When compared with preoperative ERCP with ES followed by LC, the laparoendoscopic rendezvous technique allows a higher rate of CBD stones clearance, a shorter hospital stay, and a reduction in costs.

To compare the volumetric increase of segments 2 and 3, segment 4, and the caudate lobe after portal vein ligation (PVL) and portal vein embolization (PVE). The small size of the remnant liver and chemotherapyinduced liver injury increase the risk of postoperative hepatic insufficiency after major hepatic resection for colorectal liver metastases. Portal vein ligation has been suggested to be less effective than embolization in inducing hypertrophy of the remnant liver. Design, Setting, and Patients: We retrospectively reviewed 48 patients with colorectal liver metastases who underwent PVL (n=17) or PVE (n=31) at the Istituto per la Ricerca e la Cura del Cancro or the Institut

Performing appendectomy within 24 h from presentation does not increase the length of hospital stay or rate of complications. However, delayed appendectomy after 24 h from onset increases the rate of complications.

The innervation of human teeth and oral mucosa has been studied in the past by different methods, none of which offered a clear description of the precise morphology of nerve fibers and terminals and of nerve organization as a whole. Recently, interesting findings have been obtained by means of immunohistochemical investigations for neurofilaments and S-100 proteins. A new brain-specific molecule, protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5), has been used for the first time in the present research to investigate the distribution of nerves in human oral mucosa and decalcified teeth, about which there is a paucity of information. The data provided in this study, confirming previous work in other species, may be of value for understanding the anatomy of human oral innervation. In the oral mucosa, the antiserum labels nerve fibers, corpuscles, and neuroendocrine (Merkel) cells. In sections of decalcified teeth, numerous PGP 9.5 positive fibers are demonstrated in the pulp and in the inner 100 microns of dentin. The novel nerve tissue protein used, PGP 9.5, thus appears to be a reliable marker for studies of nerve fibers in human tissues and not to be affected by decalcification procedures. It could then be used for investigations on the innervation of normal and pathological calcified human tissues.

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