Effect of Smoking History on 30-Day Morbidity Following Bariatric Surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Smoking and postoperative complications are well documented across surgical specialties. Preoperative smoking cessation is frequently recommended by surgeons. In this study, we assessed to what degree documented smoking history increased a patient's risk of postoperative complications. METHODS: The Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP) database for the years 2015-2018 was used. Patients were included if they underwent primary sleeve gastrectomy (SG) or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB). Patients with a documented smoking history were assigned to the "SH" cohort and patients without smoking history were assigned to the "NSH" cohort. Patients without documentation regarding smoking history, missing variables, younger than 18, with prior surgery, or lost to follow-up were excluded. 30-day morbidity and mortality data were assessed. Multiple logistic regression analysis was made based on all available patient characteristics and perioperative factors, continuous variables were analyzed using Student's t-test and categorical variables were compared using the chi-square test. RESULTS: After evaluation of 760,076 patients on the MBSAQIP database, 650,930 patients underwent non-revisional bariatric surgery, including 466,270 SG and 184,660 LRYGB. Of the total patients included in the study, 44,606 patients were assigned to the SH cohort and 479,601 were assigned to the NSH cohort. 4628 of patients did not have documented smoking status. Within 30 days SH patients had higher rates of readmission (4.2% vs 3.7%, P < .0001), reoperation (1.3% vs 1.1%, P < .0001), unplanned intubation (.2% vs .1%, P = .0212), and unplanned ICU admission (.7% vs .0.6%, P = .0022). CONCLUSION: SH patients undergoing bariatric surgery were at significantly increased risk of readmission and reoperation within 30 days of procedure. In addition, SH patients were more likely to have unplanned intubation and unplanned ICU admission. Given the higher rates of complications in smoking patients, this study would suggest that preoperative smoking cessation in patients prior to primary bariatric surgery might be beneficial. Further study is warranted to compare short-term cessation vs long-term cessation preoperatively, which was not assessed in our study.

Marjolin's Ulcer Complicating a Pressure Sore: The Clock is Ticking.

BACKGROUND: Malignant degeneration in any chronic wound is termed a Marjolin's ulcer (MU). The overall metastatic rate of MU is approximately 27.5%. However, the prognosis of MU specific to pressure sores is poor, with a reported metastatic rate of 61%. This is due to insidious, asymptomatic malignant degeneration, a lack of healthcare provider awareness, and, ultimately, delayed management. CASE REPORT: An 85-year-old white male was noted by his wound-care nurse to have a rapidly developing growth on his lower back over a period of 4 months. There was history of a non-healing, progressive pressure ulcer of the lower back for the past 10 years. On examination, there was a 4 × 4 cm pressure ulcer of the lower back, with a superimposed 1.5 × 2 cm growth in the superior region. There was an absence of palpable regional lymphadenopathy. Punch biopsy revealed squamous cell carcinoma consistent with Marjolin's ulcer. The ulcer underwent excision with wide margins, and a skin graft was placed. Due to the prompt recognition of an abnormality by the patient's wound-care nurse, metastasis was not evident on imaging. There are no signs of recurrence at 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Marjolin's ulcer has a rapid progression from local disease to widespread metastasis. Therefore, it is essential that wound-care providers are aware of the clinical signs and symptoms of malignant degeneration in chronic wounds.