Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Understanding the benefits of Medicaid is crucial as states decide whether to expand Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. We used the 2001 Medicaid expansion in New York to evaluate changes in use by Medicaid beneficiaries and the uninsured of breast cancer reconstruction, panniculectomy, and lower-extremity trauma management. ⋯ Subspecialty surgeons responded to expansion by increasing volume of procedures for Medicaid beneficiaries. This occurred without decline in care for the uninsured, suggesting that Medicaid expansion resulted in increased access for underserved patients. Although more patients received needed care once they had coverage, subgroup analysis identified persistence of additional barriers to use of certain surgical services.
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Enhanced recovery pathways have been shown to improve short-term outcomes after colorectal surgery. Occurrence of complications can lead to prolonged length of stay (LOS). The goal of this study was to examine whether shorter time to occurrence of complications was associated with a shorter hospital LOS in rectal cancer patients undergoing minimally invasive surgery, taking into account the perioperative pathway. ⋯ Early diagnosis of postoperative complications is associated with a shorter LOS after rectal cancer surgery. Enhanced recovery pathway can facilitate a faster recovery in the presence of comorbidities.
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The role of stenting for blunt cerebrovascular injuries (BCVI) continues to be debated, with a trend toward more endovascular stenting. With the recent intracranial stenting trial halted in favor of medical therapy, however, management of BCVI warrants reassessment. The study purpose was to determine if antithrombotic therapy, rather than stenting, was effective in post-injury patients with high-grade vascular dissections and pseudoaneurysms. ⋯ Antithrombotic treatment for BCVI is effective for stroke prevention. Routine stenting entails increased costs and potential risk for stroke, and does not appear to provide additional benefit. Intravascular stents should be reserved for the rare patient with symptomatology or a markedly enlarging pseudoaneurysm.
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Current literature lacks sufficient data on outcomes after extensive laparoscopic liver resections. We hypothesized that laparoscopic right hepatectomy (LRH) is associated with better clinical outcomes and less overall hospital costs than open right hepatectomy (ORH), supporting the notion that major laparoscopic hepatic resections carry increased value when compared with the open approach. ⋯ Although overall costs between LRH and ORH are equivalent, clinical outcomes after LRH are comparable to those after ORH, supporting the value of laparoscopy in extensive right hepatic resections. Efforts to reduce operative costs of LRH, while maintaining optimal patient outcomes, should be the focus of surgeons and hospitals moving forward.