Establishing the Number of Procedures for Optimal Renal Transplantation Training With the Use of a Canine Model.

BACKGROUND: The training of surgeons that perform renal transplantations can be diverse. For example, the training profile can vary greatly, involving urologists to general surgeons. The efficacy of training programs directed at transplantation surgeons is influenced by numerous factors, including the specialist profile who is trained, the number of procedures available to trainees in a given teaching hospital, and the duration of training. Here we determine the number of procedures necessary to consolidate and contribute to proficiency in renal transplantation technique. METHODS: We used a canine model, comparing 32 renal transplantations performed by a urologist and by a general surgeon who had completed their respective training in renal transplantation. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated that with 12 surgical procedures, surgeons were able to consolidate their skills in renal transplantation, regardless of their educational background. CONCLUSIONS: This is an initial effort in the establishment of a system for targeted training of transplantation surgeons directed specifically at correcting deficiencies and consolidating skills acquired during training programs. These efforts should contribute to the improvement of patient safety in public and private health systems.

Single oligoarray-based detection of specific M918T mutation in RET oncogene in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B.

The most important mutation associated with Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 2B (MEN 2B) is the change of thymine to cytosine in codon 918 of exon 16 in the RET oncogene (ATG â†’ ACG). The aim of this work was to develop a single oligoarray by using tandem hybridization to detect the T918C/RET mutation for MEN 2B patients. Two genetically non-related families were studied; each family had a member affected by MEN2B. Both patients presented the T918C/RET mutation in a heterozygous fashion. None of the relatives was positive for this mutation; thus, these cases arose de novo. The proper mutation was confirmed by with different tools, PCR-Fok I endonuclease, direct sequencing, and also using our oligoarray. In this case, it is suitable to use a DNA target smaller than 150 bases with single- or double-stranded DNA and short probes of 7-mer. It was also possible to detect the mutation by employing different sources of DNA, fresh or paraffin-embedded tissues. Therefore, the present oligoarray can identify the most common M918T mutation of RET oncogene from a variety of DNA sources with good specificity and be a good alternative in the molecular diagnosis for MEN 2B cases.