For associate degree nursing students at Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, the perioperative nursing clinical experience typically included a one-day observation of a surgical procedure, with students entering the OR suite after the surgery started and having to leave before the surgery was completed. An associate professor of nursing and a perioperative staff education coordinator partner...

AIM To present an analysis of the surgical and perioperative complications in a series of seventy-five right hepatectomies for living-donation (RHLD) performed in our center. METHODS From January 2002 to September 2007, we performed 75 RHLD, defined as removal of a portion of the liver corresponding to Couinaud segments 5-8, in order to obtain a graft for adult to adult living-related liver t...

Spinal cord deficit (SCD) is a feared complication after thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair. Vigilant management throughout the perioperative period necessary to reduce risk of SCD. Measures for preventing SCD during intraoperative include preoperative optimization and recognizing patients at higher In this manuscript, we discuss adjuncts including utilization cerebrospinal fluid drainage,...

Perioperative hypertension is a phenomenon in which a surgical patient's blood pressure temporarily increases throughout the preoperative and postoperative periods and remains high until the patient's condition stabilizes. This phenomenon requires immediate treatment not only because it is observed in a majority of patients who are not diagnosed with high blood pressure, but also because occurs...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Debate continues as to the merits of hand-assisted versus pure laparoscopic nephrectomy. Using evidence-based analysis, we compared the outcomes of both. METHODS We performed a systematic review and metaanalysis of studies directly comparing hand-assisted with pure laparoscopic nephrectomy. We searched PubMed, the OVID database (from 1980), the Biosis previews ISI We...

Although bleeding is a common complication of surgery, routine laboratory tests have been demonstrated to have a low ability to predict perioperative bleeding. Better understanding of hemostatic function during surgery would lead to identification of high-risk patients for bleeding. Here, we aimed to elucidate hemostatic mechanisms to determine perioperative bleeding. We prospectively enrolled ...

Primum non nocere. Hippocrates included this admonition in Epidemics, Book I, Second Constitution, to do good or "to do no harm." However, even the most conscientious health care provider will encounter unexpected and serious adverse medical events. This discussion focuses on one relatively common, often perplexing, and usually unexplained perioperative complication: ulnar neuropathy. Periopera...

Cardiac complication is a leading cause of death in the perioperative period after non-cardiac surgery. The present study retrospectively investigated perioperative cardiac complications after spinal fusion surgery in 901 consecutive adult patients who underwent fusion surgery in the lumbar spine from January 2005 to December 2006. Cardiac complications developed in seven patients (0.8%), four ...

OBJECTIVES This meta-analysis aimed to compare the perioperative outcomes of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) with open thoracotomy for propensity score-matched patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS Four relevant studies with propensity score-matched patients were identified from six electronic databases. Endpoints included perioperative mortality and mor...

BACKGROUND Goal-directed hemodynamic therapy (GDHT) has been used in the clinical setting for years. However, the evidence for the beneficial effect of GDHT on postoperative recovery remains inconsistent. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the effect of perioperative GDHT in comparison with conventional fluid therapy on postoperative recovery in adults undergoin...