Comparison of barbed unidirectional suture with figure-of-eight standard sutures in vaginal cuff closure in total laparoscopic hysterectomy.

The aim of the study was to compare postoperative vaginal cuff complications due to the use of barbed sutures (V-Loc™ 180 unidirectional suture; Covidien, Mansfield, MA) and standard braided sutures (Vicryl; Ethicon Inc., Somerville, MA) during vaginal cuff closure of patients undergoing a total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) due to benign diseases. Eighty-nine patients were in the standard suture group and 208 patients were included in the barbed suture group.

An assessment of the new generation three-dimensional high definition laparoscopic vision system on surgical skills: a randomized prospective study.

Background: Two-dimensional (2D) view is known to cause practical difficulties for surgeons in conventional laparoscopy. Our goal was to evaluate whether the new-generation, Three-Dimensional Laparoscopic Vision System (3D LVS) provides greater benefit in terms of execution time and error number during the performance of surgical tasks.

Methods: This study tests the hypothesis that the use of the new generation 3D LVS can significantly improve technical ability on complex laparoscopic tasks in an experimental model.

Nonreassuring fetal heart rate patterns and nucleated red blood cells in term neonates.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between nonreassuring fetal heart rate patterns during labor and umbilical cord nucleated red blood cell counts.

Methods: Nucleated red blood cell data was collected prospectively from 41 singleton term neonates presented with nonreassuring fetal heart rate patterns and/or meconium stained amniotic fluid during labor (study group) and from 45 term neonates without any evidence of nonreassuring fetal status (controls). Umbilical artery pH, blood gases and base excess were also determined to investigate the correlation between independent variables.