Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Transplant Critical Care: Is There A Need For Sub-Specialized Units? — A Perspective, Sujit Vijay Sakpal, Suresh Kumar Agarwal, Hector Saucedo-Crespo, Christopher Auvenshine, Robert N. Santella, Steven Donahue, Jeffery Steers

Department of Surgery

The critical care involved in solid-organ transplantation (SOT) is complex. Pre-, intra- and post-transplant care can significantly impact both – patients’ ability to undergo SOT and their peri-operative morbidity and mortality. Much of the care necessary for medical optimization of end-stage organ failure (ESOF) patients to qualify and then successfully undergo SOT, and the management of peri-operative and/or long-term complications thereafter occurs in an intensive care unit (ICU) setting. The current literature specific to critical care in abdominal SOT patients was reviewed. This paper provides a contemporary perspective on the potential multifactorial advantages of sub-specialized transplant critical care units in …

Eosinophilic Cholangitis And Cholangiopathy: A Sheep In Wolves Clothing, Catherine Nashed, Sujit Vijay Sakpal, Victoria Shusharina, Ronald Scott Chamberlain

Department of Surgery

BACKGROUND: Eosinophilic cholangitis (EC) is a rare benign disorder of the biliary tract which can cause biliary obstruction. Similar to other disease processes involving the bile ducts, this disorder can pose a difficult diagnostic challenge as it can mimic cholangiocarcinoma.

METHODS: A systematic search of the scientific literature was carried out using PubMed to access all publications related to EC. Search keywords that were utilized included "eosinophilic cholangitis," "etiology," "treatment," and "obstructive jaundice." Results. Twenty-three cases of EC have been reported. Nineteen patients (82.6%) who presented with EC remain disease-free; 15 of these 19 patients (78.9%) with followup time remain …

Iatrogenic Bile Duct Injury Associated With Anomalies Of The Right Hepatic Sectoral Ducts: A Misunderstood And Underappreciated Problem, Nitin Babel, Sujit Vijay Sakpal, Prakash Paragi, Jason Wellen, Stephen Feldman, Ronald Scott Chamberlain

Department of Surgery

Although laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has been widely accepted as the standard of care, it continues to have a higher complication rate than open cholecystectomy. Bile duct injury with LC has often been attributed to surgical inexperience, but it is also clear that aberrant bile ducts are present in a significant number of patients who sustain biliary injuries during these procedures. We present three cases of right sectoral hepatic duct injuries which occurred during LC and provide a discussion of the conditions which are likely to lead to these injuries, as part of a strategy to prevent them.