No abstract

POEM is a promising new treatment for achalasia resulting in short-term symptom relief in >90% of cases. Studies evaluating long-term efficacy and comparing POEM with established treatments have been initiated.

Roux-en-Y pouch reconstruction after gastrectomy is simple to perform and safe. Long-term survivors benefit from pouch reconstruction. Therefore, a pouch is recommended for patients with a good prognosis.

Controversial results have been reported regarding the importance of the duodenal food passage after total gastrectomy. There are a number of experimental and clinical studies showing an advantage for the jejunal interposition between esophagus and duodenum. Others favor the Roux-en-Y reconstruction, as it is technically less demanding. The purpose of this study was the randomized comparison between two major reconstruction principles after total gastrectomy for gastric cancer (i.e., jejunal interposition with pouch versus Roux-en-Y pouch reconstruction). A group of 120 patients with gastric cancer were randomized and operated on during a 5-year period according to standardized operative protocols, using either a jejunal interposition with pouch (JIP) or the Roux-en-Y reconstruction with pouch (RYP). Endpoints of this study were operation time, intra- and postoperative problems and complications, patients' body weight, functional assessment, and quality of life. Of the 120 patients, 14 had to be withdrawn during the operation because only the Roux-en-Y reconstruction was technically possible. Finally, 53 patients with JIP were compared with 53 patients with RYP for the perioperative course. There were no significant differences between the two procedures (RYP and JIP) regarding complications (24.5% and 26.4%, respectively), mortality (3.8% and 1.9%, respectively), and operation time (4.35 hours and 4.40 hours, respectively). For long-term functional comparison 46 (RYP, n = 26; JIP, n = 20) patients were without recurrence after 3 years of survival. Comparison of body weight, Visick scoring, and the Spitzer Index also did not reveal any significant difference between the two operation methods.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

BackgroundHistorical data indicate that surgical resection may benefit select patients with metastatic gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer. However, randomized clinical trials are lacking. The current RENAISSANCE trial addresses the potential benefits of surgical intervention in gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer with limited metastases.MethodsThis is a prospective, multicenter, randomized, investigator-initiated phase III trial. Previously untreated patients with limited metastatic stage (retroperitoneal lymph node metastases only or a maximum of one incurable organ site that is potentially resectable or locally controllable with or without retroperitoneal lymph nodes) receive 4 cycles of FLOT chemotherapy alone or with trastuzumab if Her2+. Patients without disease progression after 4 cycles are randomized 1:1 to receive additional chemotherapy cycles or surgical resection of primary and metastases followed by subsequent chemotherapy. 271 patients are to be allocated to the trial, of which at least 176 patients will proceed to randomization. The primary endpoint is overall survival; main secondary endpoints are quality of life assessed by EORTC-QLQ-C30 questionnaire, progression free survival and surgical morbidity and mortality. Recruitment has already started; currently (Feb 2017) 22 patients have been enrolled.DiscussionIf the RENAISSANCE concept proves to be effective, this could potentially lead to a new standard of therapy. On the contrary, if the outcome is negative, patients with gastric or GEJ cancer and metastases will no longer be considered candidates for surgical intervention.Trial registrationThe article reports of a health care intervention on human participants and is registered on October 12, 2015 under ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02578368; EudraCT: 2014–002665-30.

Ten years after laparoscopic fundoplication, overall outcome is good. A quarter of the patients are on acid-suppressive drugs. Nissen fundoplication appears to control reflux better than a partial fundoplication.

No abstract

Gastric banding is effective for achieving weight loss and improving comorbidity in obese patients. Obviously, gastric banding can be performed more safely with the pars flaccida technique, although the complication rate remains relatively high. Nevertheless, based on adequate patient selection, gastric banding should still be considered a valuable therapeutic option in bariatric surgery.