Barriers to Surgical Intervention and Factors Influencing Motor Outcomes in Patients with Severe Peripheral Nerve Injury: A Province Wide Cohort Study.

INTRODUCTION: Despite the importance of timing of nerve surgery after peripheral nerve injury, optimal timing of intervention has not been clearly delineated. The goal of this study is to explore factors that may have a significant impact on clinical outcomes of severe peripheral nerve injury that requires reconstruction with nerve transfer or graft. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Adult patients who underwent peripheral nerve transfer or grafting in Alberta were reviewed. Clustered multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association of time to surgery, type of nerve repair, and patient characteristics on strength outcomes. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis model was used to examine factors correlated with increased time to surgery. RESULTS: Of the 163 patients identified, the median time to surgery was 212 days. For every week of delay, the adjusted odds of achieving Medical Research Council strength grade ≥ 3 decreases by 3%. An increase in preinjury comorbidities was associated with longer overall time to surgery (aHR 0.84, 95% CI 0.74-0.95). Referrals made by surgeons were associated with a shorter time to surgery compared to general practitioners (aHR 1.87, 95% CI 1.14-3.06). In patients treated with nerve transfer, the adjusted odds of achieving antigravity strength was 388% compared to nerve grafting; while the adjusted odds decreased by 65% if the injury sustained had a pre-ganglionic injury component. CONCLUSION: Mitigating delays in surgical intervention is crucial to optimizing outcomes. The nature of initial nerve injury and surgical reconstructive techniques are additional important factors that impact postoperative outcomes.

A Prospective Evaluation of the Utility of a Hybrid Operating Suite for Severely Injured Patients: Overstated or Underutilized?

OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the utility, clinical impact, and work flow of a new trauma hybrid operating theater. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: The potential utility and clinical benefit of hybrid operating theaters are increasingly postulated. Unfortunately, the clinical outcomes and efficiencies of these environments remain unclear. METHODS: All severely injured patients who were transferred to the hybrid suite for emergent intervention between 2013 and 2017 were compared to consecutive prehybrid patients. Standard statistical methodology was employed (P < 0.05 = significant). RESULTS: One hundred sixty-nine patients with severe injuries (mean ISS = 23; hemodynamic instability = 70%; hospital/ICU stay = 12 d; mortality = 14%) were transferred urgently to the hybrid suite. Most were young (38 yrs) males (84%) with blunt injuries (51%). Combined hybrid trauma procedures occurred in 18% of cases (surgery (82%) and angiography (11%) alone). Procedures within the hybrid suite included: laparotomy (57%), extremity (14%), thoracotomy/sternotomy (12%), angioembolization of the spleen/pelvis/liver/other (9%), neck (9%), craniotomy (4%), and aortic endostenting (6%). Compared with historical controls, use of the hybrid suite resulted in shorter arrival to intervention and total procedure times (P < 0.05). A clear benefit for survival was evident (42% vs. 22%). CONCLUSIONS: Availability of a hybrid environment for severely injured patients reduces time to intervention, total procedural duration, blood product transfusion and salvages a small subset of patients who would not otherwise survive. The cost associated with a hybrid suite remains prohibitive for many centers.

Devastating neurologic injuries in the Syrian war.

BACKGROUND: Since 2011, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been displaced and injured due to the ongoing Syrian civil war. In this study, we report the prevalence of neurologic injuries in a major rehabilitation center on the Turkish-Syrian border where death and injury tolls continue to rise. METHOD: Based on several on-site visits from 2013 to 2016, medical practitioners collected data from patients in the major rehabilitation center on the border of Turkey and Syria. The clinical data, which included the type and cause of injury, laterality, paralysis, areas injured, and treatment offered, were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 230 patients were identified as having sustained a neurologic injury, 221/230 (96.1%) male and 9/230 (3.91%) female, ranging from ages 2-52 years. A total of 305 total injuries were documented over the course of a 4-year analysis due to several patients having multiple injuries. Gunshot wounds were the dominant mechanism of injury in 125/230 (54.3%) patients. Patients more frequently sustained single injuries 152/230 (66.1%) than multiple injuries 78/230 (33.9%). Peripheral nerve injuries were the most prevalent injuries, at 92.5% of all neurologic injuries (282/305), specifically injury to the radial nerve, at 19.1% (54/282) of peripheral injuries. Patients with spinal cord injuries made up 20/230 (8.7%) of all patients, with thoracic spine injuries composing 50% (10/20). Traumatic brain injuries were the least prevalent, 3/230 (1.3%), with an equal distribution of subtypes. CONCLUSION: This study and critical analysis of the devastation in Syria suggests the desperate need for emergency aid.

Staged margin-controlled excision (SMEX) for lentigo maligna melanoma in situ.

BACKGROUND: No consensus exists regarding the best surgical strategy to achieve clear surgical margins while minimizing tissue excision when definitely excising lentigo maligna melanoma in situ (LM). The staged margin controlled excision (SMEX) technique is a modification of the spaghetti technique that allows surgeons to minimize margins and ensure complete excision of LM. OBJECTIVES: Our objectives were twofold: a) to evaluate the effectiveness of SMEX for treatment of LM and b) detail the SMEX technique. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of adult patients who underwent the SMEX technique for treatment of LM from 2011 to 2016 was conducted. RESULTS: Twenty-four patients were identified with predominantly facial lesions. The mean defect size was 12.1 cm2 . A mean number of two SMEX procedures, with an average margin of 9 mm, were required to obtain complete excision of the LM. Using SMEX, we achieved 100% clearance of LM over a median follow up period of 18 months, with a range of 1-63 months. CONCLUSIONS: SMEX offers a reliable surgical excision method that ensures complete excision of LM in a cosmetically sensitive manner. The recurrence outcomes of SMEX are comparable, if not better, than those of alternative excision techniques in the literature.

The potential benefit of a hybrid operating environment among severely injured patients with persistent hemorrhage: How often could we get it right?

BACKGROUND: Selecting the appropriate initial destination (operating theater [OR], angiography suite, or intensive care unit [ICU]) in persistently hypotensive injured patients can be extremely challenging. The purpose of this study was to define the flow, interventions, and outcomes of these patients. METHODS: All persistently hypotensive (two or more systolic blood pressures < 90 mmHg) severely injured (Injury Severity Score [ISS] ≥ 12) adult patients (1995-2012) were analyzed over the first 24 hours at a Level I trauma referral center. Standard statistical methodology was used (p < 0.05). RESULTS: Of 911 patients with an initial systolic blood pressure of less than 90 mm Hg (prehospital or initial trauma bay reading), 56% remained persistently hypotensive. These patients had a mean age of 41 years, were 73% male, and blunt injured in 87% of the cases. Initial destinations included the OR (53%), ICU (29%), trauma ward (13%) after resuscitation and diagnostic imaging, and interventional angiography suite (5%). Of all hypotensive patients, 67% received computed tomography either before or after initial transfer from the trauma bay. Of the patients who were moved to the OR, 64% were subsequently transferred to the ICU and 23% to the ward, and 14% died in the OR itself. Within the OR, 97% of the patients underwent an intervention (79% laparotomies). A total of 7% of the patients required both emergent operative and angiographic interventions. These were most commonly due to ongoing hemorrhage from pelvic fractures or major hepatic lacerations. Mortality was higher in patients who underwent operation before angiography (90% vs. 32%, p = 0.002). The median hospital length of stay was 22 days (ICU stay, 8 days). The mortality (<24 hours) of all persistently hypotensive patients was 22%. CONCLUSION: Up to 7% of patients in this cohort could benefit from the utility of a hybrid RAPTOR [Resuscitation with Angiography, Percutaneous Therapy Operative Repair] suite. A "direct to the RAPTOR suite" policy (i.e., bypass emergency department) must be used with caution. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic study, level IV.