American journal of surgery
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Multicenter Study
The effect of smoking on 30-day outcomes in elective hernia repair.
Adverse postoperative outcomes related to smoking are well established, yet current smokers continue to be offered elective surgery in the US. It is unknown whether patients undergoing low-risk, elective procedures, who actively smoke experience increased risk of complications. We sought to determine the increased burden of complications following elective hernia repair procedures in patients identified as current smokers. ⋯ Current smokers were more likely to experience serious postoperative complications within 30 days. Given the volume of elective hernia surgery performed in the US, encouraging smoking cessation prior to offering elective repair could reduce postoperative complications, reoperation, readmission, and mortality.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of surgical incision complete closure versus leaving skin open in wound class IV in emergent colon surgery.
Our aim was to compare the effect of techniques of wound closure in the emergent colon surgery with wound class IV. ⋯ Surgical incision complete wound closure in the emergent colon surgery with wound class III/IV is safe and effective.
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Changes in the surgical training landscape have sparked an interest in developing new educational models anchored on entrustment assessment. We sought to optimize the validated OpTrust entrustment assessment tool by comparing ratings from short-course video reviews to previously validated intraoperative assessments. ⋯ Assessment of entrustment behaviors using short-course video review provides a feasible approach to intraoperative assessment. This latest application of OpTrust allows for the tool to be incorporated into surgical training programs across a variety of environments.
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We sought to investigate the association between nighttime (NT) operating and the occurrence of intraoperative adverse events (iAEs). ⋯ Operating at night does increase the risk of iAEs.