ANZ journal of surgery
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Limited blood supplies necessitate the rational use of blood products. The aim of the present study was to provide a basis for audits of red cell usage in surgery by benchmarking common practice. Application of the data to the construction of a maximum surgical blood order schedule may be relevant for centres that perform a serological crossmatch or who collect autologous units. ⋯ The number of common surgical procedures in which there is a 30% or greater likelihood that red cell transfusions will be given is limited. This benchmarking of common red cell usage is a first step in the process of determination of transfusion appropriateness.
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ANZ journal of surgery · Aug 2002
Biography Historical ArticleDavid Murray Morton: father figure of surgery at St Vincent's Hospital, bush lawyer and thwarted reformer of the medico-legal system.
When the first Golden Age of surgery at St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne (a period covering the first 25 years of the twentieth century) is discussed, the names that spring to mind are usually those of Sir Thomas Dunhill, Sir Hugh Devine, Sir Douglas Shields and Julian Smith. A name which is often overlooked, and by now almost forgotten, is that of David Murray Morton. Murray -Morton's career both as a medical student, general practitioner, anaesthetist and surgeon coincided with a revolution in the practice of medicine. ⋯ Morton was fond of saying that he grew up with the hospital. From the time of his first appointment as an anaesthetist in l896 to the time of his retirement from St Vincent's as senior surgeon in 1931, Morton, admired by all as a highly competent surgeon and a man of incorruptible probity, can rightly be described as the father figure of surgery during the formative years of St Vincent's Hospital. His innate sense of justice and fair play formed the basis of his distinguished tenure of the Presidency of the Medical Defence Association of Victoria, where his constructive attempts at reform of the medico-legal system were only thwarted by the predictable opposition of the legal profession and politicians.
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ANZ journal of surgery · Jun 2002
Effect of cervical hard collar on intracranial pressure after head injury.
Patients suffering head trauma are at high risk of having a concomitant cervical spine injury. A rigid cervical collar is usually applied to each patient until spinal stability is confirmed. Hard collars potentially cause venous outflow obstruction and are a nociceptive stimulus, which might elevate intracranial pressure (ICP). This study tested the hypothesis that application of a hard collar is associated with an increase in ICP. ⋯ Early assessment of the cervical spine in head-injured patients is recommended to minimize the risk of intracranial hypertension related to prolonged cervical spine immobilization with a hard collar.