Pablo Luis Mirizzi: the man behind the syndrome.

Pablo Luis Mirizzi (1893-1964), who was born and died in the city of Cordoba in Argentina, dedicated his life to the service of surgery and the teaching of his students. Although known for the introduction of the intraoperative cholangiogram and for describing the Mirizzi syndrome - a partial obstruction of the common hepatic duct secondary to an impacted gallstone in the cystic duct, very little else is known about this man behind the brilliant surgical pioneer of the twentieth century. This biography looks beyond his important contributions to medicine, to the many facets of the man himself.

Resection of the angle of Treitz and distal diverticulization of the duodenum in penetrating abdominal injuries.

BACKGROUND: Access to the 4th part of the duodenum in the region of the ligament of Treitz can be very difficult. Primary repair or traditional duodenal diverticulization is often technically challenging for managing trauma at this location. Due to the frequent concomitant injuries and hemorrhage, a quick, simple and safe repair technique is highly desirable. METHODS: 3 patients with penetrating injuries to the 4th part of the duodenum were managed by a technique affording good exposure, and involving linear stapling across the bowel proximal and distal to the site of injury, with a jejuno-duodenal anastomosis to the 2nd part of the duodenum, the proximal jejunum having been delivered through a window fashioned in the transverse mesocolon. RESULTS: All patients survived and suffered no complications of their duodenal repair. CONCLUSIONS: The technique described offers a relatively simple, apparently safe and effective approach to a difficult problem in trauma surgery.