Background. Time spent on the waiting list before liver transplantation (LT) provides an opportunity to optimize recipient fitness through prehabilitation, potentially reducing the physiological impact of major surgery. We assessed the feasibility and effectiveness of a 6-week exercise program in patients with cirrhotic liver disease awaiting LT. Methods. This single-center, prospective cohort, feasibility study, enrolled patients awaiting LT to a 6-week period of thrice weekly, supervised exercise on a static bike. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) was used to objectively assess cardiopulmonary fitness at baseline and after 6 weeks of exercise. A follow-up CPET was performed at 12 weeks. CPET-derived measures were used to guide prescription of the training program. A nonrandomized control cohort of LT patients were selected to match the exercise group based on specific demographic data. Allocation to study arms was primarily based on the distance participants lived from the hospital where training occurred. Both groups received structured nutritional advice. Results. The exercise program was feasible, with 9 of 16 (56%) patients completing the full program of 6 weeks. Peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) in the exercise group rose from a mean (SD) of 16.2 (±3.4) mL/kg/min at baseline to 18.5 (±4.6) mL/kg/min at week 6 (P = 0.02). In the control group, VO2peak decreased from a mean (SD) of 19.0 (±6.1) mL/kg/min to 17.1 (±6.0) at week 6 (P = 0.03). Conclusions. We have demonstrated that it is feasible to engage patients awaiting LT in an intensive aerobic exercise program with a signal of improvement in fitness being detected.

Patients exposed to a surgical safety checklist experience better postoperative outcomes, but this could simply reflect wider quality of care in hospitals where checklist use is routine.

INTRODUCTIONWe describe a case of metallic, angiographic coil migration, following radiological exclusion of a gastroduodenal artery pseudoaneurysm secondary to chronic pancreatitis. PATIENTS AND METHODS A 55-year-old man presented to the out-patient clinic with chronic, intermittent, post-prandial, abdominal pain, associated with nausea, vomiting and weight loss. He was known to have chronic pancreatitis and liver disease secondary to alcohol abuse and previously underwent angiographic exclusion of a gastroduodenal artery pseudoaneurysm. During subsequent radiological and endoscopic investigation, an endovascular coil was discovered in the gastric pylorus, associated with ulceration and cavitation. This patient was managed conservatively and enterally fed via naso-jejunal catheter endoscopically placed past the site of the migrated coil. This patient is currently awaiting biliary bypass surgery for chronic pancreatitis, and definitive coil removal will occur concurrently. CONCLUSIONS Literature review reveals that this report is only the eighth to describe coil migration following embolisation of a visceral artery pseudoaneurysm or aneurysm. Endovascular embolisation of pseudoaneurysms and aneurysms is generally safe and effective. More common complications of visceral artery embolisation include rebleeding, pseudoaneurysm reformation and pancreatitis.

Pancreaticoduodenectomy in FAP is associated with significant morbidity, but low mortality. All patients under consideration for operative intervention require careful preoperative counselling and optimization.