The concept of the hybrid OR was born in the 1990s, but healthcare institutions were originally slow to adopt the model due, in part, to the initial sizable investment required. While there was a steady uptick in adoption around 2008, today there are still only some 100 hybrid ORs in…
Editor’s Note A new automated delivery system for anesthesia that has been effectively tested in monkeys could eventually be used by doctors to identify and deliver the right dose of drugs in people. The findings appeared October 31 in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United…
Editor's Note Online breast cancer surgery information is often difficult to understand and may be impeding people’s ability to make informed decisions about their care, US News October 25 reports. Researchers reviewed patient education materials describing breast-conserving surgery, mastectomy, and lymph node surgery from US National Cancer Institute related websites…
Editor's Note There is a lack of gender, ethnic, and racial diversity in leadership roles in US academic surgery departments, according to a new study in JAMA Surgery that was published on October 11. The authors included in their analysis 154 surgical departments within 146 medical schools and affiliated hospitals…
Editor's Note Researchers from University of Connecticut, Peking University School, and Eli Lilly & Company have designed an injectable gel that could someday provide scaffolds for human cartilage without surgery. The findings were published by Nature Communications on October 6. Some highlights include: The injectable, biodegradable piezoelectric (electricity-producing) hydrogel can…
Editor's Note Baltimore, MD-based Galen Robotics, Inc has secured US Food and Drug Administration De Novo classification grant and authorization to market the Galen ES® Robotic System, a cooperative powered surgical assist device for ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgery, for rigid microlaryngeal procedures. “Galen will be the first surgical…
Editor's Note An analysis of more than 71,000 shooting incidents in five major US cities has identified lesser-known factors that are linked to increased firearm assaults, according to a September 13 news release from the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Researchers found that fatal and nonfatal firearm assaults were clustered…
Editor's Note The COVID-19 hospital admission rate in the US rose some 16% to more than 17,400 for the week ending August 26, and deaths increased by nearly 18% from the prior week, the September 7 New York Times reports. This marks the seventh consecutive week of increases. The Omicron…
Editor's Note This multi-center study, led by the University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, examines the effect of in-house call on sleep patterns and burnout among acute care surgeons. Physiological and survey data of 224 acute care surgeons on in-house call were collected over a 6-month period and included in the…
Editor's Note For Pain Awareness Month, the American College of Surgeons (ACS), on September 6, shared three tips for managing pain after surgery. Jonah J. Stulberg, MD, PhD, MPH, FACS, a member of the ACS Patient Education Committee and vice chair of research for the department of surgery at UT…