Procedures
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29
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Increasing numbers of patients have large or complex abdominal wall defects such as giant abdominal wall hernias or enterocutaneous fistulas where bacterial contamination is present. These may result from from an incisional hernia due to multiple abdominal operations, surgical…
Cryosurgery freezes the tumor to stop it from growing. This is done with a special probe that contains liquid nitrogen or liquid carbon dioxide. The probe is placed through the skin and directed into the tumor, guided by computed tomography (CT), …
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Dialysis is a treatment to filter wastes and water from your blood, allowing people with kidney failure to feel better and continue doing the things they enjoy. However, when many people think of dialysis, their fears can keep them from learning about this treatment.…
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What is ERCP?
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is a procedure that combines upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy and x-rays to treat problems of the bile and pancreatic ducts.
What are the bile and pancreatic ducts?
Your …
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Embolization is a therapy to treat liver tumors by blocking their blood supply. Because liver tumors thrive on highly oxygenated blood from the hepatic artery, blocking that supply may kill it. Embolization is often used to treat tumors not amenable to surgery (liver…
Highly active antiretroviral therapy or HAART, the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs to control HIV infection, has enabled HIV/AIDS patients to live longer. Most patients with HIV/AIDS today die not from AIDS-associated opportunistic…
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Inflammation associated with recurrent bouts of pancreatitis causes scarring and blockage of the pancreatic ducts. This produces severe chronic pain and often malabsorption because the normal function of digestive enzymes is compromised.
Pain medications, …
Islet cell transplantation places cells from an organ donor into the body of another person. It is used experimentally to treat type 1 diabetes
Image Courtesy of UCSF Diabetes Education Online
Pancreatic Islets and Beta Cells
The pancreas is an organ about the…
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Chronic kidney disease is a major health concern in this country afflicting more than eight million Americans. When kidney function declines to a certain level, patients have end-stage renal disease and require either dialysis or transplantation to sustain their life.…
Our Pediatric Kidney Transplant Program is one of the oldest and most experienced kidney transplant programs in the United States. Helping kids with end-stage kidney disease return to normal life through kidney transplants is our goal.
More than 500 transplants have…
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For over a decade, UCSF transplant surgeons have performed a minimally invasive procedure known as a laparoscopic donor nephrectomy. A nephrectomy is the removal of a kidney.
In a laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, a kidney is transplanted from…
Laparoscopic surgery is performed using general anesthesia. The surgeon makes several small incisions in the lower abdomen and inserts a laparoscope-a thin tube with a tiny video camera attached to one end. The camera sends a magnified image from inside the body to a monitor,…
Laparoscopic surgery is performed using general anesthesia. The surgeon makes several small incisions in the abdomen and inserts a laparoscope-a thin tube with a tiny video camera attached to one end. The camera projects a magnified image of inside the abdomen to a monitor,…
A liver resection is the surgical removal of all or a portion of the liver. It is also referred to as a hepatectomy, full or partial. A complete liver resection is performed in the setting of a transplant a diseased liver is removed from a…
A liver transplant is an operation that replaces a patient's diseased liver with a whole or partial healthy liver from another person. This article explains the current indications for liver transplantation, types of donor livers, the operation itself, and the…
The UCSF Liver Transplant Program is one of the nation's leading liver transplant centers for both children and adults and has been designated a "Center of Excellence" by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Children who receive livers at UCSF have…
Additional reference at UCSF Health: https://www.ucsfhealth.org/lp/living-organ-donorsAs kidneys become diseased, they lose their ability to function, a condition called end-stage renal disease (ESRD) or kidney failure. Treatments for kidney failure are hemodialysis, a…
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While some liver tumors can be removed surgically, the majority are inoperable and must be treated by alternative means. One such method is ablation (tissue destruction), a surgical procedure traditionally performed using a number of …
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In open hernia repair, also called herniorrhaphy, a person is given local anesthesia in the abdomen or spine to numb the area, general anesthesia to sedate or help the person sleep, or a combination of the two. Then the surgeon makes an incision in the groin, moves the hernia…
In open hernia repair, also called herniorrhaphy, a person is given general anesthesia to sedate or help the person sleep, and this is often augmented with epidural anesthesia to improve recovery time and pain control. Then the surgeon makes an incision on the abdomen,…
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The pancreas is an organ about the size of a hand located in the abdomen in the vicinity of the stomach, intestines, and other organs. It lies behind the stomach and in front of the spine. The pancreas produces juices that help digest food and hormones such as…
With percutaneous ethanol (alcohol) Injection, surgeons or interventional radiologists locate the tumor, usually with ultrasound guidannce, and pass a needle into the tumor. A liquid containing a high concentration of alcohol is then injected through the needle. The…
What is peritoneal dialysis and how does it work?
Peritoneal dialysis is a treatment for kidney failure that uses the lining of your abdomen, or belly, to filter your blood inside your body. Doctors call this lining the peritoneum. A doctor will place a soft tube, called a…
Portal vein embolization (PVE) is a procedure that induces regrowth on one side of the liver in advance of a planned hepatic resection on the other side. The procedure is frequently used in primary liver cancer (hepatocellular…
Some patients with abdominal wall hernias have such large hernias that they are called "giant" hernias, commonly defined as a hernia greater than 10 cm in any dimension. These giant hernias can also be associated with loss of domain. When there is loss of domain, the abdominal…
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Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a minimally invasive treatment, one of several types of ablation therapy, where surgery is not a good option. Guided by imaging, a thin needle or probe is inserted through the skin and into the tumor.The probe…
UCSF is one of the few centers in the U.S. and world-wide using a specialized surgical shunt to treat portal hypertension. The surgical procedure utlilizes a Rex shunt, also known as a meso-portal shunt, to restore normal blood flow back to the liver in patients who have…
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A vascular access is a hemodialysis patient’s lifeline, because it makes life-saving hemodialysis treatments possible. Hemodialysis is a treatment for kidney failure that uses a machine to send the patient’s blood through a filter, called a dialyzer, outside the body. The…
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Radioembolization also known as selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT), is a form of radiation therapy used to selected patients who are not candidates for surgery due to the location of their tumors or their performance (health) status. …