Major postoperative complications in digestive surgery are increasingly becoming frequent and need up to date and accessible coverage
All worldwide general and digestive surgeons that are engaged daily in this subject need carefully designed new standards available to them
Frequently, complications in digestive surgery are recognized too late thereby producing a high rate of morbidity and mortality, making publication of new standards urgent
A comprehensive description of these complications will help all surgeons involved in learning new practices of surgical treatment of digestive diseases (from oesophagus up to rectum)
Any surgical intervention, elective or acute, may lead to postoperative complications. Moreover, the pertaining approach - laparoscopic or open - will probably not differ in the morbidity rate after surgery.

Complications that occur after a surgical intervention can be classified as major or minor. Major complications to the digestive tract after surgery imply in most of cases a leakage of an anastomosis, bleeding in the abdominal cavity or in the tract, the appearance of intraperitoneal abscesses, or surgical site infections and wound dehiscence. These complications, depending on the organ affected, upper GI, HPB tract or colorectal, are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Early suspicion and diagnosis, followed by an early and effective treatment is imperative in order to reduce the morbidity and mortality.

Adequate treatment will involve a good coordination of the three disciplines involved in treatment: the surgeon, the intervention radiologist, and the gastroenterologist.

Approach of these postoperative complications is changing constantly and these changes are not properly known by general and more specialized digestive surgeons daily involved in the treatment of these diseases.

The proposal for this book is to offer a systematic description of the most frequent complications occurring in the three above mentioned parts of the digestive tract. In this way, the reader will have access to a practical book in which every current complication can be easily recognized, along with relevant information as guide for an adequate treatment.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. The Surgical Stress Response following Colorectal Surgery.- 2. Are Major Complications after Digestive Surgery Preventable?.- 3. The Clavien-Dindo Classification of Surgical Complications.- 4. Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Abdominal Complications is a Multidisciplinary Work.- 5. General Principles of Recognition of Major Complication Following Surgery of the Digestive Tract.- 6. Is There Less Morbidity After Laparoscopic Surgery?.- 7. Is There Less Morbidity After Fast Track Surgery?.- 8. Prevention and Treatment of Major Complications after Esophageal Surgery.- 9. How to Prevent, Early Diagnose, and Treat Major Complications after Gastric Surgery.- 10. Prevention and Treatment of Complications after Bariatric Surgery.- 11. Prevention and Treatment of Major Complications of Liver Surgery.- 12. Prevention and Treatment of Major Complications after Cholecystectomy.- 13. Prevention and Treatment of Complications after Surgery for Klatskin Tumours.- 14. Prevention and Treatment of Major Complications after Duodenal-Pancreatic Head Surgery.- 15. Complications of Surgery for Acute Pancreatitis.- 16. How to Prevent, Detect and Treat Major Complications after Surgery of the Spleen, Adrenal Glands and Distal Pancreatectomy.- 17. Small Bowel Surgery and Appendicectomy.- 18. Prevention and Treatment of Major Complications after Laparoscopic Ileocecal and Right Colectomy.- 19. Prevention and Treatment of Major Complications after Left Colon, Sigmoid and Rectal Surgery.- 20. Prevention and Treatment of Major Complications after Laparoscopic Colo-Rectal Resections.- 21. Prevention and Treatment of Postoperative Complications after Stoma Surgery.- 22. Prevention and Treatment of Major Complications after Closure of Abdominal Wall and Repair of Abdominal Wall Hernias.- 23. Treatment of Open Abdomen Approach.- 24. Establishing the Pneumoperitoneum and Closing the Trocar Sites during Laparoscopic Surgery.- 25. Final Considerations