Background: Morbidity related to hypertrophic scars and contractures which are well known sequel after burns remains high and in fact has increased as more severely burned patients are surviving. This study was undertaken in order to assess the varied clinical presentation, precipitating factors, preventive measures, treatment modalities of neck contractures and evaluate the results after surgical procedures.

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Aim Pelvic exenteration is the only surgical option for locally advanced pelvic malignancies infiltrating the surrounding organs. The resultant pelvic void after the procedure is responsible for a number of complications, collectively termed empty pelvis syndrome (EPS). We aim to show how EPS can be minimized by presenting a case series demonstrating the surgical technique of laparoscopic total pelvic exenteration with bilateral pelvic node dissection along with a novel use of the Bakri balloon. Method This is a case series of three successive patients undergoing laparoscopic total pelvic exenteration for locally advanced primary, nonmetastatic rectal adenocarcinoma over a period of 1 month in a specialized colorectal unit at a tertiary cancer centre. The Bakri balloon was deployed in all three patients and retained for variable time intervals postoperatively. Features of EPS were prospectively documented. Results In the first patient, the Bakri balloon was completely deflated and removed on postoperative day (POD) 5. The patient developed subacute intestinal obstruction which resolved with conservative management by POD 12. In the second and third patients, the Bakri balloon was deflated in a sequential manner, beginning on POD 8, until it was finally removed on POD 11. Neither of these patients had any abdominal complaints. A postoperative CT scan of both these patients showed the small bowel loops clearly above the pelvic inlet. Conclusions The Bakri balloon is a simple, safe and cost-effective method to reduce the complications of EPS following laparoscopic total pelvic exenteration. A prospective study is ongoing to objectively quantify the benefits of this technique.

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Aim The learning curve of total mesorectal excision (TME) by minimally invasive surgery (MIS) beyond the competency phase has not been adequately reported with large numbers or using a statistical control limit. The aim of this work was to study the learning curve of MIS TME in the proficiency phase. Method Risk‐adjusted (RA) cumulative sum (CUSUM) and RA Bernoulli CUSUM charts were plotted for sequential MIS TME performed by a surgical team over 1000 cases. Surgical failure, a composite endpoint of conversions, complications of grade IIIA or above, R1 resections and inadequate nodal yield were used to monitor the performance. Results The RA CUSUM detected an inflection point around the 600th operation. Two peaks were identified that could be traced back to probable causes of surgical failure. Similar inflection points were detected at the 450th case for laparoscopic TME and the 367th case for sphincter preservation. No single definite threshold point was noticed for robotic or abdominoperineal operations. At no point did the curves cross the safety threshold. The probability of surgical failure reduced with increasing experience in the multivariate regression (OR 0.899, p = 0.000). This association persisted irrespective of the surgical approach (laparoscopic versus robotic) or the type of operation (sphincter preservation versus abdominoperineal resection). Conclusion The learning curves for MIS TME did not cross the safety threshold beyond the competency phase. However, a 10% reduction of relative risk in surgical failure was observed for every 100 cases operated on.

Malignant melanomas often present with metastasis to regional lymph nodes. Patients are also known to present with metastatic nodes in the absence of a known primary. However metastatic melanoma involving the stomach is rare in the scenario of an unknown primary lesion. We present a case of a 41-year-old lady who was treated for nodal disease in the right axilla 8. months earlier with an unknown primary. She later presented to us with a recurrent right axillary swelling and on evaluation was found to also have a nodular deposit on the greater curvature of the stomach. Histopathology of the deposit in conjunction with immunohistochemical markers S.100P, Melan-A and HMB-45, confirmed the diagnosis of malignant melanoma. The patient underwent surgical excision of both lesions and is now on regular follow-up.

With the inventions of faster cars and even more faster motorbikes there is a worldwide increase in road traffic accidents, which has increased the incidence of blunt abdominal trauma but still duodenal injury following a blunt abdominal trauma is uncommon and can pose a formidable challenge to the surgeon and failure to manage it properly can result in devastating results. It may typically occur in isolation or with pancreatic injury. Here, we report a case of an isolated transection of the third part of the duodenum with normal pancreas following a blunt abdominal trauma. The initial clinical changes in isolated duodenal injury may be extremely subtle before life-threatening, peritonitis develops. Hence, a high index of suspicion, on the basis of mechanism of injury and physical examination is the key in early detection of duodenal injury especially in a rural hospital like ours where the facilities for computed tomography scan are not available.

Background: Hydrocele is one of the commonest diseases occurring worldwide. Since olden days surgical procedures have been described for the treatment of hydrocele. Aim of the study was to analyse the clinical profile, diagnosis and surgical management of primary vaginal hydrocele in adults (>12 years)Methods: A prospective study of 60 male patients of age range of more than 12 years with a history of scrotal swellings were studied for their clinical profiles, diagnosis and management. The study was carried out in Government Medical College, Miraj, Maharashtra, India from November 2010 to November 2012. In the present study Jaboulay's Procedure was performed on 48 patients and Lord's Procedure was performed on 12 patients.Results: The data was collected and results were analysed. Post-operatively about 1.6% of patients developed hematoma, 5% developed wound infection, 21.66% of the patients developed skin oedema and only 1 patient i.e 1.6 % had recurrence over a period of 2 years of follow up. Out of the total 60 patients,12 patients who underwent Lord's plication 8.33%,0%,0% developed skin oedema, hematoma and wound infection respectively as compared to 25%,2.08%,6.25% in the remaining 48 patients who underwent Jaboulay's procedure, respectively.Conclusions: These two surgical procedures were very safe, easy to perform and economical and associated with minimal recurrence. Lord's procedure has lesser incidence of post-operative complications as compared to Jaboulay's procedure.