Inguinal herniation of the urinary bladder is an extremely rare occurrence involving less than 5% of inguinal hernias reported in literature. These hernias require a high index of suspicion for their diagnosis and pose significant challenges to the operating surgeon. The majority of these hernias have been repaired by an open technique. We report two cases managed laparoscopically.

BackgroundRisk prediction models are used in critical care for risk stratification, summarising and communicating risk, supporting clinical decision-making and benchmarking performance. However, they require validation before they can be used with confidence, ideally using independently collected data from a different source to that used to develop the model. The aim of this study was to validate the Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre (ICNARC) model using independently collected data from critical care units in Scotland.MethodsData were extracted from the Scottish Intensive Care Society Audit Group (SICSAG) database for the years 2007 to 2009. Recoding and mapping of variables was performed, as required, to apply the ICNARC model (2009 recalibration) to the SICSAG data using standard computer algorithms. The performance of the ICNARC model was assessed for discrimination, calibration and overall fit and compared with that of the Acute Physiology And Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II model.ResultsThere were 29,626 admissions to 24 adult, general critical care units in Scotland between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2009. After exclusions, 23,269 admissions were included in the analysis. The ICNARC model outperformed APACHE II on measures of discrimination (c index 0.848 versus 0.806), calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow chi-squared statistic 18.8 versus 214) and overall fit (Brier’s score 0.140 versus 0.157; Shapiro’s R 0.652 versus 0.621). Model performance was consistent across the three years studied.ConclusionsThe ICNARC model performed well when validated in an external population to that in which it was developed, using independently collected data.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2253-14-116) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Liver resection in patients with inferior vena cava (IVC) involvement is becoming more common with the adoption of vascular exclusion techniques and replacement of the IVC. Repeat hepatectomy and an aggressive surgical approach can offer satisfactory disease-free survival and a cure in selected patients. We herein describe a case of repeat hepatectomy with en bloc re-do IVC resection and reconstruction with Gore-Tex graft for recurrent colorectal liver disease. The patient had previously undergone non-anatomical right liver resection with IVC partial excision and reconstruction with a porcine pericardial patch. The patient is currently disease-free at 12 months' follow-up. Surgical treatment of liver tumors involving the IVC offers the only hope for prolonged survival. Re-do liver surgery with concomitant re-excision of the IVC is feasible and can be contemplated when macroscopic removal of the tumor is expected. Management of these complex cases by a specialist team with expertise in liver transplantation and vascular techniques is advised.