We believe peroperative ERCP with the technique described should be considered as the treatment of choice for choledocholithiasis associated with cholelithiasis. When single-stage treatment is not possible, a two-step rendezvous technique should be preferred.

Three patients with Morgagni-Larrey hernia were admitted to the surgical department between August 2000 and September 2003 with slight chest pain and dyspnea. Laparoscopic repair of the diaphragmatic hernia was performed using a tension-free closure of the defects with either Vicryl-Prolene or dual facing mesh fixed by Prolene extracorporeal knots and Endostitch devices. The patients were discharged on postoperative day 5 without complications. Mean follow-up has been 23 months (range, 15-36 months) and no recurrence or morbidity related to the procedure has been seen. Laparoscopic repair of Morgagni-Larrey hernia represents an attractive alternative to open surgery. The benefits are gentle and easy manipulation of the content of the sac, reduced surgical trauma, and rapid and uneventful recovery.

In a series of 27 patients who required surgery for distal colonic lesions, primary bowel resection with immediate anastomosis after intraoperative antegrade colonic irrigation was performed. The technique of on-table lavage was similar to that described by Dudley and Radcliffe in 1980; however, some new technical details are introduced to minimize fecal contamination. There were 17 men and 10 women (mean age, 68.5 years). Twenty patients were admitted for obstructing carcinoma of the left colon; 11 underwent immediate surgery, while the remaining 9 underwent delayed surgery after 12 hours of intravenous fluids and nasogastric suction. Of the remaining seven patients, five had perforated sigmoid diverticula and diffuse peritonitis and two had obstructing diverticular disease of the left colon with remarkable bowel distention. One hospital mortality occurred secondary to a ruptured aortic aneurysm. The radiologic anastomotic leakage rate was 14.8 percent. Clinical anastomotic dehiscence was not observed.

Alimentary tract duplications are uncommon congenital abnormalities usually diagnosed and treated in childhood. Rectal involvement is extremely rare. We report the case of a 22-year-old female who presented with chronic abdominal and perianal pain; feeling of rectal fullness. Workup revealed a rectal duplication cyst. The patient underwent a complete transabdominal excision of the cyst: an hybrid laparoscopic and laparotomic technique was adopted. The hybrid isolated anterior abdominal approach is safe and feasible even for the treatment of wide rectal duplication cysts. Real recurrence in rectal duplication cysts is uncommon when the first operation was performed with radical intent.

Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a disease caused by overactive secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH) with a concurrent alteration of the phosphocalcemic metabolism: commonly we found an association between hypercalcemic status and elevated PTH plasma levels or not properly normal. Widespread screening of serum calcium introduced in the 70's has made PHPT a relatively common disease: in these cases hypercalcemia is quickly diagnosed and in the western world the disease tends to appear with not specific symptoms such as fatigue mood disturbance and cognitive impairments.1 The main cause is represented by a solitary parathyroid adenoma (80-85% of cases) (Figure 1): the remaining 15-20% of cases are represented by conditions of diffuse glandular hyperplasia ( Figure 2) and multiple adenomas. A small percentage of patients presents with typical familial forms of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN 1) and multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN 2) syndromes.2,3 Primary hyperparathyroidism generally occurs with higher rate in a population older than 55 years: it occurs 2-3 times more frequently in women than in men and has a higher prevalence in postmenopausal women. Approximately 80% of patients with PHPT are asymptomatic being the asymptomatic hypercalcemic form the most representative: signs and symptoms, when present, are due to prolonged hypercalcemic status than to elevate serum levels of PTH. 4,5 The clinical manifestation remains variable ranging from the normocalcemic to the hypercalcemic PHPT form. 6,7 Methods of research ABSTRACTPrimary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a clinical condition characterized by overactive parathyroid gland secretion of parathyroid hormone with concurrent alteration of the phosphocalcemic metabolism. We present a literature review on primary hyperparathyroidism addressing key on clinical presentation, causes, medical and surgical treatment at the best of our knowledge. Based on this review we confirm the role of serum calcium and serum level examination, as well as we define the definitive treatment for PHPT being parathyroidectomy. In case of contraindication for surgery, medical treatment can play a relevant role.