[Teaching in the operative room: the benefit of daysurgery on surgical trainees]. / Attività didattica in sala operatoria: utilità della day-surgery nell'iter formativo dello specializzando in chirurgia.

AIM: Aim of the study was to evaluate the operative time and the incidence of post-operative complications in a group of patients undergoing Lichtenstein inguinal hernia repair performed either by surgical residents or senior surgeons in a day-surgery setting. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 198 patients: group I (n=102), in which the operator was a senior surgeon, group II (n=96), in which the operator was a resident supervised by a senior surgeon. We recorded the duration of the operation and the complications following the procedure, and statistically compared them between group I and II. RESULTS: Our analysis showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups only for the mean operative time, being shorter in group I (62 vs 82 min, p>0.05), while no significant difference was found for the incidence of complications. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the day-surgery setting allows a high quality training of young surgeons, based on performing minor surgical procedures such has inguinal hernia repair. This training allows a step by step supervised learning process that does not jeopardize the efficacy of the treatment as well as the patient safety. The major cost due to the increase in operative time should be considered as an investment in young surgeons education.

[The endoscopic treatment of foreign bodies in the tracheobronchial tree]. / Il trattamento endoscopico dei corpi estranei nell'albero tracheo-bronchiale.

Details are presented on the endoscopic treatment of a series of 70 patients with tracheal on bronchial foreign bodies. Diagnosis was made on the basis of a careful examination of anamnestic, clinical, radiological and endoscopic data.

[Intestinal occlusion due to a giant lipoma of the cecum]. / Occlusione intestinale da lipoma gigante del cieco.

Lipomas of the colon are localised in 90% of cases at submucous level, they are usually solitary and may be sessile or pedunculated. They are almost always asymptomatic; only when they are of a certain size they become manifest, causing alterations of the alveus, rectorrhagia, abdominal pain or intestinal transit alteration. They are often discovered by chance during endoscopic or radiological examination.

[Colorectal neoplasms in patients with ulcerative rectocolitis. Their surgical treatment and follow-up]. / Le neoplasie del colon retto in pazienti affetti da rettocolite ulcerosa. Trattamento chirurgico e follow-up.

Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), especially those with a long-term standing or severe disease, show a higher incidence of colorectal neoplasms. Dysplasia represents the most important risk-factor for malignancy in patients with UC. From 1989 to 1999, 71 patients with UC, were surgically treated at our Institution. Indications for surgery were: non responding disease or refractory bleeding in 61; pathologic evidence of severe dysplasia during endoscopic surveillance in 5 patients, evidence of a neoplasm in the remaining 5 patients. Operative mortality was 1.4%. Infections of the surgical wound has been the most common postoperative complication. In 4 cases pouchitis has been reported. In 7 patients because of progression of the proctitis a second surgical treatment has been made. When surgical treatment is indicated in the course of ulcerative colitis, several operations may be performed. In the large majority of patients, total colectomy, mucosectomy and ileal pouch-anal anastomosis is the procedure of choice.