JAMA surgery
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Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) revolutionized the treatment of aortic stenosis. Developing a TAVR program with a custom-built hybrid operating room (HOR) outside the surgical operating room area poses unique challenges in Veterans Affairs (VA) institutions. ⋯ The primary factor for development of a successful TAVR program is integration of the heart valve team. Particular adaptations to the cardiac catheterization laboratory environment are required to accommodate an uncompromised HOR in which cardiac and vascular surgeons can be as comfortable as their interventional cardiology colleagues.
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Strengthening workforce capacity to deliver essential surgical and anesthesia care has been identified as a strategy for addressing the unmet burden of morbidity and mortality in under-resourced countries. Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world and faces the challenge of stretching limited resources to provide appropriate health care for a population of 6 million. ⋯ To address unmet surgical need in the long term, accredited local surgical specialization programs are required; training of nonphysician surgical practitioners may offer a short-term solution. To develop safe anesthesia care, governments and donors should focus on providing health care professionals with essential equipment and resources.
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Biography Historical Article
Surgical mentorship from mentee to mentor: lessons from the life of Alfred Blalock, MD.
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Biography Historical Article
Mary Edwards Walker: the soul ahead of her time.
Mary Edwards Walker was a gallant woman who stood for women's rights, embodied the true American spirit, and served the Union Army in the Civil War as a surgeon. She later became the first and only woman in United States history to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
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Readmission after pancreatectomy is common, but few data compare patterns of readmission to index and nonindex hospitals. ⋯ In total, 21.5% of patients required early readmission after pancreatectomy. Even in the setting of a tertiary care referral center, 21.6% of these readmissions were to nonindex institutions. Specific patient-level factors were associated with an increased risk of readmission.