Editor's Note The Oregon Outpatient Surgery Center (Tigard, Oregon) is the first ambulatory surgery center in the Northwest to perform same-day total hip replacements, the January 4 Oregonian reports. The center offers both posterior and anterior total hips for qualified patients. Patients are carefully screened and must be in good…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 11 classified the recall of Stryker Fuhrman’s Pleural and Pneumopericardial Drainage Sets as Class I, the most serious. Stryker (Tempe, Arizona) received two reports that the catheter included in the Drainage Set broke off in the patient’s pleural cavity during…
Editor's Note Participation in the American College of Surgeons, National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) is associated with a reduction in postoperative adverse events, and the magnitude of quality improvement increases with time in the program, this study finds. Hospitals in the ACS NSQIP program for at least 3…
Editor's Note This 20-year study of more than 11,000 solid organ transplant patients found they had a 1.93 to 2.84 times higher risk of dying from cancer. The risk was highest for skin cancer, followed by non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and liver cancer. The administration of immunosuppressants or less aggressive cancer treatment…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced January 6 that Hospira, Inc (Lake Forest, Illinois) recalled one lot of Magnesium Sulfate in Water for Injection (0.325 mEq Mg++/mL) 40 mg/mL 2g total, 50 mL (NDC: 0409-6729-24, Lot 53-113-JT, Expiry November 1, 2016). The recall was initiated because of…
Editor's Note Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programs have led to reduction in length of stay and improved outcomes. This study finds that investment in an ERAS program also leads to financial savings. Despite positive results from international ERAS programs, the US has been slow to adopt such programs, in…
Editor's Note The new Josie Robertson Surgery Center, opened by Memorial Sloan Kettering (New York City), is a first-of-its-kind facility that allows cancer patients to go home within a day of significant surgical procedures. The surgery center has 12 ORs and can accommodate 60 surgical procedures per day. Surgeons, anesthesiologists,…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 4 issued two final orders to strengthen the requirements for surgical mesh to repair pelvic organ prolapse tranvaginally. One order reclassifies surgical mesh from class II (moderate risk) to a class III (high-risk) device. The second order requires manufacturers to…
Editor's Note A new, optional advanced certification program for total hip and total knee replacement is now available from the Joint Commission. The program will help accredited hospitals, critical access hospitals, and ambulatory surgery centers provide a consistent approach to patient care that reduces the risk of error and improves…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on January 5 announced that Baxter International, Inc (Deerfield, Illinois) is recalling two lots of IV solutions because of the presence of particulate matter. The particulate matter was determined to be an insect and was identified as a result of a customer complaint.…