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GENERAL SURGERY NEWS The Independent Monthly Newspaper for the General Surgeon
GeneralSurgeryNews.com
May 2022 • Volume 49 • Number 5
Factors for Passing Endoscopic Surgery Test: FEC Completion n And Gender
First Post-op Ultrasound Helpful in Determining Risk for Node Basin Recurrence In Melanoma By KATE O’ROURKE
By CHRISTINA FRANGOU
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urgical trainees who complete the Flexible Endoscopy Curriculum, or FEC, are more likely to pass the Fundamentals mentals of Endoscopic Surgery, or FES, manual skills test on the first try, according to a study presented at the 2022 annual meeting ng of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons. rgeons. One factor, however, proved even more influential than FEC completion in predicting whether trainees would pass the manual nual skills test: gender. Male trainees were three times more likely to pass the skills test on a first attempt compared with female trainees (odds ratio [OR], OR], 3.1; 95% CI, 1.7-5.7; P<0.001), according to the analysis. Male trainees also were more likely to complete the FEC C prior to the
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n patients with melanoma, clinical and pathologic factors can be used to predict lymph node recurrence after sentinel lymph node biopsy, but the first postoperative ultrasound may be an important step in determining residual disease in the dissected basin, according to new research. The findings were presented at the Society of Surgical Oncology 2022 International Conference on Surgical Care (abstract 48). The MSLT-II (Multicenter Selective Lymphadenectomy Trial II) resulted in a shift in the management of tumor-positive sentinel lymph nodes from completion node dissection to nodal observation. While there is no apparent survival advantage with completion node dissection, this change in practice leaves some patients with nodal disease in the sentinel lymph node basin.
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SBO Patients Fare Better With Surgical Services, Even Those Managed Medically
MONEY MATTERS
OPINION
Physicians’ Fiscal Fitness: Dispelling the ‘Unsavvy Doctor’ Trope
Better Good Than Lucky
By MONICA J. SMITH
By MONICA J. SMITH
NASHVILLE, TENN.— It has been shown that patients
NASHVILLE, TENN.—Physicians have a reputation
who undergo surgery for small bowel obstruction (SBO) have better outcomes when they’re initially admitted to surgical services. Now, a new study shows even those who can be managed medically fare better when admitted to surgical services. Over the past 20 years, certain changes in care have shifted SBO from a predominantly surgically managed disease to one that often can be managed nonoperatively. The admission of patients is split between surgical and medical services; those with more comorbidities tend to be admitted to the latter.
for being behind their non-medical peers in terms of financial savvy, but new research suggests doctors actually have better financial habits than the general population. “With the additional burdens of practice management, coding and excessive student loans, there’s been increasing interest in financial literacy for trainees,” said Dustin Nowotny, DO, a chief resident at the University of North Dakota, in Grand Forks, while presenting his research at the 2022 Southeastern Surgical Congress.
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By BARRET HALGAS, MD
IN THE NEWS
6
Highlights From the SAGES 2022 Annual Meeting
12 Lung Transplantation:
A History of Controversies X
OP IN ION
18 Health Information Transparency: How Fast Is Too Fast? facebook.com/generalsurgerynews
@gensurgnews
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” —Seneca
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n a 1978 report, psychologist Dr. Pauline Clance shared her observation that highachieving women in the workplace were often reticent to acknowledge their own personal or professional successes. In fact, the people she studied described feelings of phoniness despite actual measurable outcomes of success. Dr. Clance coined the phenomenon “imposter syndrome.” Continued on page 16
