Effect of epidural compared to patient-controlled intravenous analgesia on outcomes for patients undergoing liver resection for neoplastic disease.

Background: Epidural analgesia is routinely used for postoperative pain control following abdominal surgeries, yet data regarding the safety and efficacy of epidural analgesia is controversial.

Methods: Pain-related and clinical perioperative data were extracted and correlated with baseline clinicopathologic data and method of analgesia (epidural vs. intravenous patient-controlled analgesia) in patients who underwent hepatectomy from 2012 to 2014.

Uncovering the History of Operating Room Attire through Photographs.

Background: Although early proponents for each of the four basic articles of operating room clothing--gowns, caps, masks, and gloves--can be identified, it is unclear from historical commentaries when each article achieved general acceptance and was consistently worn by surgeons and by anesthesia providers.

Methods: Historical photographs were identified from the Web sites of the National Library of Medicine, Google, and the archives of the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology for the 11 decades 1860 to 1970. The presence or absence of each article of clothing was then determined for the surgical and anesthesia providers depicted.