Articles: surgery.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Accuracy of robot-assisted placement of lumbar and sacral pedicle screws: a prospective randomized comparison to conventional freehand screw implantation.
Single-center prospective randomized controlled study. ⋯ In this study, the accuracy of the conventional FH technique was superior to the RO technique. Most malpositioned screws of the RO group showed a lateral deviation. Attachment of the robot to the spine seems a vulnerable aspect potentially leading to screw malposition as well as slipping of the implantation cannula at the screw entrance point.
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Case Reports
News media reports of patient deaths following 'medical tourism' for cosmetic surgery and bariatric surgery.
Contemporary scholarship examining clinical outcomes in medical travel for cosmetic surgery identifies cases in which patients traveled abroad for medical procedures and subsequently returned home with infections and other surgical complications. Though there are peer-reviewed articles identifying patient deaths in cases where patients traveled abroad for commercial kidney transplantation or stem cell injections, no scholarly publications document deaths of patients who traveled abroad for cosmetic surgery or bariatric surgery. Drawing upon news media reports extending from 1993 to 2011, this article identifies and describes twenty-six reported cases of deaths of individuals who traveled abroad for cosmetic surgery or bariatric surgery. ⋯ The paper makes a strong case for promoting normative analyses and empirical studies of medical travel. In particular, the paper argues that empirically informed ethical analysis of 'medical tourism' will benefit from rigorous studies tracking global flows of medical travelers and the clinical outcomes they experience. The paper contains practical recommendations intended to promote debate concerning how to promote patient safety and quality of care in medical travel.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The application of a computer-assisted thermoplastic membrane navigation system in screw fixation of the sacroiliac joint--a clinical study.
We inserted iliosacral screws with the aid of a computer-assisted thermoplastic membrane navigation (CATMN) system which is widely used for the accurate and repeatable location tumour in radiation therapy. We hypothesised that application of the CATMN system on IS screws' insertion will provide a superior result to conventional fluoroscopic imaging with less operative time, more accuracy and lower complication rates. ⋯ Application of CATMN system has high accuracy in treating sacroiliac joint dislocations and provides a new alternative method for guidance of the IS screw placement.
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Annals of plastic surgery · Apr 2012
Comparative Study"Phantom" publications among plastic surgery residency applicants.
Previous studies in other medical specialties have shown a significant percentage of publications represented in residency applications are not actually published. A comprehensive evaluation of applicants to plastic surgery residency over an extended period has not been previously reported in the literature. The purpose of our study was to determine the incidence of misrepresented or "phantom" publications in plastic surgery residency applicants and to identify possible predisposing characteristics. ⋯ Among plastic surgery residency applicants, we found a significant percentage of unverifiable publications. There are several possible explanations for our findings, which include the fact that plastic surgery is a highly sought-after specialty and applicants may feel the need to appear competitive to residency programs. Publications are an important aspect of the residency selection process and factors into applicant ranking, but our study suggests publications listed in plastic surgery residency applications may not necessarily be an accurate representation of actual published articles. Program directors and faculty are advised to scrutinize listed publications carefully when evaluating applicants.