Objectives: To evaluate the time required for each component of laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) performed by a single surgeon to identify the factors that expedite the learning curve. LRP is a technically demanding procedure with a lengthy learning curve.
Methods: The LRP procedure was divided into 12 steps, and the time for each step was prospectively recorded during the first 50 consecutive patients undergoing LRP by a single surgeon. The operations were divided into five groups of 10, and the average times for each step were compared and correlated with surgeon observations and changes in surgical technique.
Results: Statistically significant progressive improvement was seen in the total time of the LRP procedure (269.4 minutes in period 1 versus 205.4 minutes in period 4, P < 0.05). Regarding the specific steps, improvement occurred in the time needed for dissection of the vas deferens and seminal vesicles (51.8 minutes for period 1 versus 25.3 minutes for period 4, P < 0.01 and 31.2 minutes for period 5, P < 0.03), apical incision (16.7 minutes for period 1 versus 6.3 minutes for period 4, P < 0.03 and 5.7 minutes for period 5, P < 0.02), and division of the rectourethralis (13.5 minutes for period 1 versus 3.4 minutes for period 5, P < 0.05). The time needed for vesicourethral anastomosis remained unchanged throughout the study (average 48.5 minutes).
Conclusions: With experience, the operative times for defined components of LRP improve. Patient selection for a low body mass index and smaller prostate may expedite the procedure. Application of a fixed retractor system, early identification of the vas deferens beneath the peritoneum in a more lateral position, and slow meticulous dissection and ligation of the dorsal vein complex are factors that may expedite the learning curve for LRP.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.urology.2005.04.039 | DOI Listing |
J Med Internet Res
January 2025
Department of Cardiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Background: Efficient emergency patient transport systems, which are crucial for delivering timely medical care to individuals in critical situations, face certain challenges. To address this, CONNECT-AI (CONnected Network for EMS Comprehensive Technical-Support using Artificial Intelligence), a novel digital platform, was introduced. This artificial intelligence (AI)-based network provides comprehensive technical support for the real-time sharing of medical information at the prehospital stage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Coll Cardiol
December 2024
Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Electronic address:
Background: Outpatient worsening heart failure (HF), defined by initiation or intensification of diuretics, is adversely prognostic for patients with either reduced or preserved ejection fraction.
Objectives: This study sought to investigate the prognostic value of outpatient worsening HF in transthyretin amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy and the effect of patisiran treatment.
Methods: Post hoc analyses of the APOLLO-B trial (NCT03997383) evaluated the associations between outpatient worsening HF (defined by oral diuretic initiation or intensification), measures of disease progression, and a composite endpoint of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular (CV) events.
J Bacteriol
January 2025
Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
Unlabelled: is one of the most virulent bacterial pathogens known and causes the disease tularemia, which can be fatal if untreated. This zoonotic and intracellular pathogen is exposed to diverse environmental and host stress factors that require an appropriate response to survive. However, the stress tolerance mechanisms used by to persist are not fully understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSurg Pract Sci
March 2025
Arizona Center of Hand to Shoulder Surgery, Phoenix, AZ, United States.
Introduction: Time spent in the operating room (OR) has ramifications that impact patient outcomes and the economics of patients, physicians, surgery centers, and insurance industry. For that reason, there is an incentive to seek approaches that allow shorter times to be spent in the OR. To what extent varying routine techniques impact on operating times has not been extensively studied in metacarpal fixation literature, specifically investigating retrograde threaded intramedullary nail fixations (RTNF) and comparing it to open plating fixations (OPF).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Transl Med
January 2025
Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Departments of Pediatrics, Johns Hokins University School of Medicine, 200 N. Wolfe St., Room 2077, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA.
Background: We have noted that some adolescents and young adults with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) report difficulty with arms-overhead activities, suggestive of brachial plexus dysfunction or thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS). In the TOS literature, diagnostic maneuvers focus on the provocation of upper limb symptoms (arm fatigue and heaviness, paresthesias, neck and upper back pain), but not on elicitation of systemic symptoms.
Objectives: To estimate the proportion of patients with fatiguing illness who experience local and systemic symptoms during a common maneuver used in evaluating TOS-the elevated arm stress test (EAST).
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