Search

Purpose: Despite the widespread of ventral hernia repairs globally, the approach method, dissection planes, defect closure, and the choice and placement layer of mesh are an ongoing debate. We reported the details of surgical techniques, safety and feasibility for robot-assisted transabdominal transversalis fascial and preperitoneal repair (R-TATFPP) for small ventral hernia., Methods: This study included 5 cases of R-TATFPP repair among 22 cases performed by robot-assisted ventral hernia repair from 2018 to 2023 with the approval of the Institutional Review Board at St. Luke's International University and clinical ethical committee at St. Luke's International Hospital (19-R147, 22-012)., Results: There were four males and one female, with mean age of 64.4 ± 10.0 years, inclusive of two umbilical and three incisional hernias. Mean height, weight, body mass index (BMI), hernia defect length, width, operation time, console time, and hospital stay were 171.2 ± 11.8 cm, 82.4 ± 13.4 kg, 28.0 ± 2.1 kg/m 2 , 2.8 ± 1.4 cm, 3.0 ± 1.3 cm, 180 min, 133.8 min, and 2.4 days, respectively. No conversion nor complication was observed except for one acute urinary retention., Conclusion: Robot-assisted transversalis fascial and preperitoneal repair was safe and feasible for small ventral hernia with the minimal disruption to the abdominal wall architecture and structures., (© 2024 Asia Endosurgery Task Force and Japan Society of Endoscopic Surgery and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Introduction: We aimed to evaluate the safety and short-term outcomes of robotic-assisted transabdominal preperitoneal repair for inguinal hernia in 12 pioneering hospitals in Japan., Methods: Clinical data of patients who underwent robotic-assisted transabdominal preperitoneal repair between September 1, 2016, and December 31, 2021 were collected. Primary outcome measures were intra-operative adverse events and post-operative complications, whereas secondary outcomes were surgical outcomes, including chronic pain, recurrence, and learning curve., Results: In total, 307 patients were included. One case of inferior epigastric arterial injury was reported; no cases of bowel or bladder injury were reported. Thirty-five seromas were observed, including four (1.3%) cases that required aspiration. The median operative time of a unilateral case was 108 minutes (interquartile range: 89.8-125.5), and post-operative pain was rated 1 (interquartile range: 0-2) on the numerical rating scale. In complicated cases, such as recurrent inguinal hernias and robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy-associated hernias, dissection and suture were safely achieved, and no complications were observed, except for non-symptomatic seroma. All patients underwent robotic procedures, and there was no chronic post-operative inguinal pain, although one case of hernia recurrence was reported. Regarding the learning curve, plateau performance was achieved after 7-10 cases in terms of operative time (P < .001)., Conclusion: Robotic-assisted transabdominal preperitoneal repair can be safely introduced in Japan. Regardless of the involvement of many surgeons, the mastery of robotic techniques was achieved relatively quickly. The advantage of robotic technology such as wristed instruments may expand the application of minimally invasive hernia repair for complicated cases., (© 2023 Asia Endosurgery Task Force and Japan Society of Endoscopic Surgery and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Introduction: A critical value (or panic value) is a laboratory test result that significantly deviates from the normal value and represents a potentially life-threatening condition requiring immediate action. Although notification of critical values by critical value list (CVL) is a well-established method, their contribution to mortality prediction is unclear., Methods: A total of 335,430 clinical laboratory results from 92,673 patients from July 2018 to December 2019 were used. Data in the first 12 months were divided into two datasets at a ratio of 70:30, and a 7-day mortality prediction model by machine learning (eXtreme Gradient Boosting [XGB] decision tree) was created using stratified random undersampling data of the 70% dataset. Mortality predictions by the CVL and XGB model were validated using the remaining 30% of the data, as well as different 6-month datasets from July to December 2019., Results: The true results which were the sum of correct predictions by the XGB model and CVL using the remaining 30% data were 61,535 and 61,024 tests, and the false results which were the sum of incorrect predictions were 5,492 and 6,003, respectively. Furthermore, the true results with the different datasets were 105,956 and 102,061 tests, and the false results were 6,052 and 9,947, respectively. The XGB model was significantly better than CVL ( p < 0.001) in both datasets.The receiver operating characteristic-area under the curve values for the 30% and validation data by XGB were 0.9807 and 0.9646, respectively, which were significantly higher than those by CVL (0.7549 and 0.7172, respectively)., Conclusions: Mortality prediction within 7 days by machine learning using numeric laboratory results was significantly better than that by conventional CVL. The results indicate that machine learning enables timely notification to healthcare providers and may be safer than prediction by conventional CVL., Competing Interests: None, (Copyright © Japan Medical Association.)

Introduction: The endoscopic-assisted or endoscopic mini- or less-open sublay (E/MILOS) concept describes a contemporary approach of trans-hernial repair of ventral hernia via sublay mesh placement. The term sublay often causes confusion, and preperitoneal placement of mesh should be considered as a distinctive approach. We hereby present our experience of a novel approach, the E/MILOP approach, for the repair of primary and incisional ventral hernias., Methods: All patients who underwent E/MILOP between January 2020 and December 2022 were identified and their preoperative and perioperative characteristics, as well as postoperative outcomes, were retrospectively analyzed. The surgical procedure entailed an incision over the hernia defect and careful entrance into, and development of, the preperitoneal space trans-hernially. A synthetic mesh was placed in the preperitoneal space and the defect was closed with sutures., Results: A total of 26 patients with primary and/or incisional ventral hernias who underwent E/MILOP were identified. Three patients (11.5%) presented with two coexistent types of hernias, and out of a total of 29 hernias, there were 21 (72.4%) umbilical, four epigastric (13.8%) and four incisional (13.8%) hernias. The mean defect width was 2.7 ± 0.9 cm. All cases utilized a mesh with a mean mesh-to-defect ratio of 12.9. The mean postoperative stay was 1.9 days. Surgical site occurrence was observed in eight (30.1%) patients, but none required intervention. No recurrence was observed during a mean follow-up period of 286.7 days., Conclusion: The E/MILOP approach is a novel alternative for primary and incisional ventral hernia repair., (© 2023 Asia Endosurgery Task Force and Japan Society of Endoscopic Surgery and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Background: Few data are available on the intensity of pain that women experience during the first five days after vaginal childbirth. Moreover, it is unknown if the use of neuraxial labor analgesia has any impact on the level of postpartum pain., Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study based on chart review of all women who delivered vaginally at an urban teaching hospital between April 2017 and April 2019. The primary outcome was the area under the curve of pain score on numeric rating scale (NRS) documented in electronic medical records for five days postpartum (NRS-AUC5days). Secondary outcomes included peak NRS score, doses of oral and intravenous analgesics consumed during the first five days postpartum, and relevant obstetric outcomes. Logistic regression was used to examine the associations between the use of neuraxial labor analgesia and pain-related outcomes adjusting for potential confounders., Results: During the study period, 778 women (38.6%) underwent vaginal delivery with neuraxial analgesia and 1240 women (61.4%) delivered without neuraxial analgesia. Median (Interquartile range) of NRS-AUC5days was 0.17 (0.12-0.24) among women who received neuraxial analgesia and 0.13 (0.08-0.19) among women who did not (p<0.001). Women who received neuraxial analgesia were more likely to require the first- and second-line analgesics postpartum than women who did not: diclofenac (87.9% vs. 73.0%, p< 0.001, respectively); acetaminophen (40.7% vs. 21.0%, p< 0.001, respectively). The use of neuraxial labor analgesia was independently associated with increased odds of having NRS-AUC5days in the highest 20 percentile (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.03; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.55-2.65), having peak NRS ≥ 4 (aOR 1.54; 95% CI 1.25-1.91) and developing hemorrhoids during the postpartum hospitalization (aOR 2.13; 95% CI 1.41-3.21) after adjusting for relevant confounders., Conclusion: Although women who used neuraxial labor analgesia had slightly higher pain scores and increased analgesic requirement during postpartum hospitalization, pain after vaginal childbirth was overall mild. The small elevation in the pain burden in neuraxial group does not seem to be clinically relevant and should not influence women's choice to receive labor analgesia., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Maeda et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Extraperitoneal mesh repair for ventral hernia has garnered attention and its rate has been increasing due to concerns for the potential complications of intraperitoneal mesh repair. Recently, robotic-assisted ventral hernia repair is highlighted as a solution to the technically demanding nature of laparoscopic transabdominal or enhanced-view totally extraperitoneal retrorectus ventral hernia repair. A 78-year-old man, who had undergone robot-assisted radical prostatectomy 10 months earlier, presented with an incisional hernia of European Hernia Society Classification M3W2, length 4 cm, width 5 cm with rectus diastasis. A right single-docking robotic-assisted transabdominal retrorectus repair was performed using a 21 by 14 cm self-gripping mesh and anterior wall reconstruction was done by 0 barbed nonabsorbable running suture. There were no complications and recurrence observed during a 7 months postoperative period. Single-docking robotic-assisted transabdominal retrorectus repair was considered a good option for midline moderate-size incisional hernias from the point of view of the ease of suturing, adequateness of dissection and prevention of bowel injury., (© 2022 Asia Endosurgery Task Force and Japan Society of Endoscopic Surgery and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Introduction: Durable techniques that prevent postoperative inguinal hernia (IH) after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) have not been established. This study evaluated the long-term efficacy of a postoperative IH prevention technique that uses no artificial agents to assess the characteristics of IH occurrence after introducing this technique., Patients and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 201 consecutive patients who underwent RARP at our institution between September 2011 and February 2014. In total, 189 cases were eligible for the study. The non-IH prevention and IH prevention groups comprised 72 and 117 cases, respectively. We compared the incidence of IH between the two groups using Kaplan-Meier curves. Risk factors for IH in the prevention group were determined via multivariable logistic regression analysis., Results: The rate of IH occurrence was 20.8% (15 cases) in the nonprevention group and 8.5% (10 cases) in the prevention group, with median follow-up periods of 99.5 and 89.9 months, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier curves indicated a significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.011). Only cutting of the vas deferens significantly contributed to reduced occurrence of IH in multivariable analysis (p = 0.047). After reviewing the intraoperative videos, insufficient separation of the vas deferens was considered the main cause of IH in the prevention group., Conclusion: Our simple prevention technique with no artificial agents had a durable effect on IH prevention after RARP over a median follow-up period of more than 7 years. Cutting the vas deferens effectively prevented IH after RARP., (© 2022 The Japanese Urological Association.)

Background: Patients undergoing high-risk surgery are at a risk of sudden deterioration of their health. This study aimed to examine the feasibility of the development of two patient decision aids (PtDAs) to assist patients undergoing high-risk surgeries in informed decision-making about their medical care in a crisis., Methods: This field testing implemented two PtDAs that met the international criteria developed by the researchers for patients before surgery. Study participants were patients scheduled to be admitted to the intensive care unit after surgery at one acute care hospital in Japan and their families. The study used a mixed-methods approach. The primary outcome was patients' decision satisfaction evaluated by the SURE test. Secondary outcomes were the perception of the need to discuss advance care planning (ACP) before surgery and mental health status. The families were also surveyed on their confidence in proxy decision-making (NRS: 0-10, quantitative data). In addition, interviews were conducted after discharge to assess the acceptability of PtDAs. Data were collected before (preoperative outpatients, baseline: T0) and after providing PtDAs (in the hospital: T1) and following discharge (T2, T3)., Results: Nine patients were enrolled, of whom seven agreed to participate (including their families). The SURE test scores (mean ± SD) were 2.1 ± 1.2 (T0), 3.4 ± 0.8 (T2), and 3.9 ± 0.4 (T3). The need to discuss ACP before surgery was 8.7 ± 1.3 (T1) and 9.1 ± 0.9 (T2). The degree of confidence in family surrogate decision-making was 6.1 ± 2.5 (T0), 7.7 ± 1.4 (T1), and 8.1 ± 1.5 (T2). The patients reported that using PtDAs provided an opportunity to share their thoughts with their families and inspired them to start mapping their life plans. Additionally, patients wanted to share and discuss their decision-making process with medical professionals after the surgery., Conclusions: PtDAs supporting ACP in patients undergoing high-risk surgery were developed, evaluated, and accepted. However, they did not involve any discussion of patients' ACP treatment wishes with their families. Medical providers should be coached to provide adequate support to patients. In the future, larger studies evaluating the effectiveness of PtDAs are necessary., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objectives: This study aimed at identifying the sociodemographic and first treatment characteristics affecting time-to-treatment initiation (TTI) of patients with cutaneous melanoma assisted by the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS)., Study Design: Retrospective observational study using cutaneous melanoma cases recorded in the Brazilian Hospital-Based Cancer Registries (HBCR)., Methods: A total of 12,783 cutaneous melanoma cases were included in the analysis. Based on the legislation, TTI in Brazil is 60 days; therefore, the cohort was dichotomized into TTI within 60 days and over. The association among variables was evaluated through the Chi-squared test. Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank hypothesis test were used to determine the probability of initiating treatment within 60 days. Cox proportional hazards regression model was used for multivariate analysis., Results: Median TTI was 28 days (95% CI, 25-29). First treatment in SUS provided more than 60 days after diagnosis (34.8%) was associated with females; low level of formal education; living or getting treatment in northern Brazil; being diagnosed in SUS and treated at different healthcare facilities, in addition to starting treatment with radiotherapy or systemic therapy. There were no significant differences in access to health care before and after the enactment of the 60-day law., Conclusion: Increased TTI for cutaneous melanoma is associated with sociodemographic and first treatment characteristics in Brazil; approximately one-third of cases did not have access to first treatment within the period established by law. Receiving the diagnosis and treatment at different healthcare facilities (transitions in care) is the main independent factor associated with TTI longer than 60 days., (Copyright © 2022 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Chronic mesh infection with sinus formation is usually amenable to open method with dye. Recently, intraoperative real-time fluorescent imaging has been applied to various organs but not to mesh infection. A 72-year-old man with the history of two times removal of infected mesh was referred for groin bulge with purulent discharge. Laparoscopy assisted infected mesh removal was undertaken using intraoperative real-time fluorescent imaging with indocyanine green injection via the sinus orifice. We experienced the first case of the infected mesh with chronic sinus formation treated by the help of intraoperative indocyanine green fluorescent. This method is simple and easy to apply for laparoscopic assisted removal of chronic mesh infection with sinus., (© 2021 Asia Endosurgery Task Force and Japan Society of Endoscopic Surgery and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

This study analyzed the impact of climate-related natural disasters (droughts, floods, storms/rainstorms) on economic and social variables. As the Africa-specific empirical literature is limited, this study used panel data from 1961-2011 on Africa. The study used a panel data regression model analysis. The results showed that climate change-related natural disasters affected Africa's economic growth, agriculture, and poverty and caused armed conflicts. Among the disasters, droughts are the main cause of negative impact, severely affecting crops such as maize and coffee and resulting in increased urban poverty and armed conflicts. In contrast, international aid has a positive effect but the impact is insignificant compared to the negative consequences of climate-related natural disasters. Cereal food assistance has a negative crowding-out effect on cereal production. International donors should review their interventions to support Africa's adaptative capacity to disasters. Government efficiency has reduced the number of deaths, and this is an area that supports Africa's adaptative efforts.