ABC of diseases of liver, pancreas, and biliary system. Other causes of parenchymal liver disease.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to I J Beckingham.
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BACKGROUND: Liver metastases are a major cause of death in patients with colorectal carcinoma. The only curative option available at present is surgery. This review article discusses the current state of evidence for the effectiveness of liver resection for patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer. METHODS: Medline, Embase, Current Contents and Science Citation Index databases were used to search English language articles published on the subject of liver resection for colorectal metastases in the last 20 years. RESULTS: Liver resection has a five year survival of 16-49% and 10 year survival of 17-33% with an operative mortality rate of 0-9%. Two factors appear to be clearly associated with poorer outcome - involved resection margins and the presence of extrahepatic disease (including hilar and coeliac axis lymph nodes) at the time of liver resection. None of the other factors related to the patients, their primary tumour or the metastases themselves have been conclusively shown to adversely effect long-term survival. CONCLUSIONS: Liver resection is a feasible, safe and effective procedure which carries an acceptable morbidity and mortality and does have a major impact on the survival of these patients. The decision on resectability of colorectal metastases should be decided by the ability to leave at least 2-3 segments of liver free from metastases with uninvolved resection margins, together with the general fitness of the patient to undergo a major surgical procedure.
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BACKGROUND: A case note audit of existing practices in the management of acute pancreatitis (AP) at a district general hospital (DGH) and a teaching hospital was undertaken to determine if practices were in accordance with published UK guidelines. METHODS: Casenotes of all adults admitted with AP over a period of one year at the two hospitals were reviewed. RESULTS: Ninety-five patients were treated for AP at the teaching hospital and 52 at the DGH. The age, sex and aetiological distributions at the two hospitals were similar. Fifteen (15.8%) patients at the teaching hospital and eight (15.3%) at the DGH had severe AP. Four patients died at each hospital. Prognostic Glasgow criteria tests (excluding LDH) were completed within 48 hours in 43% patients at the teaching hospital and 48% at the DGH. Five of the twenty-five cholecystectomies at the teaching hospital and 4/18 at the DGH were performed within four weeks after admission with AP. CONCLUSION: Audit of current practice has highlighted deficiencies at many levels compared with current evidence-based guidelines, although this has not resulted in unexpected mortality. It remains to be seen whether new measures to aid compliance with guidelines will result in improvement in morbidity and mortality.
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This review critically analyses the role of urgent biliary decompression in the management of acute gallstone pancreatitis with the emphasis on endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES). In an analysis of currently available prospective randomised trials the role of routine urgent ERCP with or without ES in patients with predicted severe pancreatitis is challenged. Patients with persistent biliary obstruction and associated cholangitis appear to be the only subgroup who may benefit from urgent biliary intervention.
BACKGROUND: This study was designed to determine the feasibility and outcome of laparoscopic cardiomyotomy in patients with achalasia who have persistent or recurrent dysphagia following balloon dilatation. METHODS: Ten patients who had undergone a minimum of two (range, two to seven) previous balloon dilatations underwent a single anterior cardiomyotomy extending from the gastroesophageal junction onto the esophagus proximally for 6 cm. Four patients had a Toupet fundoplication. Patients were analyzed using pre- and postoperative DeMeester symptom scores for dysphagia, regurgitation, and heartburn (0 = none-3 = maximal) and esophageal manometry. RESULTS: Mean operating time was 90 min. Periesophagitis was noted in some patients but was rarely troublesome. Submucosal fibrosis was present in all patients and made dissection more difficult particularly around the cardioesophageal junction. As a result, three patients had mucosal perforations that required repair by laparoscopic suturing. There were no subsequent postoperative complications. Median (IQR) postoperative stay was 3 (2-4) days. At 3-month reassessment, there was a reduction in the median dysphagia score from 3 to 0, and also in the regurgitation score from 3 to 0. At last follow-up (median, 22 months), one patient had developed recurrent dysphagia (grade 2), which improved with dilatation. Overall success of the laparoscopic procedure was therefore 90%. Only one patient developed new symptoms of reflux (mild, grade 1) after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic cardiomyotomy provides good control of the symptoms of dysphagia and regurgitation without the morbidity of a laparotomy or thoracotomy incision. Although technically more difficult, the technique can be extended to those who have had previous balloon dilatation with complication and success rates similar to published results in patients who have not undergone previous dilatation.
OBJECTIVE: Nonoperative drainage either by the percutaneous or endoscopic route has become a viable alternative to surgical drainage of pancreatic pseudocysts. Endoscopic drainage has been reported in a few small series with encouraging short term results. The aim of this study was to determine the indications, suitability, and long term outcome of transmural endoscopic drainage procedures. METHODS: All patients presenting over a 2-yr period to a tertiary referral hepatobiliary unit with pancreatic pseudocysts were studied. Endoscopic drainage was performed in patients with pseudocysts bulging into the stomach or duodenal lumen. Outcome measures were successful drainage of the pseudocyst, complications, and recurrence rates. RESULTS: Of 66 patients presenting with pseudocysts, 34 were considered suitable for endoscopic drainage. Twenty-four (71%) were successfully drained. Failures were associated with thick walled pseudocysts (> 1 cm), location in the tail of the pancreas, and pseudocysts associated with acute necrotizing pancreatitis. There were three recurrences (7%), two of which were successfully redrained endoscopically. The long term success rate (median follow-up, 46 months) of the initial procedure was 62%. CONCLUSION: Transmural endoscopic drainage is a safe procedure with minimal complications. It should be the procedure of choice for pseudocysts associated with chronic pancreatitis or trauma, with a wall thickness of < 1 cm and a visible bulge into the gastrointestinal lumen. Forty percent of pseudocysts fulfilled these criteria in our study.
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BACKGROUND: The roles of endoscopy and surgery in the management of Ascaris lumbricoides affecting the hepatobiliary and pancreatic system in adults were determined. METHODS: All patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde pancreatography for ascariasis of the biliary or pancreatic system unresponsive to standard medical therapy were analysed. Worms were extracted using snare, Dormia basket or biopsy forceps. Success was defined as clearance of worms and eradication of symptoms. RESULTS: Endoscopic extraction was performed in 25 patients with success in 19. Failures occurred in one patient with Ascaris in the gallbladder, and in five with associated strictures or stones. All six patients were treated successfully by surgery. CONCLUSION: Endoscopy was successful in the treatment of Ascaris infestation resistant to medical therapy in 19 of 25 patients. Surgery remains important in the management of infestations complicated by biliary or pancreatic strictures and stones, or worms in the gallbladder.
BACKGROUND: The subparietal hepaticojejunal biliary access loop is a recognized technique for the long-term management of primary intrahepatic stone disease. This paper assesses the results of this approach in a series of South African patients. METHODS: Between 1985 and 1997, 21 patients, of mean age 34 (range 24-66) years, underwent surgical extraction of intrahepatic stones and formation of an hepaticojejunal access loop. The access loop was subsequently used for further stone removal and stricture dilatation. Patients were followed prospectively (median 47 months) and details of the number and type of procedures performed, stone clearance rates, morbidity and subsequent outcome were recorded. RESULTS: The distribution of intrahepatic stones was left lobe in 13 of 21 patients, right lobe in one and bilateral in seven. Six patients underwent additional left lobectomy at the initial operation because of associated atrophy of the left lobe. Following operation, stone removal and/or stricture dilatation was performed on 97 occasions (median 4 (range 0-24) procedures per patient). Complete stone clearance was achieved in 17 of 21 patients with partial clearance in the remaining four. There were no major complications and no deaths associated with the procedures. CONCLUSION: The subparietal access loop permits long-term access to the intrahepatic ducts allowing removal of stones and dilatation of strictures with minimal patient discomfort and low morbidity.
BACKGROUND: Nissen fundoplication has become the standard operation in the surgical management of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Postoperative dysphagia is thought to occur more commonly in patients with oesophageal dysmotility and it has been recommended that fundoplication be modified or avoided in these patients. The aim of this study was to determine the outcome of patients with normal motility and dysmotility undergoing laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication. METHODS: This was a single-centre prospective cohort study with 1-year follow-up, using dysphagia as the main outcome variable. Of 81 patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery, 48 had normal motility and 33 had oesophageal dysmotility (defined as percentage peristalsis, using ten wet swallows, of 50 per cent or less and/or a mean distal pressure of less than 40 mmHg). RESULTS: Dysphagia was present before operation in 14 of 48 patients with normal motility and 15 of 33 in the dysmotility group (P=0.2). At 3-month follow-up, new or worse dysphagia was present in 13 of 48 patients in the normal group and four of 33 in the dysmotility group (P=0.17). At 1 year the incidence of dysphagia was six of 48 in the normal group and five of 33 in the dysmotility group (P=0.9). CONCLUSION: Preoperative manometric assessment of oesophageal motility does not correlate with postoperative outcome, and oesophageal dysmotility should not be regarded as a contraindication to laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication.
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