Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Selected patients with chronic pancreatitis can benefit from total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation. Patient selection is challenging and outcomes assessment is essential. ⋯ Total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation improves QOL for selected patients with chronic pancreatitis. The physQOL improves quickly after surgery, and psychQOL improvements are more gradual. Opioid misuse can predict physQOL improvement.
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Mesh repair of incisional hernias has been consistently shown to diminish recurrence rates after repair, with an increased risk of infectious complications. We present a consecutive series of elective, retrorectus mesh repairs of the abdominal wall and attempt to determine predictors of wound events and recurrence. ⋯ Wound events are common after open mesh repairs of complex incisional hernias. Previous mesh infections and recurrent repairs increase the likelihood of an SSI, which significantly increases the risk of recurrence. Recurrences after retrorectus mesh repairs are significantly higher with lightweight compared with mid-weight meshes.
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Preoperative ERCP, magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), and intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) are standard procedures in evaluating patients with suspected choledocholithiasis. This study evaluates the changing practice patterns over time of these 3 procedures in a large cohort of patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) at a single tertiary care center. ⋯ Despite a shift from IOC and preoperative ERCP to preoperative MRCP alone or with ERCP, a significant percentage (7.6%) of patients still underwent IOC in 2013. Use of IOC during LC has decreased but is not considered obsolete, rather, it remains a valuable tool for the evaluation of bile duct anatomy, bile duct injury, or suspected choledocholithiasis. Intraoperative cholangiography during uncomplicated LC should be emphasized in teaching programs to insure general surgery resident competency with the procedure.
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Case mix index (CMI) is calculated to determine the relative value assigned to a Diagnosis-Related Group. Accurate documentation of patient complications and comorbidities and major complications and comorbidities changes CMI and can affect hospital reimbursement and future pay for performance metrics. ⋯ A concurrent documentation review significantly increases severity of illness, risk of mortality, and CMI scores in a trauma/acute care service compared with pre-program levels. These changes reflect more accurate key word documentation rather than a change in patient acuity. The increased scores might impact hospital reimbursement and more accurately stratify outcomes measures for care providers.
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The first successful local resection of a periampullary tumor was performed by Halsted in 1898. Kausch performed the first regional resection in 1909, and the operation was popularized by Whipple in 1935. The operation was infrequently performed until the 1980s and 1990s. ⋯ The volume of pancreatic pathology has attracted 22 basic and clinical scientists to Hopkins, which has $28.5 million of direct support and more than $30 million in endowments, to support research in pancreatic cancer. The volume of clinical material has also supported the training of many young surgeons, 15 of whom have become department chairmen, and more than 20 have become division chiefs.