Presentation and outcomes of paediatric craniopharyngioma in the west of Scotland: a 25 year experience.

PURPOSE: Craniopharyngiomas can be aggressive leading to significant complications and morbidity. It is not clear whether there are any predictive factors for incidence or outcomes. Our aim was therefore to record the incidence, presentation, characteristics and progression of paediatric craniopharyngiomas in the West of Scotland. METHOD: Retrospective case note review for children diagnosed with paediatric craniopharyngiomas at the Royal Hospital for Children Glasgow, from 1995 to 2021 was conducted. All analyses were conducted using GraphPad Prism 9.4.0. RESULTS: Of 21 patients diagnosed with craniopharyngiomas, the most common presenting symptoms were headaches (17/21, 81%); visual impairment (13/21, 62%); vomiting (9/21, 43%) and growth failure (7/21, 33%). Seventeen (81%) patients underwent hydrocephalus and/or resection surgery within 3 months of diagnosis, usually within the first 2 weeks (13/21, 62%). Subtotal resection surgeries were performed in 71% of patients, and median time between subsequent resection surgeries for tumour recurrence was 4 years (0,11). BMI SDS increased at 5 year follow-up (p = 0.021) with 43% being obese (BMI > + 2SD). More patients acquired hypopituitarism post-operatively (14/16, 88%) compared to pre-operatively (4/15, 27%). A greater incidence of craniopharyngiomas were reported in more affluent areas (10/21, 48%) (SIMD score 8-10) compared to more deprived areas (6/10, 29%) (SIMD score 1-3). Five patients (24%) died with a median time between diagnosis and death of 9 years (6,13). CONCLUSION: Over 25 years the management of craniopharyngioma has changed substantially. Co-morbidities such as obesity are difficult to manage post-operatively and mortality risk can be up to 25% according to our cohort.

Extinguishing burnout: National analysis of predictors and effects of burnout in abdominal transplant surgery fellows.

Burnout among surgeons has been attributed to increased workload and decreased autonomy. Although prior studies have examined burnout among transplant surgeons, no studies have evaluated burnout in abdominal transplant surgery fellows. The objective of our study was to identify predictors of burnout and understand its impact on personal and patient care during fellowship. A survey was sent to all abdominal transplant surgery fellows in an American Society of Transplant Surgeons-accredited fellowship. The response rate was 59.2% (n = 77) and 22.7% (n = 17) of fellows met criteria for burnout. Fellows with lower grit scores were more likely to exhibit burnout compared with fellows with higher scores (3.6 vs 4.0, P = .026). Those with burnout were more likely to work >100 hours per week (58.8% vs 27.6%, P = .023), have severe work-related stress (58.8% vs 22.4%, P = .010), consider quitting fellowship (94.1% vs 20.7%, P < .001), or make a medical error (35.3% vs 5.2%, P = .003). This national analysis of abdominal transplant fellows found that burnout rates are relatively low, but few fellows engage in self-care. Personal and program-related factors attribute to burnout and it has unacceptable effects on patient care. Transplant societies and fellowship programs should develop interventions to give fellows tools to prevent and combat burnout.

Use of Direct Intracranial Pressure and Brain Tissue Oxygen Monitoring in Perioperative Management of Patients with Moyamoya Disease.

Intracranial pressure monitoring and brain tissue oxygen monitoring are commonly used in head injury for goal-directed therapies, but there may be more indications for its use. Moyamoya disease involves progressive stenosis of the arterial circulation and formation of collateral vessels that are at risk of hemorrhage. The risk of ischemic events during revascularization surgery and postoperatively is high. Impaired cerebral autoregulation may be one of the factors that are implicated. We present our experience with monitoring of cerebral oxygenation and autoregulation in the pathological hemisphere during the perioperative period in four patients with moyamoya disease.

Telemetric Intracranial Pressure: A Snapshot Does not Give the Full Story.

Telemetric intracranial pressure (ICP) monitors are useful tools in the management of complex hydrocephalus and idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). Clinicians may use them as a "snapshot" screening tool to assess shunt function or ICP. We compared "snapshot" telemetric ICP recordings with extended, in-patient periods of monitoring to determine whether this practice is safe and useful for clinical decision making.

Posterior segmental fixation for thoraco-lumbar and lumbar fractures: a comparative outcome study between open and percutaneous techniques.

PURPOSE: Showing results of open and percutaneous surgical management of traumatic AO type A3, A4 and B2 thoracic and lumbar fractures. METHODS: Retrospective comparative analysis of traditional open fusion versus percutaneous navigated fixation of thoracic and lumbar spinal fractures. Minimum 24 months follow-up to collect ODI and VAS outcome scores for comparative analysis was required. RESULTS: Fifty-seven patients with a mean age of 39 years met the inclusion criteria. Twenty-six patients were in the open group (Group O) and 31 in the percutaneous group (Group P). The majority of fractures were either type A3 or A4; there were three type B chance fractures in Group O and one in Group P. VAS and ODI scores followed comparable trends in the two groups until the final follow-up. The main statistically significant result between the two groups was blood loss, which was lower in Group P (110 versus 270 ml in Group O on average), although this did not reflect into different clinical outcomes. Similar peri-operative measures of operating time and length of stay were found between the two groups. A significantly higher degree of loss of reduction was noted at follow-up in Group P (8° versus 5° in Group O on average). CONCLUSIONS: Open and percutaneous posterior fixation techniques of thoracic and lumbar fractures in this cohort were associated with different perioperative blood losses as well as radiological measurements, but not with clinically meaningful differences in patient reported outcome measures at 24 months' follow-up.

Gender and racial disparities in the transplant surgery workforce.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review explores trends in the United States (US) transplant surgery workforce with a focus on historical demographics, post-fellowship job market, and quality of life reported by transplant surgeons. Ongoing efforts to improve women and racial/ethnic minority representation in transplant surgery are highlighted. Future directions to create a transplant workforce that reflects the diversity of the US population are discussed. RECENT FINDINGS: Representation of women and racial and ethnic minorities among transplant surgeons is minimal. Although recent data shows an improvement in the number of Black transplant surgeons from 2% to 5.5% and an increase in women to 12%, the White to Non-White transplant workforce ratio has increased 35% from 2000 to 2013. Transplant surgeons report an average of 4.3 call nights per week and less than five leisure days a month. Transplant ranks 1st among surgical sub-specialties in the prevalence of three well-studied facets of burnout. Concerns about lifestyle may contribute to the decreasing demand for advanced training in abdominal transplantation by US graduates. SUMMARY: Minimal improvements have been made in transplant surgery workforce diversity. Sustained and intentional recruitment and promotion efforts are needed to improve the representation of women and minority physicians and advanced practice providers in the field.

Antibiotic prophylaxis for ureteral stent removal after kidney transplantation.

There are no guidelines for antibiotic prophylaxis for ureteral stent removal after kidney transplantation. We reviewed the charts of 277 adult kidney transplant recipients with ureteral stents transplanted at our center between September 2014 and December 2015 and investigated whether antibiotic prophylaxis for stent removal was associated with reduced incidence of urinary tract infections (UTI). We defined UTI as a urine culture ≥104  CFU/mL of bacterial isolates irrespective of symptoms. Primary outcome was the incidence of UTI within four weeks of stent removal. Among the 277 recipients, 199 (72%) were on sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (SMZ/TMP) as Pneumocystis jirovecii prophylaxis. At the time of ureteral stent removal, 56 recipients (20%) received additional antibiotic prophylaxis (ABX+) and 221 (80%) did not (ABX-). The difference in the incidence of UTI in the ABX(+) group (16%) and ABX(-) group (19%) was not statistically significant (P = 0.85). Variables independently associated with the development of UTI were recipient age (odds ratio [OR] 1.04, [95% confidence interval 1.01-1.07]) and UTI while stents were in situ (OR 3.9 [2.00-7.62]). Use of SMZ/TMP was protective (OR 0.35 [0.18-0.7]). Our study does not show a statistically significant benefit for additional antibiotic prophylaxis for ureteral stent removal. Antibiotic prophylaxis may be beneficial for recipients not on SMZ/TMP at the time of stent removal.

A multi-institution analysis of general surgery resident peer-reviewed publication trends.

BACKGROUND: The process of taking a research project from conception to publication is one way to encourage surgeons to communicate hypothesis, critically assess literature and data, and defend research conclusions to a broad audience. The goal of this study was to define surgery resident publishing epidemiology and identify characteristics of residents and residency programs that might predict increased publication productivity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A survey was administered to eight general surgery residency programs to collect residency and resident variables from 1993-2013. The primary endpoint was the number of first-author publications produced per resident. Secondary endpoints included clinical setting at which the former resident was practicing, fellowship pursued, and manuscript quality. RESULTS: Between 1993 and 2013, 676 residents graduated, median age was 33 years (range: 29-43 years) and 182 (27%) were female. Three hundred and sixty-six (54%) residents produced 1229 first-author publications. Of these, 112 (31%) residents produced one manuscript, 125 (34%) produced two-three manuscripts, 107 (29%) produced four-nine manuscripts, and 22 (6%) produced 10 or more manuscripts. Publishing ≥1 manuscript in residency was associated with a 1.5 (P = 0.01) increased odds of having attended a top-tier research institution for medical school and a 2.3 (P < 0.001) increased odds of having dedicated research years incorporated into residency. Surgeons practicing at academic centers had 1.7 (P = 0.003) greater odds of having attended top-tier medical schools, and 1.5 (P = 0.02) greater odds of publishing during residency. CONCLUSIONS: Additional research directed at identifying interventions promoting resident publishing and scholastic achievement should benefit all surgery training programs looking to cultivate the next generation of critically thinking surgeons.

Kidney allograft failure in the steroid-free immunosuppression era: A matched case-control study.

We studied the causes and predictors of death-censored kidney allograft failure among 1670 kidney recipients transplanted at our center in the corticosteroid-free maintenance immunosuppression era. As of January 1, 2012, we identified 137 recipients with allograft failure; 130 of them (cases) were matched 1-1 for recipient age, calendar year of transplant, and donor type with 130 recipients with functioning grafts (controls). Median time to allograft failure was 29 months (interquartile range: 18-51). Physician-validated and biopsy-confirmed categories of allograft failure were as follows: acute rejection (21%), glomerular disease (19%), transplant glomerulopathy (13%), interstitial fibrosis tubular atrophy (10%), and polyomavirus-associated nephropathy (7%). Graft failures were attributed to medical conditions in 21% and remained unresolved in 9%. Donor race, donor age, human leukocyte antigen mismatches, serum creatinine, urinary protein, acute cellular rejection, acute antibody-mediated rejection, BK viremia, and CMV viremia were associated with allograft failure. Independent predictors of allograft failure were acute cellular rejection (odds ratio: 18.31, 95% confidence interval: 5.28-63.45) and urine protein ≥1 g/d within the first year post-transplantation (5.85, 2.37-14.45). Serum creatinine ≤1.5 mg/dL within the first year post-transplantation reduced the odds (0.29, 0.13-0.64) of allograft failure. Our study has identified modifiable risk factors to reduce the burden of allograft failure.

Free middle turbinate mucosal graft reconstruction after primary endoscopic endonasal pituitary surgery.

The objective is to assess whether free middle turbinate (FMT) graft reconstruction, after endoscopic endonasal pituitary surgery, combines an acceptably low post-operative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak rate with acceptable rhinological morbidity. This study identified 50 patients who underwent endoscopic endonasal pituitary surgery by the senior author in our teaching hospital between May 2011 and June 2012. FMT graft reconstruction was used in 32 cases. 18 patients were judged pre-operatively as not suitable for FMT reconstruction according to a novel skull base reconstructive algorithm. Outcomes examined were: length of inpatient stay; post-operative CSF leak rate; volume of gross tumour resection; and rhinological morbidity. The rhinological morbidity was measured by the completion of the 22 item sinonasal outcome test (SNOT-22) questionnaire by all 32 patients at 6 weeks and 6 months post-surgery. 32 patients were included in the study. 9 patients had functioning microadenomas and 23 macroadenomas. The median inpatient stay was 2 days. There were no post-operative CSF leaks. The rate of gross tumour resection, confirmed on post-operative MRI, was 87.5 %. The mean SNOT-22 score was 31.9 at 6 weeks and 23.4 at 6 months post-operation-a statistically significant drop. The use of the FMT graft in the reconstruction of the sella defect after endonasal endoscopic pituitary surgery provides a robust dural repair with an acceptable rhinological morbidity profile. FMT grafting as part of a defined skull base reconstructive algorithm results in a CSF leak rate of zero and allows early patient discharge without the need for nasal packing or lumbar drains.

Pineal parenchymal tumours of intermediate differentiation - An evidence-based review of a new pathological entity.

Pineal region lesions are uncommon, and pineal parenchymal tumours (PPT) account for 20-30% of tumours in this area of which pineocytomas (PCs) and pineoblastomas (PBs) are more prevalent. In 2007, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reclassified PPT from two subgroups (PC and PB) into four, including pineal parenchymal tumours of intermediate differentiation (PPTID). PPTID have been further divided into low- and high-grade lesions (WHO II and III), but due to their rarity have proven difficult lesions to diagnose and a paucity of literature means their optimal treatment options are a challenge to define. This article is a review of the literature of PPTID highlighting diagnostic criteria, a discussion on the role of surgery and radiotherapy, including treatment paradigms and reported outcomes for these problematic neoplasms.

Boundary-Layer Detection at Cryogenic Conditions Using Temperature Sensitive Paint Coupled with a Carbon Nanotube Heating Layer.

Detection of flow transition on aircraft surfaces and models can be vital to the development of future vehicles and computational methods for evaluating vehicle concepts. In testing at ambient conditions, IR thermography is ideal for this measurement. However, for higher Reynolds number testing, cryogenic facilities are often used, in which IR thermography is difficult to employ. In these facilities, temperature sensitive paint is an alternative with a temperature step introduced to enhance the natural temperature change from transition. Traditional methods for inducing the temperature step by changing the liquid nitrogen injection rate often change the tunnel conditions. Recent work has shown that adding a layer consisting of carbon nanotubes to the surface can be used to impart a temperature step on the model surface with little change in the operating conditions. Unfortunately, this system physically degraded at 130 K and lost heating capability. This paper describes a modification of this technique enabling operation down to at least 77 K, well below the temperature reached in cryogenic facilities. This is possible because the CNT layer is in a polyurethane binder. This was tested on a Natural Laminar Flow model in a cryogenic facility and transition detection was successfully visualized at conditions from 200 K to 110 K. Results were also compared with the traditional temperature step method.

Perceptual compensation for the effects of reverberation on consonant identification: evidence from studies with monaural stimuli.

Mounting evidence suggests that listeners perceptually compensate for the adverse effects of reverberation in rooms when listening to speech monaurally. However, it is not clear whether the underlying perceptual mechanism would be at all effective in the high levels of stimulus uncertainty that are present in everyday listening. Three experiments investigated monaural compensation with a consonant identification task in which listeners heard different speech on each trial. Consonant confusions frequently arose when a greater degree of reverberation was added to a test-word than to its surrounding context, but compensation became apparent in conditions where the context reverberation was increased to match that of the test-word; here, the confusions were largely resolved. A second experiment shows that information from the test-word itself can also effect compensation. Finally, the time course of compensation was examined by applying reverberation to a portion of the preceding context; consonant identification improves as this portion increases in duration. These findings indicate a monaural compensation mechanism that is likely to be effective in everyday listening, allowing listeners to recalibrate as their reverberant environment changes.

Renal allograft outcomes following early corticosteroid withdrawal in Hispanic transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND: Renal transplant outcomes in Hispanics have been conflicting regarding acute rejection (AR) and allograft survival. Additionally, the feasibility of early corticosteroid withdrawal (ECW) regimens among Hispanics has not been adequately addressed. The purpose of this study is to report outcomes following ECW among Hispanic renal transplant recipients. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 498 consecutive renal transplants performed at our institution between July 2005 and October 2007, including 73 Hispanic and 146 white recipients who had ECW (median follow-up 49 months). Demographics, transplant data, and outcomes of Hispanic and white recipients (WR) were analyzed. RESULTS: Hispanics had a higher incidence of diabetes mellitus and hypertension (p = 0.007), a higher proportion of blood type O (p = 0.006), and a higher serum panel reactive antibody at the time of transplantation (p = 0.02) compared with WR. Additionally, Hispanics were on dialysis longer than WR prior to transplantation (p = 0.03). Nevertheless, the incidence of AR, patient, and graft survival rates was similar (p > 0.05) between Hispanics and WR. Ethnicity was not an independent predictor of inferior patient and graft outcomes in multivariate analyses. CONCLUSION: Our single-center experience indicates that ECW can be performed in Hispanic renal transplant recipients, with patient and allograft outcomes comparable with those observed in WR.

Complex hepatectomy under total vascular exclusion of the liver: impact of ischemic preconditioning on clinical outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Hepatic inflow clamping during hepatectomy introduces ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury, and many authors regard the addition of caval occlusion as adding increased risk. Ischemic preconditioning (IPC) is one of the protective strategies employed to reduce I/R injury in animal experiments and limited clinical series. The aim of the present study was to determine the impact of systematic adoption of IPC in patients undergoing complex hepatectomy under total hepatic vascular exclusion (TVE) based on outcomes review. METHODS: The records of 93 patients who underwent major hepatectomy involving TVE at our center from February 1998 to December 2008 were reviewed. These patients were divided into two groups: group 1 (n = 55, TVE alone) and group 2 (n = 38, TVE with IPC). IPC was performed by portal triad clamping for 10 min followed by 3-5 min of reperfusion prior to TVE and resection. RESULTS: The two groups were comparable regarding demographics, underlying liver diseases, indications for hepatectomy, duration of TVE, and preoperative liver and kidney function tests. Overall postoperative laboratory results of liver function tests were not significantly different between the two groups. Creatinine levels and prothrombin times were not significantly different between the groups. The use of IPC had no impact on the duration of the operation, blood loss, or hospital stay. The morbidity rates were 37.5 and 34.2 %, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our adoption of IPC as a protective strategy against I/R injury under TVE did not affect operative or laboratory parameters and clinical outcomes when compared to continuous clamping for comparable ischemic periods.

Perceptual compensation when isolated test words are heard in room reverberation.

Room reverberation usually degrades speech reception, such as when listeners identify test words from a 'sir'-to-'stir' continuum. Here, substantial reverberation introduces a 'tail' from the [s], which tends to fill the gap that cues the [t], and a degradation effect arises as listeners report correspondingly fewer 'stir' sounds. This effect is particularly clear when test words are preceded by a precursor phrase (e.g. 'next you'll get…') that contains much less reverberation than the test word. When the precursor's reverberation is increased to be the same as in the test word, the degradation diminishes as more 'stir' sounds are heard once again. This last effect has been attributed to a perceptual compensation mechanism that is informed by the precursor's reverberation level. However, a recent claim is that the degradation is caused by 'modulation masking' from precursors with a low level of reverberation. Such masking is likely to diminish when the precursor's reverberation level is raised, because reverberation acts as a low-pass modulation filter. Support for this hypothesis comes from results in conditions where degradation effects seem to be entirely absent, despite substantial reverberation. In these conditions, test words were played in isolation, with no precursor, and reverberation was kept at the same level in the test words of every trial. The experiments reported here have conditions that are similar, except that reverberation in test words is varied unpredictably from trial to trial, so that substantial-level trials are interspersed with trials that have a much lower level of reverberation. The result is that under these conditions, the degradation effect is entirely restored, allowing rejection of the modulation-masking hypothesis. An alternative is that some perceptual compensation comes from reverberation information within test words, and its effects accumulate over sequences of trials as long as the test word's reverberation level stays the same from trial to trial.

Cerebellar pilocytic astrocytoma in adults: a management paradigm for a rare tumour.

BACKGROUND: Pilocytic astrocytoma is one of the commonest subtypes of glioma to affect children. However, they are rarely diagnosed in patients over the age of 18 years. In adults, these tumours appear more frequently supra-tentorially than in the cerebellum and some reports suggest a different clinical course in adults. We reviewed ten patients aged 18 or over who had been operated on for cerebellar pilocytic astrocytoma to assess the impact of tumour biology and extent of resection on outcome in adults. METHOD: Patients were identified from a neuropathology database and a retrospective chart review of ten patients was performed. Recorded data included patient demographics, tumour location, presenting features, radiological appearance, extent of surgical resection, tumour recurrence and Ki-67 proliferation index. RESULTS: Nine patients were men and one patient was a woman. Median follow up is 41.5 months (range 15-334 months). Complete surgical resection was achieved in nine of the patients operated in our institution. One patient had prior subtotal resection elsewhere. Tumour recurrence was seen only in the two patients with subtotal resection, at 7 and 25 years. Ki-67 ranged from <1 to 10% and appears to have no correlation to recurrence. No patients in this series had adjuvant treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Cerebellar pilocytic astrocytomas in adults should be treated with macroscopic complete surgical resection whenever possible. If this is achieved, long-term survival rates are excellent, whereas subtotal resection carries a high risk of tumour recurrence. Ki-67 is less important prognostically than the extent of initial resection.

Air travel after intracranial surgery: a survey of advice given to patients by consultant neurosurgeons in the UK.

OBJECTIVE: Air travel following intracranial surgery is considered to be associated with a risk of tension pneumocephalus. However, the likelihood of it is currently undetermined in the literature. We decided to establish if there was any consensus amongst UK neurosurgeons with regard to advice given to patients. METHODS: A questionnaire was approved by the Scientific Meeting Committee of the Society of British Neurological Surgeons (SBNS) and then distributed to all current practicing Consultant Neurosurgeons in the UK via e-mail. RESULTS: 61/66 responders advised patients not to fly for a period of time postoperatively. 35/61 of these neurosurgeons advised a fixed post-operative timescale against flying irrespective of the nature of surgery. The remaining 26/61 advised patients with complex surgical procedures against flying for a longer period. However, the timescales advised by different surgeons in both categories varied between <2 weeks and >8 weeks. Pneumocephalus was the main concern for air travel (42/61) and 17/61 precluded flying due to concerns regarding complications away from home. 3/61 were concerned with deep vein thrombosis. CT scans were obtained prior to discharge by 11/61 of these neurosurgeons. 5/66 neurosurgeons did not advise patients against flying and their advice was independent of the type of surgery. Only one of these 5 neurosurgeons obtained a pre-discharge CT scan. CONCLUSION: Clinical practice varies widely due to a lack of clear evidence, standards or guidelines. Should the SBNS be producing national guidelines to standardise the advice given to patients?

Shoulder Pain Associated With Multiple Arteriovenous Malformations Successfully Treated With Embolization.

A 44-year-old male presented with left upper extremity and shoulder pain with worsening functional impairment after years of repetitive use, overtraining, and multiple injuries from weightlifting and mixed martial arts. Imaging showed no obvious injury or ligamentous deformity other than mild osteoarthritis (OA) of the left glenohumeral joint. Duplex ultrasonography (US) revealed four arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) surrounding the shoulder joint and left upper extremity. The vasculature was mapped via angiography through a transradial approach. Initial treatment included transarterial embolization of two AVMs off the axillary artery and branching anterior circumflex humeral artery. Secondary treatment included embolization of two lesions months later via direct puncture, one through a transvenous approach and the second through direct transmalformation cannulation, via the nidus, near the clavicle and posterior scapular lateral border. Treatment resulted in significant improvement in pain and range of motion. Follow-up assessments revealed improvement in overall symptoms, recovered function, and return to exercise and competitive mixed martial arts. This case highlights the value of duplex ultrasonography, embolization, and transarterial and transvenous approaches for the treatment of AVM-associated extremity or joint pain.

Embolization for the treatment of large, complex fibroids in an outpatient setting: A report of 2 cases.

Uterine leiomyomas are the most common benign pelvic tumors in premenopausal women, causing significant morbidity. Uterine fibroid embolization is a minimally invasive alternative to traditional open or laparoscopic surgeries for the management of symptomatic uterine leiomyoma. For large fibroids, hospitalization after treatment is often required. However, there are limited data on patients with large, complex uterine leiomyomas treated by embolization. This report of 2 cases describes 2 females with large, complex fibroids causing pain and decreased quality of life who were evaluated and treated with embolization in the outpatient setting. Each patient underwent transradial cannulation and uterine artery embolization under local anesthesia or conscious sedation and returned home without complication. For women wishing to preserve their uterus, uterine fibroid embolization is an effective nonsurgical alternative to hysterectomy and myomectomy in an outpatient setting. If standard protocols are followed, embolization by way of transradial artery catheterization is safe for the treatment of large, complex, symptomatic fibroids in the outpatient setting; however, additional studies with larger cohorts are warranted. Accessing the uterine arteries transradially reduces the risk of intra- and post-operative complications for patients, reduces their time spent in a hospital, and minimizes operating costs.