Surgery
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Transmediastinal gunshot injuries are a rarely reported injury. Until recently, assessment of the thoracic aorta by angiography preceded the investigation of the esophagus. This order has been recently debated. ⋯ Angiography should at present precede esophageal investigations. There is a need for shortening the time between admission and operation. Other modalities that could expedite the investigation of the thoracic aorta and the esophagus should be prospectively evaluated in multi-center studies.
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Adhesions to polypropylene mesh used for abdominal wall hernia repair may eventuate in intestinal obstruction or enterocutaneous fistula. A Seprafilm Bioresorbable Membrane translucent adhesion barrier has been shown to inhibit adhesions. This investigation was designed to determine if Seprafilm alters abdominal visceral adhesions to polypropylene mesh. ⋯ The use of the Seprafilm adhesion barrier resulted in a significant reduction of adhesion formation to polypropylene mesh (P <.001).
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Although the effect of locally applied ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) injury on gastrointestinal anastomoses has been studied, to our knowledge there is no previous study that investigates the effect of remote I-R injury on gastrointestinal anastomotic healing. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the effects of local I-R injury and remote I-R injury on the healing of colonic anastomoses. ⋯ This study showed that I-R injury is a systemic phenomenon, and remote organ I-R can significantly delay anastomotic healing. This has to be kept in mind when constructing an intestinal anastomosis in the presence of local or remote I-R injury.