Publications by authors named "Nava Aslani"

Secondary prevention of colorectal cancer relies on effective screening through colonoscopy and polypectomy. Resection of some polyps can present technical challenges particularly when polyps are large, flat, or behind colonic folds. Laparoscopy as an adjunct to endoscopy can aid in removing difficult colonic polyps without subjecting patients to radical segmental colectomy.

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Background: Today's acute care surgery (ACS) service model requires multiple handovers to incoming attending surgeons and residents. Our objectives were to investigate current handover practices in Canadian hospitals that have an ACS service and assess the quality of handover practices in place.

Methods: We administered an electronic survey among ACS residents in 6 Canadian general surgery programs.

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Background: Randomized controlled trials have shown equivalent outcomes for laparoscopic-assisted colectomy (LAC) and open colectomy (OC) when performed by well-trained surgeons experienced in both techniques. Our goal was to evaluate the outcomes of LAC at a population level.

Methods: Using the prospectively collected Gastrointestinal Cancer Outcomes Unit database from the British Columbia Cancer Agency, short- and long-term outcomes in patients with colon cancer treated with LAC and OC were compared from 2003 to 2008 inclusive.

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Background: Completion axillary lymph node dissection (CALND) is recommended in the setting of positive sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) but is associated with a higher rate of postoperative complications. In this study, the characteristics and outcomes of patients who did and did not have CALND are compared.

Methods: We identified all patients with breast cancer with positive sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) who did not have concurrent CALND from 2003 to 2006 using a prospectively collected database (British Columbia Cancer Breast Outcomes database) and retrospective chart review.

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