Current Problems in Surgery RSS feed: Current Issue. Current Problems in Surgery keeps readers up-to-date on the latest surgical advances. Each month, this publication examines a single clinical problem or condition commonly seen by general surgeons. Issues also focus on topics in surgical research and emerging ideas in surgical subspecialties. Current Problems in Surgery is ideal for information too urgent to await book publication, yet too important to be summarized in a brief journal article. 2010 Topics, Volume 47 January Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Current Management Charles H. Cha, M. Wasif Saif, Brett H. Yamane, and Sharon M. Weber February Benchmarking Best Practices in Weight Loss Surgery LTC Robert B. Lim, George L. Blackburn, and Daniel B. Jones March Care of the Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Patient—Part 1 Avihu Z. Gazit, Charles B. Huddleston, Paul A. Checchia, James Fehr, and A. Thomas Pezzella April Care of the Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Patient—Part 2 Avihu Z. Gazit, Charles B. Huddleston, Paul A. Checchia, James Fehr, and A. Thomas Pezzella May Cutaneous Manifestations of Internal Malignancy B enjamin D. Ehst, Karen Minzer-Conzetti, Amy Swerdlin, and Theresa Schroeder Devere June Pancreatic Cystic Neoplasm Kevin K. Roggin, Jennifer Chennat, Aytekin Oto, Amy Noffsinger, Alexandra Briggs, Jeffrey B. Matthews http://www.currprobsurg.com/?rss=yesElsevier Inc.en © 2012 Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Current Problems in Surgery0011-3840492February 2012 © 2012 Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. healthpermissions@elsevier.comhttp://www.currprobsurg.com/article/PIIS0011384011002760/abstract?rss=yesTable of Contents10.1067/S0011-3840(11)00276-0Current Problems in Surgery 49, 2 (2012)2012-02-01Current Problems in Surgery2012-02-01492S0011-3840(11)X0015-14344http://www.currprobsurg.com/article/PIIS0011384011002437/abstract?rss=yesThe management of short bowel syndrome continues to evolve. Almost invariably fatal until the development of home parenteral nutrition in the 1970s, there are now 4 million patients living with this condition. Treatment today requires a multidisciplinary approach, including medical and surgical rehabilitation and, in appropriate patients, intestinal transplantation. In this issue of Current Problems in Surgery, Dr. Jon Thompson and colleagues from the Department of Surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center have written a comprehensive review on this topic entitled, “Current Management of Short Bowel Syndrome.” Beginning with etiology and prevention, they move on to a discussion of factors influencing outcomes. Subsequent topics include medical rehabilitation, including approaches to maintaining nutrition, complication prevention, and pharmacologic approaches to enhancing adaptation. Surgical management, including approaches to preserve the remnant, restore continuity, improve motility, and prolong transit, is covered in considerable detail. Likewise, newer options with intestinal tapering and lengthening and tissue engineering are considered. They conclude with a thorough review of the current status of intestinal transplantation. This superb review should become a “go to” resource for all involved in the management of this syndrome. The remarkable progress in managing patients is a testament to the patience and perseverance of leaders in this field, such as Dr. Thompson.ForewordStanley W. Ashley10.1067/j.cpsurg.2011.11.001Current Problems in Surgery 49, 2 (2012)2012-02-01Current Problems in Surgery2012-02-01492S0011-3840(11)X0015-14545http://www.currprobsurg.com/article/PIIS0011384011002413/abstract?rss=yesIntestinal failure (IF) refers to a condition which results from obstruction, dysmotility, surgical resection, congenital defect, or disease associated loss of absorption and is characterized by the inability to maintain protein-energy, fluid, electrolyte, or micronutrient balance. Most patients with IF have the short bowel syndrome (SBS) with a surgically induced short intestinal remnant. The pathophysiologic consequences of massive intestinal resection have been recognized for more than 100 years, but it was the development of home parenteral nutrition (PN) in the 1970s that permitted long-term survival in SBS patients. Significant further advances have been made in the management of this condition over the past 2 decades, including pharmacologic therapy and intestinal transplantation.In BriefJon S. Thompson, Fedja A. Rochling, Rebecca A. Weseman, David F. Mercer10.1067/j.cpsurg.2011.10.001Current Problems in Surgery 49, 2 (2012)2012-02-01Current Problems in Surgery2012-02-01492S0011-3840(11)X0015-14650http://www.currprobsurg.com/article/PIIS0011384011002425/abstract?rss=yesIntestinal failure refers to a condition that results from obstruction, dysmotility, surgical resection, congenital defect, or disease-associated loss of absorption and is characterized by the inability to maintain protein-energy, fluid, electrolyte, or micronutrient balance. The short bowel syndrome (SBS) is a type of intestinal failure caused by intestinal resection leading to a shortened intestinal remnant and is characterized by the inability to maintain protein-energy, fluid, electrolyte, or micronutrient balances when on a conventionally accepted, normal diet. SBS accounts for approximately three-fourths of intestinal failure patients in adults and more than one half in children. The pathophysiologic changes that occur in SBS relate primarily to the loss of intestinal absorptive surface and more rapid intestinal transit. The consequences of malabsorption of nutrients include malnutrition, diarrhea, steatorrhea, specific nutrient deficiencies, and fluid and electrolyte imbalance. These patients are at risk for other specific complications, which include an increased incidence of cholelithiasis, gastric hypersecretion, nephrolithiasis, and liver disease.Current Management of Short Bowel SyndromeJon S. Thompson, Fedja A. Rochling, Rebecca A. Weseman, David F. Mercer10.1067/j.cpsurg.2011.10.002Current Problems in Surgery 49, 2 (2012)2012-02-01Current Problems in Surgery2012-02-01492S0011-3840(11)X0015-152115