The Annals of thoracic surgery
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Bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) grafting in patients with diabetes mellitus is controversial because of a higher risk for sternal infection. The purpose of this study is to compare the outcome of BITA grafting to that of single ITA (SITA) grafting in patients with diabetes. ⋯ The findings of this large cohort study suggest that the long-term outcome of patients with diabetes and multivessel disease who undergo BITA grafting is better than that of diabetic patients who undergo coronary artery bypass graft surgery with SITA and saphenous vein grafts.
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The Physician Payment Sunshine Act was implemented to provide transparency to financial transactions between industry and physicians. Under this law, the Open Payments Program (OPP) was created to publicly disclose all transactions and inform patients of potential conflicts of interest. Collaboration between industry and cardiothoracic surgeon-scientists is essential in developing new approaches to treating patients with cardiac disease. The objective of this study is to characterize industry payments to cardiothoracic surgeons as reported by the OPP. ⋯ Among cardiothoracic surgeons who are listed as recipients of nonresearch industry payments, 50% of cardiothoracic surgeons received less than $181. Awareness of the OPP data is critical for cardiothoracic surgeons, as it provides a means to prevent potential public misconceptions about industry payments within the specialty that may affect patient trust.
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Dilatation of the ascending aorta tends to develop in individuals with aortic valve disease. Reduction ascending aortoplasty (RAA) is an alternative procedure to ascending aortic replacement. This study was designed to identify the early prognosis of RAA for patients with aortic valve disease and dilatation of the ascending aorta. ⋯ Reduction ascending aortoplasty shows good early results in patients with aortic valve disease and dilatation of the ascending aorta. Redilatation tends to happen in patients with BAV, and long-term follow-up is necessary.
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Although error identification and recovery skills are essential for the safe practice of surgery, they have not traditionally been taught or evaluated in residency training. This study validates a method for assessing error identification and recovery skills in surgical residents using a thoracoscopic lobectomy simulator. ⋯ The described simulator-based examination with embedded errors and its accompanying assessment tool can be used to measure error identification and recovery skills in surgical residents. This examination provides a valid method for comparing teaching strategies designed to improve error recognition and recovery to enhance patient safety.