Annals of Surgical Innovation and Research

We report a case of a grade V bladder injury complicating an open-book pelvic fracture following a road traffic accident. The bladder neck injury was primarily repaired in the emergency setting of a poor-resourced area with successful outcome. The dangers of urinary extravasation are still to be considered of importance and we advocate and encourage immediate/emergency open intervention although it remains controversial to say the least in a lesser resourced healthcare set up.

BACKGROUND: Childhood-to-adult persistent asthma is usually considered to be an atopic disease. However gastroesophageal reflux may also play an important role in this phenotype of asthma, especially when it is refractory to pulmonary medicine. METHODS: Fifty-seven consecutive GERD patients who had decades of childhood-to-adult persistent asthmatic symptoms refractory to pulmonary medication were enrolled. GERD was assessed by a symptom questionnaire, endoscopy, reflux monitoring, and manometry, and treated by Stretta radiofrequency (SRF) or laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication (LNF)...

Lymph node status is the most important prognostic factor in esophageal cancer. Through improved detection of lymph node metastases, using the sentinel lymph node concept, accurate staging and more tailored therapy may be achieved. This review article outlines two principle ways in which the sentinel lymph node concept could dramatically influence current standard of care for patients with esophageal cancer. We discuss three limitations to universal acceptance of the technique, and propose next steps for increasing enthusiasm amongst physicians and surgeons including the development of a universal tracer, and improved contrast agents with novel dual-modality 'visibility'...

BACKGROUND: Sacroiliac (SI) joint pain is an under diagnosed source of low back pain due in part to lack of visible pathology on radiographs and symptoms mimicking other back-related disorders. Open SI joint fusion has been performed since the 1920s. This technique has fallen out of favor with the introduction of minimally invasive options. To date there has been no direct comparison between open and MIS SI joint fusion. METHODS: We conducted a multi-center, retrospective comparative cohort study of patients who underwent SI joint fusion using either an open surgical (OS) technique using a combination of screws and cages or a minimally invasive surgical (MIS) technique with a series of titanium plasma spray (TPS) coated triangular implants...

BACKGROUND: Hysterectomy dates back to 120BC and is the second most commonly performed gynecological surgery in the world. Cosmetic demands and the necessity of rapid return to work have contributed to the minimally invasive laparoscopic approach for hysterectomy. The majority of reports describe the use of three or four incisions to perform the surgery (two or three for manipulation and one for optics). METHODS: This work describes our experience with using only two ports for 11 patients who underwent video-laparoscopic hysterectomy surgery...

BACKGROUND: Zone 2 flexor tendon injuries still represent a challenging problem to hand surgeons despite the well developed surgical techniques and suture materials. Meticulous surgical repair with atraumatic handling of the severed tendon stumps and minimal damage to the tendon sheath are particularly important to prevent postoperative adhesions and ruptures in this area.In zone 2 flexor tendon injuries proximal to the vinculas, the cut ends of the flexor tendons retract to the palm with muscle contraction...

BACKGROUND: The quality and viability of mastectomy flaps remain a central challenge in reconstructive surgery, particularly for immediate breast reconstruction. Insufficient perfusion in tissue flaps is a leading cause of early complications following reconstructive procedures, and clinical judgment alone is not completely reliable for the assessment of flap viability. Accurate and reliable intraoperative methods for assessment of tissue perfusion are needed to help surgeons identify tissue at risk for ischemia and necrosis, thereby allowing for maneuvers to improve tissue flap viability...

Inadequate tissue perfusion is a key contributor to early complications following reconstructive procedures. Accurate and reliable intraoperative evaluation of tissue perfusion is critical to reduce complications and improve clinical outcomes. Clinical judgment is the most commonly used method for evaluating blood supply, but when used alone, is not always completely reliable. A variety of other methodologies have been evaluated, including Doppler devices, tissue oximetry, and fluorescein, among others. However, none have achieved widespread acceptance...

BACKGROUND: In 1998, an electrothermal bipolar vessel sealing (EBVS) system was introduced and quickly became an integral component of the surgical armamentarium in various surgical specialties. Currently available EBVS instruments use a scissor-like jaw configuration and closing mechanism, which causes decreasing compression pressure from the proximal to the distal end of the jaws. A new EBVS system is described here which utilizes a different instrument jaw configuration and closing mechanism to enable a more homogeneous pressure distribution despite longer instrument jaws...

BACKGROUND: Sacroiliac joint (SI) pain is an often-overlooked cause of low back pain due, in part, to lack of specific findings on radiographs and symptoms mimicking other back-related disorders. We report our experience with minimally invasive (MIS) SI joint arthrodesis using a series of triangular, titanium plasma spray (TPS) coated implants in patients refractory to conservative care. METHODS: We report outcomes from 18 patients with 12 months of postoperative follow-up...

Medical devices, including surgical staplers, energy-based devices, and access enabling devices, are used routinely today in the majority of surgical procedures. Although these technically advanced devices have proved to be of immense benefit to both surgeons and patients, their rapid development and continuous improvement have had the unintended consequence of creating a knowledge gap for surgeons due to a lack of adequate training and educational programs. Thus, there is an unmet need in the surgical community to collect existing data on device-tissue interactions and subsequently develop research and educational programs to fill this gap in surgical training...

BACKGROUND: Fibroepithelial stromal polyps are site-specific mesenchymal lesions that are commonly found in the vulvovaginal region in premenopausal females. These polyps usually are less than 5 cm in diameter and are most commonly identified during routine gynecological examination. Although the stromal polyp is benign, its differential diagnosis includes some malignant vulva lesions making it critical to ensure that an accurate pathologic diagnosis is made. CASE: We present a case of a 21 year old female with a giant fibroepithelial stromal polyp of the vulva...

BACKGROUND: Epidural intracranial hematoma is one of the most common complications of surgeries for intracranial tumors. The non-regional epidural hematoma is related to severe fluctuation of the intracranial pressure during the operation. The traditional management of hematoma evacuation through craniotomy is time-consuming and may aggravate intracranial pressure imbalance, which causes further complications. We designed a method using vaccum epidural drainage system, and tried to evaluate advantage and the disadvantage of this new technique...

Presented hereunder is probably the first reported case of endometriosis at the vaginal apex following vaginal hysterectomy. No other similar case could be traced in the review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Nerve conduction studies or somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) have become an important tool in the investigation of peripheral nerve lesions, and is sensitive in detecting brachial plexus nerve injury, and other nerve injuries. To investigate whether the modified Quad surgical procedure improves nerve conductivity and functional outcomes in obstetric brachial plexus nerve injury (OBPI) patients. METHODS: All nerves were tested with direct functional electrical stimulation...

Gastroduodenal artery (GDA) aneurysms are rare but a potentially fatal condition if rupture occurs. They represent about 1.5% of all visceral artery (VAA) aneurysms and are divided into true and pseudoaneurysms depending on the etiologic factors underlying their development. Atherosclerosis and pancreatitis are the two most common risk factors. Making the diagnosis can be complex and often requires the use of Computed Tomography and angiography. The later adds the advantage of being a therapeutic option to prevent or stop bleeding...

INTRODUCTION: Urogenital prolapse can have a significant impact on quality of life. The life time risk of requiring surgery for urogenital prolapse is 11%. Prolift mesh has recently been introduced to reduce repeat operation rate and for long-term benefit. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcome of the treatment of urogenital prolapse with synthetic mesh. METHODS: A retrospective review of case notes of all women who underwent prolift mesh insertion for prolapse between July 2004 and June 2005, at Royal Alexandra Hospital Paisley UK...

BACKGROUND: Extraction of a broken tooth root is often a traumatic experience for both the practitioner and the patient. To extract broken roots, generally invasive approaches as open window surgeries or mucoperiosteal flap and/or removal of buccal bone are performed. PRESENTATION OF THE HYPOTHESIS: Expandable micro-motor bur (EMB) is a hypothetical design of a dental instrument proposed for removal of broken teeth roots that cannot be extracted by the routine closed methods and in which common instrumentations cannot afford to accomplish...

UNLABELLED: <AbstractText Label="BACKGROUND" NlmCategory="BACKGROUND">The purpose of this study was to compare in human cadavers the applicability of a commonly used stapling device, the CONTOUR® curved cutter (CC) (Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Cincinnati, OH) to a newly released, curved stapler, the Endo GIA™ Radial Reload with Tri-Staple™ Technology (RR) (Covidien, New Haven, CT) METHODS: Four experienced surgeons performed deep pelvic dissection with total mesorectal excision (TME) of the rectum in twelve randomized male cadavers...

Critically ill surgical patients are always at increased risk of actual or potentially life-threatening health complications. Central/peripheral venous lines form a key part of their care. We review the current evidence on incidence of central and peripheral venous catheter-related bloodstream infections in critically ill surgical patients, and outline pathways for prevention and intervention. An extensive systematic electronic search was carried out on the relevant databases. Articles were considered suitable for inclusion if they investigated catheter colonisation and catheter-related bloodstream infection...