Effects of Thermal Protection in Patients Undergoing Body Contouring Procedures: A Controlled Clinical Trial.

Background: Hypothermia is common in many plastic surgery procedures, but few measures to prevent its occurrence are taken.

Objectives: This study evaluated the effect of hypothermia in patients undergoing plastic surgery procedures and the effect of utilizing simple and inexpensive measures to prevent patient hypothermia during surgery.

Methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial was performed among 3 groups of patients who underwent body contouring surgery for longer than 3.

Office-based anesthesia: safety and outcomes.

The increasing volume of office-based medical and surgical procedures has fostered the emergence of office-based anesthesia (OBA), a subspecialty within ambulatory anesthesia. The growth of OBA has been facilitated by numerous trends, including innovations in medical and surgical procedures and anesthetic drugs, as well as improved provider reimbursement and greater convenience for patients. There is a lack of randomized controlled trials to determine how office-based procedures and anesthesia affect patient morbidity and mortality.

Special article: Creation of a guide for the transfer of care of the malignant hyperthermia patient from ambulatory surgery centers to receiving hospital facilities.

Clinical Problem: Volatile anesthetics and/or succinylcholine may trigger a potentially lethal malignant hyperthermia (MH) event requiring critical care crisis management. If the MH triggering anesthetic is given in an ambulatory surgical center (ASC), then the patient will need to be transferred to a receiving hospital. Before May 2010, there was no clinical guide regarding the development of a specific transfer plan for MH patients in an ASC.