The scourge of burn contractures: Who will bell the cat?

IntroductionMajority of burn injuries occur in developing world. There have been many advances in burn care management. But this advance comes at a price of ever increasing burn sequel of scarring. Burn scar contractures, in spite of being preventable, continue to be a common reality in our world. This paper aims to evaluate the lacunae in burn care leading to formation of contractures, to evaluate common sites of contractures, practice of advising splintage and anti-deformity positioning.ProcedureThis retrospective observational study was conducted over a period of six years (January 2010–December 2015) at a tertiary Burn unit in Mumbai (India). The records of burn contracture patients were scrutinized to obtain the data regarding patient’s socio-demographic profile, details of burn injury, splinting and exercises advised and details of surgeries required. Data was tabulated and analysed.ResultsThere was a significantly lower prevalence of advice regarding splinting, mobilization exercises and pressure garments. The prevalence of early surgery was also found to be low.ConclusionsAttempt has been made to identify the factors affecting the prevalence of burn scar contractures. Authors recommend that efforts be made for improving the knowledge of the treating doctors. Also, efforts should be made to increase awareness of burn prevention and emergent management.     

Who did the first laparoscopic cholecystectomy?

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has served as the igniting spark in the laparoscopic surgery explosion; however, it is unclear who created the spark. The question remains: Who did the first LC?     

Who are the French plastic surgeons?

Based on data from the national advice of the Conseil National de l'Ordre des Médecins (French Medical Board), the author found 654 plastic surgeons in France and classified them into five categories, demonstrating the increasing proportion of females in this specialty.     

The what? How? And Who? Of video based assessment

BackgroundCurrently, there is significant variability in the development, implementation and overarching goals of video review for assessment of surgical performance.MethodsThis paper evaluates the current methods in which video review is used for evaluation of surgical performance and identifies which processes are critical for successful, widespread implementation of video-based assessment.ResultsDespite the advances in video capture technology and growing interest in video-based assessment, there is a notable gap in the implementation and longitudinal use of formative and summative assessment using video.ConclusionValidity, scalability and discoverability are current but removable barriers to video-based assessment.