Annals of surgery
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We sought to determine the reliability of surgeon-specific postoperative complication rates after colectomy. ⋯ The vast majority of surgeons do not perform enough colectomies to generate a reliable surgeon-specific complication rate. Risk-adjusted complication rates should be viewed with caution when evaluating surgeons with low operative volume, as statistical noise is a large determinant in estimating their surgeon-specific complication rates.
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To develop clinical predictive nomograms generating per-patient numerical probabilities of postoperative recurrence-free and overall survival at specific times. ⋯ Our simple user-friendly calculators, which present graphically postsurgical prognostic models for recurrence and survival outcomes in patients with curatively resectable HCC, offer useful guidance to clinicians and patients for individually planning recurrence surveillance and adjuvant therapy.
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Recent studies have suggested that epidermal burn injuries are associated with inflammation and immune dysfunction. Simvastatin has been shown to possess potent anti-inflammatory properties. Thus, we hypothesized that simvastatin protects against burn-induced apoptosis in the spleen via its anti-inflammatory activity. ⋯ Simvastatin reduces burn-induced splenic apoptosis via downregulation of the TNF-α/NF-κB pathway.
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We sought to determine the factors associated with survival after recurrence of hepatocellular cancer (HCC) after resection and the outcome of our prospectively applied treatment protocol. ⋯ Most of the variables associated with outcome after recurrence are linked to the primary tumor at initial presentation. Nevertheless, meaningful survival can be achieved with appropriate treatment of recurrent tumors.