For more than a generation haemodialysis has been the principal method of treating patients with both acute and chronic renal failure. Initially, developments and improvements in the system were highly technical and relevant to only a relatively small number of specialists in nephrology. More recently, as advances in therapy have dem onstrated the value of haemofiltration in the intensive therapy unit and haemoperfusion for certain types of poisoning, the basic principles of haemodialysis have been perceived as important in many areas of clinical practice. In this volume, the potential advantages of bicarbonate haemo dialysis are objectively assessed, the technical and clinical aspects of both haemofiltration and haemoperfusion discussed and the con tinuing problems associated with such extra corporeal circuits analysed. All the chapters have been written by recognized experts in their field. The increasing availability of highly technical facilities for appropriately selected patients should ensure that the information contained in the book is relevant not only to nephrologists but to all practising clinicians. ABOUT THE EDITOR Dr Graeme R. D. Catto is Professor in Medicine and Therapeutics at the University of Aberdeen and Honorary Consultant Phy sician/Nephrologist to the Grampian Health Board. His current inter est in transplant immunology was stimulated as a Harkness Fellow at Harvard Medical School and the Peter Bent Brighton Hospital, Boston, USA. He is a member of many medical societies including the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland, the Renal Association and the Transplantation Society.

This book aims to educate general and vascular surgeons on all pertinent aspects of peritoneal dialysis (PD). Most surgeons get very little training in residency on this topic, and the use of PD is growing around the world. Much of the book will focus on implantation techniques, especially laparoscopic insertions. The authors will describe the known adjunct procedures that have been shown to decrease dysfunction rates. The aim is to provide greater patient autonomy, a better quality of life, preservation of residual renal function and a higher survival advantage.

The widespread acceptance among the oncology community at large of cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC as a potentially curative treatment for peritoneal metastases has paved the way for innovative new therapies that could benefit a larger proportion of patients. Much has been and continues to be published on this subject. This book provides comprehensive reviews on the various aspects of managing peritoneal metastases. The authors highlight essential practical issues that surgical oncologists encounter in their day-to-day practice, and try to before provide evidence based answers to address them. All chapters were written and/or reviewed by leading experts in this field.

Peritoneal Surgery addresses the response of the peritoneum to injury and the prevention of post-surgical adhesions resulting from general and gynecologic surgery. Adhesions, or scar tissue binding two normally separate surfaces, form when the peritoneum, the membrane covering the abdominal wall and protecting the inner organs, is damaged during surgery, inflammation, or injury. Negative complications from adhesions include pelvic pain, infertility, intestinal obstruction, multiple surgical complications resulting from surgery to remove or pull them apart, and therefore a greater surgical workload and economic burden to the healthcare system. In this book, experts in the field address peritoneal repair, the role of surgical technique to prevent adhesions, adhesion formation, complications of adhesions, and developing technology in the prevention of adhesions.

The repair and management of inguinal hernias represents a significant part of the general surgeon's workload. It was therefore inevitable that following the success of laparoscopic cholysysectomy, surgeons would develop a procedure for repairing inguinal hernias laparoscopically. This book provides the first comprehensive account of laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair. The Editors' aim has been to give step-by-step guidance to each operative procedure discussed with reference to long term results. One of the biggest problems facing surgeons learning new laparoscopic procedures is an understanding and orientation of basic anatomy when viewed through the laparoscope. This issue is discussed at length with guidance on how to avoid the common pitfalls. Final chapters look at the advantages and disadvantages of the Lichtenstein open mesh hernia repair approach, safety and properties of non-absorbal mesh with the last chapters concentrating on laparoscopic suture repair and the new mini hernia operation.

This book has been designed to provide the full description of the comprehensive management of peritoneal surface malignancies as a new emerging specialty. Combined treatment of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) introduced by our leader Paul H. Sugarbaker are performed to treat peritoneal metastases by surgeons all around the world. Therefore this book is focused on detailed surgical anatomy of the peritoneum, preoperative clinical assessment of the peritoneal surface malignancy, patient preparation and operation room equipments, different surgical procedures for CRS and reconstruction, intraoperative hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) and neoadjuvant intraperitoneal chemotherapy, early postoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy (EPIC) and molecular basis of peritoneal surface malignancies. The chapter on molecular mechanisms of the formation of peritoneal carcinomatosis provides insight into a rapidly expanding knowledge within this speciality. This book should be valuable for surgical oncologists who deal with multimodal treatment for peritoneal surface malignancies, as well as for the trained peritonectomy surgeons. For the senior surgeons, it will also introduce new techniques and approaches in this field such as dealing with the omental cakes and massive organ involvement that requires multi-organ resection.

While continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) has been the standard peritoneal procedure since the seventies, different schedules of automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) have emerged during the eighties. Today, APD is considered a valuable tool in the management of ESRD patients, together with CAPD and hemodialysis. However, despite its frequent use, APD has not yet been well assessed, and most pathophysiological and clinical studies on PD refer to CAPD. In this book, major experts in the field therefore discuss and evaluate the insights gained on APD up to now, presenting a comprehensive review of all experimental, technical and clinical aspects related to the various treatments grouped under the definition of APD. The recent developments presented are divided into four sections: membrane permeability, transport mechanisms and kinetic modeling applied to APD; prescription and adequacy of different APD treatment schedules; dialysis machines and solutions for APD, and, lastly, different clinical aspects such as the possibility to maintain APD program and residual renal function. Physicians involved in ESRD care, renal fellows and scientists both in the academic world and in the hospital setting will undoubtedly profit from this timely publication.