Acta Chir Belg
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The Abiomed BVS 5000 ventricular assist device (VAD) has been approved in Belgium for emergency cardiac support in patients with postcardiotomy failure with the aim of native heart function recovery. Other indications have emerged from world wide experience, but the indication and usefulness of emergency implantation of assist devices is often debated. ⋯ Although sample sizes are small, better survival rates with emergency Abiomed BVS 5000 implantation were obtained in the non postcardiotomy group (group B). For patients in the postcardiotomy group, outcome was negatively influenced by cardiac arrest and resuscitation before urgent CABG. Since death is the only alternative for these patients in cardiogenic shock and organ recovery cannot be predicted, we continue to consider emergency VAD implantation in this patient population.
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Small bowel perforation is a rare complication of miliary tuberculosis. We report the case of a 21-year old patient who developed a small bowel perforation 70 days after the initiation of adequate tuberculosis treatment. We also present a review of the literature.
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This study was made to prospectively assess the results of our first 237 consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopic or laparoscopic-assisted colorectal procedures. Between May 1995 and July 1999, two hundred thirty seven laparoscopic (assisted) colorectal procedures were performed: 97 sigmoidectomies, 31 right hemicolectomies, 26 rectosigmoidectomies, 23 abdominoperineal rectum amputations and 60 other procedures. The following parameters were recorded and analysed: patients gender, age, diagnosis, procedure, conversion to open surgery, peroperative and postoperative complications, duration of procedure, mortality and length of hospitalization. ⋯ The feasibility and safety of laparoscopic colorectal surgery has been established in a variety of procedures for different indications. Care must be taken in the case of acute diverticulitis which in our series is associated with higher minor and major complication rate and conversion rate. Although our results for malign cases are good, the definitive incidence of neither port-site metastasis nor local recurrence is known and no long-term results after laparoscopic surgery for carcinoma are available, we believe that curative procedures for cancer should continue to be carried out only within the framework of prospective studies unless the patient is more than 75-year old, is in bad general condition or when a palliative procedure has to be performed.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Economic considerations for aortic surgery: retroperitoneal approach--is it worth it?
Planned reductions in reimbursement for all forms of vascular surgery dictate a need for the development of more cost efficient, yet quality oriented, treatment programs. We are faced with an increasingly older patient population with multiple comorbidities. In this environment it will become extremely difficult to accomplish aortic surgery in a way which will be profitable for our hospitals. More than 100,000 aortic surgeries are performed annually in the United States. Previous reports suggest that earlier hospital discharges and reduced postoperative complications occur when a retroperitoneal approach is used for aortic surgery. Other publications refute this concept. In an effort to determine the most cost efficient method for aortic surgery in our institution, while maintaining high standards of care and outcome, we compared the retroperitoneal approach to the conventional transperitoneal aortic operation. ⋯ Our clinical pathway and algorithm for aortic surgery was easily followed by those patients in the retroperitoneal approach group and resulted in decreases in ICU time, postoperative ileus, volume of intraoperative crystalloid and total length of stay. The patients in the transperitoneal group often failed to progress appropriately on the pathway. Reduced hospital costs associated with aortic surgery using the retroperitoneal approach has increased the profitability for this surgery in our institution by an average of $4000 per case and has increased the value (quality/cost) of this surgery to our patients and our institution. This was accomplished in an academic environment with surgical residency training where cost containment has historically been difficult.
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This paper reviews the actual clinical experience and alleged working mechanisms of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) in the treatment of non-reconstructable critical leg ischaemia. SCS appears to be beneficial particularly for relief of pain and healing of ischaemic ulcers. The evidence available as to limb salvage is still dubious, because most of the studies performed so far are non-randomised, and different causes for peripheral ischaemia are studied simultaneously. Investigation of the local skin microcirculation, in particular by means of transcutaneous oxygen pressure measurements, appears important to select those patients that will benefit most of SCS treatment, to predict limb survival and to further elucidate the working mechanism of SCS.