Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Incidence of sentinel lymph node involvement in a modern, large series of desmoplastic melanoma.
Recent studies have suggested that sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is of limited value in desmoplastic melanoma. This study was performed to compare the rate of positive SLN biopsy in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database with that of a multi-institutional clinical trial and to investigate relevant prognostic factors in desmoplastic melanoma. ⋯ The rate of positive SLN in desmoplastic melanoma may be higher than that reported in the SEER database. Sentinel lymph node biopsy may be considered as part of the comprehensive staging of desmoplastic melanoma ≥1.0 mm Breslow thickness.
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Trauma care is often delivered to unstable patients with incomplete medical histories, under time pressure, and with a need for multidisciplinary collaboration. Trauma patient flow through radiology is particularly prone to deviations from optimal care. A better understanding of this process could reduce errors and improve quality, flow, and patient outcomes. ⋯ Although flow disruptions cannot be eliminated completely, specific targeted interventions are available to address the issues identified.
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Split liver transplantation is an excellent option for expansion of the donor organ pool. However, reports of increased morbidity in split liver recipients may limit use of this technique. ⋯ We demonstrated excellent outcomes in adult and pediatric recipients using carefully selected donors for liver splitting. We recommend escalation of the use of split liver transplants to expand the donor pool for cadaveric liver transplantation.