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Background: Patient and procedure factors are considered in the decision-making process for surgical repair of hiatal hernias. Recurrence is multi-factorial and has been shown to be related to size, type, BMI and age. Aims: This study examined recurrence rates in a single institution, identified areas for improved surgical technique, and re-assessed recurrence following implantation of a quality improvement initiative. Methods: A retrospective review of patients undergoing hiatal hernia repair surgery between 2018 and 2022 was conducted. Demographics, pre-operative characteristics, intra-operative procedures and recurrence rates were reviewed. Results: Seventy-five patients from 2018 to 2020 and 34 patients from 2021 to 2022 were identified. The recurrence rate was 21% in 2018–2020, with 14% requiring a revisional procedure. Recurrence and re-operation were subsequently reduced to 6% in 2021 and 2022, which was statistically significant (p = 0.043). There was an increase in gastropexy from 21% to 41% following the review (p = 0.032), which was mainly reserved for large and giant hernias. Procedural and literature review, alongside gastropexy, can be attributed to recurrence rate reduction. Conclusions: It is important to educate patients on the likelihood and risk factors of recurrence. A comprehensive review of procedures and a quality improvement program in our facility for hiatal hernia repair is shown to reduce recurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The emergence of the novel coronavirus Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the coronavirus disease COVID-19 has impacted enormously on non-COVID-19-related hospital care. Curtailment of intensive care unit (ICU) access threatens complex surgery, particularly impacting on outcomes for time-sensitive cancer surgery. Oesophageal cancer surgery is a good example. This study explored the impact of the pandemic on process and short-term surgical outcomes, comparing the first wave of the pandemic from April to June in 2020 with the same period in 2019. Methods: Data from all four Irish oesophageal cancer centres were reviewed. All patients undergoing resection for oesophageal malignancy from 1 April to 30 June inclusive in 2020 and 2019 were included. Patient, disease, and peri-operative outcomes (including COVID-19 infection) were compared. Results: In 2020, 45 patients underwent oesophagectomy, and 53 in the equivalent period in 2019. There were no differences in patient demographics, co-morbidities, or use of neoadjuvant therapy. The median time to surgery from neoadjuvant therapy was 8 weeks in both 2020 and 2019. There were no significant differences in operative interventions between the two time periods. There was no difference in operative morbidity in 2020 and 2019 (28% vs 40%, p = 0.28). There was no in-hospital mortality in either period. No patient contracted COVID-19 in the perioperative period. Conclusions: Continuing surgical resection for oesophageal cancer was feasible and safe during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland. The national response to this threat was therefore successful by these criteria in the curative management of oesophageal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chyle leakage from the thoracic duct or cisterna chyli is a relatively rare complication of oesophageal cancer surgery. The majority of cases settle with conservative measures, but high volume leaks may be refractory and result in significant morbidity and require intervention with reoperation or embolization. In the experience of this high-volume centre over the last decade, 3 (0.5%) patients required reoperation and ligation of the thoracic duct; for the so-called type III leaks, interventional radiological approaches were not considered. This article is built around two recent cases, where interventional radiology to embolize and disrupt complex fistulae was successfully performed. The lessons from this experience will change practice at this centre to initial lymphangiography with a view to embolization or disruption of thoracic duct and cisterna chyli leaks as first line therapy for type III chyle leaks, with surgery reserved for where this fails. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]