American journal of surgery
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Controlled Clinical Trial
Sensitivity of detection of radiofrequency surgical sponges: a prospective, cross-over study.
A retained surgical sponge is a serious medical error that results in negative patient outcomes. Radiofrequency (RF) technology has recently been introduced to evaluate for the presence of a retained sponge. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the detection of surgical sponges embedded with an RF chip through the torsos of subjects of varying body habitus, including the morbidly obese. ⋯ The sensitivity and specificity of RF sponge technology are much higher than published reports of surgical counts or published findings of intraoperative radiographs for retained sponges.
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Laparoscopic colorectal surgery (LCS) is an advanced procedure for which no objective tools exist to assess technical skill. The aim of this study was to determine expert consensus regarding items required on a rating scale for LCS, using a Delphi technique. ⋯ The Delphi method allowed the determination of consensus regarding the essential steps to be included in a tool designed to measure technical competence in LCS.
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Native breast skin flap necrosis is a complication that can result from ischemic injury following mastectomy and can compromise immediate breast reconstruction. The tumescent mastectomy technique has been advocated as a method of allowing sharp dissection with decreased blood loss and perioperative analgesia. This study was performed to determine whether the technique increases the risk for skin flap necrosis in an immediate breast reconstruction setting. ⋯ The use of the tumescent mastectomy technique appears to be associated with a substantial increase in the risk for postoperative major skin flap necrosis in an immediate breast reconstruction setting.