The American surgeon
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The American surgeon · Oct 2002
Abdominal aortic aneurysmorrhaphy and cholelithiasis in the era of endovascular surgery.
The incidence of acute cholecystitis complicating standard abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair has been reported between 0.3 and 18 per cent. This has prompted considerable debate regarding the management of cholelithiasis discovered incidentally during open aortic reconstruction. This study seeks to determine the incidence of cholelithiasis and acute cholecystitis after endovascular AAA repair and evaluate options for management. ⋯ Endovascular repair of AAA does not appear to predispose the patient to the development of symptomatic cholelithiasis during the perioperative period. Therefore a preoperative or intraoperative diagnosis of cholelithiasis does not necessitate cholecystectomy in the setting of planned endovascular AAA repair. Patients who develop cholecystitis after endovascular AAA repair may be effectively treated by standard laparoscopic techniques.
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The American surgeon · Oct 2002
Acute respiratory distress syndrome in blunt trauma: identification of independent risk factors.
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality in trauma patients. Although many injuries and conditions are believed to be associated with ARDS independent risk factors in trauma patients and their relative importance in development of the syndrome are undefined. The aim of this project is to identify independent risk factors for the development of ARDS in blunt trauma patients and to examine the contributions of each factor to ARDS development. ⋯ Independent risk factors for ARDS in blunt trauma include ISS >25, PC, age >65 years, hypotension on admission, and 24-hour transfusion requirement >10 units but not admission metabolic acidosis, femur fracture, infection, or severe brain injury. Assessment of these variables allows accurate estimate of risk in the majority of cases, and the most potent contributors to the predictive value of the model are ISS >25 and PC. Improvement in understanding of which patients are actually at risk may allow for advances in treatment as well as prevention in the future.
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The American surgeon · Oct 2002
High-frequency percussive ventilation as a salvage modality in adult respiratory distress syndrome: a preliminary study.
Despite multiple advances in critical care patients with severe adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) can exhaust the capability of conventional ventilation; this results in respiratory failure and death. High-frequency percussive ventilation (HFPV), which was initially utilized for salvage of burn patients with smoke inhalation injury refractory to conventional ventilation, has evolved as a standard of burn care. Based on our experience with HFPV in burn patients the burn team was consulted to provide salvage ventilation for non-burn surgical intensive care unit patients with refractory respiratory failure. ⋯ No hemodynamic changes directly associated with HFPV were noted. Seven of ten patients failing conventional ventilation survived to hospital discharge after salvage therapy with HFPV. We advocate further studies of HFPV in non-burn patients with ARDS both as salvage therapy and as replacement for conventional ventilation for the initial treatment for ARDS.
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The American surgeon · Oct 2002
Review Case ReportsMalignant hyperthermia in an adult trauma patient.
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The American surgeon · Sep 2002
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyIs bariatric surgery safe in academic centers?
Contemporary outcomes of bariatric surgery are not well defined. Our aim was to document the outcomes of bariatric surgery on the basis of surgeon caseload and affiliation. We analyzed prospectively collected Florida-wide hospital discharge data. ⋯ We conclude that outcomes of bariatric surgery in high-risk patients are similar among academic and community-based surgeons. Academic surgeons undertake bariatric surgery in high-risk patients more frequently than community-based surgeons, which underlies their increased complication rate. These prospectively collected data reflect surgical outcomes more accurately than clinical series and will impact our practice of bariatric surgery.