Correspondence

Pathological appearance of the stomach after endoscopic mucosal resection for early gastric cancer S. Kundu, D. Karat, J. Wayman, N. Hayes, S. M. Griffin, Oesophago-Gastric Cancer Unit, Newcastle General Hospital, Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 6BE, UK Authors' reply: D. Korenaga, Department of Surgery, Fukuoka Dental College Hospital, 2-15-1 Tamura, Sawara-ku, Fukuoka 814-01, Japan Hereditary breast cancer Reply to letter published in previous issue (Br J Surg 1998; 85: 570–1): A. Hill, E. McDermott, N. O'Higgins, Department of Surgery, University College Dublin, St Vincent's Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland Effect of a no-conversion policy on patient outcome following laparoscopic cholecystectomy M. D. Barber, P. C. Bornman, O. J. Garden, University Department of Surgery, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH3 9YW, UK Authors' reply: P. J. O'Dwyer, Department of Surgery, Western Infirmary, Glasgow G11 6NT, UK Correlation between blood loss and inferior vena caval pressure during liver resection P. B. S. Lai, C. K. Leow, W. Y. Lau, Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong and P. T. Chui, Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong Dynamic graciloplasty for severe anal incontinence A. J. P. Eccersley, N. S. Williams, Academic Department of Surgery, The Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel, London E1 1BB, UK Authors' reply: J. Christiansen, O. Rasmussen, Department of Surgery, Herlev Hospital, University of Copenhagen, 75 Herlev Ringvej, DK 2730 Herlev, Denmark ‘Routine’ pathological examination of the gallbladder is a futile exercise Letter 1: K. S. Zayyan, D. P. Sellu, Surgical Sciences Unit, Imperial College School of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK Letter 2: R. Y. Ball, Department of Histopathology/Cytopathology, Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, Brunswick Road, Norwich NR1 3SR, UK Letter 3 D. J. Bowrey, G. J. Morris-Stiff, B. I. Rees, University Department of Surgery, University Hospital of Wales, Heath Park, Cardiff CF4 4XN, UK Authors' reply: J. K. C. Huang, University Department of Surgery, Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, London NW3 2QG, UK and H. W. Taylor, Department of Surgery, Basildon Hospital, Nethermayne, Basildon SS16 5NL, UK Activated protein C resistance: the commonest hereditary hypercoagulation disorder Letter 1: I. Khogali, G. P. Summerfield, A. Mudawi, Departments of Haematology and Surgery, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Sheriff Hill, Gateshead NE9 6SX, UK Letter 2: S. Sulaiman-Shoab, Department of Surgery, University College London Medical School, First Floor Jules Thorne Building, Middlesex Hospital, London W1N 8AA, UK Authors' reply: K. Schuster, D. Jentschura, Department of Surgery, Klinikum Mannheim, Universität Heidelberg, Theodor-Kutzer-Strasse 1–3, 68135 Mannheim, Germany Laparoscopic stoma formation for faecal diversion R. E. K. Marshall, J. F. McPartlin, Department of Colorectal Surgery, William Harvey Hospital, Ashford TN24 0LZ, UK Authors' reply: J. W. Lumley, R. W. Stitz, Wesley Medical Centre, 24/40 Chasely Street, Auchenflower 4066, Brisbane, Australia Lateral rectal ligaments contain important nerves J.-T. Liang, K.-J. Chang, S.-M. Wang, Department of Colorectal Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, 7 Chung-Shan South Road, Taipei, Taiwan Authors' reply J. Rutegård for the authors, Department of Surgery, Örnsköldsvik Hospital, S891 89 Örnsköldsvik, Sweden Perioperative allogeneic blood transfusion does not cause adverse sequelae in patients with cancer: a meta-analysis of unconfounded studies Letter 1: L. S. Jensen, Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Aarhus University Hospital, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark Letter 2: N. Blumberg, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Box 608, Rochester, New York 14642, USA Authors' reply: F. A. McAlister, Divisions of General Internal Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology, Ottawa Civic Hospital, 1053 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, Canada