Damage Control Laparotomy and Management of the Open Abdomen.

Management of the open abdomen has been used for decades by general surgeons. Techniques have evolved over those decades to improve control of infection, fluid loss, and improve the ability to close the abdomen to avoid hernia formation. The authors explore the history, indications, and techniques of open abdomen management in multiple settings.

Impact of Preference Signals on Interview Selection Across Multiple Residency Specialties and Programs.

Program signaling is an innovation that allows applicants to express interest in specific programs while providing programs the opportunity to review genuinely interested applicants during the interview selection process. To examine the influence of program signaling on "selected to interview" status across specialties in the 2022 Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) application cycle. Dermatology, general surgery-categorical (GS), and internal medicine-categorical (IM-C) programs that participated in the signaling section of the 2022 supplemental ERAS application (SuppApp) were included.

Standardized Protocol for Chest Tube Management for Trauma Patients Significantly Decreases Complications.

Background: As health care shifts to a value-based model with a focus on patient outcomes per dollar spent, it is important to develop and evaluate standardized protocols that ultimately lead to improved patient outcomes and decreased hospital complications. Prior to our chest tube protocol, chest tube management at our Trauma Center was nonuniform and surgeon-specific. The aim of this study was to (1) develop an institutional standardized protocol for chest tube management at our Level II Trauma Center and (2) compare patient outcomes before and after the implementation of our protocol.

Outcomes of the 2021-2022 APDS General Surgery Recruitment Process Recommendations.

Background: In recent years, mounting challenges for applicants and programs in resident recruitment have catapulted this topic into a top priority in medical education. These challenges span all aspects of recruitment-from the time an applicant applies until the time of the Match-and have widespread implications on cost, applicant stress, compromise of value alignment, and holistic review, and equity. In 2021-2022, the Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS) set forth recommendations to guide processes for General Surgery residency recruitment.

13-Hour progression of emphysematous hepatitis as depicted on repeat computerized tomography.

Emphysematous hepatitis is a rare, rapidly progressive and often fatal condition, which occurs predominantly in patients with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus. It results in the replacement of liver parenchyma by a collection of gas. Emphysematous infections of other abdominal and pelvic organs have long been established, but relatively little is known about the equivalent emphysematous infection of the liver with very few examples in the published literature.

Hemorrhagic cholecystitis causing hemobilia and common bile duct obstruction.

Biliary obstruction is a common problem associated with gallbladder pathology. However, hemorrhagic cholecystitis with hemobilia as the cause is quite rare. We present a case of hemorrhagic cholecystitis in the setting of systemic anticoagulation causing common bile duct obstruction which required endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for ductal clearance followed by laparoscopic cholecystectomy.