Arch Surg Chicago
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Two morbidly obese patients were described as having severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome with several apneic periods occurring during sleep that produced substantial oxygen desaturation and, in one patient, cardiac arrhythmias. These patients, by dieting, had noted specific "trigger" weights at which they would manifest symptoms of lethargy, hypersomnolence, and snoring. ⋯ Successful weight loss ensued and repeated sleep studies disclosed no further apneic periods (with the tracheostomies occluded), and so their tracheostomies were removed. We consider sleep apnea syndrome to be an indication for bariatric surgery.
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Comparative Study
Acute arterial thrombosis of the lower extremity. Its natural history contrasted with arterial embolism.
We compared a group of 52 patients with acute lower extremity ischemia secondary to arterial thrombosis with a series of 220 patients with peripheral embolism who were seen at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, from 1967 through 1980. The conditions of patients with arterial thrombosis were misdiagnosed as acute embolism at a rate of 20%. Mortality in the patients with embolism was significantly higher. ⋯ Early revascularization for acute thrombosis was carried out with a 30-day patency rate of 82%. While the mortality associated with acute thrombosis was significantly lower than that seen with peripheral embolism, the risk of major amputation was 35%. There should be no reluctance to proceed with indicated vascular reconstruction in the setting of acute limb ischemia secondary to arterial thrombosis.
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Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Efficacy of preoperative biliary tract decompression in patients with obstructive jaundice.
Fifty consecutive matched patients with benign or malignant biliary tract obstruction were compared to determine the efficacy of preoperative percutaneous biliary drainage (PBD). Twenty-five patients underwent PBD for an average of nine days before operation; 25 patients underwent percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography ( PTHC ) followed immediately by operation. Serum bilirubin levels before PTHC were 16.5 +/- 7.6 mg/dL and 14.9 +/- 7.6 mg/dL in PBD and non-PBD groups, respectively. ⋯ One patient (4%) with PBD, and five patients (20%) without PBD, died. The mean hospital stay was shorter for the PBD group. Preoperative PBD reduces operative mortality and morbidity and results in a more rapid resolution of hyperbilirubinemia during the postoperative period.
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We assessed the feasibility of a selective policy for operative exploration of penetrating neck wounds. Patients with bleeding, hematomas, crepitations, dysphagia, dysphonia, or impaired mental status rendering their conditions nonevaluative had prompt explorations. All other patients were observed in the hospital. ⋯ The average hospital stay for observation was 1.8 days. Our experience confirms the safety and cost-effectiveness of selective exploration for penetrating neck injuries. Moreover, observation does not mandate extensive ancillary testing for level II and III injuries.
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Postoperative pneumonia continues to be a major cause of mortality on surgical services. The determinants that affect survival in patients in whom postoperative pneumonia develops are not clearly defined. We completed a retrospective analysis of 136 patients in whom postoperative pneumonia developed after they had major operative procedures between 1974 and 1980. ⋯ The average age of the patients in whom pneumonia developed was 66 years. Significant determinants of death by chi 2 analysis included gram-negative pneumonitis, emergent operation, respirator-acquired pneumonia, postoperative peritonitis, and several factors that suggested that host defenses were overwhelmed (remote organ failure, positive blood cultures, or spread of infection to the second lung). We concluded that postoperative pneumonia is a disease of elderly patients and that survival depends on the ability of the surgeon to help the patient localize and resist the challenge presented by virulent gram-negative organisms.