World journal of surgery
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World journal of surgery · Oct 2002
Modified technique of percutaneous dilational tracheostomy in 600 cases.
Tracheostomy is frequently required for the treatment of critically ill patients to prevent the complications with prolonged translaryngeal intubation. It may facilitate airway suctioning and improve patient comfort during the process of weaning. The purpose of the study was to introduce a new modified technique for percutaneous dilational tracheostomy (MPDT) and assess its advantages. ⋯ The surgical incision was completely healed within 3 to 4 days after removing the tracheostoma. No tracheal stenoses were observed during the follow-up. MPDT is a safe, applicable technique that can be performed quickly even by a nonsurgeon in the intensive care unit and emergency department, with a low risk of complications because there is a direct view of the trachea and minimal trauma.
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World journal of surgery · Oct 2002
Trans-mediastinal gunshot wounds: are "stable" patients really stable?
Gunshot wounds that traverse the mediastinum frequently cause serious injury to the cardiac, vascular, pulmonary, and digestive structures contained within. Most patients present with unstable vital signs signifying the need for emergency operation. An occasional patient will present with stable vital signs. ⋯ Patients may appear stable following a transmediastinal gunshot wound, even when they have life-threatening injuries. There is no difference in vital signs, blood gas, or hemothorax to indicate which patients have serious injuries. We advocate continued aggressive work-up of these patients to avoid missing an injury with disastrous consequences.
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Isolated sternal fractures are seen with increasing frequency in road accidents, especially since the introduction of seatbelt legislation. The medical records of all our patients who were treated with a diagnosis of sternal fracture (SF) over the past two decades were retrospectively reviewed to determine the incidence, morbidity, and mortality of this entity. Between 1984 and 1998, 100 consecutive patients were admitted to the Department of Surge Surgery, General Hospital of Nikea-Piraeus, Greece, for SF. ⋯ Eight of our patients needed ventilatory support. Four of them died from respiratory insufficiency, myocardial infarction, and heart and lung contusion. Although an isolated SF carries a good prognosis, careful evaluation and clinical observation are essential.
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World journal of surgery · Sep 2002
Minimal blood loss in patients undergoing radical retropubic prostatectomy.
The objective of this study was to evaluate blood loss in patients undergoing radical retropubic prostatectomy. Blood loss and operating time were evaluated in a series of 197 consecutive patients with prostate cancer who underwent radical retropubic prostatectomy by a two-surgeon team. The patients were positioned supine with the table flexed and the patient in about 35 degrees Trendelenburg position. ⋯ Whereas epidural anesthesia decreased blood loss by a modest 27%, intraoperative blood pressure, bilateral hypogastric artery clamping, and nerve sparing had little or no significant effect. Patient position and the surgical skill of a two-man team can virtually eliminate the risk of blood loss during radical retropubic prostatectomy. There is thus no need always to resort to other procedures or to preoperative autologous blood donation.
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The number of times an article is cited in scientific journals reflects its impact on a specific biomedical field or specialty and reflects the impact of the authors' creativity. Our objective was to identify and analyze the characteristics of the 100 most frequently cited articles published in journals dedicated to general surgery and its close subspecialties. Using the database (1945-1995) of the Science Citation Index of the Institute for Scientific Information, 1500 articles cited 100 times and more were identified and the top 100 articles selected for further analysis. ⋯ This list of the top-cited papers identifies seminal contributions and their originators, facilitating the understanding and discourse of modern surgical history and offering surgeons hints about what makes a contribution a "top-cited classic." To produce such a "classic" the surgeon and his or her group must come up with a clinical or nonclinical innovation, observation, or discovery that has a long-standing effect on the way we practice-be it operative or nonoperative. Based on our findings, to be well cited such a contribution should be published in the English language in a high-impact journal. Moreover, it is more likely to resonant loudly if it originates from a North American or British "ivory tower."