An Enhanced Ambulatory Surgery Experience for Patients with Cancer Through End-to-End Patient Engagement.

Ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) serve an important role for hospital systems of increasing operating capacity and offloading patient volume. When seeking to perform more complex cancer surgeries at an ASC, a systematic approach with care pathways can yield success by facilitating quick recovery for patients and reducing complication rates. End-to-end patient engagement is a key component of patient-centered care at the Josie Robertson Surgery Center and begins the moment the decision to have surgery is made and extends to the postdischarge period to track recovery. Engagement includes comprehensive education, standardization of processes, and setting clear expectations for recovery and discharge.

Asystole during pacemaker magnet application.

Pacemaker magnet application during surgery for patients who are pacemaker-dependent is often utilized to avoid perioperative inhibition from electromagnetic interference. We present a case during which such routine magnet use resulted in an unexpected response and discuss the limitations and nuances of this common practice.