Routine Endoscopy Prior to Surgical Ostomy Closure: An Obsolete Concept.

Background: Closure of temporary diverting ostomies is commonly preceded by an endoscopic study of the colonic mucosa and anastomosis, despite lacking evidence of its relevance and impact on subsequent operative management.

Aim: We sought to determine the incidence of pathological findings and therefore evaluate the clinical benefit of routine pre-operative endoscopy in asymptomatic patients, hypothesizing sole evaluation of the anastomotic integrity to be sufficient in these cases.

Methods: We retrospectively identified all adult patients with ostomy installations who were followed up for potential reversal surgery between 2002 and 2020 at the University Hospital of Zurich, Switzerland.

High-density ECoG improves the detection of high frequency oscillations that predict seizure outcome.

Objectives: Residual fast ripples (FR) in the intraoperative ECoG are highly specific predictors of postsurgical seizure recurrence. However, a FR is generated by a small patch of cortical tissue. Spatial sampling with standard electrodes may thus miss clinically relevant information.