Retrospective Review of Outcomes in Non-Invasive Mucinous Appendiceal Neoplasms with and without Peritoneal Spread: A Cohort Study.

Patients treated surgically for local non-invasive mucinous appendiceal neoplasm (NI-MAN) may recur with the development of peritoneal dissemination (PD). The risk of recurrence and predictive factors are not well studied. Patients with NI-MAN, with or without peritoneal dissemination at presentation, were included.

Training Surgical Residents to Communicate with Their Patients: A Scoping Review of the Literature.

Objective: Effective communication is critical in surgical practice and the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education requires a focus on interpersonal and communication skills. Absent a national communication skills curriculum for surgical residents, individual programs have designed and implemented their own curricula. This scoping review explores communication training in North American surgical residency programs.

Clinical factors associated with success in applying laparoscopy in the management of small bowel obstruction at a tertiary care center.

Background: Minimally invasive techniques have become standard approaches for many common surgical problems. However, the routine use of laparoscopy in the management of small bowel obstruction (SBO) has yet to be fully standardized. The objective of this study was to determine clinical factors associated with success of laparoscopy in managing SBO.

Resident Operative Experience at Independent Academic Medical Centers-A Comparison to the National Cohort.

Purpose: Independent Academic Medical Centers (IAMCs) comprise one-third of U.S. general surgery training programs.

Interrater Reliability of Hospital Readmission Evaluations for Surgical Patients.

Value-based purchasing initiatives have helped shift attention to the accuracy of hospital readmission information at the most clinically detailed level. The purpose of this study was to determine the interrater reliability (IRR) of surgical experts in assessing surgical inpatient readmissions for categorical causes, relation to index procedure, and potential preventability. Cases were selected from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program local database.

Factors and Influences That Determine the Choices of Surgery Residency Applicants.

Objective: We sought to evaluate characteristics of residency applicants selected to interview at independent general surgery programs, identify residency information resources, assess if there is perceived bias toward university or independent programs, and determine what types of programs applicants prefer.

Study Design: An electronic survey was sent to applicants who were selected to interview at a participating independent program. Open-ended responses regarding reasons for program-type bias were submitted.

An Evidence-Based Medicine Curriculum Improves General Surgery Residents' Standardized Test Scores in Research and Statistics.

Background: The application of evidence-based medicine to patient care requires unique skills of the physician. Advancing residents' abilities to accurately evaluate the quality of evidence is built on understanding of fundamental research concepts. The American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE) provides a relevant measure of surgical residents' knowledge of research design and statistics.

Applicant Characteristics Associated With Selection for Ranking at Independent Surgery Residency Programs.

Objectives: This study evaluated characteristics of applicants selected for interview and ranked by independent general surgery residency programs and assessed independent program application volumes, interview selection, rank list formation, and match success.

Design: Demographic and academic information was analyzed for 2014-2015 applicants. Applicant characteristics were compared by ranking status using univariate and multivariable statistical techniques.

A comparison of flexion and extension radiographs with computed tomography of the cervical spine in blunt trauma.

The purpose of this study was to compare flexion and extension (F/E) cervical radiographs with CT of the cervical spine in patients sustaining blunt trauma for the evaluation of ligamentous injury. A retrospective chart review of 2 years duration at an American College of Surgeons-verified Level I trauma center was performed. All patients sustaining blunt trauma who were evaluated with both a CT as well as F/E radiographs were identified.

Splenic embolization for splenic laceration in a patient with mononucleosis.

Splenomegaly is a sequela of infectious mononucleosis. The potential for traumatic rupture of an enlarged spleen is well recognized. Recently, splenic artery embolization has gained popularity for the treatment of splenic injury.

Bullet embolus to the heart after gunshot wound to the neck: a case report.

A 43-year-old woman presented with gunshot wounds to the neck, chest, and left thigh. Computed tomography of the neck and chest with intravenous contrast revealed a left common carotid pseudoaneurysm and a foreign body in the right atrium. Preoperative chest x-ray and CT scan confirmed a metallic foreign body in the right heart.

A comparison of corrected serum calcium levels to ionized calcium levels among critically ill surgical patients.

Background: Aberrations in calcium homeostasis are common in critically ill patients. The proper method to evaluate this issue in surgical patients has not been completely defined.

Methods: Medical records of patients admitted to a university-affiliated, tertiary-care surgical intensive care unit were retrospectively reviewed.

Blunt abdominal trauma with ruptured 16-week cornual ectopic pregnancy.

Trauma is the leading cause of nonobstetric morbidity and mortality in pregnancy. Care of the pregnant trauma patient is well documented in the medical literature; however, little has been written about the management of trauma patients with ectopic or cornual pregnancy. Herein, we report the previously undocumented occurrence of a traumatic rupture of a cornual ectopic pregnancy.

Surgeon-performed ultrasound for pneumothorax in the trauma suite.

Background: Surgeon-performed ultrasound has become ubiquitous in the trauma suite. Initial reports suggest that sonography may be used for the detection of pneumothorax. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of sonography to rule out the presence of a pneumothorax in the trauma population.