The American surgeon
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The American surgeon · Mar 2008
Randomized Controlled TrialPost-laparoscopic cholecystectomy pain: effects of intraperitoneal local anesthetics on pain control--a randomized prospective double-blinded placebo-controlled trial.
Postoperative pain after laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is generally less than open cholecystectomy; however, the postoperative shoulder and abdominal pain experienced by patients still causes preventable distress. Intraperitoneal irrigation of the diaphragmatic surface and gallbladder fossa using normal saline, bupivacaine, or lignocaine may effectively control visceral abdominal pain after an LC. Two hundred patients with similar demographics undergoing elective LC were randomized to one of four groups of 50 patients each, including Group A placebo control, Group B with isotonic saline irrigation, Group C with bupivacaine irrigation, and Group D with lignocaine irrigation. ⋯ Bowel function recovery was similar in all patients, and there were no significant complications. We conclude that intraperitoneal irrigation with either saline, bupivacaine, or lignocaine can significantly reduce visceral abdominal pain after LC. Lignocaine was the most efficacious local anesthetic in this trial and has a high safety profile when used at recommended doses.
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The American surgeon · Mar 2008
Blast injury in a civilian trauma setting is associated with a delay in diagnosis of traumatic brain injury.
High-pressure waves (blast) account for the majority of combat injuries and are becoming increasingly common in terrorist attacks. To our knowledge, there are no data evaluating the epidemiology of blast injury in a domestic nonterrorist setting. Data were analyzed retrospectively on patients admitted with any type of blast injury over a 10-year period at a busy urban trauma center. ⋯ Blast injury is a complicated disease process, which may evolve over time, particularly with TBI. The missed injury rate for TBI in patients with a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 15 was 36 per cent. More studies are needed in the area of blast injury to better understand this disease process.
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Traditionally, conventional arteriography is the diagnostic modality of choice to evaluate for arterial injury. Recent technological advances have resulted in multidetector, fine resolution computed tomographic angiography (CTA). This study examines CTA for evaluation of extremity vascular trauma compared with conventional arteriography. ⋯ CTA provides accurate peripheral vascular imaging while additionally offering advantages of noninvasiveness and immediate availability. Secondary to these advantages, CTA has supplanted arteriography for initial radiographic evaluation of peripheral vascular injuries at our Level I trauma center. This study supports CTA as an effective alternative to conventional arteriography in assessing extremity vascular trauma.
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The American surgeon · Feb 2008
Review Case ReportsA cautionary tale: anaphylaxis to isosulfan blue dye after 12 years and 3339 cases of lymphatic mapping.
Sentinel node biopsy has become the standard method for lymphatic staging in early-stage breast cancer and melanomas. The most commonly used technique uses both a radioactive tracer as well as blue dye, usually isosulfan blue. In this report, we discuss two episodes of anaphylaxis to isosulfan blue during lymphatic mapping, occurring 12 years and 3339 lymphatic mapping cases after adoption of the technique, and discuss management issues raised by these events.