American Journal of Surgery

BACKGROUND: The significance of external signs (EST) and signs or symptoms of trauma (SS) after ground level falls or found down (GLF/FD) is unclear. We hypothesized that EST and SS were associated with injury. METHODS: Patients with GLF/FD were retrospectively studied. SS was defined as having any EST, tenderness, or subjective complaint. Outcomes were any significant finding (SF) and Injury Severity Score (ISS) > 8. Diagnostic accuracy of EST and SS were assessed with positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+, LR-)...

OBJECTIVE: Gender differences in personality have long been a subject of interest. This study assessed personality traits within female and male residents and faculty and evaluated for meaningful differences between the groups. METHODS: A series of web-based, commercially available, self-administered five factor-based personality assessments were given to otolaryngology residents and faculty at nine academic training programs. The psychometrically validated assessments evaluate innate personality 1) strengths, 2) challenges, and 3) motivators/values...

BACKGROUND: Six percent of opioid-naïve patients develop opioid dependence post-operatively. We implemented a protocol in our renal transplant recipients that eliminated opioid patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) and included a multi-modal non-opioid regimen. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of PCA elimination on opioid requirements at discharge in renal transplant recipients. METHODS: We reviewed adult renal transplant recipients for the three months prior to, and following, the protocol's implementation...

BACKGROUND: Although gallbladder adenocarcinoma (AC) is potentially curable with resection, outcomes of squamous histologies are poorly described. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed all gallbladder cancers which underwent resection-for-cure in our health system from 2007 to 2017. We compared outcomes of AC to adeno-squamous (ASC)/squamous (SC) histologies. RESULTS: 91 patients met criteria; 76 AC, 15 ASC/SC. Compared to AC, ASC/SC tumors were larger (58 vs...

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INTRODUCTION: We hypothesized that general surgery programs with more female faculty and leadership may be associated with more female residents. METHODS: The Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database Access system (FREIDA) was assessed for chair gender, program director gender, percentage of female faculty, and percentage of female residents at general surgery residency programs. Programs were stratified by type: university-based (UB), community-based/university-affiliated (UA) and community-based (CB)...

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BACKGROUND: Females comprise 1/3 of general surgery residents, 1/4 of surgical faculty and 10% of full professors. Inadequate sponsorship is one proposed mechanism for this decline. This study evaluated letters of recommendation (LOR) among applicants applying to a complex general surgical oncology (CGSO) fellowship. METHODS: Linguistic analysis of LOR for CGSO applicants was conducted. Demographics of authors and features of the LOR were extracted. Differences by gender of the applicant were analyzed...

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BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to assess gender diversity across surgical subspecialties, with a focus on endocrine surgery. METHODS: We collected publicly-reported data from Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and American Association of Endocrine Surgeons (AAES) during the 2017 data period. Student's t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to compare percentages of female surgeons. We analyzed data by geographical regions, excluding states where data was unreported/unavailable...

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In February 2019, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) released the final report of the Continuing Board Certification: Vision for the Future initiative, issuing strong recommendations to replace ineffective, traditional mechanisms for physicians' maintenance of certification with meaningful strategies that strengthen professional self-regulation and simultaneously engender public trust. The Vision report charges ABMS Member Boards, including the American Board of Surgery (ABS), to develop and implement a more formative, less summative approach to continuing certification...

BACKGROUND: The safety of breast conservation therapy (BCT) has not been demonstrated in large ILC tumors, potentially contributing to the higher mastectomy rates seen in ILC. METHODS: We queried a prospectively maintained database to identify patients with ILC measuring ≥4 cm and evaluated difference in recurrence free survival (RFS) between those treated with BCT versus mastectomy using a multivariate model. RESULTS: Of 180 patients, 30 (16...

BACKGROUND: With information on healthcare providers available on the internet, patient self-referral has become popular. This study serves to evaluate the ease with which patients can locate an Endocrine Surgeon using hospital websites. METHODS: Websites of the 16 top academic hospitals from The US News and World Report's Hospital Rankings for 2018-2019 were accessed. Each "Find A Doctor" page was searched for: "thyroid nodule," "hyperparathyroidism," and "adrenal mass...

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the effects of surgeon characteristics such as surgeon experience on differences in opioid prescribing after surgery. METHODS: We evaluated a 20% national sample of Medicare beneficiaries ≥65 years old who underwent 15 different types of surgery to identify surgeon characteristics associated with opioid prescription size filled within seven days of discharge using a multi-level linear model. RESULTS: 174,141 patients and 13,828 surgeons met inclusion criteria...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.