Confessions of a Surgeon

Confessions of a Surgeon

Confessions of a Surgeon: The Good, the Bad, and the Complicated... Life Behind the O.R. Doors. As an active surgeon and former department chairman, Dr. Paul A. Ruggieri has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of his profession.... read more

Postoperative Pain Predicts 30-day Readmission

Postoperative Pain Predicts 30-day Readmission

Postoperative pain trajectories identify populations at risk for 30-day readmissions and ED visits, and do not seem to be mediated by postdischarge complications. Addressing pain control expectations before discharge may... read more

Value of Social Media in Advancing Surgical Research

Value of Social Media in Advancing Surgical Research

Some say surgical research is an oxymoron, maybe because they do not know how much surgeons long for high-quality clinical investigation when they have to make decisions on how to treat their patients. Unfortunately, hard... read more

Joint Consensus Statement on Postoperative Gastrointestinal Dysfunction Within an Enhanced Recovery

Joint Consensus Statement on Postoperative Gastrointestinal Dysfunction Within an Enhanced Recovery

The primary driver of length of stay after bowel surgery, particularly colorectal surgery, is the time to return of gastrointestinal (GI) function. Traditionally, delayed GI recovery was thought to be a routine and unavoidable... read more

Development of Dementia in Patients with Femoral Neck Fracture Who Experience Postoperative Delirium

Development of Dementia in Patients with Femoral Neck Fracture Who Experience Postoperative Delirium

It remains unclear to what extent postoperative delirium (POD) affects the incidence of dementia in hip fracture patients, and the methods used to detect delirium and dementia require validation. The aim of this study was... read more

Effect of Individualized vs Standard Blood Pressure Management Strategies on Postoperative Organ Dysfunction

Effect of Individualized vs Standard Blood Pressure Management Strategies on Postoperative Organ Dysfunction

Effect of Individualized vs Standard Blood Pressure Management Strategies on Postoperative Organ Dysfunction Among High-Risk Patients Undergoing Major Surgery. Among patients predominantly undergoing abdominal surgery who... read more

Bleeding During Percutaneous Dilatational Tracheostomy – What to do while waiting for the surgeon?

Bleeding During Percutaneous Dilatational Tracheostomy – What to do while waiting for the surgeon?

A patient suffered significant bleeding during an attempt at percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy due to an aberrant anterior jugular vein. Bleeding was controlled with pressure temporarily, but quickly returned necessitating... read more

Effect of Antibiotic Prophylaxis on Surgical Site Infections Following Removal of Orthopedic Implants

Effect of Antibiotic Prophylaxis on Surgical Site Infections Following Removal of Orthopedic Implants

In this randomized clinical trial that included 470 patients who were undergoing surgery for removal of orthopedic implants used for treatment of below-the-knee fractures, surgical site infection occurred in 12.9% of patients... read more

Development and Validation of an Empiric Tool to Predict Favorable Neurologic Outcomes Among PICU Patients

Development and Validation of an Empiric Tool to Predict Favorable Neurologic Outcomes Among PICU Patients

This proposed prediction tool encompasses 20 risk factors into one probability to predict favorable neurologic outcome during ICU stay among children with critical illness. Future studies should seek external validation and... read more

Burnout and Stress Among US Surgery Residents

Burnout and Stress Among US Surgery Residents

Burnout among physicians affects mental health, performance, and patient outcomes. Surgery residency is a high-risk time for burnout. We examined burnout and the psychological characteristics that can contribute to burnout... read more

Current Therapy of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care

Current Therapy of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care

A comprehensive and contemporary summary of the treatment and post-operative management of traumatic injuries. The concise format makes it ideally suited for everyday use, and new, full-color illustrations highlight the most... read more

Regional Variation of Computed Tomographic Imaging and the Risk of Nephrectomy

Regional Variation of Computed Tomographic Imaging and the Risk of Nephrectomy

In this analysis of 306 hospital referral regions, regional CT risk was significantly correlated with nephrectomy, and scanning an additional 1000 Medicare beneficiaries was associated with 4 additional nephrectomies. Beneficiaries... read more

New Replacement Heart Valve Grows as Child Gets Older

New Replacement Heart Valve Grows as Child Gets Older

Children born with congenital heart valve defects number in the thousands each year, yet there are simply no artificial cardiac valves available that were designed specifically for babies. Multiple heart surgeries have to... read more

Your plumber offers a money-back guarantee. Should your doctor?

One recommendation is that patients shouldn't have to pay for their care if they experience certain avoidable complications up to 90 days after surgery. A participating hospital would guarantee its work, or patients would... read more