Mobilization of the Left Liver for Optimal Hiatal Exposure During Bariatric Surgery Procedures.

Hepatomegaly, particularly an enlarged left liver lobe, is a well-recognized challenge in bariatric surgery, contributing significantly to staged procedures, conversions to open surgery, and aborted operations. Impaired intraoperative visualization hinders safe access to the hiatus and gastroesophageal junction, increasing the risk of complications. This report focuses on the laparoscopic mobilization of the left liver lobe as a reliable technique to address these challenges, offering improved exposure and facilitating precise surgical dissection.

Immersive Live Streaming of Surgery Using 360-Degree Video to Head-Mounted Virtual Reality Devices: A New Paradigm in Surgical Education.

Background: Prior studies have demonstrated the value of live streamed surgical procedures in surgical education and that learning is further enhanced with the use of 360-degree video. Emerging virtual reality (VR) technology now offers yet another advancement by placing learners in an immersive environment, which can improve both engagement and procedural learning.

Aims: The aim here is to test the feasibility of live streaming surgery in immersive virtual reality using consumer-level technology, including stream stability and impacts on case duration.

Upper gastrointestinal symptoms and associated disorders in morbidly obese patients: a prospective study.

Objective: To prospectively evaluate the frequency of upper gastrointestinal symptoms and associated disorders in morbidly obese patients with endoscopy and histology prior to their gastric bypass surgery in comparison with age- and sex-matched nonobese control subjects.

Methods: All patients who were scheduled to undergo laparoscopic gastric bypass for treatment of morbid obesity (body mass index, BMI > 40 kg/m(2)) during a 1-year period (n = 101) were included in the study. Age- and sex-matched nonobese patients who were seen in the medical clinics during the study period were enrolled as control subjects.

A valid method of laparoscopic simulation training and competence assessment.

Background: The purpose of our study was to evaluate the construct validity of laparoscopic technical performance measures and the face validity of three laparoscopic simulations.

Materials And Methods: Subjects (N = 27) of varying levels of surgical experience performed three laparoscopic simulations, representing appendectomy (LA), cholecystectomy (LC), and inguinal hemiorrhaphy (LH). Five laparoscopic surgeons, blinded to the identity of the subjects, rated the subjects on procedural competence on a binary scale and in four skills categories on a 5-point scale: clinical judgment, dexterity, serial/simultaneous complexity, and spatial orientation.

Live streaming video for medical education: a laboratory model.

At the University of Kentucky (UK), we applied streaming video technology to develop a webcast model that will allow institutions to broadcast live and prerecorded surgeries, conferences, and courses in real time over networks (the Internet or an intranet). We successfully broadcast a prerecorded laparoscopic paraesophageal hernia repair to domestic and international clients by using desktop computers equipped with off-the-shelf, streaming-enabled software and standard hardware and operating systems. A web-based user interface made accessing the educational material as simple as a mouse click and allowed clients to participate in the broadcast event via an embedded e-mail/chat module.