Predictors of Survival in Veterans with Head and Neck Cancer Treated Surgically.

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) accounts for 90% of all head and neck cancers. In veterans, the prevalence of head and neck SCC is nearly twice as high compared with the civilian population. Neck dissection plays an important role in the treatment algorithm for patients with head and neck SCC.

A modified activity protocol for claudication.

Background: We propose the use of a monitored step tracking device, the FitBit® to supplant supervised exercise therapy (SET) programs to facilitate improvement in walking distance in veteran claudicators.

Methods: In this prospective study, we enrolled forty-nine patients with clinical evidence of lower extremity claudication in a six-month walking program. Each patient was given a FitBit® device to track daily number of steps.

Functional status as a predictor of outcomes in open and endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

Background: Functional status is a simple and rapidly assessable metric that may be used as a predictor for surgical outcomes. This study examined the association of functional status with short-term mortality after abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair in octogenarians to characterize the utility of functional status as a means of preoperative risk assessment.

Methods: All patients who underwent endovascular and open AAA repair from 2002 to 2010 within the Veterans Affairs Surgical Quality Improvement Program (VASQIP) database were identified.