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Background: Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNET) account for 1-2% of pancreatic neoplasms. Its incidence has increased in recent years probably due to improved imaging studies. Aim: To analyze the clinical characteristics, surgical outcomes and overall survival of patients with PNET who underwent resective surgery. Methods: Case series study. Data was collected from the central database and clinical records from patients with biopsy-proven PNET's who underwent surgical resection from June 2005 to June 2012. Results: Twenty patients were included (10.6% of all pancreatic resections), 12 female, with a median age of 44 [20-77] years. Abdominal pain was the most common symptom. Two patients had a type 1 multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN-1) syndrome. Pre-operative work up included CT, MR and/or PET/CT. Five patients had functional tumors. Five Whipple procedures, 14 distal pancreatectomies and 1 enucleation were performed. Among the postoperative complications, there were 5 type B and 1 type C pancreatic fistulas. There was no mortality. At 31 [5-90] month median follow-up, overall survival was 100%. Conclusion: PNETs represent an increasing reason for pancreatic resection in our center. Surgical resection of the tumor with negative microscopic margins is the treatment of choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, the lack of skills and technical competencies has been associated with adverse events in the surgical area. However, it has been seen that a large percentage of these events are directly related to deficits in the non-technical skills (NTS) of the surgical team. Therefore, the evaluation of these has become a relevant topic to minimize errors and strengthen performance in the operating room. Multiple instruments have been developed for this purpose, both to analyze the operation of the complete equipment, and of each subgroup that comprises it. This article aims to summarize the key aspects of the methods that have been developed in recent years for the evaluation of NTS in the surgical area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Achalasia is the most common primary motor disorder of the esophagus. The current standard of treatment is laparoscopic Heller's myotomy. Recently the development of advanced endoscopic techniques has allowed the positioning of the POEM (per-oral endoscopic myotomy) technique as a new therapeutic alternative with promising results. Objective: To present our clinical experience in POEM, with description of the technique used, peri-operative results and short-term follow-up in the development of this therapeutic alternative. Materials and methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of data obtained prospectively from 15 patients undergoing POEM in three clinical centers in our country. Preoperative demographic variables, intraoperative detail, and operative morbidity and mortality were collected. Clinical follow-up was performed with controls recording Eckardt score and presence of gastroesophageal reflux symptoms. Results: Between August 2015 and November 2016, 15 POEM were performed, six of these patients were women, average age was 49 years. The average operative time was 110 min, we did not have any perioperative morbimortality. Hospital stay was 2.8 days. Follow-up was between 1 and 15 months, Eckardt's preoperative and postoperative score was on average 10.5 and 0.4 points, respectively. Three patients had gastroesophageal reflux symptoms at the time of follow-up. Conclusion: Our results support the effectiveness and security of POEM in short-term follow up. Further monitoring is required to determine the definitive role of this technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The National Society of Surgery has defined the minimum number of surgical procedures that must be performed by general surgeons in trainee, however, there is no national data reporting this accomplishment. The aim of this study is to report on detail the surgical interventions performed by General Surgery Residents at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (PUC) as lead surgeons. Methods: Retrospective analysis of surgical procedures performed by 26 Residents of the General Surgery Program (GSP) at PUC who graduated between the years 2012 and 2014. A total of 10.102 registered surgeries were reviewed and summarized. Results: The mean number of interventions performed by surgery residents was 481 (20% of them on the first year). The most frequently performed procedures were (mean per resident) laparoscopic cholecystectomy (115;24%), open appendectomy (89;19%), classic hernioplasty (43;9%), laparoscopic appendectomy (34;7%) and open cholecystectomy (25;5%). Regarding complex/sub-specialty interventions, partial/ total colectomy (12;2%), thyroidectomy-parathyroidectomy (9;2%), vascular access (8;2%), thoracotomy- VATS-sternotomy (5;1%) and breast surgery (4;1%) were the most commonly performed. Fifty three percent of all procedures were done in an emergency setting. The proportion of emergency procedures increased through the GSP training (elective vs emergency: 62 vs 38% at first year and 34 vs 66% at third year, respectively; p < 0.002). Interventions were mainly performed in the capital city of Chile, Santiago (74%) and the remaining were done in other provinces. Regarding only abdominal interventions (mean per resident: 366), 42% was performed by laparoscopy. Conclusions: Residents of the PUC-GSP execute a considerable large amount of interventions as resident surgeons throughout their 3-years-training program, exceeding the minimum recommendations established by the National Society of Surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Treatment options for adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO) involve conservative and surgical management, traditionally through open adhesiolysis. Laparoscopic approach has been performed in recent years; however, limited data exist on its safety and results vary considerably. Our aim is to report our experience of laparoscopic treatment for ASBO. Methods: Retrospective study including patients admitted with the diagnosis of adhesive small bowel obstruction and that were submitted to laparoscopic exploration, between June 2003 and April 2013. We analyzed demographic, surgical variables and outcomes in terms of conversion rate, operative time, re-feeding time and length of stay. Non-parametric tests were used for statistical analysis. Results: Series of 38 patients submitted to laparoscopic exploration, mean age: 51 ± 16 years, 47% male. 53% had prior intra-abdominal surgeries. Laparoscopic resolution of bowel obstruction was possible in 31 patients (82%), with 7 conversions to open surgery. Median operative time was 60 (25-180) minutes, median re-feeding time was 24 (24-192) hours and median length of stay was 4 (2-52) days. Two patients required re-intervention during their hospital stay, one due to persistent bowel obstruction and one due to ischemic colitis. There were no other complications or mortality. Conclusions: Laparoscopy in adhesive small bowel obstruction was a feasible approach in this series, with good results when laparoscopic resolution is achieved. Patients with no prior surgeries seem to be good candidates for this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ventral hernias are defects of the anterior abdominal wall, the laparoscopic repair has shown some advantages compared to open repair. Aim: To evaluate perioperative outcomes of the laparoscopic ventral hernia repair and to describe risk factors associated to recurrence. Methods: Non-concurrent prospective cohort study, clinical data of all patients who underwent laparoscopic ventral hernia repair between June 2006 and May 2013 were reviewed. Univariate analyses were performed using chi-square for categorical variables and U Mann-Whitney test for continuous variables. Multivariate analysis was performed using a logistic regression model. Results: 127 patients underwent laparoscopic ventral hernia, 52% female, age of 58.1 ± 1.2 years old. Mean Body Mass Index (BMI) was 31 ± 0.5 kg/m2 and 67.7% were incisional hernias. Median operative time was 80 minutes (ranging from 30-350) and the median defect size was 6 cm (ranging from 2-20). Conversion to open surgery was necessary in 4 cases (3.9%). Median of hospital stay was 2 days (ranging from 1-15). Recurrence rate was 14.2% and the median to recurrence was 9 months. Recurrence rate was associated positively to defect size > 10 cm (p = 0.002), previous recurrence (p = 0.029) and operative time > 90 minutes (p = 0.017) in the univariate analyses. However, it was only associated to the first two in the multivariate analysis (OR 3.906; IC 1.734-13.058 y OR 5.93; IC 1.546-22.976, respectively). Conclusions: Laparoscopic repair of ventral hernia is a safe procedure with acceptable perioperative complication rates. Defect size and previous recurrence are associated to a higher recurrence rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]