Mucormycosis in Liver Allograft Following Transplant for Secondary Biliary Cirrhosis.

Mucormycosis, a group of opportunistic mycoses caused by Mucorales, present a significant threat to immunocompromised patients. In this report, we present the case of a 57-year-old male patient who underwent liver transplant for secondary biliary cirrhosis following inadvertent bile duct injury. Despite initial satisfactory postoperative evolution, the patient developed fever, and imaging revealed a suspicious lesion. Preliminary culture growth suggested a filamentous fungus, leading to initiation of liposomal amphotericin B. However, the lesion progressed, and a surgical debridement was necessary. During surgery, involvement of the liver dome and diaphragm was observed, and a nonanatomical hepatectomy was performed. Despite efforts, the patient's condition deteriorated, ultimately resulting in multiple organ failure and mortality. This case emphasizes the challenging nature of mucormycosis in livertransplant recipients.

Trans-gastric and trans-abdominal percutaneous drainage of acute peripancreatic fluid infected collections: A retrospective analysis.

Background: Acute pancreatitis is one of the most common gastrointestinal diseases. Approximately 20% of the patients develop peripancreatic collections. Step-up management it's now the best approach with less rate of morbidity and mortality compared with open or minimally invasive surgery. Percutaneous management could reach a success rate between 50 and 76%. Our study shows the outcomes of trans-gastric versus transabdominal percutaneous drainage in cases of acute peripancreatic fluid infected collections in the absence of interventionist endoscopy. Methods: A retrospective review of a prospectively collected database was conducted. All the patients older than 18 years old that underwent percutaneous drainage between January 2010-December 2021 were included. Analysis and description of outcomes such as mortality, complications, and avoidance of surgical procedures was performed. Results: 18 patients underwent percutaneous drainage. 66.67% of patients were male. Mean age was 52.55 ± 22.06 years. Mean weight was 74.43 ± 15.25 kg. Mean size of peripancreatic collections 118.4 ± 49.12 mm. Wall-off necrosis was present in 33.33%. Trans-gastric approach was performed in 50% of the cases, the rest was trans-abdominal. No mortality was evidenced after 30 days of follow up. After trans-gastric percutaneous drainage, all patients avoided surgical open or laparoscopic procedure. Conclusion: Standardized step-up approach shows increased rates of success in percutaneous drainage of peripancreatic collections. Our case series shows a high rate of success in terms of avoidance any surgical procedure with no mortality after trans-abdominal and trans-gastric percutaneous drainage. Nevertheless, further prospective studies with higher sample size are needed.

Ovarian Vein to Portal Vein Reconstruction: Another Option in Liver Transplant With Portal Vein Thrombosis.

Portal vein thrombosis is a common complication in patients with cirrhosis and a challenge for the transplant team. Not so long ago, portal vein thrombosis was considered an absolute contraindication for liver transplant, but improvements in surgical techniques have overcome this problem in many transplant centers around the world. Here, we present the case of a 52-year-old female patient with cirrhosis from a primary biliary cholangitis and a complex portal vein thrombosis. She underwent a deceased donor liver transplant with a Model for End-Stage Liver Disease of 40. The portal thrombosis was handled using a portosystemic shunt from the splenic vein to the left ovarian vein, which was visualized on a computed tomography scan performed as part of the study protocol. The donor was a 52-year-old woman with brain death secondary to a vascular cerebral accident. A caval replacement technique was used with no complications during surgery. For the portal anastomosis, the dilated left ovarian vein was carefully dissected and brought through the lesser sac, behind the stomach, to obtain a suitable length. An end-to-end anastomosis of the graft portal vein to the left ovarian vein was performed with a 6-0 Prolene running suture. An abdominal computed tomography scan was performed 6 months after liver transplant showing patency of portal vein and no anastomotic defects, and after 24 months of follow-up the patient is in good clinical condition with normal laboratory values and Doppler ultrasonography with no vascular anomalies and adequate portal flow. To our knowledge, the use of a spleno-ovarian shunt has not been reported as an alternative for portal reconstruction in a case of thrombosis.

Use of Iliac Allograft from Cadaveric Donor as a Rescue Technique in Living Donor Kidney Transplant: Two Case Reports.

BACKGROUND: A short right renal vein (RRV) remains a challenge for renal transplant surgery, especially in the living donor. Different techniques exist to obtain an RRV with a suitable length in cadaveric donor; however, in living donors the options are limited. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We present 2 living kidney transplants in which we obtained a very short RRV, making the implantation very difficult. We describe our technique to overcome this problem by using cadaveric iliac vessels retrieved from previous cadaveric donations and preserved at 4°C in histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate (HTK) solution, without intraoperative or postoperative complications. We complied with the Helsinki Congress and the Istanbul Declaration regarding the donor source. RESULTS: In both cases, kidney grafts had optimal primary function, with good creatinine clearance after transplant and good patency of vascular anastomosis by Doppler ultrasounds. CONCLUSIONS: We believe the use of cadaveric vessel grafts in living donor kidney transplant is a valuable resource as a rescue tool in emergency situations like the ones being presented in this article in order to avoid discarding a kidney graft with damage or short vessels. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Fellows perspective of HPB training in Latin America.

BACKGROUND: Currently, no standards for HPB training exist in Latin America. The aim of this work is to evaluate fellows' experience of HPB training and the areas of opportunity to improve. METHODS: A 35 points survey was developed and distributed among fellows from dedicated HPB training programs in Latin America. The survey was applied by direct phone call (37%) or web based (63%), to fellows graduated between 2010 and 2014, from 7 different programs. RESULTS: Thirty-nine fellows from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and México were considered with a response rate of 82% (32/39). Most fellows (90%) shared cases with more than one co-fellow. Scrubbing with chief residents ocurred to 60% of fellows; only 14% of fellows noted having a primary surgeon role in more than 70% of cases. Median number of major hepatectomies during training was 15 (1-100), Whipple procedures 6 (1-40), and major bile duct repair 20 (1-80). Limited funding was the main reason to avoid HPB programs outside the country of origin. CONCLUSION: HPB training in Latin America requires more operative volume and autonomy. Financial burden is the main limitation to pursue training overseas. A multinational fellowship that takes advantage of each center may overcome differences in volume and type of cases.

Factores asociados con la conversión de la colecistectomía laparoscópica a colecistectomía abierta / Factors Associated with Conversion of Laparoscopic Colecistectomy to Open Colescytectomy

Introducción: la colecistitis aguda es una inflamación de la pared vesicular. El tratamiento para esta patología es netamente quirúrgico, y la colecistectomía laparoscópica es el procedimiento de elección. Esta puede sufrir conversión intraoperatoria debido a las complicaciones propias de la intervención, los factores del paciente o los asociados con el cirujano. Objetivo: el objetivo del estudio es establecer la frecuencia y la asociación de conversiones en colecistectomía laparoscópica, basándonos en los exámenes de laboratorio hematológicos y la ecografía abdominal, así como en los factores sociodemográficos. Materiales y métodos: se realizó un estudio descriptivo, de corte transversal, observacional y retrospectivo, durante el período comprendido entre el 1 de enero y el 3 de noviembre de 2015. Se revisaron historias clínicas con diagnóstico de patología vesicular benigna de pacientes sometidos a procedimiento quirúrgico vesicular. Resultados: al 35,5% de los pacientes se les realizó una colecistectomía laparoscópica (CL), en la que fue necesario convertir a cirugía convencional al 42,8% de los pacientes. La mayoría de los pacientes intervenidos fueron mujeres (72,8%), aunque la conversión predominó en el sexo masculino. El diagnóstico preoperatorio más frecuente fue la colelitiasis (98,3%). La edad mayor de 50 años presentó un odds ratio de 0,55, mientras que la leucocitosis presentó un odds ratio de 0,40; ambas variables fueron estadísticamente significativas (p ≤0,05). Conclusiones: se determinó que una edad mayor de 50 años y/o un valor de leucocitos mayor de 10 000 mm3 son factores de riesgo para que una colecistectomía laparoscópica falle; además, deben tenerse en cuenta los factores propios del cirujano

Acute cholecystitis is an inflammation of the vesicular wall whose treatment is purely surgical: a laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the procedure of choice. This can be converted intraoperatively due to complications of the intervention, patient factors or factors associated with the surgeon. The aim of this study was to establish the frequency and the association of conversions of laparoscopic cholecystectomies based on hematological laboratory tests and abdominal ultrasound as well as sociodemographic factors. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional, observational and retrospective study that was carried out from January 1 to November 3, 2015. Clinical histories of patients who had been with diagnosed with benign vesicular pathologies who underwent vesicular surgical procedures were reviewed. Results: Of the cases reviewed, 35.5% patients underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomies, and of these cases 42.8% of the procedures were converted to conventional surgery. The majority of the patients were women (72.8%), but conversions were most frequent among men. The most frequent preoperative diagnosis was cholelithiasis (98.3%). Age greater than 50 years presented an odds ratio of 0.55, while leukocytosis had an odds ratio of 0.40, both variables were statistically significant (P = <0.05). Conclusions: It was determined that ages over 50 years and/or a leukocyte count over 10,000 mm3 are risk factors for failure of laparoscopic cholecystectomies. In addition, factors related to the surgeon must be taken into account