Annals of surgery
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Multicenter Study
Efficacy and Safety of Radiofrequency Ablation of Thyroid Nodules: A Multi-institutional Prospective Cohort Study.
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has been recently adopted into the practice of thyroidology in the United States, although its use as an alternative to traditional thyroid surgery in Asia and Europe came near the turn of the 21st century. In the United States, only a few studies with small sample sizes have been published to date. We examined outcomes of benign thyroid nodules treated with RFA from 2 North American institutions. ⋯ This is the largest multi-institutional North American study examining thyroid nodule treatment response to RFA. RFA is a safe and effective treatment option that allows preservation of thyroid function with minimal risk of procedural complications.
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The objective of the study was to develop a better model of prediction after EVAR using the psoas muscle index (PMI). ⋯ We developed the SAS to predict all-cause mortality after elective EVAR and this scoring showed excellent predictive performance.
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Lateral pelvic lymph node (LPLN) metastases are an important cause of preventable local failure in rectal cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical and oncological outcomes following magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-directed surgical selection for lateral pelvic lymph node dissection (LPLND) after total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT). ⋯ For rectal cancer patients with evidence of LPLN metastasis, the appropriate selection of patients for LPLND can be facilitated by a multidisciplinary MRI-directed approach with no significant difference in perioperative or oncologic outcomes.
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Geographic Proximity of Family Members and Healthcare Utilization after Complex Surgical Procedures.
We sought to determine the relationship between a patient's proximal familial social support, defined as the geographic proximity of family members, and healthcare utilization after complex cardiovascular and oncologic procedures. ⋯ The geographic proximity of family members is significantly associated with decreased healthcare utilization after complex cardiovascular and oncologic surgical procedures.
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Surgeon preferences such as instrument and suture selection and idiosyncratic approaches to individual procedure steps have been largely viewed as minor differences in the surgical workflow. We hypothesized that idiosyncratic approaches could be quantified and shown to have measurable effects on procedural outcomes. ⋯ Our results show that individual preferences affect technical decisions and play a significant role in procedural outcomes. Future analysis in more complex procedures may make major contributions to our understanding of contributors to procedure outcomes.