Canadian Journal of Surgery articles from June 2008

Canadian Journal of Surgery archives from June 2008

Editor's view.(Editorial)(Editorial)
June 1, 2008... The Canadian Journal of Surgery is a victim of its own success. Year over year, increasing numbers of papers have been submitted for peer review and consideration for publication. In addition, we have expanded the pages made available for...

Point de vue du redacteur.(Editorial)(Editorial)
June 1, 2008... Le Journal canadien de chirurgie est victime de sa propre reussite. Chaque annee, de plus en plus de communications A l'etude pour publication sont soumises A l'examen des pairs. Nous avons en outre augmente le nombre de pages consacrees aux...

Generic guide to the acquisition of new surgical skills outside a residency or fellowship program: a position paper (Feb. 2, 2008).(Quill on Scalpel)
June 1, 2008... Innovation, research and technological advances add to and modify surgical techniques. (1,2) To provide accepted standards of care, practising surgeons will have to upgrade their skills from time to time and may be expected acquire some...

Plasticity of peptidergic innervation in healing rabbit medial collateral ligament.(Original Article)
June 1, 2008... Background: Denervation substantially impairs healing of the medial collateral ligament (MCL). Because normal ligaments are sparsely innervated, we hypothesized that neuropeptide-containing neurons would sprout or proliferate after ligament...

Delivery models of rural surgical services in British Columbia (1996-2005): are general practitioner-surgeons still part of the picture?(Original Article)
June 1, 2008... Objective: To define the models of surgical service delivery in rural communities that rely solely on general practitioner (GP)-surgeons for emergency care, to examine how they have changed over the past decade and to identify some effects on...

Rural surgery in British Columbia: is there anybody out there?(Original Article)
June 1, 2008... Objective: To document surgical procedures performed in British Columbia between 1996 and 2001 at rural hospital sites with no resident specialist surgeons and to define the scope of practice of general practitioner (GP)--surgeons at these...

The advanced trauma operative management course in a Canadian residency program.(Original Article)
June 1, 2008... Background: The Advanced Trauma Operative Management (ATOM) course was first introduced into Canada in 2003 at the University of Toronto, with senior general surgery residents being the primary focus. We present an assessment of the course in...

Residents' quality of life during an orthopedic trauma rotation: a multicentre prospective observational study.(Original Article)(Survey)
June 1, 2008... Objective: Fewer orthopedic surgery trainees are choosing careers in trauma. The impact of stressors on health-related quality of life has not been evaluated among orthopedic surgical residents. The current study aimed to determine predictors...

The demographics of significant firearm injury in Canadian trauma centres and the associated predictors of inhospital mortality.(MacLean-Mueller Prize)
June 1, 2008... Objective: Our primary objective was to evaluate demographic and causal factors of inhospital mortality for significant firearm-related injuries (i.e., those with an Injury Severity Score [ISS] > 12) in Canadian trauma centres. Methods: We...

Surgical images: soft tissue tubular duplication of the esophagus.(Continuing Medical Education)(Case study)
June 1, 2008... A6-year-old boy presented to the emergency department with an impacted foreign body in the esophagus. His medical history was marked by a mild dysphagia for solid food, present since the age of 2 years. His physical examination was...

Radiology for the surgeon: musculoskeletal case 41.(Continuing Medical Education)(Case study)
June 1, 2008... Presentation A29-year-old man presented with right knee pain with possible meniscal injury. The patient had suffered a hockey injury 6 years previously, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at that time showed an osteochondral defect of...

Management of open abdominal wounds with a dynamic fascial closure system.(Trauma and Critical Care)(Report)
June 1, 2008... Background: In damage-control surgery, definitive abdominal closure may not be possible for several days or weeks after laparotomy until the patient has stabilized. Methods: We present 23 patients treated with the Canica ABRA[R] dynamic wound...

Users' guide to the surgical literature: how to assess an article on health-related quality of life.(Evidence-Based Surgery)
June 1, 2008... In addition to relieving clinical symptoms and prolonging survival, the primary objective of any health care intervention is to enhance quality of life (QOL) and well-being. (1) The broader term "quality of life" can be defined as "the adequacy...

The treatment of colorectal cancer in young patients.(Correspondence)
June 1, 2008... Regarding the article "Colon cancer presenting as an appendiceal abscess in a young patient" (1) published online in the Canadian Journal of Surgery, colorectal cancer in young patients is very aggressive with a poor prognosis. The second...

Multiple carcinoids of the ileum: case reports.(Brief Communication)(Case study)
June 1, 2008... Intestinal carcinoids are an uncommon neoplasm, and multiple carcinoids are extremely rare. Carcinoids of the ileum account for 15.4% of all gastrointestinal carcinoids (1) and are multicentric in 20%-30% of patients. (2) We present the first...

Correction.(Correction notice)
June 1, 2008... The list of online case notes published in the April 2008 issue contained an error. (1) For the case note "Role of the endo-GIA stapler in transanal excision of rectal tumours," the first author's name was spelled incorrectly. The correct...

Acute compartment syndrome after sclerotherapy for a low-flow vascular malformation.(Case Note/Note de cas)(Case study)
June 1, 2008... We report a case of compartment syndrome that occurred after injection of a sclerosing agent into the forearm of a child being treated for an intramuscular, infiltrative, low-flow vascular malformation. We also describe a method for measuring...

Complications after colorectal anastomosis in a patient with metastatic rectal cancer treated with systemic chemotherapy and bevacizumab.(Case Note/Note de cas)
June 1, 2008... Bevacizumab (Avastin; Genentech, San Francisco, Calif.) is the first humanized monoclonal antibody targeting vascular endothelial growth factor receptor to be approved in combination with systemic chemotherapy for the treatment of advanced...

Simple appendicitis?(Case Note/Note de cas)(Case study)
June 1, 2008... Appendicitis occurs most commonly in the second and third decades of life. Obstruction of the appendiceal lumen appears to be one of the most common physiologic mechanisms for the development of acute appendicitis. Once obstructed, the...

Upper gastrointestinal and intra-abdominal hemorrhage secondary to diffuse large B-cell gastric lymphoma.(Case Note/Note de cas)(Case study)
June 1, 2008... Invasion of a primary gastric lymphoma into the spleen, resulting in massive upper gastrointestinal and free intra-abdominal hemorrhage has never been described to our knowledge. We describe a case of this rare occurrence. Case report ...

Bone-wax granuloma after femoral neck osteoplasty.(Case Note/Note de cas)(Case study)
June 1, 2008... Bone wax is widely used in various surgical specialties to control bleeding from bone surfaces. Surgeons should be aware of possible related complications. We report a case in which foreign-body reaction to bone wax applied over femoral neck...

Gastrointestinal stromal tumour as a cause of hematemesis.(Case Note/Note de cas)(Case study)
June 1, 2008... Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) are mesenchymal neoplasms arising from the wall of the hollow viscera of the gastrointestinal tract. (1) These smooth-muscle tumours are formally referred to as leiomyoma, leiomyoblastoma or epitheloid...

Breast cancer metastasizing to the tongue.(Case Note/Note de cas)(Case study)
June 1, 2008... Involvement of the oral cavity by metastatic disease is rare and can include either bone or soft tissue. In this note, we describe the case of a young woman who had a metastatic deposit on her tongue, secondary to primary breast cancer. ...

Delayed rectal anastomotic dehiscence presenting as a colocutaneous fistula in the popliteal fossa.(Case Note/Note de cas)(Case study)
June 1, 2008... Enterocutaneous fistulas are commonly associated with diverticular disease or inflammatory bowel disease. They usually involve the lower abdominal wall. If the process starts retroperitoneally, the resulting fistula will follow a tortuous...

Periampullary carcinoid of the ampulla of Vater presenting as an intraductal papillary mucinous tumour of the pancreas: a sheep in wolf's clothing.(Case Note/Note de cas)(Case study)
June 1, 2008... Carcinoids are uncommon, with an estimated incidence at all anatomic sites of 1 in 12 000. (1) Although 67% of these lesions are found within the gastrointestinal tract, fewer than 1% are located at or near the ampulla of Vater. (2) These...

Foreign-body aspiration in an adult.(Case Note/Note de cas)(Case study)
June 1, 2008... Foreign-body aspiration is often a serious medical condition demanding timely recognition and prompt action. (1) Delayed diagnosis and subsequent delayed treatment is associated with serious, and sometimes fatal complications. (1,2) In adults,...

Repair of esophageal perforation: a new technique.(Case Note/Note de cas)(Case study)
June 1, 2008... Despite progress in surgical technique and nutritional support, esophageal perforation remains associated with high morbidity and mortality. (1) We describe a new technique used to repair an esophageal perforation in a patient with a gunshot...

Intraoperative dislocation of a trial femoral head into the pelvis during total hip arthroplasty.(Case Note/Note de cas)(Case study)
June 1, 2008... So-called "mini-incision" approaches for total hip arthroplasty have become popular over the past few years. (1-3) However, the shorter incision leads to higher soft-tissue tension, increasing the chances for dislocation. We describe the...