Search

An interosseous ganglion cyst is a very rare entity, found mostly in skeletally mature patients, particularly in long bones such as the tibia and femur. However, we are the first to report here an unusual case of interosseous ganglion cyst of the upper ribs in a young female patient, which she had an unpredicted presentation of cough and hemoptysis and a large painful lump over the anterior left upper chest. The radiological and pathological workup confirmed the presence of a benign interosseous ganglion cyst arising from the left first rib, invading the second rib and the apex of the left lung. The patient has been treated successfully by surgical resection of this rib cyst. However, we could not find any reported cases in the current literature of an interosseous ganglion cyst pathology arising in the ribs with a similar presentation of cough and hemoptysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To identify and quantify factors causing stress in the operating room (OR) and evaluate the relationship between these factors and surgeons′ stress level. Methods: This is a prospective observational study from 32 elective surgical procedures conducted in the OR of King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Before each operation, each surgeon was asked of stressors. Two interns observed 16 surgeries each, separately. The interns watched and took notes during the entire surgical procedure. During each operation, the observer recorded anxiety-inducing activities and events that occurred in real time by means of a checklist of 8 potential stressors: technical, patient problems, teamwork problems, time and management issues, distractions and interruptions, equipment problems, personal problems, and teaching. After each operation, surgeons were asked to answer the validated State-Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaire and self-report on their stress level from the 8 sources using a scale of 1-8 (1: stress free, 8: extremely stressful). The observer also recorded perceived stress levels experienced by the surgeons during the operation. Results: One hundred ten stressors were identified. Technical problems most frequently caused stress (16.4%) and personal issues the least often (6.4%). Frequently encountered stressors (teaching and distractions/interruptions) caused less stress to the surgeons. Technical factors, teamwork, and equipment problems occurred frequently and were also a major contributor to OR stress. All patients were discharged in good health and within 1 week of surgery. Conclusion: Certain stressful factors do occur among surgeons in the OR and can increase the potential for errors. Further research is required to determine the impact of stress on performance and the outcome of surgery.

Background and Aims: Mechanical ventilation (MV) with high tidal volume (Vt.) may induce or aggravate lung injury in critically ill patients. It might also cause an overwhelming systemic inflammation leading to acute lung injury (ALI), diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) and multiple organ failure (MOF) with subsequent high mortality. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of different Vt. on the inflammatory markers of the broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and lung biopsy in a group of animal model (Beagle dogs). Methods: A two-phased prospective study involving 30 Beagle dogs (15 dogs/phase), each phase divided into three groups (each 5 dogs/group). In the first phase each group received MV with Vt. of 8 (low), 10 (normal, control group), and 12 (high) ml/kg body weight (b.w.) respectively. BAL fluid was obtained at the time of induction of anesthesia immediately following tracheal intubation and one hour later following MV to count the macrophages, neutrophils and lymphocytes. In the second phase of the experiment, in addition to obtaining (BAL) fluid similar to the phase one, mini thoracotomy and lung biopsy obtained from the upper lobe of the right lung at same timings for histopathological examination study. Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test was used for statistical analysis of the data obtained. Results: BAL fluid analysis showed increase in the counts of macrophages and lymphocytes with Vt. of 12 ml/kg b.w. compared to the control group (10 ml/kg b.w.) (P < 0.05). in the second phase, similar findings obtained. The histopathological study of the lung tissue obtained in the second phase of the study from the group that received a high Vt. of 12 ml/kg b.w. showed significant inflammatory changes with presence of neutrophil infiltration and edema in the bronchial wall compared to the control group (10 ml/kg b.w.) (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The use of high Vt. in ventilated animal lung model may increase the risk of inflammation and subsequent damage in healthy lungs, these findings may help physicians to avoid using high Vt. in short-term mechanically ventilated patients in the operating room setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Waseem. Hajjar, Sami. Alnassar, Saleh. Abu-Daff, Saleh. Al-Dhahri Sternal metastasis in thyroid cancer is an uncommon occurrence with only a handful of cases of chest wall resections being done. [...]

Byline: Sami. AlNassar, Waseem. Hajjar, Salah. Rahal, Joanne. Clifton, Richard. Finley, Ravi. Sidhu Aim: To develop a video-based educational tool designed for teaching thoracic anatomy and to examine whether this [...]

Byline: Gamal. Khairy, Abdulaziz. Al-Saif, Sami. Alnassar, Waseem. Hajjar Background and Objective: Retrosternal goiter (RSG) is a term that has been used to describe a goiter that extends beyond the [...]

Objectives: To assess the students' perception of the small group teaching sessions in first year MBBS at King Saud University Medical College in Saudi Arabia. The study also evaluated the role of the tutors during the small group sessions. Methodology: A cross sectional descriptive survey was conducted at the end of the cardiovascular block during 2009-2010 academic year among the first year medical students at the King Saud Medical College (168 male and 104 female). A 19-item questionnaire (in English language) that included closed-ended questions that addressed the issues of concern in the integrated curriculum in regards to small group sessions was administered on line. Results: The overall response rate was 93%. The students were satisfied regarding the structure of the sessions (89.7%). The students thought that their role was made clear (90.3%) and were satisfied about the location and the facilities (71.6%). The students thought that the sessions were provocating (75.7%), helped them to be active learners (88.5%) and led them to be deep learners (87.2%). The learning needs were made clear (62.5%). The tutors were enthusiastic (81.2%) but offered plenty of information (61.2%). The sessions were useful, taught life-long learning (78.7%), improved the students' abilities to think and solve problems (83%), developed their skills to work as a team (43.6% strongly agreed) and improved their communication skills (89.1%). Conclusion: The students are generally happy with the small group session's structure and process. Tutors are enthusiastic and helpful. However, the tutors offered plenty of information and need re training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laparoscopic repair of paraesophageal hernia is safe and feasible and can provide comparable results for patients with type IV paraesophageal hernia. We report a rare case of mediastinal seroma in an 80-year-old gentleman who had a giant type IV paraesophageal hernia and was eventually admitted to our hospital for elective laparoscopic repair and recovered very well after surgery with resolution of the atelectatic lungs and air-fluid collection in his chest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the experience of interns in sensitive area examination during their undergraduate medical course and identify factors interfering with such examinations., Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out from May to June 2010. Interns (n=315) at King Saud University College of Medicine were invited via email to complete a web-based questionnaire developed using surveymonkey.com., Results: Out of 315 interns, 211 completed the questionnaire; 60% males and 40% females. The mean percentage of interns who never performed any of these examinations was 28.9% for digital rectal examination, 17.5% for breast, 43.1% for female pelvic examination, 13.3% for inguinal (hernia), and 34.6% for male external genitalia. Compared to females, male students conducted more rectal examinations (87 versus 63, p<0.005), and male external genitalia examinations (112 versus 26, p<0.001). On the other hand, compared to male students, females conducted more pelvic examination (68 versus 52, p=0.03) and breast examinations (92 versus 82, p=0.27). The most common reasons for not performing sensitive area examinations included patient's refusal (33.1%), and examining patients of opposite gender (27.6%). Confidence in performance of these examinations was correlated to increased frequency of the examination., Conclusion: This study highlights that most common factors interfering with the students' conducting sensitive area examinations are patient's refusal and examining patients of the opposite sex. There is a strong correlation between increased frequency of conducting an examination and student's confidence in performance.