Wound infection rate after skin closure of damage control laparotomy with wicks or incisional negative wound therapy: An EAST multi-center trial.

Damage control laparotomy (DCL) has a high risk of SSI and as an attempt to mitigate this, surgeons often leave the skin open to heal by secondary intention. A recent retrospective study showed that DCL wounds could be closed with the addition of wicks or incisional wound vacs with acceptable rates of wound infection. The aim of this prospective trial was to corroborate these results.

Nomenclature in Palliative Surgery.

Surgical palliative care, palliative care interventions, and palliative surgery all reference a blend of these 2 sub-specialty fields. Despite prior published definitions, use of these phrases both clinically and in the literature is varied and can lead to confusion and misunderstanding. Herein, we proposed the adoption of standardized nomenclature to guide the consistent use of these phrases.

Bringing Back the Art of Medicine to Surgery.

In a relatively short period of time, the need for incorporating primary surgical palliative care into surgical education and residency curriculum has become apparent. This provides an opportunity for growth for surgeons and surgical residents and a method to explore spirituality and wholeness of the patient. It also has the potential for increasing the sense of fulfillment that residents and surgeons alike can drive from caring for complex surgical patients.

Damage Control Laparotomy Wound Incisions Can Be Closed With Low Rates of Superficial Surgical Site Infections.

Due to high rates of surgical site infections (SSIs) in damage control laparotomies (DCLs), many surgeons leave wounds to heal by secondary intention. We hypothesize that patients after DCL can have their wounds primarily closed with wicks/Penrose drains with low rates of superficial surgical site infections. A retrospective review of a prospectively maintained DCL database was performed for all patients who underwent DCL from January 2016 to June 2018.

The Utility of Serial Hemoglobin Monitoring in Non-Operative Management of Blunt Splenic Injury.

Background: The Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST) states there is not enough evidence to recommend a particular frequency of measuring Hgb values for non-operative management (NOM) of blunt splenic injury (BSI). This study was performed to compare the utility of serial Hgb (SHgb) to daily Hgb (DHgb) in this population.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients with BSI between 2013 and 2019.