Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Ligation versus anticoagulation: treatment of above-knee superficial thrombophlebitis not involving the deep venous system.
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Comparative Study
Transfer of training in acquiring laparoscopic skills.
Building on skills already learned in acquiring more complex or related skills is termed transfer of training (TOT). This study examined the TOT effects of previous open and laparoscopic surgical experience on a laparoscopic training module. ⋯ No evidence was found for TOT from open surgical experience to newly introduced laparoscopic knot-tying techniques or from one skill training session to a different skill session at least 4 hours later. This study indicates that specific minimally invasive surgery training is needed to develop laparoscopic surgery skills.
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Comparative Study
A trend analysis of the relative value of blue dye and isotope localization in 2,000 consecutive cases of sentinel node biopsy for breast cancer.
Among the advocates of blue dye, isotope, or combined dye-isotope mapping of the sentinel lymph node (SLN) for breast cancer, there is no universal consensus as to which technique is optimal and whether the relative value of each method changes with increasing experience. The objective of this study was to examine the relative contributions of blue dye and radioisotope to successful identification of the SLN as the SLN-mapping technique evolved over our first 2,000 consecutive cases. ⋯ Using a combined technique of blue dye and radioisotope mapping, and with refinement of the radioisotope technique, we report 97% success identifying the SLN. Although we continue to recommend the use of both methods in SLN mapping for breast cancer, we observe with experience a declining marginal benefit for blue dye.