Canadian Journal of Surgery articles from December 2006

Canadian Journal of Surgery archives from December 2006

Tracking outcomes in surgical care / Le suivi des resultats en soins chirurgicaux.(Editorial)
December 1, 2006... In this issue of the Canadian Journal of Surgery (CJS), 2 centres have published outcomes of their programs' care during the early part of their experience. Andrew and colleagues (1) discuss the outcomes of laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass...

How a visit to the museum can contribute to professional awareness during medical school.(Quill on Scalpel / Plume et scalpel)
December 1, 2006... I was a junior medical student waiting to see the "Dead Sea Scrolls" exhibit at the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec. The wait was arduous. I looked around with hope that the grey carpet or walls would somehow entertain a fidgety...

Management of spleen injuries in the adult trauma population: a ten-year experience.
December 1, 2006... Background: Increasing awareness of the postoperative risks associated with splenectomies has led physicians and surgeons to use an alternative nonoperative strategy in handling traumatic spleen injuries. Our primary objective was to compare...

The effect of spinal anesthesia on blood transfusion rate in total joint arthroplasty.
December 1, 2006... Background: Total joint arthroplasty (TJA) patients often receive allogeneic blood transfusion. The use of regional anesthesia (RA) is thought to protect against the need for blood transfusion, but many randomized trials of RA in TJA have not...

Infectious complications following laparoscopic appendectomy.
December 1, 2006... Introduction: A meta-analysis of the literature suggests there is an increased rate of intra-abdominal abscess after laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) compared with open appendectomy (OA). Methods: To analyze the infectious complications of LA at...

Foot rotational effects on radiographic measures of lower limb alignment.
December 1, 2006... Introduction: Surgical planning of high tibial osteotomy (HTO) typically requires the measurement of lower limb alignment from standing anteroposterior radiographs. Although every effort is made to maintain a standardized patient position,...

Influence of cementless femoral stems inserted in varus on functional outcome in primary total hip arthroplasty.(Clinical report)
December 1, 2006... Introduction: Historically, cemented total hip arthroplasty (THA) femoral stems inserted in varus have yielded poor clinical results. Few studies to date have addressed the question of the effects of varus alignment on cementless stems. We...

Visual-spatial ability, learning modality and surgical knot tying.
December 1, 2006... Introduction: The ability to mentally rotate an object in 3 dimensions has been shown to correlate with an individual's score on the Vandenberg and Kuse Mental Rotations Test. The goal of this study was to determine whether this Mental...

Early results after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass: effect of the learning curve.
December 1, 2006... Introduction: This study was performed to evaluate the safety and short-term efficacy of laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) for morbid obesity and to describe the relation between learning curve and short-term outcomes. Methods: We...

Initial clinical outcomes after completion of training in a Canadian Royal College thoracic surgery program.
December 1, 2006... Background: Thoracic procedures are currently performed by general and thoracic surgeons. Initial clinical outcome after training is a good measure of the quality of the surgical training received. Methods: We examined the morbidity and...

Granulomatous mastitis including breast tuberculosis and idiopathic lobular granulomatous mastitis.(Brief Communication/Communication abregee)
December 1, 2006... Idiopathic lobular granulomatous mastitis (ILGM) is a rare chronic inflammatory disease of the breast that can clinically mimic breast carcinoma. (1) Patients usually present with progressive onset of a breast lump. The most common clinical...

Canadian association of general surgeons and American College of Surgeons evidence based reviews in surgery. 19. The effect of a decision aid on knowledge and treatment decision making for breast cancer.(Evidence-Based Surgery / Chirurgie factuelle)(Disease/Disorder overview)
December 1, 2006... Selected article Whelan T, Levine M, Willan A, et al. Effect of a decision aid on knowledge and treatment decision making for breast cancer surgery: a randomized trial. JAMA 2004; 292(4):435-41. Abstract Question: What is the...

Surgical images: musculoskeletal: multidirectional acromioclavicular joint instability posttrauma.(Continuing Medical Education / Formation medicale continue)
December 1, 2006... A 68-year-old woman was struck by truck while crossing a street intersection. The truck directly ran over the patient's torso. She sustained chest and pelvic injuries. The pelvis was eventually treated with sacroiliac fusion. Her chest...

Radiology for the surgeon: soft-tissue case 59.(Continuing Medical Education / Formation medicale continue)
December 1, 2006... Presentation A 42-year old previously healthy woman presented to our outpatient clinic with a chief complaint of a huge mass in the left buttock that had gradually increased in size during the previous 7 years. The mass was painless, but...

Successful damage control of complex vascular and urological gunshot injuries.(Case Notes / Notes de cas)
December 1, 2006... Damage control options for complex vascular injuries are limited to either vessel ligation or temporary intravascular shunting. Although most vessels may arguably be ligated, associated morbidity can be significant. Temporizing intravascular...

Barogenic esophageal rupture: Boerhaave syndrome.(Case Notes / Notes de cas)
December 1, 2006... Case report A 70-year-old man presented with nausea and a single episode of violent vomiting, followed by intense left pleuritic chest pain and epigastric pain. On admission, he was mildly agitated, tachycardic and hypotensive. Physical...