Annals of surgery
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To determine whether skills acquired by simulation-based training transfer to the operative setting. ⋯ Skills acquired by simulation-based training seem to be transferable to the operative setting. The studies included in this review were of variable quality and did not use comparable simulation-based training methodologies, which limited the strength of the conclusions. More studies are required to strengthen the evidence base and to provide the evidence needed to determine the extent to which simulation should become a part of surgical training programs.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Improving informed consent of surgical patients using a multimedia-based program? Results of a prospective randomized multicenter study of patients before cholecystectomy.
The term "informed consent" explains the process by which a patient, before treatment, is provided comprehensive and impartial information regarding a planned operative procedure so that he/she understands the implications of the procedure before consenting. The goal of the current study was to investigate whether standard methods of consenting can be improved using a multimedia-based information program (MM-IP). ⋯ Use of the multimedia-based program was positively evaluated by patients, and significantly improved patients' perceived understanding of their disease and its treatment. It is, therefore, valuable in the informed consent process.
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Optimization of postoperative outcome requires the application of evidence-based principles of care carefully integrated into a multimodal rehabilitation program. ⋯ Multimodal evidence-based care within the fast-track methodology significantly enhances postoperative recovery and reduces morbidity, and should therefore be more widely adopted. Further improvement is expected by future integration of minimal invasive surgery, pharmacological stress-reduction, and effective multimodal, nonopioid analgesia.
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The Veterans Affairs' (VA) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) has been associated with significant reductions in postoperative morbidity and mortality. We sought to determine if NSQIP methods and risk models were applicable to private sector (PS) hospitals and if implementation of the NSQIP in the PS would be associated with reductions in adverse postoperative outcomes. ⋯ The VA NSQIP methods and risk models in general and vascular surgery were fully applicable to PS hospitals. Thirty-day postoperative morbidity in PS hospitals was reduced with the implementation of the NSQIP.
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Several population-based studies have shown that the total number of surgically removed lymph nodes is independently associated with overall and disease-free survival in a variety of gastrointestinal cancers. In this retrospective study, the impact of total nodal count on overall survival in esophageal cancer was examined using a single institution surgical database. ⋯ These data support the findings from population based studies in esophageal cancer and other gastrointestinal tumors, suggesting that a higher nodal count favorably influences survival.