Canadian Journal of Surgery articles from October 2005

Canadian Journal of Surgery archives from October 2005

Meeting the challenge of reducing waiting times for surgery/Relever le defi de la reduction des temps d'attente en chirurgie.(Editorial)
October 1, 2005... The article by Snider and associates in the current issue of the Journal (Can J Surg 2005;48:355-60) tackles the thorny issue of waiting for access to care in Canada's public health system. In their study, the investigators surveyed patients...

Incidence of portal vein thrombosis after laparoscopic splenectomy.
October 1, 2005... Background: Laparoscopic splenectomy has become an important therapeutic option in the management of diverse hematologic disorders. However, the incidence of important complications, such as portal vein thrombosis, remains poorly understood. We...

Waiting times and patient perspectives for total hip and knee arthroplasty in rural and urban Ontario.
October 1, 2005... Background: The demand for total hip and total knee arthroplasties is increasing as are the waiting times for these procedures. Because of the differences between rural and urban areas in terms of the provision of arthroplasty services and...

Comorbidity and age are both independent predictors of length of hospitalization in trauma patients.
October 1, 2005... Background: Length of hospitalization is a good indicator of resource utilization. Older patients are increasingly suffering trauma, and comorbid medical conditions are also increasing. Our objective was to determine the separate and combined...

Noncompliance with seat-belt use in patients involved in motor vehicle collisions.
October 1, 2005... Background: Seat-belt compliance in trauma patients involved in motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) appears low when compared with compliance of the general public. In this study we wished to define the relative frequency of seat-belt use in...

Seat-belt injuries in children involved in motor vehicle crashes.
October 1, 2005... Background: The efficacy of seat belts in reducing deaths from motor vehicle crashes is well documented. A unique association of injuries has emerged in adults and children with the use of seat belts. The "seat-belt syndrome" refers to the...

Splenic syndrome in patients at high altitude with unrecognized sickle cell trait: splenectomy is often unnecessary.
October 1, 2005... Background: The health risks associated with sickle cell trait are minimal in this sizable sector of the world's population, and many of these patients have no information about their sickle cell status. Splenic syndrome at high altitude is...

Splenic autotransplantation for treatment of portal hypertension.
October 1, 2005... Background: When total splenectomy is unavoidable it is important to preserve splenic function in some form in order to prevent the complications of asplenism. Splenic autotransplantation is a good alternative in such cases. We describe the use...

Impact of cognitive imaging and sex differences on the development of laparoscopic suturing skills.
October 1, 2005... Background: The introduction of noninvasive laparoscopic surgery has raised concerns about appropriate teaching techniques for medical students considering surgery as a specialization. The principal aim of this study was to determine the...

Lipofibromatous hamartoma: review of early diagnosis and treatment.
October 1, 2005... Background: Lipofibromatous harmartoma (LFH) is a rare tumour that requires early diagnosis and treatment. To alert physicians to the possibility of this tumour, we review the epidemiologic and pathological characteristics, the presentation,...

What is so odd about odds?(Evidence-Based Surgery/Chirurgie factuelle)
October 1, 2005... In clinical studies, the relative likelihood of an event occurring between 2 groups is often expressed as the risk ratio (RR) or the odds ratio (OR). The RR is an intuitive parameter that is relatively easy to interpret. Quantitative...

Canadian Association of General Surgeons and American College of Surgeons Evidence Based Reviews in Surgery. (14): preoperative fasting for adults to prevent perioperative complications.(Evidence-Based Surgery/Chirurgie factuelle)
October 1, 2005... CAGS Evidence Based Reviews in Surgery In September 2000, the Canadian Association of General Surgeons (CAGS) initiated an Internet-based journal club entitled "CAGS Evidence Based Reviews in Surgery (CAGS-EBRS)" to help practising...

Surgical images: soft tissue recurrent aneurysms.(Continuing Medical Education/Formation medicale continue)
October 1, 2005... Five years after surgical repair of an infrarenal aortic aneurysm, a 64-year-old man presented with pulsatile abdominal masses located in both lower abdominal quadrants. He had a history of myocardial infarction in 1974, coronary artery bypass...

Surgical technique: a simple drain dressing.(Continuing Medical Education/Formation medicale continue)
October 1, 2005... Adrain dressing should be inexpensive, be easy to apply and remove, ensure the security of the drain and maximize patient comfort. These goals are achievable, but often drain security is prioritized at the expense of patient comfort and...

Spinal cord impingement by a displaced rib in scoliosis due to neurofibromatosis.(Case Notes/Notes de cas)
October 1, 2005... Neurofibromatosis is often associated with a dysplastic progressive scoliosis. (1,2) Enlargement of the neural foramina by erosion of adjacent neurfibromas occasionally predisposes to the adjacent attached rib entering the spinal canal. (3-8)...

The contralateral sentinel node.(Case Notes/Notes de cas)
October 1, 2005... Identification and dissection of the sentinel node is now standard in the treatment of melanoma. We describe a a patient with melanoma of the cheek demonstrating contralateral lymphatic drainage. Case report An 85-year-old woman was...

Gastrocolic fistula secondary to right gastroepiploic-coronary artery bypass.(Case notes/Notes de cas)
October 1, 2005... Gastrocolic fistula (GCF) generally occurs secondary to chronic peptic ulcer disease. (1) It can be classified as primary or secondary, that is, occurring spontaneously or after operative gastric resection. The patient described here had a GCF...

Surgical training.(Correspondence/Correspondance)
October 1, 2005... I read with much interest the article entitled "Effectiveness of repeated video feedback in the acquisition of a surgical technical skill" by Backstein and associates (Can J Surg 2005;48:195-9). I appreciated very much the method of repeated...

Procedure of choice for GIST.(gastrointestinal stromal tumour)
October 1, 2005... We read with interest the recent report "Surgical images: soft tissue. Gastrointestinal stromal tumour of the stomach" (GIST) (Can J Surg 2005;48:237-8). The authors noted a submucosal mass on gastroscopy and performed a distal gastrectomy...