Research identifies educational challenges and opportunities for the next generation of surgeons, focusing on surgical innovations, culture, and mentoring. Current issues include burnout, well-being, gender bias, and the need for technological expertise to meet evolving demands. Surgery must adapt curricula and transform its culture to address the changing educational and working environment arising from COVID-19-driven […]
Category: Perspectives, Opinions and Curiosities
Higher postoperative complications and healthcare expenditures in dementia patients undergoing major surgery
Authors found that patients with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias had lower rates of achieving textbook outcomes and home discharge after major surgery, along with higher healthcare expenditures. They also had increased odds of postoperative complications, extended length-of-stay, readmissions, and mortality. These findings highlight the importance of considering cognitive deficits in decision-making regarding surgical procedures […]
Simulation Model Enhances Surgery Throughput Efficiency
Researchers developed a discrete-event simulation model for assessing operating room efficiency in thoracic, gastrointestinal, and orthopedic surgeries. Utilizing the model, they found that improving operating room preparation time and reducing operative time were the most effective strategies for increasing throughput. Large reductions in operative time resulted in significant increases in surgery throughput, ranging from 12% […]
Time to First Mobilisation After Surgery: Factors and Outcomes
Approximately 52% of patients were mobilised within 6 hours post surgery, increasing to 96% within 24 hours. Patients with daytime postoperative recovery unit arrival, shorter anaesthesia duration (
Virtual Informed Consent and the Importance of Trust-Building
Virtual formats for informed consent in surgery may hinder trust-building, as they rely on an information-transfer model rather than a trust-building one. This study suggests that a trust-building model is essential for a fuller understanding of the consent process, highlighting potential shortcomings of virtual formats on interpersonal and systemic levels. The ethical framework proposed can […]
Development and Validation of a Privacy-proof Surgical Anonymization Algorithm for Live Streaming
Researchers developed and validated a pioneer surgical anonymization algorithm, named Robotic Anonymization Network (ROBAN), for real-time removal of out-of-body images during live surgery streaming. The algorithm achieved a high ROC AUC score of 99.89% after post-processing, outperforming previous state-of-the-art methods and offering reliable, accurate, and safe anonymization across different robotic platforms and procedural types. Journal […]
Impact of Behavioral Health Disorders on Surgical Outcomes and Survival of Cancer Patients
Patients with behavioral health disorders (BHD) had lower rates of resection and higher odds of complications, longer hospital stays, readmission, and higher in-hospital expenditures. They were also less likely to achieve a postoperative textbook outcome and had worse long-term survival. Initiatives targeting BHD are crucial to improve surgical outcomes and prognosis in cancer patients. Journal […]
Higher Rates of Surgical Site Infections in Safety Net Hospitals for Socioeconomically Marginalized Patients
Safety net hospitals, serving economically disadvantaged patients, exhibit a 1.29 times increased risk of surgical site infections (SSIs) after gastrointestinal surgery compared to non-safety net hospitals. Despite adjustments for socioeconomic factors, this heightened risk persists, challenging the efficacy of existing financial incentive programs in reducing SSIs. Proposing the need for specific adjustments in infection rate […]
Impact of Hospital and Surgeon Volume on Complications in Emergency Intra-Abdominal Surgery
Complications in emergency intra-abdominal surgery were significantly associated with hospital and surgeon volume when appropriate heterogeneity was achieved. Low surgeon volume was consistently linked to higher complications, while low hospital volume showed increased complications in the sensitivity analysis. Overall, higher hospital and surgeon volume were found to be beneficial in reducing postoperative complications in patients […]
Procalcitonin and CRP Predictors of Postoperative Complications in Elderly Patients
Plasma concentrations of procalcitonin and C reactive protein within 24 hours of surgery, along with their perioperative changes, were valuable predictors of major complications in elderly patients after non-cardiac surgery. Procalcitonin at 24 hours, C reactive protein at 24 hours, and their changes were particularly effective in predicting major complications, with good discriminatory ability. Journal […]