Surgical technology international
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Perioperative hypothermia remains a common problem during anesthesia and surgery. Unfortunately, the implementation of new minimally invasive surgical procedures has not lead to a reduction of this problem. Heat losses from the skin can be reduced by thermal insulation to avoid perioperative hypothermia. ⋯ The reciprocal of the heat exchange coefficient defines the insulation. The insulation values of the materials varied between 0.01 Clo (plastic bag) to 2.79 Clo (2 layers of a hospital duvet). Given the range of insulating materials available for outdoor activities, significant improvement in insulation of patients in the OR is both possible and desirable.
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Dermabond (Ethicon Inc., Somerville, NJ, USA) is a cyanoacrylate adhesive normally indicated for skin wound closure. This study describes the emergency use of this adhesive to control bleeding close to coronary anastomoses in exceptional cases. Dermabond was used in 17 patients who underwent cardiac surgery during an eight-month period, where other haemostatic interventions were unsuitable. ⋯ No patient events were recorded as a result of haemorrhage and no reported toxicity. Dermabond may be indicated in circumstances in which haemostasis with traditional methods has failed or is inappropriate. A need for further high-quality objective research exists on the effectiveness and long-term safety of 2-octyl cyanoacrylate in cardiac surgery.
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Clinical Trial
Liberal indications for minimally invasive oxford unicondylar arthroplasty provide rapid functional recovery and pain relief.
The Oxford unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) was recently approved for implantation in America. Recovery was evaluated and the efficacy of a musculoskeletal hospital was addressed for an initial group of patients who underwent medial compartment UKA with the Oxford device. Between October 2004 and December 2005, 142 medial UKAs were performed in 125 patients and included 11 simultaneous and six staged bilateral UKA procedures, and one simultaneous UKA/TKA procedure. ⋯ Seventy-five percent of patients had good or excellent Knee Society scores by six weeks postoperatively. UKA provides excellent early function and pain relief with rapid recovery when performed at a specialty musculoskeletal hospital. Early discharge appears to be safe and does not transfer the burden of care to other facilities or home health rehabilitation services.