Can Konca

By Can Konca and Deniz Balcı

Cystic echinococcosis is still one of the main reasons for liver surgery especially in endemic areas. The most common complication of liver hydatid cyst is cystobiliary communication (CBC). Preoperative or intraoperative diagnosis of CBC is essential for the treatment, since it leads to postoperative bile leakage and fistula formation eventually without intervention. Predictive factors such as cyst size, history of jaundice, and degenerated cysts are described for preoperative evaluation. Further preoperative study can be performed for diagnosis in their presence. At the intraoperative phase, every effort should be performed for diagnosis. There are several methods for the investigation of CBC. When a CBC is found, it is also essential to evaluate the biliary system as well. By this way, postoperative complication rates can be lowered. Biliary leakage and fistula formation are the most common postoperative complication of liver hydatid surgery and they are the main reasons of morbidity and mortality. Their rates can be lowered by knowing how to interfere for the treatment. As a result, every effort should be made to detect and prevent these complications during the evaluation and management of cystic echinococcosis.

Part of the book: Echinococcosis

By Can Konca, Suleyman Utku Celik and Cihangir Akyol

Diverticulosis is a common problem, especially in industrialized countries. The main risk factors for the development of diverticular disease are physical inactivity and consumption of a low-fiber diet. Among the population with diverticulosis, only 10–25% of the patients develop diverticulitis. Computed tomography (CT) scans are very helpful for diagnosis and deciding the treatment strategy. Patients with acute diverticulitis usually have a good response to conservative therapy. However, some of the patients present with complications such as perforation, fistula, abscess, stricture, and obstruction. Depending on disease severity, they commonly require surgical or radiologic intervention. Despite lots of contradictory results on treatment approaches, recent guidelines tend to be less invasive than the ones in the past. As a result, less invasive treatment protocols, including nonsurgical follow-up, percutaneous drainage, minimally invasive surgery and resection with primary anastomosis, are more commonly used than the more invasive Hartmann procedure. In this chapter, we discuss the clinical characteristics, diagnostic workup and different treatment approaches in the management of diverticular diseases.

Part of the book: Gastrointestinal Surgery