Pharyngocutaneous fistula (PCF) is the most common complication following total laryngectomy and the most difficult to manage. It often causes increased morbidity, delays starting adjuvant therapy, prolongs hospitalisation, increases treatment costs and reduces the quality of life (QoL). The objective of this study is to analyse the predisposing factors and the most important nutritional parame...

BACKGROUND Urinary dysfunction (UD) is common after rectal cancer treatment, but the contribution of each treatment component (surgery and radiotherapy) to its development remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate UD during 5 years after total mesorectal excision (TME) and to investigate the influence of preoperative radiotherapy (PRT) and surgical factors. METHODS Patients with operable ...

Introduction: Smoking is a known risk factor for fracture healing and postoperative complications. However, most evidence upon the association between bone healing and smoking was investigated in retrospective studies or laboratory-based animal studies. This meta-analysis evaluated the clinical efficacy of preoperative smoking cessation on the healing of fractures and postoperative complication...

BACKGROUND Patients undergoing emergency surgery have a high risk for surgical complications and death. The Clavien-Dindo classification has been developed and validated in elective general surgical patients, but has not been validated in emergency surgical patients. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the Clavien-Dindo classification of surgical complications in emergency surgical pat...

Aim of Study: To assess the preoperative risk factors implicated in increasing the risk of surgical failure in primary retinal detachment surgery using the 23-G vitrectomy platform. Methods: Eighty eyes suffering from primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment were treated with 23-gauge transconjunctival vitrectomy. A comprehensive ophthalmological examination including the duration of the detac...

Trends in Pulmonary Function Testing Before Noncardiothoracic Surgery Preoperative pulmonary function tests (PFTs) assess the severity of known pulmonary disease, diagnose causes of respiratory symptoms, and may help identify patients who are at risk for postoperative pulmonary complications. While useful in selected patients, unnecessary testing is costly.1 Few guidelines for the appropriate u...

The current standards for preoperative cardiac evaluation and the guidelines published by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association call for noninvasive or invasive cardiac evaluation in certain patients. Perioperative use of beta-adrenergic blockade has been shown to reduce cardiac complication rates, diminishing the positive predictive value and the likelihood rati...

BACKGROUND Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is a common complication of arthroplasty in old patients. We analyzed risk factors for lower-limb DVT after arthroplasty in patients aged over 70 years to determine controllable risk factors. METHODS This was a retrospective study of 1,025 patients aged >70 years treated with knee arthroplasty at our hospital between January 2009 and December 2013. Of 1...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the ability of preoperative variables to identify patients at increased risk for complications after lung resection and the usefulness of predicted postoperative FEV1 as a marker of risk for adverse outcomes. DESIGN Prospective analysis of a cohort of patients undergoing pulmonary resection. Complication rates were analyzed according to preoperative pulmonary variables, ...

BACKGROUND Some studies have suggested that preoperative chemotherapy for hepatic colorectal metastases may cause hepatic injury and increase perioperative morbidity and mortality. AIM To evaluate the prevalence of hepatic steatosis in patients undergoing preoperative chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer. METHODS Observational retrospective cohort study in which 166 patients underw...