A Review of Machine Perfusion Strategies in Liver Transplantation.

The acceptance of liver transplantation as the standard of care for end-stage liver diseases has led to a critical shortage of donor allografts. To expand the donor organ pool, many countries have liberalized the donor criteria including extended criteria donors and donation after circulatory death. These marginal livers are at a higher risk of injury when they are preserved using the standard static cold storage (SCS) preservation techniques. In recent years, research has focused on optimizing organ preservation techniques to protect these marginal livers. Machine perfusion (MP) of the expanded donor liver has witnessed considerable advancements in the last decade. Research has showed MP strategies to confer significant advantages over the SCS techniques, such as longer preservation times, viability assessment and the potential to recondition high risk allografts prior to implantation. In this review article, we address the topic of MP in liver allograft preservation, with emphasis on current trends in clinical application. We discuss the relevant clinical trials related to the techniques of hypothermic MP, normothermic MP, hypothermic oxygenated MP, and controlled oxygenated rewarming. We also discuss the potential applications of ex vivo therapeutics which may be relevant in the future to further optimize the allograft prior to transplantation.

Giant Cell Tumor of Talus: A Case Report.

Introduction: Giant cell tumor of bone most commonly involves ends of the long bones in a skeletally mature patient. Giant cell tumor of the bones of the hand and feet is very rare, so is the giant cell tumor of talus. Case Report: We are reporting a case of giant cell tumor of talus in a 17-year-old female who presented with a history of pain and swelling around left ankle since 10 months. Radiographs of the ankle showed lytic expansile lesion involving whole of talus. Talectomy followed by calcaneo-tibial fusion was done as intralesional curettage was not feasible in this patient. Histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of giant cell tumor. There was no evidence of recurrence even at 9 years follow-up and the patient was able to carry out her daily activities without much discomfort. Conclusion: Giant cell tumor is most commonly encountered around the knee or distal radius. Involvement of foot bones especially talus is extremely uncommon. In early presentation, extended intralesional curettage with bone grafting and, in late, talectomy with tibiocalcaneal fusion are the treatment options.

'Little old lady's hernia' (obturator hernia): A deceptive encounter.

Obturator hernia (OH) is rare which not only carries high mortality amongst all abdominal hernia, but also known for the difficulty in diagnosing it. Howship-Romberg sign is a clinical sign to diagnose OH, but due to the lower-limb muscle contractures, it was not possible in our case. Computed tomography scan becomes the investigation of choice in this situation. A laparoscopic approach can be used safely.

Pancreatic glucagonoma with pancreatic calcification.

BACKGROUND: Glucagonoma is an uncommon type of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor [NET] which is characterized by diabetes mellitus, necrolytic migratory erythema, depression and deep vein thrombosis. The typical rash is often misdiagnosed and the diagnosis is delayed by 7-8 years. Pancreatic NETs and other pancreatic tumors are known to show calcifications within the tumor but calcification of the remaining normal pancreas is very uncommon. It occurs when there is ductal obstruction leading to acute or chronic pancreatitis. CASE REPORT: We present a case of glucagonoma with coexistent pancreatic calcification. CONCLUSION: Glucagonoma should be suspected in a diabetic patient with migratory rash. Pancreatic tumor should be suspected in patient with idiopathic focal pancreatitis.

Angiosarcoma of the scalp.

Angiosarcoma is a relatively rare soft tissue tumour. It usually occurs in the head and neck, and especially in the scalp, in elderly people. Its presentation varies from a small plaque to multifocal nodules. The treatment depends on the extent of the disease. Most cases are treated with wide excision with reconstruction. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy are advocated in the recurrent or extensive lesions with regional or distant metastasis. Other modalities such as immunomodulation have been tried. A case of a 55-year-old female patient with a bleeding scalp lesion is presented. Initially thought to be a pyogenic granuloma, on excisional biopsy it was diagnosed as angiosarcoma with microscopic involvement of the margins. Wide excision with reconstruction using a local rotation flap was done at a second stage. The patient was not given postoperative radiotherapy or chemotherapy. There has been no recurrence for two years.