Canadian Journal of Surgery articles from February 2005

Canadian Journal of Surgery archives from February 2005

Appropriate preoperative investigations in the management of rectal cancer.(Quill on Scalpel/Plume et scalpel)
February 1, 2005... McMullen and colleagues (1) have examined the practice patterns of a cohort of Ontario surgeons in their preoperative assessment of rectal cancer. In so doing, they raised important questions about the lack of evidence-based guidelines upon...

Audit to improve.(Quill on Scalpel/Plume et scalpel)
February 1, 2005... Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare. --Japanese proverb Surgeons who have achieved practice perfection, read no further. The rest of us wonder how to maintain and enhance our performance according...

Single versus sequential fine-needle aspiration biopsy in the management of thyroid nodular disease.
February 1, 2005... Fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is considered a safe, reliable and cost-effective means of selecting thyroid nodules with risk for malignancy. However, there are limitations of this method including false positive/negative and...

The investigation of primary rectal cancer by surgeons: current pattern of practice.
February 1, 2005... Objective: Selection of the optimal treatment strategy for patients with rectal cancer requires appropriate investigation, but published guidelines provide no clear consensus. We examined the current practice pattern for the investigation of...

Personal finances of residents at three Canadian universities.
February 1, 2005... Objectives: To address 3 research questions (What financial choices do residents make? Are the financial choices of residents similar to those of the general public? Are the financial choices of surgical residents reasonable?), we examined...

A comparison of plate versus staple-and-cast fixation in maintaining femoral tibial alignment after valgus tibial osteotomy.
February 1, 2005... Purpose: To compare 2 methods of fixation for maintenance of alignment during healing of valgus tibial osteotomies. Methods: We performed a retrospective chart and radiographic review of valgus tibial osteotomy cases of staple fixation...

Defining medical error.
February 1, 2005... Medical errors represent a serious public health problem and pose a threat to patient safety. As health care institutions establish "error" as a clinical and research priority, the answer to perhaps the most fundamental question remains...

Surgical Education and Self-Assessment Program (SESAP).(Continuing Medical Education/Formation medicale continue)
February 1, 2005... Category 1, Item 10 Question A 52-year-old manual labourer has a right inguinal hernia that is easily reducible. Which of the following statements about open mesh (tension-free) repair compared with laparoscopic repair is TRUE? ...

Surgical images: soft tissue: incarcerated gallbladder in a parastomal hernia.(Continuing Medical Education/ Formation medicale continue)
February 1, 2005... Herniation is a common complication of stomal surgery. This case represents the first case reported of gallbladder incarceration in a parastomal hernia. In this case, a 73-year-old woman with an ileal conduit placed in the right lower...

Radiology for the surgeon: musculoskeletal case 34.(Continuing Medical Education/Formation medicale continue)
February 1, 2005... Presentation A49-year-old male patient with no history of trauma complained of pain around his left knee joint and general weakness in his legs. His medical history was remarkable only for long-standing inflammatory bowel disease, for...

Correction.(Continuing Medical Education/ Formation medicale continue)(Correction Notice)
February 1, 2005... In our December issue, several references in the Quill on Scalpel item by Drs. Mark Bernstein, Joseph Bampoe and Abdallah S. Daar (Ethical issues in molecular medicine of relevance to surgeons. Can J Surg 2004;47:414-21) have been updated, as...

Emergent management of pelvic ring injuries: an update.(Trauma and Critical Care/Traumatologie et soins critiques)
February 1, 2005... Fractures of the pelvic ring comprise about 2% of all fractures, but the incidence is increasing due to increasing numbers of high-speed vehicular crashes and suicide attempts. (1) Mortality associated with isolated pelvic injury, independent...

Users' guide to the surgical literature: self-audit and practice appraisal for surgeons.(Evidence-Based Surgery/Chirurgie factuelle)
February 1, 2005... In God we trust. All others must keep data.--Anonymous In January 2001, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) established the first 5-year cycle of the Maintenance of Certification program (MainCert). MainCert...

Quality care is job one/Les soins de qualite font du chemin.(Editorial)
February 1, 2005... As a junior surgical resident, one of my most compelling and inspirational experiences was to be shown the report of a surgical practice self-audit completed by the late Louis-Philippe Mousseau, a distinguished, pioneering surgeon at Edmonton's...

Canadian association of general surgeons evidence based reviews in surgery. 12. Primary repair for penetrating colon injuries.(Evidence-Based Surgery/Chirurgie factuelle)
February 1, 2005... Abstract Objective: To determine if the treatment of penetrating colonic injury must include fecal diversion at or proximal to the injury, to avoid sepsis and mortality. Data source: Studies were identified by searching MEDLINE 1966-2001,...

Dysplasia epiphysealis hemimelica of the ankle in children.(Brief Communications/Communications abregees)
February 1, 2005... Dysplasia epiphysealis hemimelica (DEH), also known as Trevor's disease, is a rare developmental disorder affecting the epiphyses; in young children, it usually involves the knee and ankle joints. DEH was first reported by Mouchet and Belot in...

Open tracheostomy in a suspect severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patient: brief technical communication.(Brief Communications/Communications abregees)
February 1, 2005... Patient management in the setting of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is complicated by the controversies about transmissibility, a reliable diagnostic tool and a clinically proven cure. (1-4) High-risk procedures are particularly...

Elective and emergency surgery in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).(Brief Communications/Communications abregees)
February 1, 2005... On Mar. 12, 2003, the World Health Organization issued a global health alert for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), a new illness that originated in Guangdong Province, China. It is known to be caused by a coronavirus. Its spread to...

An unusual presentation of a secondary extramedullary plasmacytoma in a patient with multiple myeloma.(Case Notes/Notes de cas)
February 1, 2005... A 54-year-old man came to the emergency department with acutely worsening abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and low-grade temperature. Approximately 7 months before, he had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM), IgA type. He initially...

Laparoscopic management of incarcerated obturator hernia.(Case Notes/Notes de cas)
February 1, 2005... Obturator hernia is a rare cause of obstruction of the small bowel. Various imaging modalities have been applied to achieve preoperative diagnosis of this rare clinical entity. Because there may be a potential for undue delay in the definitive...

Retroperitoneal hemorrhage secondary to a ruptured cavernous hemangioma.(Case Notes/Notes de cas)
February 1, 2005... Surgeons are often confronted with patients having life-threatening retroperitoneal hemorrhage from aneurysms of the abdominal aorta. However, several other conditions can mimic this, including hemorrhage into a tumour or tumour apoplexy. The...

Management of perforated duodenal diverticula.(Case Notes/Notes de cas)
February 1, 2005... Duodenal diverticula are relatively common pseudodiverticula of the small intestine. (1) Frequently asymptomatic, they may become clinically evident only upon perforation or inflammation. With only about 110 reports of perforations of duodenal...