The spontaneous tumor biology has been investigated with the support of animalists using animals as a preclinical model allowing translation of results in clinical practice. This review provides an insight into the field of comparative oncology. Evidence shows that companion animal health care is impressively growing in terms of development of new therapies and diagnostic tools, nutrition and disease prevention. However, even if most animal tumors might be a reliable model to study human carcinomas, many open questions, related to the opportunities to select and recruit new models in oncology, along with their legal and ethical implications, remain unanswered.

The modern field of surgery is undergoing a deep transformation due to technological innovations and changes in the doctorpatient relationship. Furthermore, the “cultural identity” of thegeneral surgery specialty is subdivided and phragmented into many subspecialities, with the impending risk of serendipitous and uncoordinated approach to the problems. While the conceptis a general “must” in medicine and surgery, there are specific cases in which its understanding, endorsement and compliance are mandatory. In the field of surgery, there is an increasing need to inform doctors about the fundamental role played by the second opinion leading them to its full understanding and acceptance. This institution should be planned and managedby every National Health Service, in order to offer a clear-cut problem-solving opinion about the complex unresolved health problems which may occurr especially in the old age. Furthermore,a second opinion service can also be offered by private medical facilities and online services given that the physicians and allied health professionals possess an outstanding ethical and cultural pedigree and are surrounded by adequate consulting structures and networks.

È stato dimostrato che il ”secondo parere” influenza non solo la diagnosi, bensì il trattamento nonché la prognosi; il paziente di fatto può beneficiare di una ottimizzazione dell’approccio terapeutico ed evitare rischi e costi non necessari. La maggior parte degli studi citati in questo editoriale hanno valutato i vantaggi derivanti dal secondo parere, nonché le ragioni che motivano il paziente alla ricerca di un ulteriore responso medico. La ricerca di tale consulto è comune in oncologia a causa della necessità da parte del paziente di una migliore comunicazione, maggiori informazioni e soprattutto rassicurazione e sostegno psicologico. Anche l’utilizzo del Web ha acquisito un ruolo sempre più importante, ma la ricerca ossessiva di pareri ed informazioni senza alcuna formazione o esperienza clinica spesso conduce alla nota “Sindrome di Babele del Web” che può e deve essere evitata garantendo facile accesso ad un secondo parere.

Nowadays there is an increased demand for safe and effective volume enhancing fillers to achieve soft tissue augmentation in order to overcome tissue defects and aging-associated skin changes. In the present study we characterized the rheological and biological properties of Variofill®, a new highly viscoelastic hyaluronic acid gel, by investigating the local effects following subcutaneous implantation in the rat to detect the host-tissue reactions and biodegradation over 18 months. We also investigated, for the first time, the application of Variofill® in esthetic and restorative surgery in two medical case reports. In the first case report we successfully performed Variofill® treatment to improve facial scars in a patient previously involved in a car crash. In the second case report we carried out a novel procedure involving a high-dose (1000 ml) injection of Variofill® into the dermis and subcutis of the abdominal quadrants in order to allow a classic reconstructive procedure of the abdominal wall in a patient presenting a wide incisional hernia

Here we report a case of successful fber optic laser treatment of lymphedema in a swollen arm post mastectomy. At the moment, this procedure has only anecdotal evidence to justify its use, but in our experience is a feasible, minimally invasive day-stay procedure which has been demonstrated to be safe and effective. Further nonhomogeneous case pooling and follow-up would enable guidelines and defnite surgical protocols for its use to be implemented.  

Blood loss has always been a sensitive issue in surgery. Traditional techniques, such as suturing and electrocautery, have drastically reduced operatory bleeding. Unfortunately, wound edges and point application devices are frequently characterized by bleeding and infections. Over the past 20 years, haemostatic agents and tissue sealants have been developed and now are currently used, along with classic suture in various surgical specialties. Their fluid nature allows management of blood loss along any point of the wound and tissue repair. This review presents an overview of the most diffused haemostatic sealants, focusing on their main use in surgery and their adverse effects. 

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease mostly occurring in the knee and commonly seen in middleaged and elderly adults. Intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid has been widely used for treatment of knee osteoarthritis.The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of intraarticular injection of a novel highly cross-linked hyaluronic acid, alone or in combination with ropivacaine hydrochloride and triamcinolone acetonide, on knee articular cartilage in a rabbit model of collagenase-induced knee osteoarthritis. After induction of experimental osteoarthritis by intra-articular injection of collagenase, adult New Zealand white rabbits(n = 12) were divided into 3 groups. Group 1 (control group) received 0.3 ml phosphate buffered saline into the right knee joint. Group 2 received 0.3 ml cross-linked hyaluronic acid (33 mg/ml) into the right knee joint. Group 3 received a mixture of 0.15 ml cross-linked hyaluronic acid (33 mg/ml), 0.05 ml ropivacaine hydrochloride 1 % and 0.1 ml triamcinolone acetonide (10 mg/ml) into the right knee joint. Intraarticular injections were given 4 weeks after first collagenase injection and were administered once a week for 3 weeks. Gross pathology and histological evaluation of rabbits’ knee joints were performed after 16 weeks following initial collagenase injection. Histological analysis of sections of rightknee joints at lesion sites showed a significant decrease in Mankin’s score in groups treated with hyaluronic acid alone or in combination with ropivacaine hydrochloride and triamcinolone acetonide versus control group (p\ 0.05 and p\ 0.01 respectively). This evidence was consistent withstrong articular degenerative changes in control right knee joints (grade III osteoarthritis), while the treated groups revealed less severe articular degenerative changes (grade II osteoarthritis). The present results show that cross-linked hyaluronic acid, alone or in combination with ropivacaine hydrochloride and triamcinolone acetonide, produces a significant improvement in knee articular cartilage degeneration in a rabbit model of collagenase-induced osteoarthritis.