Scientific Literature and Evaluation Metrics: Impact Factor, Usage Metrics, and Altmetrics.

Evaluating the quality of a scientific article has proven to be an elusive task. The most widely used bibliometric value currently used for this purpose, the journal impact factor, was not originally designed to determine the quality of research in a scientific article. Nevertheless, it has morphed into a surrogate to delineate the quality of a journal and even to represent the quality of individual articles in that that journal.

Teaching and learning of surgery.

Significant insights into how we teach and learn have been made over the past 50 years. Cognitive load theory and the acquisition of expert performance through the role of deliberate practice are just 2 of those insights important to surgical education.

Teaching and training surgery to the next generation of surgeons.

Training residents to become the next generation of surgeons involves very significant challenges not faced by educators of a generation ago. These challenges involve residency training, mentor availability, and teaching operative procedures.

Laparoscopic splenectomy for blunt trauma: a safe operation following embolization.

Background: Embolization of the injured spleen from blunt trauma reduces the risk of continued or delayed hemorrhage in patients being treated with nonoperative management (NOM). Splenectomy is required in some patients following embolization due to continued bleeding or infarction with abscess formation. Laparoscopic splenectomy for blunt trauma can be done safely in patients following embolization.

Laparoscopic splenectomy following embolization for blunt trauma.

Background: Grade III through V splenic injuries as defined by the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) grading scale are associated with hemorrhage and nonoperative failure. Embolization has been reported to reduce splenic bleeding in 50% to 75% of patients with a high-grade injury. However, splenectomy following embolization may be necessary in patients who continue to bleed or develop splenic infarction with abscess formation.

NOTES: issues and technical details with introduction of NOTES into a small general surgery residency program.

Background And Objectives: Natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) is a development of recent origin. In 2004, Kalloo et al first described NOTES investigation in an animal model. Since then, several investigators have pursued NOTES study in animal survival and nonsurvival models.