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June 22, 2018

A Brief Introduction To Liver Resection

A liver resection is the surgical removal of all or a portion of the liver. It is also known as a hepatectomy, full or partial. A complete liver resection is performed in the setting of a transplant a diseased liver is removed from a deceased donor. A living donor may also provide a piece of liver tissue which is procured through a partial hepatectomy. This liver operation is performed in reputed hospitals mainly.

The liver is an important organ, meaning it is extremely challenging to live without it. The liver serves many critical functions including metabolism of drugs and toxins, removing degradation products of normal body metabolism and synthesis of many important proteins and enzymes. The liver is located in the right upper quadrant of the abdominal cavity, is divided into eight segments reflecting the eight major divisions of the portal vein and the bile duct.

A liver operation is done for the treatment of hepatic neoplasms. There are two types, benign and malignant. Benign neoplasms include hepatocellular adenoma, hepatic hemangioma, and focal nodular hyperplasia. The most common malignant neoplasms of the liver are metastases; those arising from colorectal cancer are among the most common, and the most amenable to surgical resection. The most common primary malignant tumor of the liver is the hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatectomy may also be the procedure of choice to treat intrahepatic gallstones or parasitic cysts of the liver.

Liver surgery is safe when performed by experienced surgeons with appropriate technological and institutional support. As with most major surgical procedures, there is a marked tendency towards optimal results at the hands of surgeons in selected centers.

The operation can take 2 to 5 hours. A blood transfusion is not usually needed for this operation. You may stay in the hospital for 5 to 7 days or as long as 2 weeks after surgery. Follow-up care is needed to ensure timely recovery, even if the surgery was successful. Treatment following liver resection may include chemotherapy or radiation treatments.

Generally, Liver resection increases a person’s chances of living longer. About 25% to 40% of people who have this surgery are still alive after 5 years. Although there are few risks. Possible complications after a liver resection include infection, bleeding, scar tissue from the surgery.

There are many types of liver operations, one of them is a liver resection. It may be a little risky choice if you have areas of metastatic colorectal cancer in both lobes of your liver or if you have metastatic disease in other parts of your body. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy may be needed after a liver resection. Sometimes chemotherapy may be given before surgery to shrink a tumor in the liver. If it becomes small enough, it can be removed with surgery.

June 18, 2018

A Brief Introduction To The Functions Of Pancreas

The pancreas is an organ located in the abdomen. It plays an essential role in converting the food we eat into fuel for the body’s cells. This is one of the main organs of our body that helps in digestion. If any problem in pancreas occurs, it’s wise to get a pancreas operation.

The location of the pancreas is behind the stomach in the upper left abdomen. It is surrounded by other organs including the small intestine, liver, and spleen. It is spongy, about six to ten inches long, and is shaped like a flat pear or a fish extended horizontally across the abdomen.

Several major blood vessels surround the pancreas, the superior mesenteric artery, the superior mesenteric vein, the portal vein and the celiac axis, supplying blood to the pancreas and other abdominal organs.

A healthy pancreas produces the correct enzymes in the proper quantities, at the right times, to digest the foods we eat. The pancreas has two main functions, an exocrine function that helps in digestion and an endocrine function that regulates blood sugar.

Exocrine Function

These exocrine glands produce enzymes that are important for digestion. These enzymes include trypsin and chymotrypsin to digest proteins; amylase for the digestion of carbohydrates and lipase to break down fats. When food enters the stomach, these pancreatic juices are released into a system of ducts that culminate in the main pancreatic duct. The pancreatic duct joins the common bile duct to form the ampulla of Vater which is located in the first portion of the small intestine, called the duodenum.

Endocrine Function

The component of endocrine in the pancreas consists of islet cells that create and release important hormones directly into the bloodstream. Two of the main pancreatic hormones are insulin, which acts to lower blood sugar, and glucagon, which acts to raise blood sugar. Maintaining proper blood sugar levels is crucial to the functioning of key organs including the brain, liver, and kidneys.

There are so many diseases that can show up in the pancreas. Before it becomes something major, get a pancreas operation and keep staying healthy.

June 13, 2018

5 Different Types Of Hernia addressed at Varanasi Hospital

A hernia occurs when an organ or fatty tissue squeezes through a weak spot in a surrounding muscle or connective tissue called fascia. If any sign of this shows up, it is highly recommended to get a hernia surgery.

There are 5 types of hernia. The most common types of hernia are inguinal, sportsmans, femoral, incisional, and umbilical.

Inguinal Hernia

Inguinal hernias are located in the lower abdomen just above the leg crease, near or adjacent to the pubic area. They can sometimes show up on both sides of the pubic area, and if they do, they are called bilateral inguinal hernias. Inguinal hernias, along with femoral hernias make up the 2 types of groin hernias and can produce pain that extends into the upper thigh or scrotum. Inguinal hernias can be classified as “direct” or “indirect”.

At least 4 of every 10 patients looking for hernia surgery at Varanasi Hospital suffers from this type of hernia.

Sportsman’s Hernia

This is a condition of chronic exercise-related supra-inguinal groin pain. Generally, it involves a direct inguinal hernia. Symptoms are the pain in the groin without any detectable swelling in the groin or any other explanation for the pain. Before choosing surgery for a sportsman’s hernia, all non-operative possibilities should be attempted, including sufficient relief and rehabilitation of the most tender structures and muscles.

Femoral Hernia

This along with inguinal hernias are groin hernias. They are much more common in women but can occur in men too. These hernias appear just below the groin crease. A weakness in the lower groin allows an intestinal sac to drop into the femoral canal, a space near the femoral vein that carries blood from the leg. These hernias are more prone than inguinal hernias to develop incarceration or strangulation as an early sign. Therefore, once these hernias are diagnosed, timely hernia surgery is very strongly advised before such complications occur.

Incisional Hernia

This one appears in the abdomen at the site of a previous surgery is known as an incisional hernia. These hernias can appear weeks, months, or even years after surgery and can vary in size from small to very large and complex. If you think you have an incisional hernia, it is important to see your doctor because it may widen and become extremely difficult to repair.

Umbilical Hernia

Happens near the belly button or navel, which has a natural weakness from the blood vessels of the umbilical cord. These hernias may occur in infants at or just after birth and may resolve by three or four years of age. However, the area of weakness can persist throughout life and can occur in men, women, and children at any time. In adults, umbilical hernias will not resolve on its own and may progressively worsen over time, making hernia surgery inevitable.

These are the most common types of hernias addressed by the experts at Varanasi Hospital. It is always recommended to get a hernia surgery if any of this occurs.

May 28, 2018

Sports Hernia – A Brief Introduction

A sports hernia is a painful, soft tissue injury that occurs in the groin area. It most often occurs during sports that require sudden changes of direction or intense twisting movements. An untreated sports hernia may lead to a traditional, abdominal hernia in future. It can be cured by laparoscopic hernia operation for complete recovery.

A sports hernia is a strain or tear of any soft tissue in the lower abdomen or groin area. The soft tissues most frequently affected by sports hernia are the oblique muscles in the lower abdomen. Especially vulnerable are the tendons that attach the oblique muscles to the pubic bone. In many cases of sports hernia, the tendons that attach the thigh muscles to the pubic bone are also stretched or torn.

The cause of this mainly related to sports activities that involve planting the feet and twisting with maximum exertion can cause a tear in the soft tissue of the lower abdomen or groin. Can occur mainly in vigorous sports such as ice hockey, soccer, wrestling, and football.

A sports hernia does not cause a visible bulge in the groin, like the more common, inguinal hernia does. Over time, this may lead to an inguinal hernia, and abdominal organs may press against the weakened soft tissues to form a visible bulge. Without treatment, this injury can result in chronic, disabling pain that prevents you from resuming sports activities.

The best solution to sports hernia is to get a Laparoscopic hernia operation. A laparoscopic repair requires several small incisions instead of a single larger cut. While open surgery is also done in this case. However, this requires large incisions and that means a long time to get recovered from the surgery scars. A sportsperson can’t afford to wait long for their recovery. That is why laparoscopic hernia operation is a must for sports people. It not only leaves you with smaller incisions, also it leaves you almost scarless. Recovery time will be much lesser as well.

Most likely a patient can return to light activity after 1 to 2 weeks. Strenuous exercise should wait until after 4 weeks of recovery. Studies have found that people have less pain after laparoscopic hernia repair than after open hernia surgery. The chance of a hernia coming back after laparoscopic surgery is really satisfactory, because it rarely comes back. However, in case of open surgery, it can come back.

To find out more about the comparison between open versus laparoscopic surgery click here: http://www.varanasihospital.com/2017/06/13/hernia-surgery-recovery-open-vs-laparoscopic-approach/

May 23, 2018

How Smoking Affects Your Health?

Smoking affects the entire body, increasing the risk of many life-threatening diseases. Which includes lung cancer, emphysema, liver diseases leading to operation and heart disease. Smoking also contributes to many cancers and diseases of the digestive system.

The liver, pancreas, and gallbladder are the solid organs of the digestive system. The digestive system helps the body digest food, which includes breaking food down into nutrients the body needs. Nutrients are substances the body uses for energy, growth, and cell repair.

Smoking has been found to increase the risk of cancers of the:

Mouth
Esophagus
Stomach
Pancreas
Liver
Colon
Rectum

Smoking contributes to many common disorders of the digestive system, such as heartburn and gastroesophageal reflux disease, peptic ulcers, and some liver diseases. Smoking increases the risk of Crohn’s disease, colon polyps, and pancreatitis, and it may increase the risk of gallstones too, but the liver endures the most damages.

The liver is the largest organ in the digestive system. The liver carries out many functions, such as making important blood proteins and bile, changing food into energy, and filtering alcohol and poisons from the blood. Research has shown that smoking harms the liver’s ability to process medications, alcohol, and other toxins and remove them from the body. In some cases, smoking may affect the dose of medication needed to treat an illness.

Smoking may worsen some liver diseases, which may lead to a liver operation. Smoking can turn your healthy body the victim of primary biliary cirrhosis, a chronic liver disease that slowly destroys the bile ducts in the liver. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition in which fat builds up in the liver.

Liver diseases may progress to cirrhosis, a condition in which the liver slowly deteriorates and malfunctions due to chronic injury. Scar tissue then replaces healthy liver tissue, partially blocking the flow of blood through the liver and impairing liver functions.

Smoking also affects the pancreas. Excessive smoking increases the risk of developing pancreatitis. Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas, which is located behind the stomach and close to the duodenum. The pancreas secretes digestive enzymes that usually do not become active until they reach the small intestine. When the pancreas is inflamed, the digestive enzymes attack the tissues of the pancreas.

Gallstones can occur as the result of smoking. Some studies have shown that smoking may increase the risk of developing gallstones. Gallstones are small, hard particles that develop in the gallbladder, the organ that stores bile made by the liver. Gallstones can move into the ducts that carry digestive enzymes from the gallbladder, liver, and pancreas to the duodenum, causing inflammation, infection, and abdominal pain.

Apart from these, smoking can cause so many other severe problems. Excessive use of tobacco can lead you to liver operation with other diseases too. On 31st May, we observe World Tobacco Day, so let’s take a resolution to quit smoking for the good of our own good.

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