Surgery, Gastroenterology and Oncology

Read article A new minimally invasive tissue ablation technique, that combines the biophysical processes of electroporation and electrolysis, is introduced.
The technology employs electrode needles inserted in the target tissue to deliver an Electrolytic Electroporation Waveform (EEW) in the form of an exponential decay voltage, several tens of microsecond long. A case study in a large animal model demonstrates that clinically significant size lesions can be achieved with a single, milliseconds long EEW.
Ablation with EEW has major advantages over the comparable tissue ablation techniqu....[more]

Read article Primary fallopian tube carcinoma (PFTC) is a rare gynecological malignancy.
Its preoperative diagnosis can be missed or delayed due to the lack of specific symptoms and signs.
It is difficult to distinguish from serous epithelial ovarian cancer or primary peritoneal serous carcinoma during or even after operation because they have the same histopathological features. Standard guidelines regarding the optimal management are still not well defined.

Read article Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains one of the most aggressive tumors with dismal prognosis and survival rates.
Identifying early molecular diagnostic markers could contribute in improving survival in this intractable disease. Chromosomal rearrangements and altered expression of the gene have been implicated in PDAC progression to metastasis.
S100A4 protein promotes invasion and metastasis by binding to several intracellular target proteins and modulating their function.
ERBB2 is marker of poor prognosis in multiple cancer types. This study ....[more]

Read article Background Aim: Liver resection and liver transplantation offer the best chance of survival in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but tumor recurrence still occurs frequently, warranting patient stratification according to the risk of recurrence.
Enrichment in stem cell markers is currently a possible risk stratifying strategy. The prognostic significance for HCC recurrence of CD44, a well-established stem cell marker, is still controversial.
The aim of our study was to investigate the prognostic significance of CD44 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma following a po....[more]

Read article Background: Although Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy (LC) has been used successfully in the treatment of biliary lithiasis in the elderly, its effectiveness in Acute Cholecystitis (AC) of high age groups is still questionable.

Material and Methods: A retrospective research was performed with 410 LC patients operated by AC from January 2006 to December 2013 in the department of surgery of Hospital S. Joao. Two groups were considered: Group A - patients with 70 years old or older (N=91) and Group B - patients with less than 70 years old (N=319).
The aim of the st....[more]

Read article Background: There has been a relative lack of research on the effect of applying enhanced recovery principles in the context of morbid obesity surgery and monitoring outcome.

Objectives: To determine the feasibility of applying enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) principles application on a bariatric population and review the effect on outcome in this population.

Methods: We analyzed data prospectively collected on a cohort of 111 patients undergoing laparoscopic bariatric surgery between March 2013 and December 2014. All patients were enroll....[more]

Read article Introduction: Acid-reduction surgery has been strongly advocated in past for perforated peptic ulcers because of the high incidence of ulcer relapse after simple closure. Since Most patients with Gastroduodenal perforation are associated with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, Simple oversewing procedures either by an open or laparoscopic approach together with H. pylori eradication appear to supersede definitive ulcer surgery.

Material and Methods: Total number of 70 patients were included in this prospective study with diagnosis of perforation periton....[more]

Read article Induction of Anaesthesia in swine may prove to be difficult because of the differences in anatomy and physiology.
Intubation of large animals is especially difficult due to the length of the snout and the relative difficulty of obtaining adequate relaxation. The present study is aimed to compare two induction techniques for tracheal intubation in pigs. The secondary aim was to assess the effectiveness of a new anaesthetic protocol for experimental surgery.
For this, six female pigs underwent two liver surgeries each. Induction of anaesthesia was performed either using intrav....[more]

Read article Congenital absence of the pericardium is a rare condition, which can be isolated, but most frequently associated with other cardiac or extracardiac congenital anomalies.
Generally, most the patients with pericardial absence are asymptomatic. In some cases, partial pericardial defects can be life threatening, because of heart and lung herniation and ventricular entrapment. The pericardium has a supporting and protecting role for the heart and the proximal great vessels (ascending aorta and pulmonary arterial trunk), so absence of the pericardial layers allows important thoracic d....[more]

Read article This is a case report of a 67 year-old male farmer and heavy smoker with 3 packs of cigarettes, who presented with 12 day history of fever and haemoptysis.
On chest X-ray a mass was observed at the right lower lobe right lung. He underwent full clinical, laboratory, and endoscopic evaluation.
No enlargement of lymph nodes was observed on the CT and also highlighted giant mass in the right lower lobe, of the right lung.
The patient underwent surgery which revealed a large viable hydatid cyst measuring 10,3x8,5x7,3 cm, with irregular margins and mixed (solid and cystic) ....[more]