positively correlated with atelectasis score and length of ICU stay (r2 = 0.49, P < .001; and r2 = 0.41, P < .001; respectively). Atelectasis score was positively correlated with length of ICU stay (r2 = 0.86, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Reduced anesthetic requirement, better postoperative analgesia, reduced atelectasis score, and preserved PFTs can be provided with the use of EA in LTDs. Positive effects of EA on anesthesia requirement, pain management and pulmonary function are associated with outcomes.

Penetrating colon injury: experience of a single centre.

OBJECTIVE: Penetrating colonic injuries are amongst the most discussed intra-abdominal injuries because of the complexity of their management and the severe complications. Penetrating colonic injuries can be managed by either primary repair or diversion. There is a debate over which procedure has to be used under which circumstances. In this retrospective study we analyzed our experience to contribute to the answer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The records of patients with penetrating colonic injury between January 1995 and December 2006 at the General Surgery Department of Atatürk University School of Medicine, were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-one patients were included in the study. Ten patients did not need any surgical treatment. Seventy-nine patients (56%) were treated without formation of a stoma and fifty-two patients (36.8%) with formation of a stoma. The overall complication rate was 50.3% (71 patients). The rate of septic complications was 33.3%. CONCLUSION: There is an ongoing debate whether formation of a stoma is indicated in penetrating colonic injury or not. Our clinical experience showed that severe faecal contamination, shock at presentation, and high CIS grades are associated with increased postoperative complications and mortality. Therefore the treatment of penetrating colonic injury in the presence of these risk factors should be stoma formation rather than primary repair.