Moon‐Tong Cheung

Background/purpose: Our aim was to determine the overall success rate and survival rate with respect to the timing of intervention in the management of pancreatic necrosis. The use of minimally invasive pancreatic necrosectomy was also examined.Methods: This was a retrospective study carried out in a tertiary referral hospital. The subjects were all patients who suffered from acute pancreatic necrosis with emergency interventions from January 2001 to December 2007. For outcome measures, special emphasis was placed on the overall success rate and survival rate with respect to the timing of intervention. The success rate of percutaneous pancreatic necrosectomy (PCPN) was examined.Results: A total of 26 patients with pancreatic necrosis were studied. The overall mortality rate was 26.9% and the rate was significantly higher in those patients who had earlier intervention (before 6 weeks). Eleven patients had PCPN. There were 2 failures due to PCPN in the early phase; 2 had partial success, while the procedure was completely successful to remove all the necrotic tissues in the other 7 patients.Conclusions: With a multidisciplinary approach, particularly with sophisticated intensive care, most patients with pancreatic necrosis can survive the initial phase. Open surgery should be limited to simple drainage and laparostomy to relieve the abdominal tension. Active intervention preferably should be delayed until the necrosis has become walled off, when a variety of minimally invasive maneuvers, notably percutaneous necrosectomy, can be offered to remove the debris. The surgical management of pancreatic necrosis should change towards a strategy of “lesser and later”.

Autoimmune sclerosing pancreatitis is a well-known disease entity for years, particularly recognizing the difficulty in distinguishing it from malignancy. Immunohistochemical study showed that immunoglobulin IgG4 staining was positive in plasma cells of some autoimmune pancreatitis or cholangitis. The term 'autoimmune sclerosing pancreatocholangitis' was used as it was believed that they belonged to a range of disease involving both pancreas and biliary tree. It may also be part of a systemic fibro-inflammatory disease. All the patients suffering from immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)-related pancreatitis and cholangitis from May 2003 to September 2006 in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong were retrospectively studied. A total of five patients with clinical diagnosis of IgG4-related autoimmune pancreatitis or cholangitis were analysed. All presented with jaundice or abdominal pain, mimicking carcinoma. Two patients had major resection, two patients were diagnosed by intraoperative biopsy and one was based on serum IgG4 level. With the growing awareness of this relatively recently characterized clinical entity and its similar presentation to pancreatic carcinoma or bile duct cholangiocarcinoma, it is important for autoimmune sclerosing pancreatocholangitis to be included in the differential diagnosis of pancreaticobiliary disease. The management strategy has shown to be modified--from major resection to intraoperative biopsy and to the assay of serum IgG4 level without the necessity of histology confirmation.

Background:  The degree of necrosis and presence of infection are the crucial determinants of the outcome in patients with pancreatic necrosis. In patients with sterile necrosis, the necrotic material can persist and subsequently results in sepsis. Some of these patients will ultimately require an operation to remove the necrotic material. Percutaneous necrosectomy has been introduced to remove this residual debris in a minimally invasive way.Methods:  We retrospectively reviewed all patients with pancreatic necrosis who had percutaneous drainage (PCD) performed. Percutaneous pancreatic necrosectomy (PCPN) was done for those patients whose necrotic cavity failed to resolve.Results:  Percutaneous drainage was performed in eight patients, four with evidence of infection by the positive culture in the aspirate. In three of them, the necrotic cavity completely resolved after drainage. Percutaneous necrosectomy was performed in another three patients through the tract placed by the radiologist and another one through a sinus tract after an operation. The necrotic cavity in three of them completely resolved after percutaneous necrosectomy.Conclusion:  Those patients who had ‘organized necrosis’ after the acute episode of pancreatitis could receive benefit from percutaneous necrosectomy. The persistent symptoms could be alleviated after the removal of the residual necrotic material. It could also be useful after an open surgery to remove any residual devitalized tissue.

Background: Treatment of hepatolithiasis is complex and difficult. With the advent of biliary endoscopy and radiological intervention, percutaneous choledochoscopic removal of intrahepatic stones has become a well established procedure. Methods: Seventy-nine patients with intrahepatic stones that were removed by percutaneous transhepatic choledochoscopy (PTCS) between 1993 and 2001 were studied retrospectively. The results of the procedure and the long-term outcome of these patients were analysed. Results: The success rate of choledochoscopic removal of intrahepatic stones was 76·8 per cent. Complications occurred in 17 patients (21·5 per cent). Removal of stones predominantly on the right side was difficult using this method. Cholangitis occurred in about one third of patients within 3–5 years after PTCS. For patients with a stricture, cholangitis recurred gradually over the years of follow-up. Conclusion: Intrahepatic stricture was the major determinant for the recurrence of stones or symptoms. Hepatic resection should be offered to these patients if the disease is localized in one liver segment or lobe. In other cases, percutaneous choledochoscopy and stricture dilatation is a useful solution, and may reduce further damage to the liver.

Background: Early assessment of surgical trainees in their training programme is essential. A strong subjective observer’s bias occurs when using the mentor assessment form. In‐service examinations and qualifying examinations are only valid measurements of the trainee’s knowledge of factual material. An objective method to assess a surgical trainee’s clinical performance is introduced in the present study.Methods: We examined the Generalized Linear Mixed Model statistical methodology to obtain standardized performance scores that would identify good and poor performers while taking into account the effects of patients’ risk factors. Data regarding the postappendectomy complication occurrence and operation duration were retrospectively collected for each trainee. These variables were analysed by applying logistic regression and proportional hazards regression models respectively. Standardized trainee scores were obtained as by‐products that measured the residual effect of surgeons’ performances after taking into account the effects of possible risk factors.Results: A total of 37 trainees were involved in 638 appendectomy operations from 1994 to 1997. Age, concurrent medical disease and presence of pus were significant risk factors associated with complication occurrence. Concurrent medical disease, presence of pus, operative findings of gangrenous or ruptured appendix as well as the experience of the surgeon had a significant effect on the operation duration. The present study identifies four trainees that displayed good clinical performance, and one trainee that displayed poor clinical performance of appendectomy.Conclusion: Our proposed method makes use of recently developed statistical methodology for predicting the effect of surgeons’ performance, taking into account variations in their case‐mix and their patients’ fitness. This approach may serve as a very powerful tool for early assessment of a trainee’s clinical proficiency, and may also have implications for the future assessment of a surgeon’s clinical standard.