MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'general surgery'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:27:05 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159009&cid=t_91040_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Flifeinthefastlane%2FWZHV%2F%7E3%2Fs7S_ZPgTeFY%2F A case-based Q&A on the assessment and management of patients presenting with suspected rectal foreign bodies. (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159009 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 00:00:50 +0100 5159009 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028521&cid=t_91040_112_f&fid=34971&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.drmalpani.com%2F2011%2F07%2Fshould-i-be-operating-or-talking-to.html One of my friends is a highly skilled cardiac surgeon. He spends most of his day in the OT, and while his technical skills are superb, his patients often complain that he is brusque and has poor bedside manner. When I was talking to him about the importance of good doctor-patient communication, he got visibly irritated .“ Really , what do people expect me to do ? I am a highly skilled surgeon and I should be spending most of my time in the operation theater , helping my patients to get better. I have spent over 12 years learning how to do surgery and am extremely good at my job ! Should I be operating in the theater or should I be sitting and talking to patients ? I operate all the way from 8 o’clock in the morning to 8 o clock in the evening. How could I possibly find time to sit and ... The Patient's Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028521 Mon, 11 Jul 2011 02:58:00 +0100 5028521 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4753692&cid=t_91040_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fwhen-a-surgical-superhero-has-to-cut-wind%2F2011.04.26 Yes, I have an alter ego. Yes, I dress in funny clothes with a cap covering my head and a mask covering my face. And yes, dressed as such I try to fight the powers of evil (mainly sepsis and bleeding and cancer and the like). I am … a superhero. But there is often little understanding for what goes on under the paper thin masks and baggy gowns we wear. certain …um…occurrences, well, occur with us just as much as with other people. A common cold behind a theatre mask is no small thing. Remember you can’t blow your nose. Sniffing loudly only works for a while and attracts all sorts of strange stares. Just leaving it is really the only option. The positive side of this is you suffer less from the mild dehydration that accompanies massive loss of …mucus. There is, after all, flui... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4753692 Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:00:00 +0100 4753692 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4580895&cid=t_91040_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fanesthesia-medications-automatically-delivered-during-surgery%2F2011.03.13 A team of French anesthesiologists has developed an automatic delivery system of propofol and remifentanil, which they recently tested in a multi-center trial involving 196 surgical patients. The researchers reported in Anesthesia & Analgesia that the system, which uses a Bispectral Index (BIS) monitor as a guide, performed better than manual administration: We have developed a proportional-integral-derivative controller allowing the closed-loop coadministration of propofol and remifentanil, guided by a Bispectral Index (BIS) monitor, during induction and maintenance of general anesthesia. The controller was compared with manual target-controlled infusion. The controller allows the automated delivery of propofol and remifentanil and maintains BIS values in predetermined boundaries duri... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4580895 Sun, 13 Mar 2011 16:00:28 +0100 4580895 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4540566&cid=t_91040_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fbook-review-steeped-in-blood-the-life-and-times-of-a-forensic-scientist%2F2011.03.02 This post is a bit of a diversion from my usual posts, but I think it may still be worthwhile. You see, I want to promote a book. I’ve just read the book, “Steeped in Blood: The Life and Times of a Forensic Scientist“ by David Klatzow. What a stunning book. It really gives insight into the South Africa of old and possibly what South Africa of future may end up being like. I suggest that everyone get ahold of it and read it. However, David, I do feel I must challenge you on one point. Towards the end of your book, you say one of your surgeon friends told you a story of one of our Cuban import surgeons who tried to do a tonsillectomy through the neck rather than through the mouth, the normal way of doing it. I know this story and have heard it often myself in the cor... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4540566 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 18:00:00 +0100 4540566 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4414523&cid=t_91040_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fwhen-a-surgeons-note-has-to-begin-with-i-certify%2F2011.01.28 You know it’s bad when the attending surgeon has to write this at the beginning of his operative note: “I certify that the services for which payment is claimed were medically necessary and that no qualified resident was available to perform the services.” So there you have it. -WesMusings of a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist. *This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4414523 Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:00:00 +0100 4414523 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4411526&cid=t_91040_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fwhen-a-surgeons-note-has-to-begin-with-i-certify%2F2011.01.28 You know it’s bad when the attending surgeon has to write this at the beginning of his operative note: “I certify that the services for which payment is claimed were medically necessary and that no qualified resident was available to perform the services.” So there you have it. -WesMusings of a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist. *This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4411526 Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:00:00 +0100 4411526 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4360979&cid=t_91040_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fphysician-burnout-depression-and-suicide-in-surgeons%2F2011.01.18 I wrote last year in USA Today about the impact of physician burnout. Not only do doctors suffer, but so do their patients. Burnout starts early in residency, with entering interns having a depression rate of 4 percent, similar to the general public. But after the first year of residency, that number balloons to 25 percent. Now another study adds fuel to this disturbing trend. A paper published in the Archives of General Surgery looks at the prevalence of physician burnout in surgeons: In a national survey, one in 16 surgeons reported contemplating suicide, researchers reported. An increased risk of suicidal ideation was linked to three factors: depression, burnout, and the perception of having made a recent major medical error … … But only about one in four of those who reported thi... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4360979 Tue, 18 Jan 2011 16:00:58 +0100 4360979 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4331020&cid=t_91040_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Flifeinthefastlane%2FWZHV%2F%7E3%2FWAWtr-Occyk%2F The LITFL team recently added the ICU Rounds podcast to our easy-to-search database of free online podcasts. This podcast has been running for a couple of years now, and is produced by the exceptionally prolific Jeffrey Guy. Dr Guy has specialty training in burn surgery, trauma surgery, and critical care and is an Associate Professor [...] (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4331020 Tue, 11 Jan 2011 03:00:34 +0100 4331020 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4331013&cid=t_91040_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Ftired-surgeons-how-long-was-the-patient-asleep%2F2011.01.10 In a recent New England Journal of Medicine, a perspective piece on what to do with fatigued surgeons is generating debate. The issue of work-hour restrictions has been a controversial issue when it comes to doctors in training, something that I wrote about earlier in the year in USA Today. But once doctors graduate and practice in the real world, there are no rules. As summarized in the WSJ’s Health Blog, the perspective piece argues for more regulation for tired surgeons: … self-regulation is not sufficient. Instead, “we recommend that institutions implement policies to minimize the likelihood of sleep deprivation before a clinician performs elective surgery and to facilitate priority rescheduling of elective procedures when a clinician is sleep-deprived,” they write. For exampl... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4331013 Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:00:40 +0100 4331013 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4164527&cid=t_91040_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Flifeinthefastlane%2FWZHV%2F%7E3%2F45wJy3zDE5Q%2F Upper GI Haemorrhage EBM Review. Commonest causes: peptic ulcer (35-50%); oesophagitis (20-30%); duodenitis/gastritis/erosions (10-20%); varices (5-12%); Mallory-Weiss tear (2-5%); tumour (2-5%); angiodysplasia (2-3%); aorto-enteric fistula (<1%). (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4164527 Mon, 15 Nov 2010 02:00:49 +0100 4164527 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3982013&cid=t_91040_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Ftranscontinental-anesthesia%2F2010.09.18 Just two weeks after we reported on teleanesthesia in the form of remotely-performed nerve blocks, the first report of transcontinental anesthesia comes in. On August 30, anesthesiologists of McGill-McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, kept watch over a patient in Pisa, Italy, undergoing thyroid gland surgery. Basically they used a teleconferencing setup with four cameras, with two cameras streaming the anesthesia data (ventilation parameters and vital signs), one camera aimed at the operating field, and the last one for any special purposes. (more…) *This blog post was originally published at Medgadget* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3982013 Sat, 18 Sep 2010 22:00:01 +0100 3982013 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3907600&cid=t_91040_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fokay-with-your-surgeon-tweeting-during-your-operation%2F2010.08.26 Why are so many stories so unquestioning about these runaway surgical Twitter practices? Just look at this frame grab from a Google search showing all of the stories (so far) on one hospital team’s surgical Twitter exploits. One story stated: “Senior hand fellows…when not actively involved in the surgery, sat at a laptop just outside the operating suite and tweeted real-time updates during the procedure, according to a hospital press release. According to the Twitter feed, expert teams of hand surgeons rotated in and out of the operating room throughout the surgery.” Oh, phew, their hands were tweeting when their hands weren’t operating! I might rather that my surgeons — even when not actively involved in the operation and when rotating out of the OR &#8... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3907600 Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:00:02 +0100 3907600 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3671694&cid=t_91040_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-ipad-in-the-or%2F2010.06.17 Felasfa Wodajo, an orthopedic oncologist in Virginia, recently took his iPad into the operating theater to see how it performs in such an environment. Being one of the editors at iMedicalApps, Dr. Wodajo just published his initial findings and they bode a rather bright clincial future for the iPad, and tablets in general. SOURCE: iMedicalApps: Test driving the iPad in the hospital Operating Room… *This blog post was originally published at Medgadget* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3671694 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:00:15 +0100 3671694 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3655587&cid=t_91040_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Funderwear-20-the-militarys-vital-monitoring-briefs%2F2010.06.11 You just can’t make this stuff up: The underwear project, spearheaded by the nanoengineering professor, was funded by the U.S. military and its effectiveness will likely be tested on the battlefield. “This specific project involves monitoring the injury of soldiers during battlefield surgery,” Wang told Reuters. “The goal is to develop minimally invasive sensors that can locate, in the field, and identify the type of injury.” Ultimately, the waistband sensors will be able to direct the release of drugs to treat the wounded soldier. I wonder what other creative uses our men in uniform will find for this? I can hear it now: “It’s not the size of the device, honey, it’s the metronome that’s in it!” (Heh.) -WesMusings of a cardiologis... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3655587 Fri, 11 Jun 2010 21:00:00 +0100 3655587 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3524118&cid=t_91040_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fplastic-surgeon-is-the-king-of-donkey-kong%2F2010.04.30 Donkey Kong has a new recordholder — and he’s a plastic surgeon. Hank Chien, M.D., scored 1,061,700 points in 2 hours and 35 minutes, breaking the world-record score for the classic arcade game. Read the piece to learn how he did it, and more interestingly, the painstaking steps he had to take to verify his score. The feat does lend some anecdotal support linking video games and the hand-eye coordination required for surgery. There are small studies linking the laparoscopic skill of surgeons with how well they do on video games. (more…) *This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3524118 Fri, 30 Apr 2010 16:00:04 +0100 3524118 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3120433&cid=t_91040_93_f&fid=36525&url=http%3A%2F%2Fuvamedicine.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F12%2F24%2Fpractices-of-the-new-intern-the-utility-of-lists-and-listing%2F I am going to relate some of my practices as a new intern. I certainly learned from the best (my love and infinite respect to J-Ro wherever he is) and have generally kept up with the solid patient care practices that I learn from day one on the job. Lists Every good intern needs to have some kind of list procedure and I was no exception. Placing those little square boxes beside things to do and frequently checking my list became the “bane” of my existence on the wards. As a newly minted intern, my principle job was to make sure that every facet of patient care was done and assessed in a timely manner. I developed the practice of carrying both a clipboard (clip kept small pieces of paper from falling out) and blank sheets of paper. I would have a master list of patients that wer... NJBMD's Blog from Student Doctor Network blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3120433 Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:46:14 +0100 3120433 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2348091&cid=t_91040_93_f&fid=36525&url=http%3A%2F%2Fuvamedicine.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F04%2F11%2Fburn-surgery%2F I was the resident in charge of the burn unit and working on my daily notes for the patients that were currently residing there. There was a 19-year-old who had suffered severe inhalational burns and brain damage after the carburetor that he was cleaning with gasoline caught fire from a static electricity spark. There was a 70-year-old who had fallen asleep with a lit cigarette and sustained 25% full thickness burns to his upper torso. There was a mother who had burned her hands and face when she opened the door to her house, smelled gas and pushed her children to safety just before her house exploded. All of these patients require intensive care, intensive wound management and attention to every detail of their progress and condition. Also, some of these patients were in the process of be... NJBMD's Blog from Student Doctor Network blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2348091 Sat, 11 Apr 2009 16:10:20 +0100 2348091 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2075181&cid=t_91040_93_f&fid=36525&url=http%3A%2F%2Fuvamedicine.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F12%2F29%2Fventing%2F I remember doing a case with one of my favorite attendings. This person was a colo-rectal surgeon who would talk through out the case. I was an intern at the time but I remember him saying that his talking was just “venting” and that he hoped it wouldn’t bother me. I looked at him with amazement because his “venting” was putting to word, many of the thoughts that I was having as we went through the case. I had felt honored to be able to scrub this case with him because usually, one of the chief residents would have taken this case but everyone was tied up and thus I asked if he would mind if I scrubbed with him. He said that he was happy to have me there. The Teaching He explained the fine technical points from skin to skin allowing me to mirror many of the things that he was doi... NJBMD's Blog from Student Doctor Network blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2075181 Mon, 29 Dec 2008 01:05:13 +0100 2075181 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1809879&cid=t_91040_93_f&fid=36697&url=http%3A%2F%2Fjeffreyleow.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F20%2Fweek-round-up%2F so this week i officially started my gen surgery rotation at a slighter smaller hospital further away from Melbourne city center itself. it’s great. the schedule allocates 2 outpatient clinics a week, one of which is plastics. i know the resident there from the previous hospital i was at, so i go to him and learn loads. there are lots of hand injuries coming in at the plastics outpatients - lacerations, fractured metacarpals, etc. (On that note, why do people like to punch the wall with their fist? don’t they think? or perhaps they are too drunk!) i went in on saturday morning as i was told there was cool stuff happening on the plastics list that day. lots of cases. i haven’t seen plastic surgery at all, so i thought why not. it was great. lots of k-wire insertions, GAMP ... monash medical student blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1809879 Sat, 20 Sep 2008 10:50:31 +0100 1809879 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1096344&cid=t_91040_93_f&fid=36525&url=http%3A%2F%2Fuvamedicine.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F12%2F14%2Fa-memorable-patient%2F I have been thinking about some of my more memorable patients these days. I especially remember one of my younger surgical patients from when I was a junior resident. I was on the Colo-Rectal surgical service, which was one of the more interesting rotations that you can have a resident. Colo-rectal surgeons handle just that, diseases of the colon and rectum that have to be treated surgically. One of the nice things about the service is that the colo-rectal attendings were among the most personable and knowledgeable of my junior years. They loved to teach and they loved to have us involved in their cases at every step. One day, a gentleman presented to clinic for the final scheduling of his upcoming surgery. He was a young man (less than age 40) with a very low rectal tumor that we knew was... NJBMD's Blog from Student Doctor Network blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1096344 Fri, 14 Dec 2007 23:55:46 +0100 1096344 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1032881&cid=t_91040_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F11%2F13%2Fevaluation-of-closer-to-home-demonstration-sites%2F The National Primary Care Research and Development Centre in Manchester have reviewed the success of the ‘Closer to Home’ Demonstration sites (in their report ‘Evaluation of ‘Closer to Home’ Demonstration Sites’) established to test the key government objective to shift health services from hospitals into the community and bring it “Closer to Home” for patients. Five demonstration sites in each of six specialties (n=30), Dermatology, Ear Nose and Throat, General Surgery, Gynaecology, Orthopaedics and Urology, were selected by the Department of Health to illustrate the ways in which this could be achieved. The NPCRDC evaluation found that ‘Closer to Home’ sites required high initial investment in staff, premises and equipment. Key ... Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1032881 Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:13:16 +0100 1032881