Editor's Note Sports medicine surgical procedures for Medicare patients cost significantly less in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) compared with hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs), according to a study published by the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine on August 29. Researchers analyzed Medicare Procedure Price Lookup data for 62 commonly billed outpatient…
Editor's Note Bariatric surgery delivers greater weight loss and lower long-term costs than GLP-1 medications, Ambulatory Surgery Center News September 18 reports. A new JAMA Surgery study of more than 30,000 patients found that surgical patients lost nearly three times as much weight as those on medication while generating meaningful…
Editor's Note Older adults with a body mass index (BMI) in the overweight range had significantly lower odds of death after major elective surgery compared with those in the normal BMI category, an August 26 study published by JAMA Network reports. The cohort study followed 414 adults aged 65 years…
Editor's Note Remote perioperative monitoring (RPM) accelerates recovery and reduces complications following major cancer surgery, according to a randomized trial published on August 28 by npj Digital Medicine and co-authored by researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. The study enrolled 293 patients undergoing major abdominal or…
Editor's Note Many widely used supplements and herbal remedies can increase bleeding risk during surgery and should be stopped in advance, according to researchers at Wrocław Medical University. The findings highlight a gap in perioperative safety practices, The Am-Pol Eagle September 18 reports. The study, led by the university’s Department…
Editor's Note Allowing older surgical patients to keep dentures, glasses, and hearing aids until anesthesia and restoring them immediately afterward significantly lowered postoperative delirium (POD) rates, according to a study published in BMC Geriatrics on August 30. The prospective before-and-after trial followed patients aged 70 and older undergoing hip fracture…
Editor's Note Patients with BMI 40 or higher had similar 24-hour and 1–90 day complication rates to lower-BMI patients after primary total joint arthroplasty (TJA) performed at an academic ambulatory surgery center (ASC), an August 25 article from The Journal of Arthroplasty reports. The study retrospectively analyzed 2,367 primary THA…
Editor's Note Colorectal tumors once considered inoperable are now routinely treated with curative surgery, thanks to advances in multimodality therapy and complex resection techniques, Mayo Clinic September 16 reports. Decades ago, cancers invading the sacrum, pelvic organs, or major blood vessels were often deemed unresectable, leaving patients with only palliative…
Editor's Note Deaths from falls among Americans over 65 have more than tripled in the past 3 decades, raising alarm among geriatric experts and fueling debate about the role of prescription drugs, HealthLeaders September 15 reports. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recorded more than 41,000 fall-related deaths…
Editor's Note Pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) are rare after same-day surgeries, but when they occur, they carry high risks of death and readmission. According to Anesthesiology News May 12, a University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center analysis of more than 1.1 million outpatient procedures found an…