Audit reveals surgeons’ skills
AN AUDIT of patient deaths related to surgery has revealed that in just 5% of cases clinical management was deemed likely to have contributed to the adverse outcome.
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surgery
The following articles have the tag surgery
Advice on ectopic pregnancy
WOMEN with ectopic pregnancy (EP) can be reassured the choice of treatment will not affect the subsequent likelihood of an intrauterine pregnancy, researchers say.
Link between dementia and surgery needs more study
THE effects of anaesthesia and surgery on cognitive function and the development of dementia need to be better studied, a researcher says.
Pioneering nerve surgery restores hand use in quadriplegic
A QUADRIPLEGIC patient is now able to use one hand to feed himself and to write following pioneering nerve transfer surgery in the US.
Baby born with six legs to be operated on
DOCTORS in Pakistan are discussing how to operate on a baby born with six legs, a rare deformity believed to have been caused by a genetic disorder.
World first: fetal bronchial operation a success
SPANISH doctors have revealed the world’s first successful operation on a fetus to correct a bronchial atresia.
Baby flown under ash cloud for surgery
A ROYAL Flying Doctor Service jet has raced beneath a volcanic ash cloud over Western Australia to get a baby to Melbourne for life-saving surgery. The plane was due to fly the baby east today, but the ash plume from a Chilean volcano brought forward its departure to about 1 pm (WST) on Wednesday. RFDS spokesperson Lesleigh Green told AAP the baby had had severe heart defects since birth and needed highly specialised surgery that was not available in Perth. The ash cloud was moving north-east across Western Australia's south-west region and the jet flew under ...
Alcohol impairs next-day surgical skills
SURGEONS may experience “post-alcohol impairment” that makes them more error-prone well into the day after a big night, research has confirmed. Dublin-based researchers conducted two studies – one involving 16 final-year science students who were trained in the use of a laparoscopic surgery simulator and the other involving eight expert surgeons – to check for next-day impairment from excessive alcohol consumption. Eight of the students were sent out for a boozy dinner in which they could “drink alcohol freely until they felt intoxicated” while the other eight were randomly assigned as controls who had no alcohol. ...
Patient denies agreeing to genital removal
A WOMAN has told a jury she "never, never, never, never" would have consented to an operation in which a doctor removed her genitals, including her clitoris. The doctor, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty to maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm (GBH) on Ms Carolyn DeWaegeneire with intent to cause her GBH in August 2002. Ms DeWaegeneire said the doctor told her he was going to remove a lesion but never mentioned removing anything else, including her clitoris. If he had mentioned it, "I would never have walked through that hospital ...
Doctor defends 'life-saving' surgery on woman’s genitals
A DOCTOR charged with mutilating a woman’s genitals was trying to save her life, the jury at his Sydney trial was yesterday told. Carolyn DeWaegeneire went into surgery in August 2002 after going into hospital for what she had been told was a simple procedure to remove a patch of skin on her vulva that had been identified as cancerous. As she succumbed to the anaesthetic in the theatre, Ms DeWaegeneire said the doctor leaned in close to her and said “I’m going to take your clitoris too”. On waking from surgery she learned that her labia ...
Fears Patel case could spark IMG backlash
INTERNATIONAL medical graduates (IMGs) have warned of a potential backlash against foreign doctors, following the jailing of disgraced surgeon Jayant Patel. The former director of surgery at Bundaberg Base Hospital was sentenced to seven years jail for the manslaughter of three patients and for causing grievous bodily harm to a fourth. In one case, a patient bled to death after an oesophagectomy performed by Mr Patel. In another case, Mr Patel removed a patient’s bowel despite biopsies indicating it was free of cancer. The man now requires a permanent ileostomy bag. The court heard that Mr Patel ...
Haikerwal attackers sentenced
LENGTHY prison sentences have been handed down to the violent attackers of former AMA president Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, with one offender now facing up to 18 years behind bars. The Melbourne-based GP was bashed by a gang of men as he walked through a park in Williamstown, in the city’s inner west, on 27 September last year. The attack left him in a critical state, requiring emergency brain surgery, after which he was placed in an induced coma for 24 hours. Dr Haikerwal was one of 34 victims attacked during the men’s two-month crime spree. In ...
Surgery is better than medical care for carpal tunnel
SURGICAL management of carpal tunnel syndrome results in greater improvements in symptom relief and function than medical management, according to a randomised trial. Researchers allocated 116 patients to receive either surgery (open and endoscopic) with hand therapy or a multimodal medical treatment. Medical treatment included daily NSAIDs, customised hand therapy for six weeks, education and home exercises that focused on ligament stretching, tendon gliding and splint use at night. Patients were assessed for function and symptom scores at three, six, nine and 12 months, using the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Assessment Questionnaire. Only those in the ...
Surgery in cardiovascular disease
THERAPEUTIC Guidelines: Cardiovascular version 5 includes new material about surgery in patients with cardiovascular disease. Antibiotic prophylaxis is not required for patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) or permanent pacemakers (PPMs) undergoing surgery. Surgical diathermy may affect these devices. Diathermy signals may be misinterpreted as an arrhythmia by an ICD. To avoid inappropriate shocks during surgery, implantable defibrillators should be programmed ‘off’ before surgery, and reprogrammed ‘on’ immediately after. Occasionally PPMs are temporarily inhibited by diathermy. This is only of consequence if a patient is totally pacemaker-dependent, and in this situation the PPM ...