Recent Publications

Laparoscopic one anastomosis gastric bypass (OAGB) is gaining ground over the surgical approach for class 3 obesity due to its recognized safety and effectiveness.

Situs inversus (SI), a condition affecting approximately 0.01% of the population, is characterized by an autosomal recessive genetic anomaly leading to a mirror-image arrangement of organs and vasculature in the chest and abdomen. It is called situs inversus totalis (SIT) when accompanied by dextrocardia.

To date, only two documented cases of OAGB in patients with SIT have been reported. Notably, the primary challenge in these cases was the execution of a mirrored OAGB procedure.

The use of opioids has increased dramatically over the past several years in Israel. The aim of this study was to explore the trends of opioid consumption in Israel over a decade (2010-2020) stratified by socioeconomic status (SES), residence in the periphery, and ethnic background.

Annual heart transplant (HT) volumes have increased, as have post-HT outpatient care needs. Data on HT-related emergency department (ED) visits are limited.

Absent contractility (AC), a motility disorder characterized by the absence of esophageal contractions while maintaining normal lower esophageal sphincter relaxation, is recognized as a distinctive major disorder of peristalsis on esophageal high-resolution manometry that warrants comprehensive understanding. This unique motility disorder often co-occurs with connective tissue, rheumatologic or autoimmune diseases, with scleroderma being the classic example. Symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux are common. AC can profoundly impact patients' lives and result in a spectrum of complications, including erosive esophagitis, esophageal candidiasis, Barrett's esophagus, and malnutrition. To address the intricate complexities of AC and its multifaceted complications, a multidisciplinary approach is paramount. 

Vitiligo, an acquired deficiency of melanocyte function and number, is linked to autoimmunity. The association of osteoporosis with vitiligo has never been investigated in a clinical study. Numerous studies reported lower serum vitamin D levels in individuals with vitiligo. As low vitamin D is associated with osteoporosis, in the current study, we investigated if patients with vitiligo are at increased risk of developing osteoporosis in the large Clalit Health Services (CHS) database.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for more than 90% of oral malignancies. Despite numerous advancements in understanding its biology, the mean five-year survival rate of OSCC is still very poor at about 50%, with even lower rates when the disease is detected at later stages. We investigate the use of clinical photographic images taken by common smartphones for the automated detection of OSCC cases and for the identification of suspicious cases mimicking cancer that require an urgent biopsy.

Infection is a concern in hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), being leading cause of morbidity and mortality (Gudiol et al., 2014). Consequently, guidelines recommend the pre-HCT elimination of oral infectious sites, known as dental clearance, in order to mitigate systemic dissemination (Rankin et al., 2008; Yamagata et al., 2006) and avert fatalities (Elad et al., 2008). Nevertheless, certain studies have reported no discernible improvement following pre-HCT dental clearance (Hong et al., 2018), doubts its necessity.

More than a decade ago, apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) risk alleles designated G1 and G2, were discovered to be causally associated with markedly increased risk for progressive kidney disease in individuals of recent African ancestry. Gratifying progress has been made during the intervening years, extending to the development and clinical testing of genomically precise small molecule therapy accompanied by emergence of RNA medicine platforms and clinical testing within just over a decade.

Thyroid nodules are common in the general population. Ultrasonography is the most efficient diagnostic approach to evaluate thyroid nodules. The US FNAC procedure can be performed using either the short axis (perpendicular), or a long axis (parallel) approach to visualize the needle as it is advanced toward the desired nodule. The main aim of this study was to compare the percentage of non-diagnostic results between the long and short axis approach.

(Sarah Cohn, Raed Farhat, Nidal El Khatib, Majd Asakly, Ashraf Khater, Alaa Safia, Marwan Karam, Saqr Massoud, Taiser Bishara, Yaniv Avraham, Adi Sharabi-Nov, Shlomo Merchavy)

Bone augmentation prior to dental implant placement is a common scenario in the dental implantology field. Among the important intraoral harvesting sites to obtain bone blocks is the ramus/retromolar region that has a high success rate and long-lasting alveolar ridge augmentation. Preserving the bone volume and quality at the donor site is crucial for preventing further complications or to serve as a site for re-harvesting. Healing of the intraoral donor sites has been described in the maxillofacial field. This study aimed to evaluate the spontaneous healing of the mandibular retromolar donor site utilizing computer-assisted quantification 6 and 12 months after bone harvesting.

(Shadi Daoud, Adeeb Zoabi, Adi Kasem, Amir Totry, Daniel Oren, Idan Redenski, Samer Srouji, Fares Kablan)

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening critical care syndrome commonly associated with infections such as COVID-19, influenza, and bacterial pneumonia. Ongoing research aims to improve our understanding of ARDS, including its molecular mechanisms, individualized treatment options, and potential interventions to reduce inflammation and promote lung repair. Objective: To map and compare metabolic phenotypes of different infectious causes of ARDS to better understand the metabolic pathways involved in the underlying pathogenesis.

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) occurs unexpectedly and is usually a result of ventricular arrhythmia in patients with structural heart disease....In this review, we highlight the pathophysiological mechanisms of the new drug agents, and evaluate the possible effect they could have on the role of device therapy as a primary prevention of SCD.

This study challenges the prevalent belief that surgical roles demand masculine traits, potentially limiting women's suitability for such positions. Contrary to this stereotype, we explored the hypothesis that in sensitive surgical procedures, where communal traits are valued, women patients might favor women surgeons. Two experimental studies investigated women's preferences for a man versus a woman surgeon in a breast exam and breast surgery.

Objectives: To investigate the role of gut microbiota (GM) in pathogenesis of idiopathic short stature (ISS) by comparing GM of ISS children to their normal-height siblings.

The pathogenesis of renal disease in obesity and metabolic syndrome (MS) is mostly unknown. This is in part because of the limited information about renal morphological changes in these conditions. We evaluated renal histology in subjects with MS and those without MS, who are participants in the European Nephrectomy Biobank (ENBiBA) project.