CONVENTION ISSUE
The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons
GENERAL SURGERY NEWS The Independent Monthly Newspaper for the General Surgeon
GeneralSurgeryNews.com
March 2022 • Volume 49 • Number 3
MONEY MATTERS
Surgical Innovation: Taking an Idea All the Way
Residents On Par With Attendings in ‘Appropriately Selected’ Cases Investigators Say More Should Be Done To Promote Resident Autonomy
By MONICA J. SMITH
S
urgeons are natural inventors, coming up with new ideas on a neardaily basis to help them perform better, more safely and more efficiently based on their patients’ unique characteristics and needs. But what does it take to move an idea from concept to bedside? At a session on innovation in surgery at the 2021 virtual American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress, experts discussed how to generate ideas, protect them and ultimately attract industry interest.
By CHRISTINA FRANGOU
O
perations performed by surgical residents alone do not result in more deaths or complications compared with procedures performed by attending surgeons or performed jointly by attending surgeons and residents, according to a large study of surgical procedures performed in Veterans Affairs facilities over a 15-year period. Investigators say the study, which was published in JAMA Surgery, shows that operations performed by residents, when appropriately selected, do not result in poorer patient outcomes (2021 Dec 22. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2021.6444). They argue the findings justify greater efforts to reverse an ongoing trend of decreased resident autonomy in the United States.
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MONEY MATTERS
Getting to the Source of Chronic Groin Pain
‘Auf Hinweis’? Translating the Operative Note By LUCIAN NEWMAN III, MD
O
ver the recorded history of sururgery, the operative note’s funcnction has changed from a narrative tive description, which persists today, to a document that includes additional information that affects billing and coding, and carries medicolegal importance as well. The words surgeons use to describe what we do must be translated into a recognized service or CPT code otherwise known as the “op note.” In fact, when doing research for this article, “Auf Henweis” came up when searching the term “op note” in an online translator. After checking with other German-speaking
What to Do When Pain Persists Even After Mesh Has Been Removed
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Managing Surgical Smoke Risk While Improving Visualization and Minimizing Patient CO2 Exposure Using the Ultravision™ System During Laparoscopy PAGE 10
facebook.com/generalsurgerynews
By IOANA BAIU, MD, MPH
t the 2021 annual meeting of the American Hernia Society, Brian P. Jacob, MD, FACS, an associate professor of surgery at Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine and a partner at the Laparoscopic Surgical Center of New York, both in New York City, gave a presentation on chronic groin pain, titled “What Did I Miss and What Can I Do Now.” To find out more about the presentation and
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Human Xtensions
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The Downsides of a Consumer-Based Approach to Medicine
n a system of limited resources, fullllbody screening MRIs may seem preposterous. However, in the unique microcosm of Silicon Valley, where money is abundant and technology is omnipresent, it has become almost fashionable to have a headto-toe radiological examination. Whether the goal is to tame anxiety or prove that the history and physical are old-fashioned and inadequate, the result is often the opposite—increased anxiety followed by a calm reassurance in light of a negative H&P. Empowering patients with access to information has unveiled a restless dichotomy of knowledge without understanding,
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Activ Surgical’s Imaging Module, ActivSight™
Text Without Context
I
By KATE O’ROURKE
PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENTS
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OPINION
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