International journal of surgery
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To report the outcome of patients treated for colonic neoplasms using a laparoscopic assisted technique since its introduction at the University Hospital of the West Indies, Jamaica. ⋯ Appropriately selected patients with colonic neoplasms can be safely subjected to a laparoscopic assisted resection and expect to enjoy the advantages of this technique even in a developing country setting. The outcome of thirty consecutive laparoscopic assisted colectomies is reported demonstrating that this technique can be safely applied to selected patients with colonic carcinomas in developing countries.
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Surgeons are faced with the dilemma that many clinical questions in their daily practice to do not have universally agreed answers, but patients increasingly demand the 'best practice' from their doctors. In addition time pressures mean that clinicians are unable to keep up with the full spectrum of published research. We have adopted an approach first pioneered in emergency medicine, namely the Best Evidence Topic or Best BET. ⋯ Once the relevant papers are found, these papers are critically appraised, the relevant data to answer the question is extracted, tabulated and summarised. A clinical bottom line is reached after this process. The resulting BETs, written by practising surgeons can then provide robust evidence-based answers to important clinical questions asked during our daily practice.
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The root exit zone (REZ) of the seventh cranial nerve has been the target of microvascular decompression surgery (MVD) while searching the neurovascular conflict for treatment of hemifacial spasm for long time. Recently, increasing cases regarding the offending vessel beyond the REZ have been reported. To verify whether a thorough dissection of the nerve may give rise to a better postoperative result without enhancing complications, we conducted a parallel investigation. ⋯ These findings suggested that the entire-root-decompression technique is recommended while performing MVDs in patients with hemifacial spasm.