Laparoscopic intestinal resection is a relatively new application of endoscopic technology that has evolved as a direct result of the successes and benefits seen with laparoscopic gallbladder surgery. Currently acceptable and feasible laparoscopic intestinal resections include those for diagnostic procedures, fecal diversion, Crohn's disease, diverticulitis, familial polyposis, rectal prolapse,...

Upper gastrointestinal tract (GIT) surgical procedures are more likely to cause nosocomial Candida peritonitis than lower GIT procedures and they thus constitute an independent risk factor for mortality. Because of the severity of postsurgical fungal infections complications, intensivists and surgeons need to be extremely aware of their clinical importance in critically ill postsurgical intensi...

For some time now, there has been significant interest in understanding and defining the role of minimally invasive surgery in colorectal cancer. Laparoscopic surgery has been shown to have similar or better outcomes compared with open surgery. Recently, prospective randomized trials have demonstrated oncologic outcomes of laparoscopic colon surgery equivalent to those for open surgery. However...

In the past decade, there has been an increasing focus on both therapeutic and prophylactic mastectomies in the management of breast disease. It has also become the standard of care to offer patients breast reconstruction for appropriate candidates after mastectomy, which often leads to a multidisciplinary partnership between the oncologic surgeon and the reconstructive plastic surgeon. In most...

BACKGROUND Laparoscopy has emerged as the preferred option for the surgical management of kidney cancer. Although many reports have been published regarding the operative outcome of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and upper-tract transitional cell carcinoma (TCCA) treated laparoscopically, few review the oncologic outcome of these pathologies treated with laparoscopic techniques. METHODS We review...

Laparoscopic colorectal resections offer several benefits postoperatively, including minimal impairment of gastrointestinal and pulmonary function, less immunosuppression, shorter hospital stay and improved reconvalescence. Since the introduction of laparoscopic surgery for the therapy of curable colorectal cancer, some concern was voiced in terms of oncologic radicality, the issue of port-site...

AIM To review and compare the oncologic outcomes in patients with rectal cancer undergoing laparoscopic vs. open rectal surgery. METHODS An electronic literature search was performed for trials reporting oncologic outcomes for laparoscopic rectal resections. Variables of interest were survival, recurrence rates, margin status and nodal retrieval. Trials were excluded if variables were not spe...

PURPOSE Adjuvant chemotherapy is currently recommended for Stage IIIA colon cancers. This study aimed to elucidate the oncologic outcomes of Stage IIIA colon cancer according to the chemotherapeutic regimen based on a retrospective review. METHODS From 1995 to 2008, Stage IIIA colon cancer patients were identified from a prospectively maintained database at a single institution. Exclusion cri...