Blog

Postoperative Sleep Disruptions Vary by Surgical Risk

High-risk surgeries significantly impact sleep quality, essential for recovery.

  • High-risk procedures showed reduced REM and deep sleep lasting through day 7 (deep sleep: -18.7 minutes; REM: -12.4 minutes; p < 0.001).
  • Acute reductions in total sleep were also noted (-19.4 minutes; p = 0.004).

Complications increased with less total sleep; each 10-minute drop raised odds of grade I/II complications by 13%.

  • Opioid use correlated with increased light and wake sleep, but reduced deep sleep.

Journal Article by Elemosho A, Chatzipanagiotou OP (…) Pawlik TM et 5 al. in JAMA Surg

read the whole article in JAMA Surg

open it in PubMed

Outcomes After Pancreatectomy for PNETs Are Similar Across Types

Pancreatectomy outcomes for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) are consistent, regardless of whether they arise from sporadic cases or genetic syndromes like MEN1 and VHL.

  • In a study of 1,527 patients, 73 had MEN1, 26 had VHL, and 1,428 exhibited sporadic PNETs.
  • Resection rates varied, with R2 resection at 9.6% for MEN1, compared to 2.6% for sporadic and 3.8% for VHL cases.

Despite key differences in demographics and tumor characteristics, postoperative complications and survival rates remained equivalent. This suggests similar patient management strategies may be applied across these groups.

Journal Article by Zhang L, Ventin M (…) Ferrone CR et 7 al. in J Am Coll Surg

Copyright © 2026 by the American College of Surgeons. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

read the whole article in J Am Coll Surg

open it in PubMed

Trauma centers face critical bed shortages as demand rises.

  • Level I and II centers frequently operate at over 80% bed occupancy, especially in the South and West, where nearly 80% exceeded this for 75 weeks or more.
  • Under simulated scenarios, a patient influx of 1500–2000 daily leads to a deficit of over 20,000 beds within 45 days.

Surgeons must consider these limits when planning for trauma care and patient admissions.

  • Even an increase of 241 patients a day can saturate all trauma beds within 90 days, stressing the need for better regional load-balancing and infrastructure investments.

Journal Article by Acharya P, Staudenmayer K (…) Hashmi ZG et 3 al. in JAMA Surg

read the whole article in JAMA Surg

open it in PubMed

Salvage Treatment After Incomplete Rectal NET Resection Shows Promise

Salvage treatment may be warranted after incomplete resection of rectal neuroendocrine tumors due to significant residual disease concerns.

  • Incomplete resection rates: 73.1% for cold snare polypectomy; 29.8% for conventional EMR; 14.7% for endoscopic submucosal dissection.
  • Residual tumor rate with salvage treatment is 25% (CI: 12%–40%).

Individualized clinical decisions are crucial given the uncertainty in recurrence prevention.

  • Recurrence rates favor salvage treatment, showing a crude rate of 0.96%.

Meta-Analysis by Kim JH, Lee JW (…) Park SJ et 2 al. in World J Gastroenterol

©The Author(s) 2026. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.

read the whole article in World J Gastroenterol

open it in PubMed

Trends in IVC Reconstruction Show High Patency and Survival

IVC reconstruction during oncologic resections is safe, with robust mid-term outcomes.

  • 80 patients treated; 94%+ primary patency at 2 years.
  • 30-day survival rate was 96.3%, with 2- and 3-year survival at 76.8%.

Most thrombosis occurrences tied to tumor recurrence or technical issues.

Consider this technique in high-volume centers for complex oncologic cases.

Journal Article by Furtado Neves PJ, Simioni A (…) Malgor RD et 5 al. in J Am Coll Surg

Copyright © 2026 by the American College of Surgeons. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

read the whole article in J Am Coll Surg

open it in PubMed

Liver-First Approach Improves Outcomes in Colorectal Cancer

A liver-first surgical approach in stage IV colorectal cancer with isolated liver metastases leads to better survival and fewer complications.

  • Liver resection before colon/rectal resection increased from 5.37% in 2010 to 15.43% in 2020.
  • Patients receiving the liver-first approach had a lower 90-day mortality (1.11% vs 4.47%) and fewer 30-day readmissions (3.69% vs 5.81%).

Select patients with rectal primaries at academic centers may benefit most, improving surgical outcomes significantly.

  • Better overall survival rates were noted for the liver-first approach (hazard ratio, 0.87).

Journal Article by Morocho B, Lightfoot S, Somasundar P and Kwon S in Ann Surg Oncol

© 2026. Society of Surgical Oncology.

read the whole article in Ann Surg Oncol

open it in PubMed

More Female Residents Could Mean More Female Applicants in Surgery

Increasing female representation in surgery can enhance mentorship and attract more women to the field.

  • Higher percentages of female residents correlate with more female applicants (r = 0.943, p < 0.0001).
  • The strongest correlation was seen in urology (r = 1.0, p < 0.0001), followed by general surgery (r = 0.944, p = 0.016).

Prioritizing gender diversity in residency programs could improve recruitment and ultimately lead to a more inclusive surgical workforce.

  • Other specialties showed varying levels of correlation.

Journal Article by Ganem JE and Wirth A in Am J Surg

Copyright © 2026 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

read the whole article in Am J Surg

open it in PubMed

Transanal Surgery Offers R0 Resection for Rectal GISTs

Transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) provides promising outcomes for rectal gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) while preserving function.

  • High rates of R0 resection were achieved in 13 patients with rectal GIST, underscoring the technique’s efficacy.
  • Tumor size should not automatically disqualify candidates for en-bloc excision with negative margins.

Neoadjuvant imatinib may help select borderline cases, but more extensive studies are needed to solidify patient criteria and outcomes.

Journal Article by Arezzo A, Distefano G (…) Morino M et 3 al. in Surg Endosc

© 2026. The Author(s).

read the whole article in Surg Endosc

open it in PubMed

Preoperative fitness impacts esophagectomy outcomes

Prehabilitation focusing on nutrition and fitness can significantly influence postoperative recovery in esophageal cancer patients.

  • Higher preoperative BMI linked to more overall complications (p = .029).
  • Better exercise capacity and muscle function correlated with fewer pulmonary complications (p < .045) and improved functional capacity (p < .032).

Addressing fatigue preoperatively is crucial, as it relates to better patient outcomes.

  • Less fatigue pre-surgery associated with improved quality of life and less postoperative fatigue (p ≤ .001).

Journal Article by Reijneveld EAE, Dronkers JJ (…) Veenhof C et 8 al. in J Gastrointest Surg

Copyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

read the whole article in J Gastrointest Surg

open it in PubMed

Hepatic Artery Infusion Pump Shows Promise in Colorectal Liver Metastases

A small fraction of unresectable colorectal liver metastasis patients qualify for liver transplant, but HAIP chemotherapy can improve outcomes.

  • Only 4.8% of patients in the study were liver transplant-eligible.
  • After HAIP, the median overall survival was 61 months, with a 5-year survival rate of 53%.

This suggests that HAIP may aid in patient selection for surgical interventions.

  • 78% of patients converted to resection after a median of 5 HAIP cycles.

Journal Article by Chandra P, Preston W (…) Kingham TP et 12 al. in Ann Surg

Copyright © 2026 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

read the whole article in Ann Surg

open it in PubMed