Editor's Note Postoperative outcomes in the Veterans Affairs (VA) health system have consistently improved for the past 15 years, this study finds. In this analysis of nearly 705,000 patients undergoing noncardiac surgical procedures at 143 hospitals, absolute rates and likelihood of complications, mortality, and failure to rescue significantly decreased 40%…

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Editor's Note Despite significant challenges in their careers, cardiothoracic surgeons report a very high level of job satisfaction in a survey published online September 13 in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons reports. The 63-question survey was administered to more than 4,300 members of the Society…

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Editor's Note The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) on September 8 announced the launch of its new patient website that offers resources for individuals facing heart, lung, and esophageal surgery. The site allows patients and their families to research their conditions and gather information on treatment options and recovery.  …

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Editor's Note Bariatric surgical patients in the Veterans Administration health care system lost substantially more weight than nonsurgical patients and sustained most of the weight loss in the long term, this study finds. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) induced significantly more weight loss than sleeve gastrectomy (SG) or adjustable gastric banding…

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Editor's Note This study found a marked decline from 1998 to 2013 in surgical (open and laparoscopic) common bile duct exploration (CBDE) for choledocholithiasis (ie, bile duct stones). At the same time, the rate of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) increased and is becoming the predominant treatment strategy. The percentage of…

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Editor's Note Professionalism education improved surgical resident understanding, awareness, and practice of professionalism in a significant manner in this study. A year-long professionalism curriculum was developed at New York University School of Medicine, New York City, which focused on challenges such as: admitting mistakes effective communication with colleagues at all…

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Editor's Note Implementation of a telephone postoperative clinic significantly improved utilization of surgeon and facility resources while maintaining patient outcomes, this study finds. Of 200 patients included in the study, 29 had in-person postoperative follow-up and 171 had telephone follow-up. There was no difference in rates of emergency department visits…

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Editor's Note Applying a classification tool to identify process and cognitive errors leading to discrepancies between intraoperative frozen section diagnoses and final pathology reports, researchers found that the rate of discrepancies is small and the source of discrepancies varied between organ systems and specific organs. Of 1,042 frozen sections examined,…

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Editor's Note Several technical and nontechnical skill sets of practicing surgeons were found to be in need of improvement, in this study, which provided support for implementing coaching programs for surgeons on an ongoing basis. A total of 32 surgeons (18 general, 14 gynecologists) from 6 hospitals were assessed; 9…

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Editor's Note Medicare’s value-based purchasing (VBP) program revealed superior performance associated with physician owned surgical hospitals in this study. Researchers analyzed 3,089 hospitals that included physician-owned surgical, University HealthSystem Consortium, US News & World Report Honor Roll, Kaiser Permanente, and Accountable Care Organization hospitals. Estimated mean total performance scores were…

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