Articles: cations.
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Comparative Study
Percutaneous Vertebroplasty versus Conservative Treatment for One Level Thoracolumbar Osteoporotic Compression Fracture: Results of an Over 2-Year Follow-up.
We retrospectively compared the clinical and radiological results of percutaneous vertebroplasty with those of conservative treatment in the management of thoracolumbar osteoporotic compression fractures. Sixty-five patients who could be followed up for more than 2 years with thoracic and lumbar spine osteoporotic compression fractures, between January 2005 and October 2010, were reviewed. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to the type of management: group 1, non-operated group treated conservatively; group 2, operated group that underwent percutaneous vertebroplasty. ⋯ The overall VAS score and the VAS score until 6 months post-injury were statistically more improved in group 2 than in group 1 (P < 0.05 and P < 0.005, respectively). Overall, the compression ratio was statistically more improved in group 2 than in group 1 (P < 0.05). Early pain control and restoration of the compressed vertebral body are the beneficial and real effects of percutaneous vertebroplasty in patients with thoracolumbar osteoporotic compression fractures.
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Groin lymph node dissection for melanoma is burdened by high postoperative morbidity. Videoscopic lymphadenectomy may lower the incidence of complications, including infection, dehiscence and lymphoedema. This pilot study aimed to investigate the feasibility and postoperative outcomes of videoscopic ilioinguinal lymphadenectomy in patients with inguinal nodal melanoma metastases. ⋯ Videoscopic ilioinguinal lymphadenectomy for melanoma groin lymph node metastases is technically feasible, safe, and associated with acceptable morbidity and oncological outcome.
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Comparative Study
Implementing and Evaluating a National Certification Technical Skills Examination: The Colorectal Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill.
To implement the Colorectal Objective Structured Assessment of Technical skill (COSATS) into American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery (ABCRS) certification and build evidence of validity for the interpretation of the scores of this high stakes assessment tool. ⋯ COSATS is the first technical skill examination used in national surgical board certification. This study suggests that the current certification process may be failing to identify individuals who have demonstrated technical deficiencies on this standardized assessment tool.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Post-Operative Complications for Elderly Patients after Single-Level Lumbar Fusions for Spondylolisthesis.
A large-scale study on postoperative complications of lumbar fusion surgery for spondylolisthesis comparing patients >80 years old with younger patients has not been performed. The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of extreme age (>80 years old) on early postoperative outcomes after single-level lumbar fusions for spondylolisthesis. ⋯ This is the first large study comparing the rates of postoperative complications of lumbar fusion surgery for spondylolisthesis in patients >80 years old versus younger patients. The data support that age alone should not exclude a patient for this procedure. However, extra caution is warranted given the slightly increased morbidity.
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To develop parsimonious prediction models for postoperative mortality, overall morbidity, and 6 complication clusters applicable to a broad range of surgical operations in adult patients. ⋯ Our results suggest that it will be possible to develop parsimonious models to predict 8 important postoperative outcomes for a broad surgical population, without the need for surgeon specialty-specific models or inclusion of laboratory variables.