Can Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting Be Predicted?

Background: Retrospective [1] studies fail to identify predictors of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). The authors prospectively studied 17,638 consecutive outpatients who had surgery to identify these predictors.

Methods: Data on medical conditions, anesthesia, surgery, and PONV were collected in the post-anesthesia care unit, in the ambulatory surgical unit, and in telephone interviews conducted 24 h after surgery. Multiple logistic regression with backward stepwise elimination was used to develop a predictive model. An independent set of patients was used to validate the model.

Results: Age (younger or older), sex (female or male), smoking status (nonsmokers or smokers), previous PONV, type of anesthesia (general or other), duration of anesthesia (longer or shorter), and type of surgery (plastic, orthopedic shoulder, or other) were independent predictors of PONV. A 10-yr increase in age decreased the likelihood of PONV by 13%. The risk for men was on third that for women. A 30-min increase in the duration of anesthesia increased the likelihood of PONV by 59%. General anesthesia increased the likelihood of PONV 11 times compared with other types of anesthesia. Patients with plastic and orthopedic shoulder surgery had a sixfold increase in the risk for PONV. The model predicted PONV accurately and yielded an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.785 +/- 0.011 using an independent validation set.     

Can Aesthetic Facial Reconstruction Be Judged in Black and White?

Aesthetic considerations of the face need to be evaluated in real-life full color. Staged contouring and insetting of a transferred free flap is sometimes required. This consists of debulking, thinning, and reshaping the flap. If the facial area is involved, however, color mismatch of a free flap represents an aesthetic challenge for the reconstructive surgeon, and often is missed with black and white photos.This article reports on a patient in whom a first dorsal metatarsal cutaneus free flap was used to reconstruct a full-thickness defect in the lateral orbit including upper and lower eyelids and outer canthus. The flap resulted in an unacceptable aesthetic outcome consisting of a bulky, hypopigmented deformity. Revisional surgery consisted of debulking the free flap and resurfacing it with a full-thickness skin graft taken from the postauricular area. This resulted in a pleasant, thin, and better color match reconstruction.The advantages of the first web space of foot free flap to the eyelid are well described. The authors are of the opinion that the flap does not match the color of the eyelid region, and therefore suggest that if used, prefabrication or a second procedure is needed.Evaluation of the postoperative results needs to be in color because black and white can mask the final aesthetic result.     

Can Laparoscopic Pancreaticoduodenectomy Be Safely Implemented?

Introduction  

The implementation of laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy (LPD) has been appropriately met with apprehension, and concerns exist regarding outcomes early in a program’s experience. We reviewed our early experience and outcomes of LPD.     

How Can Prognosis for Diabetic ESRD Be Improved?

Although the prognosis of patients who have diabetes and are receiving renal replacement therapy has greatly improved, survival and medical rehabilitation rates continue to be significantly worse than those of nondiabetic patients, mainly because of pre‐existing severely compromised cardiovascular conditions. In this scenario, the nephrology community had to do its best in order to offer the best treatment options to these patients using a multifaceted approach. The most common RRT modality in patients with diabetes is still hemodialysis, but it gives rise to a number of clinical problems, in particular difficulties in the management of the vascular access and high frequency of intradialytic hypotension. Recent data suggest that efficient high‐flux treatments have the potential of improving morbidity and mortality of diabetics with ESRD. Sodium profiling during the dialysis session may be also of importance in reducing intradialytic hypotension and helping in achieving the prescribed body weight. Patients who have diabetes and are on peritoneal dialysis have to face a progressive increase in peritoneal permeability, loss of ultrafiltration, and peritoneal fibrosis, all phenomena being accelerated in patients with diabetes and ultimately leading to an increased technique failure. However, the two dialytic modalities are comparable in terms of outcomes in the short term.     

Radioactive Seed Localization Breast Biopsy and Lumpectomy: Can Specimen Radiographs Be Eliminated?

Background: Wire localization (WL) is the current standard for surgical diagnosis of nonpalpable breast lesions. Many disadvantages inherent to WL are solved with radioactive seed localization (RSL). This trial investigated the ability of RSL to reduce the need for specimen radiographs and operating room delays associated with WL.Methods: A total of 134 women were entered onto an institutional review board–approved study. RSL was performed by placing a titanium seed containing .29 to 20 mCi of iodine-125 to within 1 cm of the suggestive breast lesion. The surgeon used a handheld gamma detector to locate and excise the iodine-125 seed and the lesion.Results: Specimen radiographs were eliminated in 98 (79%) of 124 patients. Surgical seed retrieval was 100% in 124 patients. No seed migration occurred after correct radiographical placement. A total of 26 (21%) of 124 patients required a specimen radiograph; 22 (85%) of these 26 were performed for microcalcifications.Conclusions: After surgical removal, RSL can eliminate specimen radiographs when the radiologist accurately places the seed and the pathologist grossly identifies the lesion. If small microcalcifications are noted before surgery, then specimen radiographs may be necessary. RSL reduced requirements for specimen radiographs, decreased OR time, improved incision placement, and improved resections to clear margins.     

How Many Contralateral Papillary Thyroid Carcinomas Can Be Missed?

Background

When surgeons decide to perform lobectomy as the treatment of papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs), they must consider the possibility of contralateral cancer. We wanted to determine the incidence of bilateral PTCs (bPTCs) and analyze their characteristics. We also wanted to determine how many patients with bPTC were missed preoperatively.

Methods

From January 2007 to May 2011, a total of 466 patients with PTC who were treated by total thyroidectomy at a single institution were enrolled. Patients were divided into two groups based on bilaterality. The patients with bPTCs were further investigated regarding the preoperative presence of the contralateral tumor.

Results

Bilaterality was seen in 29.8 % of PTC patients. In all, 36.8 % of PTCs ≥1 cm, and 25.7 % were papillary thyroid microcarcinomas (PTMCs). The presence of PTC in the contralateral lobe was missed in 15.8 % of bPTCs and in 21.3 % of bPTMCs. The rates of preoperatively nondetected contralateral cancer were 4.7 and 5.5 % for PTCs and PTMCs, respectively. Tumor size and multifocality were factors associated with bilaterality (p = 0.014 and p < 0.001, respectively).

Conclusions

Bilaterality is found more frequently when the tumor is large. Multifocality also can help predict the possibility of bilaterality. Therefore, total thyroidectomy may be necessary for patients with a multifocal or large tumor. It should be noted that the presence of a contralateral cancer is missed in 4.7 and 5.5 % of patients with preoperatively diagnosed unilateral PTC and PTMC, respectively.