There’s a growing need for surgeons to engage with qualitative studies to understand patient experiences better. This article offers clear guidelines on crafting qualitative articles for surgical journals, focusing on effective communication and methodological rigor. Surgeons can leverage these insights to improve patient care and address complex health issues more comprehensively. By increasing the representation […]
Category: General Surgery
Bowel Prep’s Role in Elective Colectomy Outcomes
Combining mechanical bowel preparation with oral antibiotics significantly reduces complications after elective colectomy for colon cancer. Surgical site infection dropped from 8.7% without prep to 5.0% with combined prep. All bowel prep regimens lowered the risk of postoperative complications versus no prep, with combined prep showing the best relative risk reduction (infection: 0.60, leak: 0.66, […]
Gender Disparity in General Surgery Leadership Persists
Women remain underrepresented in general surgery residency leadership, limiting equity in surgical practice. In 363 programs, only 33.4% of leaders are women, with men dominating all leadership roles except assistant professors. Men have more years of practice and higher scholarly output, though this difference disappears when accounting for career length. Improving promotion paths and leadership […]
Perioperative CA19-9 Tracking Improves Prognosis in Pancreatic Cancer
Tracking CA19-9 levels after pancreatic cancer resection can better guide surgical prognostication and patient outcomes. Patients with normalized CA19-9 levels post-surgery had a median time-to-treatment failure of 693 days, while those with persistent elevation faced just 138 days. Neoadjuvant therapy patients presented with much higher pre-treatment CA19-9 (273 u/ml) compared to surgery-first patients (19 u/ml). […]
Surgeons Need to Embrace Palliative Care Engagement
Surgeons are missing crucial opportunities to integrate palliative care for seriously ill older patients undergoing elective surgeries. Palliative care practices were infrequently utilized, despite their importance. Clinicians from various surgical fields acknowledged alignment with palliative care, but many felt it conflicted with their role. Surgeons often prioritized technical issues over patients’ psychosocial concerns, indicating the […]
International Consensus on Presacral Tumor Management
This consensus sets new guidelines for diagnosing and managing presacral tumors, enhancing surgical practices and patient outcomes. High-resolution MRI with structured reporting is crucial for risk stratification. Image-guided biopsies are necessary for high-risk lesions needing histological confirmation. Tailor surgical approaches to tumor biology, with complete resection as the goal. Non-operative surveillance is advocated for low-risk, […]
Trauma Transport Gaps: Rural and Socioeconomic Disparities
Timely transport of critically injured patients to trauma centers is critical, yet significant geographic and socioeconomic factors hinder access. 54% of critically injured patients were transported to trauma centers; rates varied regionally, with the Northeast at 44% and the Midwest at 67% (p < .001). Rural areas showed lower transport rates compared to urban areas, […]
Wound complications common in Morel-Lavallee injuries
One in five patients undergoing surgery for Morel-Lavallee lesions face wound complications. 20.1% of patients developed complications post-op, including skin necrosis (7.5%) and deep infections (6.7%). The primary risk factor was being struck by a vehicle, with a 3.44 odds ratio for complications. Understand these risks to better counsel patients on their potential outcomes. Bicycle […]
Routine Blood Cultures for Appendicitis Offer Limited Value
Bloodstream infections before appendectomy are rare and rarely impact outcomes. Among 8,241 appendicitis patients, only 3.7% had positive blood cultures. Most infections were expected organisms, primarily Bacteroides and E. coli. Restricting blood cultures to unstable patients can reduce unnecessary tests and antibiotic use. 33.3% of culture-positive patients received no antibiotics post-surgery, highlighting effective surgical management. […]
Omitting Lateral Node Dissection in Rectal Cancer Safe
Lateral pelvic lymph node dissection in rectal cancer patients with responsive nodes after neoadjuvant therapy shows no survival benefit, impacting surgical strategies. No significant differences in 5-year local recurrence rates (3.1% vs. 5.3%), disease-free survival (77.1% vs. 71.4%), or overall survival (87.0% vs. 86.9%) with or without dissection. Dissection led to longer operative times (279.3 […]