Annals of Saudi medicine
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Annals of Saudi medicine · Sep 2008
Review Historical ArticleIslet transplantation: the quest for an ideal source.
The progress of islet transplantation as a new therapy for patients with diabetes mellitus depends directly upon the development of efficient and practical immunoisolation methods for the supply of sufficient quantities of islet cells. Without these methods, large scale clinical application of this therapy would be impossible. Two eras of advances can be identified in the development of islet transplantation. ⋯ The quest for an alternative source for islets (xenographs, stem cells and cell cultures) to overcome the shortage of human islets was an important issue during these eras. This paper reviews the history of islet transplantation and the current procedures in human allotransplantation, as well as different types of immunoisolation methods. It explores novel approaches to enhancing transplantation site vascularity and islet cell function, whereby future immunoisolation technology could offer additional therapeutic advantages to human islet allotransplantation.
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Annals of Saudi medicine · Jul 2008
Hysterectomy for benign conditions in a university hospital in Saudi Arabia.
Hysterectomy is a common surgical procedure among women with a lifetime prevalence of 10%. The indications and complications of this procedure have not been previously reported from a teaching institution in Saudi Arabia. We examined the indications for hysterectomy and the surgical morbidity for women undergoing hysterectomy at a university hospital in Saudi Arabia. ⋯ We describe a large series of hysterectomies, which provides information for surgeons on the expected rate of complications following hysterectomy for benign conditions. We found that the rate of complications was not significantly higher than other centers internationally.
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Many countries now struggle to provide cost-effective, quality healthcare services to their citizens. Saudi Arabia has experienced high costs along with concerns about quality of care in its public facilities. ⋯ The situation also demonstrates a unique case in the Middle East for greater reliance of the private sector to address rapidly escalating healthcare costs and deteriorating quality. The complexity of changing a healthcare system is discusses with the many challenges associated with the change.