Editor's Note Overlapping surgery can be safely performed without risking patient safety, this study from Emory University Hospital finds. Of 2,275 neurosurgical cases included in the analysis, 1,303 were overlapping and 972 were nonoverlapping. The researchers found no difference between overlapping and nonoverlapping neurosurgical procedures in terms of 90-day postoperative…

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Editor's Note Perioperative nurses engaging in patient and community education to explain coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery, reinforcing recommended discharge guidelines, and serving as expert resources are key to positive outcomes and reducing readmissions, finds this review article. In 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reduced payments…

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Editor's Note The burden and bureaucracy of today’s practice of medicine are major factors influencing physicians’ intentions to reduce work hours or leave the profession, finds this study from the American Medical Association, Mayo Clinic, and Stanford University. Of nearly 36,000 physicians across all specialties surveyed, 6,880 (19.2%) responded. Nearly 1…

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Editor's Note The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAHC) announced on November 2 that it has developed a new Orthopaedic Certification program for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). After an ASC achieves overall accreditation, it can acquire the Orthopaedic Certification to demonstrate excellence in the specialty of orthopaedics by meeting…

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Editor's Note High-risk, noncancerous flat epithelial atypia (FEA) breast lesions can be treated with close observation rather than surgical removal in most cases, this study finds. The analysis of 208 patients diagnosed with FEA over a 9-year period found that after mammography, biopsy, and surgical excision, five lesions (2.4%) were…

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Editor's Note Robotic-assisted nephrectomy is more expensive and takes longer than conventional laparoscopic nephrectomy and confers no additional benefits, this study finds. The proportion of robotic-assisted nephrectomies increased from 1.5% in 2003 to 27% in 2015. Of 23,753 patients analyzed, no significant differences were found in major postoperative complications between…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on October 31 issued a Safety Alert saying that interim study results continue to show an increased rate of major adverse cardiac events and Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold (BVS) thrombosis in patients receiving the Absorb GT1 BVS by Abbott Vascular (Abbott Park, Illinois),…

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Editor's Note A patient’s waist measurement can predict the risk of complications and death after emergency general surgery, finds this study presented October 26 at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2017 in San Diego. Included in the study were 608 emergency general surgery patients who had preoperative CT…

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Editor's Note RTI Surgical (Alachua, Florida) on October 25 launched its Fortilink-C interbody fusion system with Tetrafuse 3D technology, the October 26 Becker’s Spine Review reports. Tetrafuse 3D technology combines titanium, allograft bone, and PEEK all in one device. The 3D-printed, polymer-based, cervical interbody device incorporates micro, macro, and nano-rough…

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Editor's Note Opioid use in total hip and knee patients decreased by one-third between 2006 and 2014, which reflects success in the use of a multimodal approach (ie, opioids plus additional pain management methods, such as peripheral nerve blocks and acetaminophen) to pain management, finds this study presented October 21…

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