Publications by authors named "Robert Weisman"

Article Synopsis
  • Traditional surgery for esophageal diverticula often involved open procedures, which had high risks, but a shift to minimally invasive techniques offers several benefits.
  • A study reviewing 28 patients treated minimally invasively from June 2010 to December 2022 found a low 30-day morbidity rate of 10.7%, with no mortalities and a symptom resolution rate of 78.6%.
  • The results suggest that minimally invasive surgery for esophageal diverticula, performed by a skilled multidisciplinary team, is safe and effective, especially in experienced centers.
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Objective: In this study, the authors assessed return on investment (ROI) associated with a forensic assertive community treatment (FACT) program.

Methods: A retrospective secondary data analysis of a randomized controlled trial comprising 70 legal-involved patients with severe mental illness was conducted in Rochester, New York. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either FACT or outpatient psychiatric treatment including intensive case management.

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Recent high-profile deaths of unarmed individuals in police custody have raised concerns about the role of police officers in responding to people who are experiencing mental health crises. Of further concern, people with serious mental illness are highly over-represented throughout the entire criminal justice system including within jail, prison and community corrections populations. It is widely accepted that promoting mental health and criminal justice collaboration is a key to addressing these concerns.

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Learning Objective: After participating in this activity, learners should be better able to:• Assess characteristics of forensic assertive community treatment programs.

Abstract: Forensic assertive community treatment (FACT) has emerged internationally as an intervention strategy for people with serious mental disorders who are involved with the criminal justice system. Studies to date have shown marked variability, however, in FACT program design and operation.

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People with mental illness are overrepresented throughout the criminal justice system, including jail, prison, probation, and parole populations. Yet much disagreement remains about why this problem exists and how best to address it. This article specifically examines empirical evidence regarding the question of whether psychosis and mania are associated with criminal recidivism, and whether this association is predictive or causal in nature.

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The surgical management of Zenker's diverticula is performed through open or endoscopic approaches. The purpose of this report is to review our early experience with flexible endoscopic diverticulotomy with an articulating bipolar energy sealer for cricopharyngeal and diverticular wall division in a series of 5 patients where transoral rigid access was not possible. In addition to technical details, safety and efficacy data are included.

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Head and neck sarcomas are rare and consist of a variety of histologic subtypes. We present a case of undifferentiated/unclassified sarcoma (UUS) of the maxillary sinus, a tumor subtype historically known as malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) or undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS). A 50-year-old female patient presented with worsening facial pain and dysphagia.

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Preclinical models have shown that the effectiveness of GL-ONC1, a modified oncolytic vaccinia virus, is enhanced by radiation and chemotherapy. The purpose of this study was to determine the safety of GL-ONC1 when delivered intravenously with chemoradiotherapy to patients with primary, nonmetastatic head and neck cancer. Patients with locoregionally advanced unresected, nonmetastatic carcinoma of the head/neck, excluding stage III-IVA p16-positive oropharyngeal cancers, were treated with escalating doses and cycles of intravenous GL-ONC1, along with radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

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Objective: Forensic assertive community treatment (FACT) is an adaptation of the assertive community treatment model and is designed to serve justice-involved adults with serious mental illness. This study compared the effectiveness of a standardized FACT model and enhanced treatment as usual in reducing jail and hospital use and in promoting engagement in outpatient mental health services.

Methods: Seventy adults with psychotic disorders who were arrested for misdemeanor crimes and who were eligible for conditional discharge were recruited from the Monroe County, New York, court system.

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Objective: To characterize the safety profile and effectiveness of esophageal dilation in head and neck cancer patients.

Methods: A systematic review was undertaken for articles reporting outcomes of esophageal dilation in head and neck cancer patients. The Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases were searched in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

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Importance: Opioid misuse and overuse has become an epidemic. Chronic opioid use among oral cavity cancer patients after surgery has not been described.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of chronic opioid use in patients undergoing surgery for oral cavity cancer, and evaluate possible associated clinical factors; and the association between opioid use and survival.

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Legal leverage is broadly defined as the use of legal authority to promote treatment adherence. It is widely utilized within mental health courts, drug courts, mandated outpatient treatment programs, and other intervention strategies for individuals with mental illness or chemical dependency who have contact with the criminal justice system. Nonetheless, the ethics of using legal authority to promote treatment adherence remains a hotly debated issue within public and professional circles alike.

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The ability of nicotine to enhance the malignancy of cancer cells is known; however, the possibility that nicotine could regulate a cancer stem cell phenotype remains to be well-established. In this study we sought to determine whether long-term exposure to nicotine could promote cancer stem cell-like properties in two head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell lines, UMSCC-10B and HN-1. Nicotine treatment induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in both cell lines by repressing E-cadherin expression, and led to the induction of stem cell markers Oct-4, Nanog, CD44 and BMI-1, which was reversed upon ectopic re-expression of E-cadherin.

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Objective: The management of advanced laryngeal cancer is evolving, with increasing use of chemoradiation as initial treatment. Recent reports confirm a decline in total laryngectomies (TLs) in the United States. A study was undertaken to evaluate national and regional trends in TLs performed over the most recent decade for which data were available and to use multivariate analysis to characterize these trends in more detail.

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Members of the EGFR/ErbB family of tyrosine kinases are found to be highly expressed and deregulated in many cancers, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The ErbB family, including EGFR, has been demonstrated to play key roles in metastasis, tumorigenesis, cell proliferation, and drug resistance. Recently, these characteristics have been linked to a small subpopulation of cells classified as cancer stem cells (CSCs) which are believed to be responsible for tumor initiation and maintenance.

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Background: Although clinically evident metastases of nonthyroid malignancies (NTMs) to the thyroid gland are uncommon, it is important to suspect them in patients who present with a new thyroid mass and a history, however far back, of prior malignancy. In fact, metastases from NTMs to the thyroid gland have been reported in 1.4%-3% of all patients who have surgery for suspected cancer in the thyroid gland.

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Background: Recent studies indicate an increase in tumor progression and recurrence in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) of cancer patients taking recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEpo) for anemia. This study was undertaken to investigate the potential role of rhEpo in invasion, proliferation, and cisplatin-induced cell death in HNSCC cell lines.

Methods: The following experiments were performed with two HNSCC cell lines, UMSCC-10B and UMSCC-22B.

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Objective: Forensic assertive community treatment (FACT) is an adaptation of the assertive community treatment model designed to prevent criminal recidivism through criminal justice collaborations. A national survey was conducted to examine FACT collaborations with probation departments.

Methods: Members of the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors were surveyed to identify FACT programs.

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