Introduction: Surgery is currently the only effective long-term therapy for morbid obesity and its complications. A variety of surgical procedures can now offer durable and safe weight control as well as previously unrealized full remission of costly co-morbidities. This is a preliminary investigation of patient outcomes at Bariatric Surgery Centers of Excellence (BSCOE) Hospitals. Methods […]
Background: Although minimally invasive approaches have been aggressively employed for ulcerative colitis (UC) in an elective setting, its use in a semi-emergency setting has been only sporadically reported. The objective of this study was to determine the current role of hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery (HALS) for severe UC in a semi-emergency setting.Methods: A retrospective study was […]
Introduction: We have previously documented a 100% certification pass rate immediately following a proficiency-based skills training curriculum for the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) program. The purpose of this study was to determine the durability of skills acquired after initial training.Methods: Novice medical students (n=21) were enrolled in IRB-approved protocols at 2 institutions. As previously […]
Traditionally, chest tube placement has occurred as a blind technique, as such having inherent possibility for error. Given the advancement of optics and the evolution of trocar technologies we have developed a novel method for optically guided chest tube insertion. Using a standard 12mm dilating optical trocar and 0 degree 10mm lens we place chest […]
Background: There is an increasing trend towards treating distal pancreatic lesions with minimally invasive surgical techniques in order to facilitate both a quicker recovery and fewer complications. Most studies to date have shown a median hospital stay of four to five days. Our data reveal that distal pancreatic cystic and solid tumors can be removed […]