Abstract Objective. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreaticography (ERCP) can be complicated by post-ERCP cholangitis even when performed by experienced endoscopists. Therefore, antibiotic prophylaxis is recommended for certain patients, but controversy exists as to which patient groups really benefit from this strategy. We retrospectively evaluated the use of antibiotics in a primary teaching ...

Urinary L-type fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) has not been evaluated for adult post-cardiac surgery acute kidney injury (AKI) to date. This study was undertaken to evaluate a biomarker panel consisting of urinary L-FABP and N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), a more established urinary marker of kidney injury, for AKI diagnosis in adult post-cardiac ...

BACKGROUND:: Although the ideal management of cholecysto-choledocholi-thiasis is controversial, the 2-stage approach [endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), sphincterotomy, and common bile duct (CBD) clearance followed by laparoscopic cholecystectomy] remains the standard way of management worldwide. One-stage approach using the so-called laparoendoscopic rendezvous (LERV) technique offers some advantages, mainly by reducing the ...

BACKGROUNDDeep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) is a complex disease that impairs the quality of life and the fertility of women. Since a medical approach is often insufficient, a minimally invasive approach is considered the gold standard for complete disease excision. Robotic-assisted surgery is a revolutionary approach, with several advantages compared with ...

BACKGROUND: One major concern in about one third of elder patients after total hip-replacement surgery is post-operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). Previous studies have suggested that cognitive impairment is accompanied with changes in serum S-100β protein (S-100β) and inflammatory markers. Thus, the aim of the current study was to investigate the ...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the technical aspects and clinical efficacy of selective embolization for post-endoscopic sphincterotomy bleeding. We reviewed the records of 10 patients (3%; M:F = 6:4; mean age, 63.3 years) that underwent selective embolization for post-endoscopic sphincterotomy bleeding among 344 patients who received arteriography ...

BACKGROUND: Little information is available regarding the role of post-mortem in cardiac surgery. The cause of death by clinical presumption can be misleading. The aim is evaluate the role of post-mortem following cardiac surgery by comparing clinically attributed causes of death versus post-mortem findings. METHODS: A total of 10,099 cardiac ...

ABSTRACT: Background Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and Heated Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) results in a number of physiological changes with effects on the cardiovascular system, oxygen consumption and coagulation. The Critical Care interventions required by this cohort of patients have not yet been quantified. Methods This retrospective audit examines the experience of ...

Varicocele has been identified as an important cause of male infertility where its influence on men's reproductive capacity is due to its markedly diverse effects on the testicles. This study aimed to assess the value of ultrasonographic parameters of the spermatic veins at the inguinal and scrotal levels in varicocele ...

BACKGROUND: Post-operative visual loss (POVL) following spinal surgery is a rare but devastating complication. Although a number of intra-operative and post-operative factors have been implicated, the exact etiology may still remain unclear. PURPOSE: To report a unique case of transient bilateral POVL in a patient who had undergone lumbar surgery ...

Objectives:To study the effect of a new technique for closed reduction of dislocated arytenoids.Methods:The study included 21 females (72.4 per cent) and eight males (27.6 per cent) with a diagnosis of arytenoid dislocation. There were 18 cases of left arytenoid dislocation and 11 of right arytenoid dislocation.Twenty-eight cases had anteromedial ...

BACKGROUND: Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is an uncommon, but not rare manifestation of dorsal medullary lesions which has less commonly been described as arising de novo or significantly worsening following surgical resection of the lesion. METHODS: We present a case and review the English literature regarding dorsal medullary lesions and post-operative ...

BACKGROUNDTwo surgical approaches are employed in the treatment of deep infiltrating endometriosis of the rectum (DIER): colorectal resection and nodule excision. In 2009, we introduced a new technique for transanal full thickness disc excision of endometriotic nodules infiltrating the low and middle rectum, using the Contour(®) Transtar(™) stapler (Ethicon Endo-Surgery ...

Improved outcomes of the Norwood procedure in hypoplastic left heart syndrome have been achieved by the manipulation of the pulmonary:systemic flow ratio (Qp:Qs) in the early post-operative period, with focus on improving systemic perfusion. As an extension of this Qp:Qs-limiting strategy, we evolved a novel surgical technique to achieve transient ...

Background: In the majority of CRS patients suffering from primary or recurrent CRS, topical glucocorticoids are highly effective. A subset of CRS patients, however, does not respond to (topical) glucocorticoids and requires surgical intervention. Although surgery is highly effective in those individuals, recurrence of disease is observed in some. In ...

PURPOSE: Nissen fundoplication is an effective treatment for gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD). Mobilization of the gastric fundus during fundoplication requires division of short gastric vessels of the spleen, which may cause splenic ischemia. The aim of this study was to determine if Nissen fundoplication results in hypotrophy of the spleen. ...

A 30 year old woman who was 8 weeks postpartum with a history of cholelithiasis and gallstone pancreatitis, and who was status-post endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with sphincterotomy, was treated with a single-incision laparoscopic (SIL) cholecystectomy. A transversus abdominis plane block (TAP) was performed after induction of anesthesia. The patient ...

Post-surgical macular edema is the most common cause of vision loss after phacoemulsification, and one of the main causes of reduced vision in patients undergoing other ocular surgery. At present, there are no reliable randomized clinical trials specifically designed to define the best therapeutic approach, and little information is available ...

Post-surgical macular edema is the most common cause of vision loss after phacoemulsification, and one of the main causes of reduced vision in patients undergoing other ocular surgery. At present, there are no reliable randomized clinical trials specifically designed to define the best therapeutic approach, and little information is available ...

OBJECTIVE: To define the clinical syndrome of functional popliteal entrapment comparing pre and post surgical clinical outcomes with pre and post-operative provocative ultrasonic investigations. Further, to suggest a management pathway to differentiate chronic exertional compartment syndromes and concomitant venous popliteal compression. METHODS: In 32 claudicant sportspersons, 55 limbs were characterised ...

OBJECTIVES: Hydronephrosis without obstruction is common prior to ureteral reimplant, especially in patients with high-grade VUR. Consequently, when hydronephrosis is present post-operatively, it is unclear when it should be concerning. We evaluated the finding of hydronephrosis in children undergoing reimplantation and its evolution following surgery. METHODS: After obtaining IRB approval, ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The prevalence and nature of arrhythmias in horses following general anaesthesia and surgery is poorly documented. It has been proposed that horses undergoing emergency surgery for gastrointestinal disorders may be at particular risk of developing arrhythmias. Our primary objective was to determine the prevalence and nature of arrhythmias ...

OBJECTIVE: To describe the surgical rectus sheath block for post-operative pain relief following major gynaecological surgery. TECHNIQUE: Local anaesthetic (20ml 0.25% bupivacaine bilaterally) is administered under direct vision to the rectus sheath space at the time of closure of the anterior abdominal wall. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective case ...

BackgroundAntibiotic prophylaxis is recommended in cardiac surgery. Current debate concerns the type of antibiotic(s), dosing and the duration of prophylaxis.MethodsSystematic review of randomized controlled trials comparing one antibiotic regimen versus another in cardiac surgery. We searched The Cochrane Library, PubMed, LILACS, conference proceedings and bibliographies. Two reviewers independently extracted the ...

Background:Tympanostomy tube (grommet) insertion is a common procedure, with little guidance in the current literature regarding post-operative surveillance. Our institution implemented a protocol to follow up post-surgical grommet patients via audiology at six weeks.Methods:A retrospective audit of all patients less than 16 years old who had undergone grommet insertion during ...

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Complete labial fusion is a rare clinical entity in post-menopausal women. The most common complications of this presentation are infections of the urinary tract and retention of urine in the vagina. We present the case of a post-menopausal woman with adnexal mass and abdominal pain due to fusion ...

INTRODUCTION: The understanding of coagulopathy associated with trauma continues to evolve. Trauma patients are frequently coagulopathic early after injury and become hypercoagulable within days of injury. Thrombelastography (TEG) allows real-time evaluation of the coagulation status of patients. We hypothesized that TEG will identify post-traumatic hypercoagulable state in our porcine model ...

Pancreatoduodenectomy currently represents the treatment of choice for resectable pancreatic and periampullary malignant tumours, symptomatic chronic pancreatitis, duodenal cystic dystrophy, large adenomas, diverticula and benign periampullary tumours. Pancreato-jejunostomy failure remains the main complication following pancreatoduodenectomy, even leading to death. To improve the safety of this anastomosis, a modified technique of ...

BACKGROUND:: Very little research has been focused on the interdisciplinary staffing characteristics of the operating room team, an essential component of providing safe patient care in a high-risk setting. OBJECTIVES:: The aim of this study was to determine how the operating room staffing of two surgical specialties compares in terms ...

There are few reported cases of post-operative spondylitis caused by Mycobacterium intracellulare. A 75-year-old female presented to our hospital with low back pain and paraparesis after a fall. The radiologic examination revealed compression fractures of L1, L3 and L4 and an epidural hematoma compressing the spinal cord. The dark-red epidural ...

Recombinant Factor VII (Novoseven) is gaining recognition as an established treatment option for post-cardiac surgery bleeding. However, little information is available on its use in patients being maintained on Extra-Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) support, particularly in the adult population. We present the first case of the successful use of Factor ...

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the relation between gender and risk for complication following neurosurgical intervention. Improved understanding of this relation may assist clinicians in advising patients on the risks and benefits of neurosurgical intervention, and managing their patients after surgery. OBJECTIVE: To determine the independent relation between gender and ...

Background  The Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) published Postoperative Management in Adults in 2004, advocating post-operative assessments to optimize post-operative care. Our aim was to improve post-operative assessments in a surgical high-dependency unit (HDU). Methods  A prospective audit of post-operative admissions to surgical HDU over two 4-week periods was performed. ...

PURPOSE: To determine the value of pre-operative teaching of clean intermittent self-catheterisation (CISC) in women who undergo anti-incontinence and/or prolapse surgery and who are at 'high risk' to have post-operative incomplete bladder emptying. METHODS: Out of the 402 patients who underwent anti-incontinence and/or prolapse surgery at our institute (March 2008-March ...

BackgroundEmergency medicine (EM) training programmes are being conducted around the world but no study has assessed the procedural competence of developing nations' EM trainees.ObjectivesTo quantify the number of core procedures and resuscitations performed and describe the perceived procedural competency of graduates of Africa's first EM registrarship at the University of ...

Study Design. This study invited patients to evaluate the content and style of a rehabilitation programme used as an intervention in a multi-centre, factorial, randomised controlled trial of the post operative management of spinal surgery patients.Objective. To determine the acceptability and content of the rehabilitation programme.Summary of Background Data. The ...

ABSTRACT: A ten-year-old male standard dachshund was presented with a history of neck pain and progressive gait disturbances. Following a neurological examination and diagnostic imaging, including CT, a neoplastic lesion involving the third and fourth cervical vertebrae was suspected. The lesion included an extradural mass on the right side of ...

PURPOSE: Laparoendoscopic single-site surgery has recently been described in children and regarded as an improved technology leading to less pain and better cosmetic outcome. Compared to the traditional three-port method, it is not known if the single-port method is less invasive. The aim of this study was thus to investigate ...

BACKGROUND: Neurologic complications (NCs) are the major adverse events after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) surgery. Pre-operative and post-operative factors associated with NCs in patients with LVADs were investigated. METHODS: We reviewed 307 consecutive patients undergoing LVAD surgery (167 HeartMate I and 140 HeartMate II devices) at Columbia University Medical ...

The aim of this study was to provide pooled analysis of individually small trials comparing robotic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RRYGB) with standard laparoscopic RYGB (LRYGB). A systematic literature search of Medline, Embase and Cochrane Library databases was performed. Primary outcome measures were the incidence of anastomotic leak and stricture. Secondary ...

BACKGROUND: As accurate assessment of thoracic injury severity in the early phase after trauma is difficult, we compared different thoracic trauma scores regarding their predictive ability for the development of post-traumatic complications and mortality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two hundred seventy-eight multiple trauma patients (ISS ≥ 16) age > 16 y ...

Colorectal surgery is one of the most common procedures performed by general surgeons, with an increasing number being performed laparoscopically. Robotic technology is emerging in the ongoing evolution in minimally invasive surgery. This study systematically reviews the literature regarding the safety and feasibility of robotic-assisted colorectal surgery. A comprehensive search ...

OBJECTIVE:: To determine the impact of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) bariatric surgery national coverage decision (NCD) on the use, safety, and cost of care CMS beneficiaries. BACKGROUND:: In February 2006, the CMS issued a NCD restricting reimbursement for bariatric surgery to accredited centers and including coverage ...

Management of an anticipated difficult airway relies heavily on flexible fiber-optic bronchoscope (FFB) guided awake intubations. In a pediatric patient with difficult airway, doing an awake procedure may be difficult, and hence the child is either deeply sedated or anesthesia is induced before attempting intubation with an appropriate sized FFB. ...

BACKGROUND:: Despite its accessible superficial location, the indication for surgical evacuation in cases of lobar intracerebral hemorrhage (LICH) suspected to be related to cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is controversial because of advanced patient age and concerns about post-operative hemostasis. OBJECTIVE:: To examine factors associated with post-operative outcome in CAA-related LICH. ...

Background and Aims: Endoscopic papillary balloon dilatation (EPBD) and endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) are two common nonsurgical treatments for choledocholithiasis. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of EPBD and EST in the treatment for choledocholithiasis, confining the analysis to work reported in the last decade. ...

ABSTRACT: Study Design. We present a 31-year old lady who had a spontaneous cervical spinal epidural haematoma in the post-partum period who presented with sudden onset of neck pain and lower limb weakness for which an emergency decompressive laminectomy was performed with neurological recovery.Objective. To report on the spontaneous spinal ...

We sought to determine if low ANSS, usually associated with high pressure ulcer risk, are also associated with post-operative complications following spine fracture surgery in the elderly. This was a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted at the division of orthopedic surgery in a tertiary medical center between January 2008 and October ...

OBJECTIVES: To review our experience with intracapsular tonsillectomy using powered instrumentation (PIT) in the management of tonsillar hypertrophy. DESIGN: Retrospective database review of pediatric patients undergoing PIT. METHODS: The medical records of 636 patients under 11 years of age who underwent PIT performed by the senior author (RFW), predominantly for ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Post-operative hyperbilirubinaemia in patients undergoing liver resections is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Apart from different known factors responsible for the development of post-operative jaundice, little is known about the role of hepatobiliary transport systems in the pathogenesis of post-operative jaundice in humans after liver resection. ...