Background: Spigelian hernia (SH) is an uncommon ventral abdominal hernia. Traditionally repaired with an open technique, the laparoscopic approach is becoming more common and widely described in the literature. We hold that the transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) approach restores the anatomy and prevents complications such as seroma. We present a series of SH repair carried out at a single district general hospital over the past 13 years and a review of the literature. Methods: A retrospective case note review identified SH repaired between January 2005 and March 2018 at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King's Lynn, Norfolk, UK. A Medline search for ‘Spigelian hernia' and ‘laparoscopic' revealed 41 papers for review. Results: 33 patients underwent repair of SH. We found that the TAPP repair with a mesh is anatomically the most sound repair, with all the added benefits of keyhole surgery, i.e. reduced hospital stay, quicker recovery, and fewer infections. Our complication rates matched those described in the literature. Conclusions: Several operative techniques have been described to repair SH. We favour the laparoscopic TAPP approach which is safe, aids in confirming the correct diagnosis, and has all the benefits of keyhole surgery.

The incidence of gallstone ileus (GSI) is increasing. Current treatment options include enterolithotomy with or without cholecystectomy and repair of the biliodigestive fistula. Although most surgeons defer the management of the biliodigestive fistula to avoid the associated morbidity and mortality, this can lead to increased rate of recurrence of GSI by the remaining gallstones. More than 130 cases of recurrent GSI were reported in published works, and the incidence of recurrent GSI is reported to be between 5% and 20%. Some cases of second recurrent attacks have also been reported. Most cases were reported in elderly women with faceted stones during the first 2 months from the first episode of GSI. This article reviews the current treatment options for more than 4,300 reported cases of GSI. A treatment algorithm is recommended based on the severity of the inflammation around the gallbladder, including cholecystolithotomy as a third treatment approach that aims to reduce the risk of recurrent GSI.

Introduction The aim of the study was to establish the natural history of elderly patients with non-metastatic colorectal cancer who underwent non-operative management in comparison with those who underwent operative management. Materials and methods A retrospective analysis of patients aged 80 years and above diagnosed with colorectal cancer between 2007 and 2015 in a tertiary care hospital in the Southwest of England was done. Patients were divided into non-operatively managed and operatively managed groups. Clinical demographics, Charlson Comorbidity Index, location of the tumour and overall survival between the two groups were compared. Results A total of 407 patients were studied; 132 were treated non-operatively and 275 operatively. The non-operative group included fewer right-sided colon cancers (28.7% vs 54.9%), but significantly more rectal cancers were managed non-operatively (43.9 vs 23.6%, respectively). The two and five year overall survival was 38.9% and 11.3% respectively in the non-operative group, significantly lower than patients in the operative group where the two and five year survival was 78.9% and 59.6% respectively (p = .0001). The median Charlson Comorbidity Index was 7.99 for the non-operative group and 7.49 in the operative group (p = 0.109). Patients treated non-operatively were deemed unfit without objective frailty assessment and only 43/132(32.6%) had formal anaesthetic assessment before being deemed unfit for surgery. Conclusion The survival of octa- and nonagenarians with non-metastatic colorectal cancer managed conservatively is significantly less than counterparts managed operatively. Our present strategy of deciding and denying treatment of the elderly patient with colorectal cancer is arbitrary, highlighting the need for robust geriatric and frailty assessment.