The American surgeon
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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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Portal hypertension resulting from cirrhosis was one of the biggest challenges faced by general surgeons up until the past two decades. The management of portal hypertensive variceal hemorrhage has undergone dramatic changes during this period. Endoscopic variceal ligation and transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts are currently used with great success. ⋯ However, the need for surgical intervention has become a rarity. The success of liver transplantation has ensured that portal hypertension is cured permanently and one does not often see the critically ill and decompensated patient with cirrhosis on the surgical service. A review of the current treatment options in this very ill patient population is the primary focus of this article.
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The American surgeon · Dec 2007
Case ReportsBullet embolus to the heart after gunshot wound to the neck: a case report.
A 43-year-old woman presented with gunshot wounds to the neck, chest, and left thigh. Computed tomography of the neck and chest with intravenous contrast revealed a left common carotid pseudoaneurysm and a foreign body in the right atrium. ⋯ At median sternotomy, the intracardiac foreign body could not be located using fluoroscopy. The foreign body (bullet) was subsequently removed in the cardiac catheterization laboratory using a percutaneous transvenous basket extraction through a right femoral vein cutdown.
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The American surgeon · Dec 2007
ReviewDiagnosis and management of extremity compartment syndromes: an orthopaedic perspective.
More than 200,000 people in the United States are diagnosed annually with compartment syndrome. This condition is commonly established based on clinical parameters. ⋯ Surgical release of the enveloping fascia remains the acceptable standard treatment for compartment syndrome. This article reviews the evaluation and treatment of compartment syndrome.