Surgical perspectives in gastrointestinal disease: From the editor

Abstract

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TEXT

In the following 20 articles we have attempted to give an update and overview of different aspects of gastrointestinal disease that are treated via a surgical intervention. In addition we have included topics related to advances and innovations in surgical instrumentation and training that are useful in treating gastrointestinal disease. Additional topics covered deal with the ethics of abdominal organ transplantation, inflammatory bowel disease in adolescents and children, and discussions of the quality of life following gastrointestinal cancer. We have also included a discussion of recent discoveries involving the calcium sensing receptor and how this receptor may be employed as both an alternative therapy as well as a possible preventative measure for a variety of gastrointestinal disease issues. As we hope becomes apparent from this collection of articles that the surgeon has and will remain an integral part of the identification and treatment of gastrointestinal disease. We have also included a topic on the surgical scientist and how the surgeon of the 21^st century has become an active player in the bench side investigations of causality for gastrointestinal disease.

It is our hope that this collection of articles will give the reader an in depth understanding of the role of the surgeon in all aspects of patient management; from identification of disease related factors, to the removal or repair of the effected tissue, to the postoperative counseling and management of the patient.

3139 Advances in alimentary tract imaging

Maglinte DDT, Sandrasegaran K, Tann M

3146 Controversies in the treatment of common anal problems

Sagap I, Remzi FH

3155 Controversies in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux and achalasia

Roberts KE, Duffy AJ, Bell RL

3162 Choledocholithiasis: Evolving standards for diagnosis and management

Freitas ML, Bell RL, Duffy AJ

3168 Treatment strategies in obstructed defecation and fecal incontinence

Khaikin M, Wexner SD

3174 Gastrointestinal manifestations of endocrine disease

Maser C, Toset A, Roman S

3180 Less common neoplasms of the pancreas

Mulkeen AL, Yoo PS, Cha C

3186 Modern management of rectal cancer: A 2006 update

Balch GC, De Meo A, Guillem JG

3196 Update on obesity surgery

Eisenberg D, Duffy AJ, Bell RL

3204 Pediatric inflammatory bowel disease

Diefenbach KA, Breuer CK

3213 Surgical perspectives in gastrointestinal disease: A study of quality of life outcomes in esophageal, pancreatic, colon, and rectal cancers

Viola KV, Ariyan C, Sosa JA

3219 Evolution of surgical skills training

Roberts KE, Bell RL, Duffy AJ

3225 Management of diverticular disease is changing

Floch MH, White JA

3229 Role of calcium and other trace elements in the gastrointestinal physiology

Kirchhoff P, Geibel JP

3237 Updates on esophageal and gastric cancers

Gallo A, Cha C

3243 Update in management of mesenteric ischemia

Chang RW, Chang JB, Longo WE

3248 Surgical perspectives in peptic ulcer disease and gastritis

Lipof T, Shapiro D, Kozol RA

3253 Evolution in the treatment of metastatic colorectal carcinoma of the liver

Ariyan CE, Salem RR

3259 Ethical tensions in solid organ transplantation: The price of success

Kulkarni S, Cronin DC II