Editor's Note Perioperative myocardial injury (PMI) is a common complication after noncardiac surgery (occurring in 1 of 7 patients), and it is associated with substantial short- and long-term mortality (9% and 22%), this study finds. This analysis included 2,018 patients having 2,546 surgical procedures. PMI occurred after 397 of the…

Read More

Editor's Note Hospitals with the largest reductions in serious complications after bariatric surgery had the greatest decrease in per-patient Medicare payments, this study finds. Analyzing 37,329 Medicare patients undergoing bariatric surgery from 2005 to 2006 and 2013 to 2014, researchers found a strong association between reductions in complications and decreased…

Read More

Editor's Note Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an important risk factor for postoperative complications in cardiac surgery patients, finds this meta-analysis led by Frances Chung, MD, a noted expert on OSA. After cardiac surgery, major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events and newly documented postoperative atrial fibrillation were 33.3% and 18.1%…

Read More

Editor's Note Most patients who had cataract surgery from 2001 to 2014 did so at ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) compared with hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs), this study finds. In this analysis of 369,320 patients who had 531,325 cataract surgeries, the proportion performed at ASCs increased from 43.6% in 2001 to…

Read More

Editor's Note Children under age 5 having minor surgery with anesthesia have a small but statistically significant increased risk of a mental disorder, developmental delays, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), this study finds. A total of 38,493 children with a single exposure to anesthesia before age 5 and 192,465…

Read More

Editor's Note In this multicenter study of 7-year weight and comorbid health changes after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB), most participants maintained much of their weight loss with variable fluctuations over the long term, and comorbid health improvements were sustained after RYGB. Of 2,348 participants,…

Read More

Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on November 30 announced a final rule that cancels the mandatory hip fracture and cardiac bundled-payment models, which were to begin on January 1, 2018, and implements changes to the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) Model. In the final…

Read More

Editor's Note This analysis of 10 surgical procedures accrued into the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) between 2008 and 2015, identified which procedures improved the most from QI efforts and which needed more. Hepatectomy demonstrated the greatest improvement across the greatest number of outcomes…

Read More

Editor's Note National data show a large shift in cataract surgeries from hospitals to less expensive ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), where care can be delivered faster and closer to home, this study finds. From 2001 to 2014, the proportion of cataract surgeries performed at ASCs increased steadily from 43.6% to…

Read More

  Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on November 22 announced the approval of RxSight Inc’s (Pasadena, California) Light Adjustable Lens and Light Delivery Device. This is the first system that allows ophthalmologists to make small adjustments to the implanted lens’ power after cataract surgery to improve visual…

Read More