Surgical endoscopy
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Even though more and more cases of laparoscopic central pancreatectomy (LCP) are reported (Machado et al. in Surg Laparosc Endosc Percutan Tech 23(6):486-490, 2013; Hong et al. in World J Surg Oncol 10:223, 2012; Gonzalez et al. in JOP 14(3):273-276, 2013, Zhang et al. in J Laparoendosc Adv Surg Tech A 23(11):912-918, 2013; Sucandy et al. in N Am J Med Sci 2(9):438-441, 2010; Sa Cunha et al. in Surgery 142(3):405-409, 2007), the management for pancreatic stumps remains the most technically challenging part which is the same as in pancreatoduodenectomy (PD), making it the bottleneck for laparoscopic pancreatic surgery. In open surgery, various pancreatic reconstruction techniques designed for either pancreaticojejunostomy (PJ) or pancreaticogastrostomy (PG) have been attempted to reduce the postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF), including the binding anastomosis, invented by our team, i.e., binding PG (BPG) and binding PJ, which have been proved to be effective to reduce the POPF (Hong et al. 2012; Peng et al. in Ann Surg 245(5):692-698, 2007; Peng et al. in Updates Surg 63(2):69-74, 2011). However, despite of this, few reports are seen addressing such technique for laparoscopic surgery even though laparoscopic pancreatic surgery is more performed. After a previous successful laparoscopic BPG in a case of laparoscopic CP (LCP; Hong et al. 2012) and more than 50 cases of open PD and CP (Peng et al. 2011), we further performed laparoscopic BPG in 10 consecutive cases of LCP with satisfactory outcomes. ⋯ LCP with BPG is feasible and safe; the advantages lie in its minimal invasiveness, the efficacy for avoiding PF, and the preservation of the pancreatic endocrine and exocrine function insufficiency, making it an ideal procedure for the benign or low-malignant lesions at the pancreatic neck.
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Comparative Study
Robotic versus laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric cancer: comparison of short-term surgical outcomes.
Robot-assisted gastrectomy (RAG) is a new minimally invasive surgical technique for gastric cancer. This study was designed to compare RAG with laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy (LAG) in short-term surgical outcomes. ⋯ The comparative study demonstrates that RAG is as acceptable as LAG in terms of surgical and oncologic outcomes. With lower estimated blood loss, acceptable complications, and radical resection, RAG is a promising approach for the treatment of gastric cancer. However, the indication of patients for RAG is critical.
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In selected patients with N0 rectal cancer, endoluminal loco-regional resection (ELRR) by transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) may be an alternative treatment option to laparoscopic total mesorectal excision (LTME). Aim of this study is to evaluate the short- and medium-term quality of life (QoL) from a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data in patients with iT2-iT3 N0-N+ rectal cancer, who underwent ELRR by TEM or LTME after neoadjuvant radio-chemotherapy (n-RCT). ⋯ Based on the present series, in selected patients, earlier restoration of patients' functions is observed after ELRR by TEM than after LTME.
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Case reports have suggested that bariatric surgery improves pulmonary hypertension. We performed a retrospective, case-control study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of bariatric surgery in obese patients with severe pulmonary hypertension. ⋯ Laparoscopic gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy in obese patients improves pulmonary hypertension in the short term.