A study from St Vincent’s Hospital evaluated percutaneous and surgical microwave ablation (MWA) in treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Findings indicated that surgical MWA (SMWA) resulted in significantly lower local recurrence rates compared to percutaneous MWA (31.4% vs. 10.7%). Although SMWA was associated with longer procedure times and hospital stays, overall survival rates remained unchanged between […]

A study analyzing 400 patients revealed that minimal access retroperitoneal pancreatic necrosectomy significantly improves outcomes for those with infected pancreatic necrosis. Compared to open necrosectomy, this method reduced rates of gastrointestinal fistula (13.5% vs. 30%), mortality (18% vs. 37.5%), and major complications (35.9% vs. 57.5%). Over a decade, its application grew, demonstrating fewer conversions to […]

Pre-placement of pancreatic duct stents markedly improved enucleation success rates for benign tumors from 28.3% to 86.7%. This retrospective study, involving 148 patients, revealed that stent placement not only enhanced surgical outcomes but also reduced hospital stays, preserved pancreatic function, and improved quality of life. The findings advocate for incorporating stents in pancreatic enucleation procedures, […]

A study involving 582 patients established and validated a cut-off value of 0.268 for the Roberts Score, demonstrating its effectiveness in predicting clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula (CR-POPF) after Pancreaticoduodenectomy. The area under the curve (AUC) reached 0.768 in the exploratory cohort. Higher Roberts Scores were linked to longer ICU stays and drain removal times, […]

Significant advancements in treating unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have emerged, particularly with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) combinations that increase median survival to over two years, with some patients exceeding five years. Despite this, recent studies found no improvement in recurrence-free survival with adjuvant ICI therapy. However, combining ICI therapies with transarterial chemoembolization has shown enhanced […]

A study of 649 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients revealed that those with triple positive tumor markers experienced significantly improved recurrence-free survival when receiving postoperative adjuvant therapy (30.0 months) compared to those who did not (19.6 months, p=0.019). The analysis also showed that the number of positive tumor markers was linked to various clinical and pathological […]

A systematic review and meta-analysis revealed that arterial and anastomotic wrapping significantly decreases major complications in pancreaticoduodenectomy. Specifically, researchers noted a reduction in postpancreatectomy hemorrhage (OR 0.47; p < 0.001) and postoperative pancreatic fistula with omental wrapping (OR 0.48; p = 0.002). The technique did not increase operative time or reoperation rates, and delayed gastric […]

A study of 1,504 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma revealed that a low skeletal muscle index/systemic immune-inflammation index (SMI/SII) ratio is a significant independent prognostic factor for poor overall survival (OS). Results showed the high SMI/SII group had a notably better OS compared to the low SMI/SII group across multiple cohorts. Additionally, patients with elevated SMI/SII […]

Analysis of 208 patients post-curative hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma revealed that a low liver-to-spleen ratio (LSR) is a strong predictor of intrahepatic recurrence. Specifically, 53% experienced recurrence, with significantly higher rates in those with low LSR values (