Mental toughness in surgeons: Is there room for improvement?

Background: Mental toughness is crucial to high-level performance in stressful situations. However, there is no formal evaluation or training in mental toughness in surgery. Our objective was to examine differences in mental toughness between staff and resident surgeons, and whether there is an interest in improving this attribute. Methods: We distributed a survey containing the Mental Toughness Index (domains of self-belief, attention regulation, emotion regulation, success mindset, context knowledge, buoyancy, optimism and adversity capacity) among general surgery residents and staff at 3 Canadian academic institutions. Responses were recorded on a 7-point Likert scale. Participants were also asked about techniques they used to help them perform under pressure and interest in further developing mental toughness. Results: Eighty-three of 193 surgeons participated: 56/105 (52.8%) residents and 27/87 (31.0%) staff. The average age was 29 (standard deviation 5) years and 42 (standard deviation 8) years, respectively. Residents scored significantly lower than staff in all mental toughness domains. Men scored significantly higher than women in attention regulation and emotion regulation. Age, staff experience and resident postgraduate year were not significantly associated with mental toughness scores. Twenty residents (36%) and 17 staff (63%) reported using specific techniques to deal with stressful situations; 49 (88%) and 15 (56%), respectively, were interested in further developing mental toughness. Conclusion: Staff surgeons scored significantly higher than residents in all mental toughness domains measured. Both groups expressed a desire to improve mental toughness. There are many techniques to improve mental toughness, and further research is needed to assess their effectiveness in surgical training.

Contexte: La force mentale est indispensable à un rendement de haut niveau en situation de stress. Par contre, il n'existe pas de méthode d'évaluation formelle ni de formation pour promouvoir la force mentale en chirurgie. Notre objectif était de comparer la force mentale des chirurgiens en poste à celle des résidents, et de vérifier si l'amélioration de cette compétence suscite l'intérêt. Méthodes: Nous avons distribué un questionnaire sur les divers domaines qui constituent l'indice de force mentale (confiance en soi, régulation de l'attention et des émotions, attitude gagnante, connaissances du contexte, dynamisme, optimisme et résistance à l'adversité) aux résidents et aux chirurgiens en poste en chirurgie générale dans 3 établissements universitaires canadiens. Les réponses étaient consignées sur une échelle de Likert en 7 points. Les participants ont aussi été interrogés sur les techniques qu'ils utilisent pour mieux composer avec la pression et sur leur intérêt pour l'acquisition d'une plus grande force mentale. Résultats: Quatre-vingt-trois chirurgiens sur 193 ont participé : 56/105 (52,8 %) résidents et 27/87 (31,0 %) chirurgiens en poste. L'âge moyen était de 29 ans (écarttype 5) et de 42 ans (écart-type 8), respectivement. Les résidents ont obtenu un score significativement moindre que les chirurgiens en poste pour tous les domaines constitutifs de la force mentale. Les hommes ont obtenu des scores significativement plus élevés que les femmes pour la régulation de l'attention et des émotions. L'âge, l'expérience des chirurgiens en poste et l'année de formation postdoctorale des résidents n'ont pas été significativement associés aux scores de force mentale. Vingt résidents (36 %) et 17 chirurgiens en poste (63 %) ont indiqué utiliser des techniques spécifiques pour affronter les situations stressantes; 49 (88 %) et 15 (56 %), respectivement, se sont montrés intéressés à acquérir davantage de force mentale. Conclusion: Les chirurgiens en poste ont obtenu des scores significativement plus élevés que les résidents pour tous les domaines de la force mentale mesurés. Les 2 groupes ont exprimé un intérêt pour l'amélioration de leur force mentale. Il existe plusieurs techniques à cet effet et il faudra approfondir la recherche pour en évaluer l'efficacité chez les chirurgiens en formation.

Number of nodes in sentinel lymph node biopsy for breast cancer: Are surgeons still biased?

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess the number of lymph nodes removed at SLNB, and what factors might bias a surgeon's decision to remove additional nodes. METHODS: A prospectively maintained database was reviewed. All patients that had SLNB for primary treatment of breast cancer between January 2012 and March 2016 were identified. Clinicopathologic factors were used to compare the number of LNs and rates of node positivity. RESULTS: One thousand six hundred and three patients were included. The average number of SLNs, non-SLNs, and total LNs was 2.53, 0.54, 3.08, respectively. Significantly more LNs were removed in age <40 versus age >40 (3.73, 3.04 P < 0.01), invasive versus DCIS (3.13, 2.73 P < 0.001), Grade III versus Grade II (3.42, 2.99 P < 0.01), T2 versus T1 (3.40, 2.96 P < 0.01), and ER- versus ER+ (3.45, 3.05 P < 0.05). SLN positivity was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in invasive versus DCIS (27%, 4%), T2 versus T1 (30%. 17%), Grade II versus Grade I (42%, 18%), and ILC versus IDC (38%, 26%). CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant difference in the number of lymph nodes removed at SLNB in certain groups however; node positivity was not necessarily higher in these groups. Surgeons must be cognizant of potential bias when performing SLNB.

Underwater endoscopic mucosal resection without submucosal injection (UEMR) for large colorectal polyps: A community-based series.

BACKGROUND: Underwater endoscopic mucosal resection without submucosal injection (UEMR) is an appealing therapy for large colorectal polyps. However, this technique is not practiced widely and there are limited data evaluating UEMR in community settings. METHODS: The study comprised patients undergoing UEMR of large (≥20 mm) sessile colorectal lesions at a community-based center. Residual neoplasia was assessed via follow-up colonoscopy. RESULTS: Among 264 lesions (diameter 38 ± 18 mm; range 20-110 mm) 99% were successfully resected with UEMR. Two lesions involving the cecum/IC valve required multiple sessions. There were no cases of perforation or post-polypectomy syndrome. Delayed bleeding occurred in 1.6%, all managed conservatively. Residual neoplasia was present in 5.7% and was amenable to UEMR. CONCLUSION: This large community-based series demonstrated high efficacy and safety of UEMR for large sessile colorectal lesions. The results support UEMR as first-line therapy for these lesions. SUMMARY: Underwater endoscopic mucosal resection without submucosal injection (UEMR) is a recently developed method that has advantages over conventional EMR for treatment of large colorectal lesions. However, UEMR is not practiced widely and there are limited data evaluating this technique in everyday practice. This large community-based series demonstrated high efficacy and safety of UEMR for large sessile colorectal lesions.

Dressed for success? Silver impregnated nanocrystalline dressing for initial treatment of giant omphalocele.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe outcomes and resource utilization in patients treated with twice-weekly silver impregnated (SI) nanocrystalline dressings for initial non-operative management of giant omphalocele (GO). METHODS: A retrospective review of patients with GO treated with SI dressings was undertaken. Clinical parameters, cost, and complications were recorded. RESULTS: Five patients with GO were treated with SI dressings between 2014 and 2016. Clinical characteristic (mean ± SD) included gestational age 36 ± 4 weeks, birth weight 2.6 ± 0.63 kg, GO size 10.2 ± 4.7 cm, ventilator days 7.5 ± 8.7 d, days in NICU 41 ± 20 d, days to full feeds, 30 ± 15 d, and LOS 62 ± 41 d. The average in-hospital cost of SI dressings was $110 CAD/week. This is comparable to daily silver sulfadiazine dressings ($109CAD/week) which were used historically. All patients were discharged with once- or twice-weekly dressing changes. No ruptures occurred. There was one mortality secondary to pulmonary sepsis. CONCLUSIONS: For initial non-operative management of GO, twice weekly SI nanocrystalline dressings is safe and effective. Use of SI dressings results in decreased handling of infants, reduced physician and nursing resource utilization, and favourable outcomes. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV (Retrospective Case Series).

In Vivo Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Investigating the Development and Distribution of Experimental Brain Metastases due to Breast Cancer.

INTRODUCTION: The overall goal of this study was to assess the utility of three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for monitoring the temporal and spatial development of experimental brain metastasis in mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Brain metastatic human breast cancer cells (231-BR or 231-BR-HER2) were injected intracardially in nude mice for delivery to the brain. Mouse brains were imaged in vivo at different time points using a balanced steady-state-free precession (bSSFP) pulse sequence at 1.5 T. Brains were categorized into four regions: cortex, central brain, olfactory, and posterior. The number of metastases and their volumes were quantified for both cell lines. RESULTS: There was no difference in the mean number of metastases for either cell line. The volumes of metastases in mice injected with 231-BR-HER2 cells were significantly larger than those for mice injected with 231-BR cells. The growth rate for 231-BR-HER2 metastases was 67.5% compared with 54.4% for the 231-BR metastases. More than 50% of metastases were located in the cortex and 25% to 30% of metastases were identified in the central brain for each time point and for mice injected with either cell line. The volumes of metastases were significantly larger in mice with fewer metastases at end point. SIGNIFICANT CONCLUSIONS: MRI provided a comprehensive accounting of the number and size of experimental brain metastases in the whole mouse brain at multiple time points. This approach has provided new information about the temporal and spatial development of metastases in the brain not possible by other histopathologic or imaging methods.

In vivo characterization of changing blood-tumor barrier permeability in a mouse model of breast cancer metastasis: a complementary magnetic resonance imaging approach.

OBJECTIVES: The current lack of efficacy for any chemo- or molecular therapeutic in the treatment of brain metastases is thought to be due, in part, to the heterogeneous permeability of the blood-brain-barrier (BBB). Little is known about how heterogeneous permeability develops, or how it varies among individual metastases. Understanding the BBB's role in metastasis will be crucial to the development of new, more effective therapies. In this article, we developed the first magnetic resonance imaging-based strategy to detect and measure the volumes of BBB permeable and nonpermeable metastases and studied the development of altered BBB permeability in metastases in vivo, over time in a mouse model of breast cancer metastasis to the brain. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Animals bearing human experimental brain metastases of breast cancer (231-BR cells) were imaged, using 3-dimensional balanced steady-state free precession to visualize total metastases, and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted spin echo with gadopentetic acid (Gd-DTPA) to visualize which of these displayed contrast enhancement, as Gd-DTPA leakage is indicative of altered BBB permeability. RESULTS: Metastases detected 20 days after injection showed no Gd-DTPA enhancement. At day 25, 6.1% ± 6.3% (mean ± standard deviation) of metastases enhanced, and by day 30, 28.1% ± 14.2% enhanced (P < 0.05). Enhancing metastases (mid: 0.14 ± 0.18 mm, late: 0.24 ± 0.32 mm) had larger volumes than nonenhancing (mid: 0.04 ± 0.04 mm, late: 0.09 ± 0.09 mm, P < 0.05); however, there was no significant difference between the growth rates of the 2. CONCLUSIONS: A significant number of brain metastases were uniformly nonpermeable, which highlights the need for developing treatment strategies that can overcome the permeability of the BBB. The model developed herein can provide the basis for in vivo evaluation of both BBB permeable and nonpermeable metastases response to therapy.