During retromastoid and far-lateral posterior fossa surgical approaches the head may be positioned at the extreme limits of rotation and extension. In rare instances, patients may develop acute sialadenitis after surgery as a consequence of such positioning. In those patients, the neck/facial swelling is contralateral to the craniectomy site. The mechanism implicated in acute sialadenitis in the patient described in this report was because of obstruction to the salivary duct due to surgical positioning. The course of this complication is typically benign if it is identified early in the postoperative period.

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Unlike general anaesthesia, neuraxial anaesthesia (NA) reduces the burden and risk of respiratory adverse events in the post-operative period. However, both patients affected by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chest wall disorders and/or neuromuscular diseases may experience the development or the worsening of respiratory failure, even during surgery performed under NA; this latter negatively affects the function of accessory respiratory muscles, resulting in a blunted central response to hypercapnia and possibly in an exacerbation of cardiac dysfunction (NA-induced relative hypovolemia). According to European Respiratory Society (ERS) and American Thoracic Society (ATS) guidelines, non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is effective in the post-operative period for the treatment of both impaired pulmonary gas exchange and ventilation, while the intra-operative use of NIV in association with NA is just anecdotally reported in the literature. Whilst NIV does not assure a protected patent airway and requires the patient's cooperation, it is a handy tool during surgery under NA: NIV is reported to be successful for treatment of acute respiratory failure; it may be delivered through the patient's home ventilator, may reverse hypoventilation induced by sedatives or inadvertent spread of anaesthetic up to cervical dermatomes, and allow the avoidance of intubation in patients affected by chronic respiratory failure, prolonging the time of non-invasiveness of respiratory support (i.e., neuromuscular patients needing surgery). All these advantages could make NIV preferable to oxygen in carefully selected patients.

Acute appendicitis is one of the most commonly encountered surgical emergencies worldwide. The laparoscopic approach for managing acute appendicitis is gaining popularity over open appendicectomy in the current surgical practice. The advantages of laparoscopic appendectomy are early recovery, fewer wound complications, less pain and better cosmesis. One of the most critical steps in laparoscopic appendicectomy is a secure appendicular stump closure. Life-threatening postoperative complications are often encountered following the breakdown of appendicular stump closure. There are several methods to achieve appendicular stump closure such as intra-corporeal knotting, endoloops, external corporeal knotting and pushing knot inside, endoscopic linear cutting stapler (endo GIA), and endoclips. A meta-analysis on the technique of appendicular stump closure in laparoscopic appendicectomy failed to demonstrate the superiority of one method over the other. In the last few years, many authors have evaluated the outcome of sutureless appendicectomy performed using devices like a harmonic scalpel. This systematic review and meta-analysis is aimed to summarise the current evidence regarding the utility and safety of harmonic scalpel in sutureless appendicectomy.This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted as per the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A systematic, detailed search was carried out by the authors in the electronic database, including Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, Scopus, Google scholar and clinical trial registry. Studies were selected and compared based on outcomes such as operative time, hospital stay, postoperative paralytic ileus, wound infection, and total complications. Statistical analysis was performed using the random effect model, fixed-effect model, pooled risk ratio, pooled mean difference and I 2 heterogeneity.Four comparative studies with a total of 642 patients (376 male and 266 females) were included in the analysis. There were 359 patients in the conventional technique of appendicular stump closure group and 283 patients in the harmonic scalpel for appendicular stump closure group. Pooled analysis of the outcome measure of total complications showed that the use of harmonic scalpel for closure of appendiceal stump does not result in an increased incidence of complications as compared to the conventional technology of appendiceal stump closure. Pooled analysis of the outcome measure of mean operative time revealed a statistically significant reduction in the operative time in the patients where harmonic scalpel has been used for the management of appendiceal stump as compared to conventional methods (pooled mean difference of -12.96 with 95% CI -15.42, -10.50). Appendiceal stump closure during laparoscopic appendectomy by harmonic scalpel (HS) is comparable with the conventional techniques in terms of hospital stay, wound infection, postoperative paralytic ileus, and total complications. The use of a harmonic scalpel for closure of appendic...

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