Canadian Journal of Surgery articles from April 2009

Canadian Journal of Surgery archives from April 2009

Distraction osteogenesis technique using an intramedullary nail and a monolateral external fixator in the reconstruction of massive postosteomyelitis skeletal defects of the femur.(RESEARCH/RECHERCHE)(Report)
April 1, 2009... Hematogeneous osteomyelitis is rarely seen in the femur; however, it may lead to poor outcomes owing to delayed or inappropriate treatments, especially in developing countries. Some severe chronic osteomyelitis may lead to nonunion and massive...

Chronic volar distal radioulnar joint instability: joint capsular plication to restore function.(RESEARCH/RECHERCHE)(Report)
April 1, 2009... Chronic instability of the distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) can lead to substantial pain, decreased grip strength and other mechanical symptoms. (1) The most common form of instability is described as dorsal DRUJ instability, whereby the distal...

Incidence and impact of dysphagia in patients receiving prolonged endotracheal intubation after cardiac surgery.(RESEARCH/RECHERCHE)(Report)
April 1, 2009... Postoperative dysphagia following cardiac surgery may lead to aspiration, susceptibility to postoperative infection and delays in resumption of oral feeding and hospital discharge. (1-3) Prolonged endotracheal intubation is an important cause...

Comparison of gastrointestinal complications in on-pump versus off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting.(RESEARCH/RECHERCHE)(Report)
April 1, 2009... Gastrointestinal complications following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), although infrequent, are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Previous studies have suggested that cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) could contribute to...

Needlescopic versus laparoscopic appendectomy: a systematic review.(RESEARCH/RECHERCHE)(Report)
April 1, 2009... Open appendectomy performed through a grid iron incision in the right lower quadrant was first introduced in the 19th century (1,2) and remained mainly unchallenged until the introduction of laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) in 1983 by Semm, (3,4)...

Surgical cytoreduction and intraperitoneal chemotherapy for peritoneal carcinomatosis arising from the appendix.(RESEARCH/RECHERCHE)(Report)
April 1, 2009... Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) originating in the appendix is an uncommon disease, with poor long-term prognosis. (1-6) In recent years, a number of studies have been published proposing a novel aggressive treatment approach with curative...

Employment status and personal characteristics in patients awaiting hip-replacement surgery.(RESEARCH/RECHERCHE)(Report)
April 1, 2009... Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is a cost-effective surgical intervention1 that produces substantial improvement in pain, physical function and quality of life. (2-4) Despite these benefits, there are often long waits for this procedure in Canada,...

Radiation dose from initial trauma assessment and resuscitation: review of the literature.(Report)
April 1, 2009... Initial assessment and resuscitation in trauma addresses immediate life-threatening injury. The principles are well described in the Advanced Trauma Life Support manual (ATLS). (1) Adjuncts to the initial evaluation are frequent careful...

Pharmacological management of postoperative ileus.(SURGICAL BIOLOGY FOR THE CLINICIAN)(Report)
April 1, 2009... In systems that try to minimize hospital stay after abdominal surgery, one of the principal limiting factors is the recovery of adequate bowel function, which can delay discharge or lead to readmission. Postoperative ileus (POI) is the term...

Mucinous cystadenoma of the appendix.(SURGICAL IMAGES: SOFT TISSUE)(Case study)
April 1, 2009... A 61-year-old man presented with chronic intermittent right iliac fossa pain that had lasted for a few years. His medical history included chronic obstructive airway disease and old pulmonary tuberculosis. Colonoscopy revealed a 3-cm smooth...

Dermatoses of the nipple.(CASE SERIES)(Report)
April 1, 2009... Dermatoses of the nipple are rare, and because gross appearances of these lesions are very similar, differential diagnosis is of great clinical importance. Early lesions of dermatoses are scaly and erythematous, and they can be misdiagnosed as...

Preoperative and perioperative management of patients with suspected lung cancer.(CORRESPONDENCE/CORRESPONDANCE)(Report)
April 1, 2009... I have read the manuscript "Aortic arch aneurysm rupture into the lung misdiagnosed as lung carcinoma" by Che and colleagues, (1) and I congratulate the authors. Yet, I want to remark on some aspects of the manuscript. On a computed...

Novel initiatives from the Editorial Board.(Editorial)
April 1, 2009... At the last Canadian Journal of Surgery (CJS) Editorial Board meeting, discussion focused on the continuous improvement in service for authors and readers. As this editorial goes to press, it is timely to update readers on the discussion. ...

Dedicated orthopedic trauma theatres: effect on morbidity and mortality in a single trauma centre.(RESEARCH/RECHERCHE)(Report)
April 1, 2009... Today in Canada, despite universal health care, patients may wait days for "emergency" surgery. (1) This contrasts with countries employing a privatized system where it is perceived that orthopedic trauma/fracture patients can receive their...

Concordance with clinical practice guidelines for adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage I-III colon cancer: experience in 2 Canadian provinces.(RESEARCH/RECHERCHE)
April 1, 2009... Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in Canada. (1) Although screening has been shown to improve survival, (2-4) almost 50% of patients in North America present with either stage III or IV disease. (5) Clinical practice...

Outcome errors are not necessary for learning orthopedic bone drilling.(RESEARCH/RECHERCHE)(Report)
April 1, 2009... There is a commonly used phrase, "to err is human," but is error Necessary or even acceptable in surgical training? During a bicortical bone drilling task, the goal of the surgeon is to drill completely through the width of the bone and stop...

Forming an intracorporeal slip-knot in laparoscopic suturing.(CASE NOTE)(Case study)
April 1, 2009... Laparoscopic suturing presents an important skills barrier to developing a laparoscopic surgical practice. The formation of a slip-knot greatly assists in approximating tissue that may initially be under tension or when the suture material is...

Giant symptomatic adrenal cyst in a patient with an ectopic kidney.(Case study)
April 1, 2009... Adrenal cysts are rare, with an incidence varing from 0.06% to 0.18% in an autopsy series. (1) Most are asymptomatic and found incidentally. They may cause long-standing symptoms because of pressure on the stomach and colon, or the clinical...

Duodenal gangliocytic paraganglioma.(Case study)
April 1, 2009... Gangliocytic paragangliomas are rare, poorly understood tumours of the gastrointestinal tract. (1) Their characteristic histologic appearance consists of a mix of 3 cell types in varying proportions: epithelioid, spindle and ganglion cells....

Inguinoscrotal extraperitoneal herniation of a ureter.(Case study)
April 1, 2009... Herniation of a ureter in an inguinal canal and scrotum is rare, and the general surgeon should be aware of this possibility to avoid injury to the ureter during hernial dissection. There are 2 types of inguinoscrotal herniation of a ureter:...

Carcinoma of the sigmoid colon in an incarcerated inguinal hernia.(Case study)
April 1, 2009... Inguinal hernias may contain small or large bowel. About 10% of inguinal hernias become incarcerated, causing strangulation, bowel obstruction or infarction. (1) Malignant lesions in groin hernias are rare; most intrasaccular neoplasms are...

Myositis ossificans traumatica of the abdominal wall.(Case study)
April 1, 2009... Myositis ossificans traumatica, a heterotopic bone formation arising after trauma or surgery, is exceedingly rare, although it has been recognized for a long time. Its cause remains obscure, but it may be due to osteoblastic metaplasia of...

Protein C deficiency and mesenteric venous thrombosis.(Case study)
April 1, 2009... Mesenteric venous thrombosis causing small-bowel infarction is an extremely rare cause of acute abdomen and is often difficult to diagnose. Both congenital and acquired causes are responsible. Protein C deficiency is a rare genetic abnormality...

Pigmented villonodular synovitis in both hindfeet.(CASE NOTE)(Case study)
April 1, 2009... Pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) is a proliferation of the Synovium that leads to villous or nodular changes of synovial-lined joints, bursae and tendon sheaths. (1) It is rare and likely caused by either an inflammatory response or...