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Surgical Expertise (surgical + expertise)
Selected AbstractsEpidemiology of major paediatric chest traumaJOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH, Issue 11 2009Sumudu P Samarasekera Aim: Paediatric chest trauma is a marker of severe injury and a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. However, current trends in the Australian population are unknown. This study aims to outline the profile and management of major paediatric chest trauma in Victoria. Methods: Prospectively collected data of patients from the Victorian State Trauma Registry from July 2001 to June 2007 were retrospectively reviewed. Data on fatalities were obtained from the National Coroners Information System. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the profiles of major trauma cases and coroners' cases. Results: Overall, 204 cases with serious paediatric chest injuries were reported by the Victorian State Trauma Registry (n = 158) and National Coroners Information System (n = 46) (excluding overlapping cases) in 2001,2007. Paediatric chest trauma was more common in males. The Injury Severity Score ranged from 16 to 25 in most patients. Blunt trauma was responsible for 96% of cases, of which motor vehicle collisions accounted for 75%. Median hospitalisation was 9 days, and 64% of patients were admitted to intensive care. Common injuries included lung contusion (66%), haemo/pneumothorax (32%) and rib fracture (23%). Multiple organ injury occurred in 99% of cases, with head (62%) and abdominal (50%) injury common. Management was conservative, with only 11 cases (7%) treated surgically. The highest mortality was in the 10,15-year age group. In 52 (79%) fatalities, injury was transport related. Conclusion: Australian paediatric chest trauma trends are similar to international patterns. Serious injury requiring surgical intervention is rare. This limited exposure may lead to difficulty in maintaining surgical expertise in this highly specialised area. [source] Sentinel node biopsy in melanoma: Technical considerations of the procedure as performed at the john wayne cancer instituteJOURNAL OF SURGICAL ONCOLOGY, Issue 8 2010Sanjay P. Bagaria MD Abstract Since its first description in 1990, sentinel node (SN) biopsy has become the standard for accurate staging of a melanoma-draining regional lymphatic basin. This minimally invasive, multidisciplinary technique can detect occult metastases by selective sampling and focused pathologic analysis of the first nodes on the afferent lymphatic pathway from a primary cutaneous melanoma. An understanding of preoperative lymphoscintigraphy, intraoperative lymphatic mapping, and the definition of SN are critical for surgical expertise with SN biopsy. J. Surg. Oncol. 2010; 101:669-676. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] REDUCING TIME TO URGENT SURGERY BY TRANSPORTING RESOURCES TO THE TRAUMA PATIENTANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY, Issue 4 2007Morgan P. McMonagle Background: Time to definitive trauma care directly influences patient survival. Patient transport (retrieval) services are essential for the transportation of remotely located trauma patients to a major trauma centre. Trauma surgical expertise can potentially be combined with the usual retrieval response (surgically supported response) and delivered to the patient before patient transportation. We identified the frequency and circumstances of such surgically supported retrievals. Methods: Retrospective review of trauma patients transported by the NRMA CareFlight, New South Wales Medical Retrieval Service, Australia, from 1999 to 2003, identifying patients who had a surgically supported retrieval response and an urgent surgical procedure carried out before patient transportation to an major trauma centre. Results: Seven hundred and forty-nine trauma interhospital patient transfers were identified of which 511 (68%) were categorized as urgent and 64% of which were rural based. Three (0.4%) patients had a surgically supported retrieval response and had an urgent surgical procedure carried out before patient transportation. All patients benefited from that early surgical intervention. Conclusion: A surgically supported retrieval response allows for the more timely delivery of urgent surgical care. Patients can potentially benefit from such a response. There are, however, important operational considerations in providing a surgically supported retrieval response. [source] Primary medical therapy for acromegalyCLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGY, Issue 4 2003Michael C. Sheppard Summary There is now considerable evidence that the clinical outcome in patients with acromegaly can be improved very substantially by means of better surgical expertise and effective medical therapies used in a flexible and innovative manner. Medical therapy alone in patients who have not undergone surgery or radiotherapy (primary medical therapy) offers the prospect of near normalisation of GH/IGF-I levels together with substantial tumour shrinkage in a significant number of patients. [source] | ||||||||||