Editor's Note This study finds that robotic surgery increased dramatically from 2012 to 2018 and has diffused widely across a broad range of common procedures. This trend was associated with a decrease in the use of open and laparoscopic minimally invasive procedures. In this analysis of 169,404 patients in 73…

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At Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health System in Richmond, implementation of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) incorporates principles of Lean thinking, a management methodology that emphasizes “…maximize[ing] customer value while minimizing waste. Simply, lean means creating more value for customers with fewer resources,” according to the Lean Enterprise Institute.1 Several…

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Of the approximately 57 million surgical procedures performed annually in the US, it is estimated that hospital inpatient procedures (overnight admissions) account for less than 20% of cases. Many procedures once performed in hospital outpatient surgery departments (HOPDs) have moved to ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) over the past 15 years,…

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Starting the first cases of the day on time is key for maintaining the OR schedule. A delay in first case on-time starts (FCOTS) can lead to less OR utilization, greater facility costs, and dissatisfaction among physicians, OR staff, and patients. It’s a problem in many surgical suites, but when…

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Editor's Note In this study, researchers found that over a 3-year period, compared to no participation, participation in Medicare’s Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) program was associated with a 1.6% decrease in average lower extremity joint replacement spending with no changes in quality, driven by early participants. When looking…

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Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on December 19, 2019, identified the recall by Smiths Medical ASD, Inc of its Medfusion 4000 Syringe Pumps as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of malfunctioning low-battery alarms, which may lead to an interruption of therapy. The…

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Editor's Note Researchers at NYU Langone Health combined advanced optical imaging with an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to produce accurate, real-time intraoperative diagnosis of brain tumors in this study. Compared with the accuracy of pathologists’ interpretation of conventional histologic images, the results for both methods were comparable. The AI-based diagnosis…

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Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on January 2 identified the recall by LivaNova of its VNS Therapy SenTiva Generator System as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because of an unintended reset error that causes the system to stop delivering vagus nerve stimulation therapy…

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Editor's Note In this study from Israel, researchers found that surgical scrubs worn outside the OR were contaminated with a low bacterial load and only a small number of pathogenic bacteria. For the study, specimens were collected at the entrance to the OR from surgical scrubs worn by 133 surgeons.…

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Editor's Note Johnson & Johnson’s Depuy Synthes and Israel-based Zebra Medical Vision have partnered to develop artificial intelligence (AI)-based algorithms for use in preoperative orthopedic surgical planning, the January 2 BioWorld reports. The algorithms would enable the creation of 3D models from x-ray images so that radiation risks and costs…

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