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Background: The practice of day care surgery is less embraced in many low‐middle‐income countries (LMIC), and even less for some procedures considered major such as thyroidectomy. Here we examine the safety of day care thyroidectomy at Kyabirwa Surgical Center, a stand‐alone day care surgery center in rural Eastern Uganda. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study conducted between 2019 and 2023. All patients who had day care thyroidectomy were included. Demographics, diagnosis, investigation findings, pathology reports, and surgery outcomes were collected. Postoperative follow‐up data up to 30 days were also collected. Data were analyzed using R version 4.3.2. Results: A total of 51 patients underwent same‐day thyroidectomy, with an average age of 44.9 ± 12.1 years and 98% female. Procedures included total thyroidectomy (5, 9.8%), subtotal thyroidectomy (26, 51.0%), and lobectomy (20, 39.2%). Average size of the glands was 7.9 ± 2.21 cm. The majority 46 (90.2%) were of benign pathology. All patients were discharged by the evening of the same day. Complications encountered included hypocalcemia (1), hypertrophic scar (1), seroma (2), and transient recurrent laryngeal nerve injury (1). Overall complications rate was 9.8%. Gland size was statistically significant between patients with no complications (7.68 ± 2.06 cm) versus complications (9.90 ± 2.82, p < 0.05). Conclusion: With overall low complication rates, these findings suggest that thyroidectomy can safely be performed on a day care basis in a rural LMIC setting with suboptimal health care delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Chronic lower extremity (LE) wounds frequently require significant interventions to close. The success of any method depends on an adequately prepared wound bed, while factors including wound size, perfusion, contamination, or exposed tissue structures can thwart efforts. We propose a standardized algorithm of care utilizing an acellular dermal matrix, split-thickness skin graft (STSG), and negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) for the treatment of LE wounds. Methods. This was a single-center, retrospective cohort study examining patients who underwent LE wound debridement, placement of fetal bovine dermis (FBD), and STSG between 2016 and 2022. The primary outcome was wound closure, while secondary outcomes were wound infection and amputation-free survival. Results. Twenty patients (mean age 59 years, M:F 12:8)--including 24 LE venous ulcers (29.4%), amputation sites (29.4%), diabetic foot ulcers (25.0%), and atypical wounds (16.7%) with an average area of 39.15 cm²--underwent debridement and FBD placement followed by STSG a median of 61 days thereafter. Of these patients, 83.3% received NPWT after FBD and STSG with 86% closure. There was successful engraftment in 92% of wounds whose FBD placement was within 2 months of STSG. Of wounds that had <50% engraftment, 75% had a STSG placed over 2 months after FBD placement. Of those patients with post-STSG infection, 75% had the graft placed >2 months after FBD placement, one of which required proximal amputation. Conclusions. By following a treatment plan including debridement with treatment of infection, application of FBD with placement of STSG within 2 months thereafter, and reinforcing NPWT, chronic wounds will have an increased rate of successful reepithelialization. Many cases experienced delays from FBD engraftment until STSG application due to schedule and insurance impediments, which led to less favorable outcomes. Therefore, a protocol that involves scheduling the placement of STSG 4 weeks after successful engraftment of FBD has been adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast necrotising soft tissue infections (NSTIs) are rare surgical emergencies with limited cases described in the literature. Here, we discuss a unique case of a woman in her 70s who presented with newly diagnosed diabetes and a neglected right breast cancer associated with breast erythema, skin necrosis, crepitus on examination and breast soft tissue gas seen on CT requiring emergent total mastectomy with partial pectoralis muscle excision. Pathology revealed a 15 cm invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma and necrotising polymicrobial cellulitis with a large abscess cavity. She recovered from her surgery with strict glycaemic control and a 10-day course of antibiotics. Multidisciplinary tumour board recommended adjuvant anastrozole, abemaciclib and postmastectomy radiation to complete her oncological treatment. Although exceedingly rare, it is important that clinicians be aware of, promptly recognise and properly treat NSTIs of the breast, as correct care can be life-saving from both infection and malignancy., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2024. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)