Seat Belt Injury and Efferent Loop Laceration Following a Single Anastomosis Duodenal Switch: A Case Report.

Blunt abdominal trauma patients who have had prior bariatric procedures may present a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. The single anastomosis duodenal-ileal bypass with sleeve (SADI-S) is a modified duodenal switch procedure that is relatively uncommon. This case report describes a patient who previously underwent a SADI-S for the management of obesity and subsequently sustained a seat belt injury in a motor vehicle collision resulting in a laceration of the efferent loop. The patient presented with symptoms of acute abdominal pain and was diagnosed through imaging studies. Prompt surgical intervention was performed with resection and primary anastomosis of the damaged section of the jejunum, and repair of a large mesenteric laceration. We discuss the importance of early recognition and intraoperative decision-making in the case of this patient concerning her SADI-S.

The Great Debate: Robotic vs Traditional Surgical Approach in the Acute Care Setting.

Robotic surgery was first introduced in the 1980s as a system to aid patients in the battlefield. Since then, robotic surgery has become an important minimally invasive tool and plays an important role in elective surgery among various surgical specialties. However, the role for robotic surgery in the emergent setting is not well established or studied. Robotic surgery has been shown to be advantageous to both patients and operating surgeons. Though limited, studies have found robotic surgery in the acute setting to be safe for patients. These studies found robotic surgery to have improved perioperative outcomes when compared to an open or laparoscopic approach. Additionally, the robotic platform is thought to be an effective tool to prevent conversion to open procedures in emergent settings. Although some studies demonstrate advantages to robotic acute surgery, others have shown increased complications with robotic acute surgery or no distinct advantage when comparing robotic to laparoscopic surgery. Additionally, some of the published papers supporting the use of robotic surgery in the emergent setting may have a degree of bias favoring the robotic platform. Robotic surgery is a mainstay in minimally invasive elective surgery and gaining popularity among patients and surgeons. There are pros and cons to the adaptation of the robotic platform in the acute care setting. Additional large population studies are indicated to determine the true role of the robotic platform in the emergent setting.

Steering Wheel Aftermarket Rhinestone Emblem Projectile Injury in a Motor Vehicle Collision: A Case Report.

Motor vehicle collisions are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality within the United States. Safety devices such as seatbelts and airbags have significantly reduced mortality rates for drivers. Some drivers personalize their vehicles with inexpensive items that may cause significant injury during vehicular collisions. We present a case of a face and neck penetrating injury from a metal aftermarket rhinestone emblem attached to the steering wheel during a motor vehicle collision. A 43-year-old female was involved in an accident where the airbag had deployed and projected two pieces of the metal emblem at her face and neck. The fragment in the neck was removed at the bedside, while that in the face required removal in the operating room. She recovered well postoperatively and was discharged the same day. This case highlights the potential for the dangers caused by aftermarket rhinestone emblems on steering wheels. We recommend that increased national advisories and legislative actions be considered to limit the use of these emblems.

A Multicenter Analysis of the Early Impact of COVID-19 on Junior Resident Operative Case Volume.

INTRODUCTION: Institutions have reported decreases in operative volume due to COVID-19. Junior residents have fewer opportunities for operative experience and COVID-19 further jeopardizes their operative exposure. This study quantifies the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on resident operative exposure using resident case logs focusing on junior residents and categorizes the response of surgical residency programs to the COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective multicenter cohort study was conducted; 276,481 case logs were collected from 407 general surgery residents of 18 participating institutions, spanning 2016-2020. Characteristics of each institution and program changes in response to COVID-19 were collected via surveys. RESULTS: Senior residents performed 117 more cases than junior residents each year (P < 0.001). Prior to the pandemic, senior resident case volume increased each year (38 per year, 95% confidence interval 2.9-74.9) while junior resident case volume remained stagnant (95% confidence interval 13.7-22.0). Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, junior residents reported on average 11% fewer cases when compared to the three prior academic years (P = 0.001). The largest decreases in cases were those with higher resident autonomy (Surgeon Jr, P = 0.03). The greatest impact of COVID-19 on junior resident case volume was in community-based medical centers (246 prepandemic versus 216 during pandemic, P = 0.009) and institutions which reached Stage 3 Program Pandemic Status (P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Residents reported a significant decrease in operative volume during the 2019 academic year, disproportionately impacting junior residents. The long-term consequences of COVID-19 on junior surgical trainee competence and ability to reach cases requirements are yet unknown but are unlikely to be negligible.

Total thoracic herniation of the liver: a case of delayed right-sided diaphragmatic hernia after blunt trauma.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic diaphragmatic injuries (TDIs) are relatively uncommon and require surgical repair to prevent or address herniation. Three quarters of TDIs are due to blunt thoraco-abdominal trauma. In blunt TDIs, variable clinical presentations and frequent concurrent life-threatening injuries may hinder early recognition and treatment, leading to diagnostic delays, which may result in technically more challenging repairs. Right-sided blunt TDIs are much less common than left-sided ones, are difficult to visualize on imaging studies, are more frequently associated with other potentially lethal injuries, and tend to present more subtly, so that diagnostic delays are more likely. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the diagnosis and elective repair of a large right-sided traumatic diaphragmatic hernia resulting from a distant blunt abdominal injury, describing the techniques used to address the challenges presented by the chronic intrathoracic displacement of the entire liver with the gallbladder, as well as the right side of the colon and part of the duodenum. CONCLUSIONS: Early diagnosis of right-sided TDIs can be especially elusive. The management of delayed diaphragmatic hernias can be challenging, but with meticulous planning and a flexible surgical approach, a repair can be achieved resulting in good recovery and low risk of recurrence.

Mid-Year Medical Knowledge Milestones and ABSITE Scores in First-Year Surgery Residents.

OBJECTIVE: Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Surgery milestone ratings in the "Knowledge of Diseases and Conditions" (MK1) sub competency have been shown to correlate with American Board of Surgery In Training Examination (ABSITE) scores, and hypothesized to predict them. To better assess the predictive value of the MK1 milestone and avoid the potential bias caused by previous years' ABSITE scores, we designed a study including only first-year (PGY-1) residents and analyzed the correlation between their mid-year MK1 ratings and their scores in the ABSITE they took approximately a month later. METHODS: De-identified United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 and Step 2 scores, mid-year MK1 milestone ratings and the subsequent ABSITE standard scores for the five academic years from 2014-2015 to 2018-2019 were collected and tabulated for 247 PGY-1 preliminary- and categorical-track residents from ten ACGME-accredited surgery residency programs. RESULTS: The mid-year rating of PGY-1 residents' MK1 was predictive of their subsequent first ABSITE score for the entire cohort and for the categorical residents' subset. Notably, controlling for all other independent predictors, each half-point increase in MK1 rating was associated with a 25-point increase in ABSITE score. Preliminary residents performed significantly worse on the ABSITE, and their scores did not correlate significantly with their MK1 ratings. CONCLUSIONS: The mid-year rating of PGY-1 residents' MK1 was predictive of their subsequent first ABSITE score for the entire cohort and for the categorical but not the preliminary residents. This finding suggests that evaluators correctly rated MK1 higher in the categorical residents who did perform better on the subsequent ABSITE.

Identifying Factors and Techniques to Decrease the Positive Margin Rate in Partial Mastectomies: Have We Missed the Mark?

Breast conservation therapy (BCT) has a reported incidence of positive margins ranging widely in the literature from 20% to 70%. Efforts have been made to refine standards for partial mastectomy and to predict which patients are at highest risk for incomplete excision. Most have focused on histology and demographics. We sought to further define modifiable risk factors for positive margins and residual disease. A retrospective study was conducted of 567 consecutive partial mastectomies by 21 breast and general surgeons from 2009 to 2012. Four hundred fourteen cases of neoplasm were reviewed for localization, intraoperative assessment, excision technique, rates, and results of re-excision/mastectomy. Histologic margins were positive in 23% of patients, 25% had margins 0.1-0.9 mm, and 7% had tumor within 1-1.9 mm. Residual tumor was identified at-in 61 cases: 38% (disease at margin), 21% (0.1-0.9 mm), and 14% (1-1.9 mm). Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) was present in 85% of residual disease on re-excision and correlated to higher rates of re-excision (p = <0.001), residual disease, and subsequent mastectomy. The use of multiple needles to localize neoplasms was associated with 2-3 times the likelihood for positive margins than when a single needle was required. The removal of additional margins at initial surgery correlated with improved rates of complete excision when DCIS was present. Patients must have careful analysis of specimen margins at the time of surgery and may benefit from additional tissue excision or routine shaving of the cavity of resection. Surgeons should conduct careful patient selection for BCT, in the context of multifocal, and multicentric disease. Patients for whom tumor localization requires bracketing may be at higher risk for positive margins and residual disease and should be counseled accordingly.

Delayed manifestations of laparoscopic bowel injury.

Bowel injury (BI) is a complication of open and laparoscopic abdominal surgery associated with increased morbidity and mortality. If BI is missed at the time it occurs, it can have devastating consequences. Electrosurgery is used extensively in laparoscopic surgery and can cause thermal injuries that are harder to detect than mechanical injuries and may evolve over time. The medical literature of the past 10 years was searched for large series and compilation studies reporting overall incidence of and mortality from BI in laparoscopy, and the results of seven relevant articles, which included over 300,000 procedures, were analyzed and tabulated. The literature was then reviewed for additional information about the specific incidence and outcome of missed BI and the role of electrosurgical thermal sources in causing BI. BI is underreported, frequently missed at surgery, and results in significant morbidity and mortality that can be ground for malpractice claims against the surgeon. Thermal injury from electrosurgical instruments may be involved in a number of injuries in laparoscopic surgery. Nearly undetectable partial-thickness thermal injury may play a role in the atypical and delayed presentation of some cases of BI.

Tube cholecystostomy before cholecystectomy for the treatment of acute cholecystitis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Percutaneous cholecystostomy is currently indicated for patients with cholecystitis who might be poor candidates for operative cholecystectomy. We performed a study to evaluate the long-term outcome of patients undergoing emergent tube cholecystostomy. METHODS: This study was a retrospective chart review of patients who underwent tube cholecystostomy from July 1, 2005, to July 1, 2012. RESULTS: During the study period, 82 patients underwent 125 cholecystostomy tube placements. Four patients (5%) died during the year after tube placement. The mean hospital length of stay for survivors was 8.8 days (range, 1-59 days). Twenty-eight patients (34%) required at least 1 additional percutaneous procedure (range, 1-6) for gallbladder drainage. Twenty-nine patients (34%) ultimately underwent cholecystectomy. Surgery was performed a mean of 7 weeks after cholecystostomy tube placement. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was attempted in 25 operative patients but required conversion to an open approach in 8 cases (32%). In another 4 cases, planned open cholecystectomy was performed. Major postoperative complications were limited to 2 patients with postoperative common bile duct obstruction requiring endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, 1 patient requiring a return to the operating room for hemoperitoneum, and 2 patients with bile leak from the cystic duct stump. CONCLUSIONS: In high-risk patients receiving cholecystostomy tubes for acute cholecystitis, only about one third will undergo surgical cholecystectomy. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy performed in this circumstance has a higher rate of conversion to open surgery and higher hepatobiliary morbidity rate.

A technique for laparoscopic peritoneal entry after abdominoplasty.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The fascial anatomy of the anterior midline of the abdominal wall is permanently altered by the vertical plication of the rectus abdominis muscles commonly performed during abdominoplasty. In order to achieve safe and expeditious peritoneal entry in patients undergoing laparoscopy after a previous abdominoplasty, a modification of the standard midline open technique was developed. This not only facilitates entry and insufflation, but it also provides an acceptable cosmetic result following the laparoscopic surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A modified midline open Hasson technique of laparoscopic peritoneal entry that addresses the anatomical distortion created by a previous midline fascial plication was used in 24 consecutive patients undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy and is described herein. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: This modified entry technique consistently allowed safe and expeditious peritoneal entry in 24 consecutive patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery after a previous abdominoplasty.

Hemodynamic changes during laparoscopic gastric bypass procedures.

HYPOTHESIS: Significant detrimental intra-operative hemodynamic and respiratory changes occur in the morbidly obese during laparoscopic gastric bypass. DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: Tertiary care university hospital. PATIENTS: Thirteen patients, 10 women and 3 men, undergoing uncomplicated laparoscopic gastric bypass for morbid obesity. INTERVENTIONS: Using a pulmonary artery catheter and an arterial line, we intraoperatively monitored hemodynamic and respiratory parameters. Parameter values were recorded at set points of the procedure, and the changes were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Significant hemodynamic and respiratory changes, mostly unfavorable, occur in the morbidly obese when creating the pneumoperitoneum in preparation for laparoscopic gastric bypass. The hemodynamic changes are attenuated when the patient is placed in the reverse Trendelenburg position and almost completely corrected when the abdomen is deflated at the completion of the procedure. The respiratory changes are more persistent. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery for morbid obesity leads to a number of predominantly detrimental, if temporary, respiratory and hemodynamic changes, which are most pronounced at the time of creation of the pneumoperitoneum. In the presence of significant cardiopulmonary comorbidities, the use of invasive intra-operative hemodynamic monitoring of the morbidly obese undergoing laparoscopic gastric bypass appears therefore justified.

Bilateral synchronous breast cancer in a male.

Breast cancer in males is rare, accounting for less than 1% of all cases. Bilateral male breast cancer is reported to occur in fewer than 2% of all the diagnosed cases of male breast cancer, and synchronous tumors are exceedingly rare. The authors report a case of male breast cancer that is bilateral and synchronous, and review the literature on male breast cancer.

Acute small bowel obstruction secondary to ileal endometriosis: report of a case.

We report a case of acute small bowel obstruction occurring secondary to endometriosis of the terminal ileum. Ileal endometriosis is a rare condition that can cause acute small bowel obstruction. As this case and others in the literature highlight, establishing a preoperative diagnosis is very difficult due to the vagueness of symptoms and similarity in presentation to other causes of obstruction, and is based on a high index of suspicion. However, this disorder should be considered in the differential diagnosis of women of child-bearing age who present with symptoms of obstruction. The definitive treatment includes resection of the involved segment with primary anastomosis, and adjuvant hormonal therapy may prevent recurrence.