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We aimed to assess whether early exposure of medical students to robotic surgery training influences their interest in a surgical career and improves scores on objective simulation tasks. Medical students were invited to participate in robotic online training modules, robotic simulation exercises followed by a hands-on robotic dry-lab session. Pre- and post-simulator scores were recorded. A 29-question anonymous survey was recorded before and after the lab. Seventy percent reported that the training had a positive impact on influencing their decision to pursue a general surgery career. Students showed significantly improved skill and performance on simulation activities post-training. After the training, students felt knowledgeable about robotics, more comfortable operating robotically, and thought that robotic surgery would hold a significant place in the future of surgery. Exposing students to robotic training positively impacts their perception of surgery as a career choice and results in improvement in objective scores on simulation tasks.

Readmissions pose a significant hardship for patients and constitute a major quality and financial concern for hospitals. We sought to define risk factors associated with hospital readmission after colorectal surgery at a tertiary care hospital. We evaluated readmission among all patients who underwent a colorectal surgical procedure between July 16, 2007 and June 30, 2011. In a cohort of 4879 operative encounters, 492 (10%) were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge. Procedures with highest readmissions included stoma creation (22%), ileoanal pouch surgery (22%), and total proctocolectomy (30%). In multivariate analysis, the following variables were associated with risk of readmission: postoperative complication, use of anxiolytics, high comorbidity score, patient setting, alcohol use, and stoma creation. Surgeon of record was not associated with readmission. In conclusion, several patient, procedural, and postoperative factors were associated with an increased risk of readmission. Considerably high rates of readmission were noted after stoma creation, ileoanal pouch procedures, and proctocolectomy. Surgeon of record was not associated with risk of read-mission, indicating little value to this metric as a physician-specific indicator of quality.

The rate of reoperation after transabdominal as compared with transperineal repair for rectal prolapse is unknown. We evaluated all patients who underwent surgical treatment for rectal prolapse performed through transabdominal or transperineal repair from the trackable California Inpatient data files and Revisit Analyses during the time period of January 1, 2005, through December 31, 2007. We specifically evaluated rates of reoperation and stoma formation during the 36-month study period. A total of 3400 patient discharges with rectal prolapse from California during the 36-month study period was identified. Of this cohort, 1772 patients had one or more prolapse repairs. Procedures were more likely to be performed through a transabdominal (1035 [58%]) as compared with a transperineal approach (737 [42%]). There was no difference in reoperation for transabdominal (11%) as compared with transperineal procedures (11%; P = 0.9). However, a significantly larger proportion of patients underwent stoma formation after transabdominal (8%) as compared with transperineal repair (5%; P < 0.02). Time to reoperation was not significantly different for patients treated with transabdominal (295 ± 254 days) as compared with transperineal repair (271 ± 246 days; P = 0.6). In conclusion, the risk of reoperation is substantial for both transabdominal and transperineal procedures for rectal prolapse.

In this study we sought to identify changes in the etiology and surgical treatment of acute gastrointestinal perforations in the United States over the past 20 years. We performed a retrospective review of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from January 1, 1988, through December 31, 2007. We first identified all patients with gastrointestinal perforations, the perforated organ, and treatment rendered. During the study period, 550,132 patients experienced a gastrointestinal perforation for a mean rate of 3.9 cases per 1,000 discharges. Total number of perforations rose significantly over the study period, yet surgical procedures were performed in less than half of the patients (47.6%). The most common surgical procedures for gastrointestinal perforation were colorectal in origin (38.3%), upper gastrointestinal tract (30.0%), small intestine (29.2%), esophagus (3.0%), and anus (0.1%). At study end, colorectal procedures for perforation were the most commonly performed (40.4%), whereas upper gastrointestinal procedures experienced the greatest decline. In conclusion, our data demonstrate a decline in procedures for upper gastrointestinal perforation and an increase in colorectal procedures during the two-decade study period. These data should be used to assist in the training of acute care surgeons.

In this study, we analyzed temporal trends in anti-adhesion barrier application and admission rates for small bowel obstruction. We used data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample and identified patients with ICD-9 codes for “application or administration of anti-adhesion barrier substances” from October 2002 through December 2007. Next, we identified cases of bowel obstruction coded from January 1997 through December 2007. We then used Kendall correlation analyses and the Joinpoint regression program to evaluate changes in trends. From October 1, 2002 through December 31, 2007, a total of 28,014 patients had an anti-adhesion barrier substance applied. During the study period, application of anti-adhesion barriers increased from 0.7 applications per 100,000 to 2.6 applications per 100,000 population (Joinpoint and Kendall; P < 0.002). Since 1997 there has been a steady rise in hospitalizations for bowel obstruction, increasing from 18.3 cases per 100,000 to 19.8 cases per 100,000 population (Joinpoint and Kendall; P < 0.002). In conclusion, the application of anti-adhesion barriers has increased significantly since 2002, yet bowel obstructions continue to be a major health problem.